Losing weight vs. maintaining weight, which do you think is harder?

lovetolose20
lovetolose20 Posts: 29 Member
edited December 2024 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I've seen on here a few times people saying that maintaining weight is a lot harder to do than losing weight. That's not real reassuring to those of us who are still losing. I've lost 40 pounds and that has been really hard for me. I only have 13 lbs to go, so I'm mentally trying to get prepared for maintaining for life.
I want to hear from those who are maintaining. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance :)
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Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Maintaining is easier because I know what my calorie intake is day in and day out. If my weight moves up a little or my clothing feels a little tighter I know I need to eat a little less.
  • george7527
    george7527 Posts: 267 Member
    I'm maintaining and I'm finding it hard. I seem to be more paranoid about not wanting to gaining the lost weight. That's me thought.
  • tahxirez
    tahxirez Posts: 270 Member
    I hate maintaining... I'm paranoid about gaining, miss my deficit (read:buffer), and find myself eating food I don't need because I don't actually want a deficit. I should also say I'm very new to maintenance so its possible I just haven't hit my stride yet. But as of now...losing is so much easier.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited June 2016
    I LOVE BEING IN MAINTENANCE :smile:

    I haven't found it hard at all, been keeping my goal weight for 3+ years.

    What happens is a lot of people think once they get to goal they can slacken off, but we still have to keep focused and our eye on the ball, we just get to eat extra calories.

    I weigh in daily, always did, I track the data on an app and it keeps me focused on keeping within my goal +/-5lbs.

    I also don't have to log my foods any more, that's become intuitive.

    I was active while losing weight, I'm still active in maintenance, even more so.
  • _piaffe
    _piaffe Posts: 163 Member
    edited June 2016
    I reached GW in April and still consider myself to be adjusting to maintenance. I find maintenance to be much more complex because it's about adopting lifelong habits. Not all of the habits I formed or strategies I used in deficit translate well (for me) to long-term, lifetime maintenance.

    For me, the maintenance challenges have been around:
    • goals - i.e. defining new ones. There is something so satisfyingly simple about dropping scale weight and seeing the drop every week. Now I need new goals, because "status quo" is a hard one to wrap my brain around. But what? I'm not the person to pick up a new sport or train for a marathon. Recomposition appeals to me. That's a goal requiring patience and time, though. It's hard when you're goal-oriented and data-obsessed, because it just doesn't happen overnight, in a week or even a month.
    • scale weight and the maintenance "range". This one is a mindset issue. I'm at a "vanity" GW, and have this maximum weight number stuck in my brain. I'm well within a 2 pound range of it, but I wanted that number to be the upper limit (my fault for not dieting down enough on the fat loss front before upping to maintenance). I am not comfortable bouncing between numbers, even though my brain understands TOM, water retention, fluctuations and the non-static nature of body weight day-to-day, or even hour-to-hour. I realize, of course, that if my goal is recomp, that "upper limit" number is actually meaningless, and I might look better weighing MORE.
    • maintenance TDEE. I have a fitbit Charge HR and log religiously. But because the last couple of months of purported maintenance have been all over the place, and because I no longer bank calories on a weekly basis or use weekly TDEE, I don't really have good information. I need consistency before I can really see what's going on.
    • banking calories - i.e. the indulge / deprive approach. This "worked" for me in the fat loss / deficit phase: super restrictive weekdays, and a huge weekend meal. Or so I thought. But as I look back on the data and my progress, it was too close to binge behaviour (for me) and set me back. I didn't lose the weight because of this approach. Rather, I luckily still had a deficit, despite this approach. Doesn't work (for me) in maintenance AT ALL. I think I've figured that piece out now, so my calorie goal at the moment is to stay within TDEE -200 / +200 range, daily. I'm giving that a go.
  • kirstenb13
    kirstenb13 Posts: 181 Member
    I don't find it hard but I also didn't find losing hard after I started tracking everything. It basically is what it is in my opinion - no use to feel upset that I can't shovel food in my mouth anymore like I used to and never will again.
    I like exercising a lot more now than I used so that definitely helps and it is easier to see changes without the fat layer so it is doubly encouraging.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Since I didn't do anything while losing weight that I don't do in maintenance, it literally is "just eat more" for me.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I think they are both challenging for different reasons. Losing weight requires a lot of changes that can be difficult to adjust to when building a new lifestyle. It also requires a lot of patience, which I often lack. Maintaining can be difficult because there is the worry for some of not gaining back after achieving their goal, this adds stress which can be bad for weight. It's also a challenge for some, Me, to make adjustments as needed around lifestyle changes to maintain and not gain. I lost 86lb back in 2012 and maintained easily for a few years then joined this site after gaining around 30lb back last year due to relationship and work changes that dramatically altered my lifestyle. I didn't adjust my work outs or eating around these other changes.
  • Keladelphia
    Keladelphia Posts: 820 Member
    I just hit a year of maintenance. For the first couple of months it was more challenging but maintaining became easier for me once I stopped being paranoid about gaining a couple of pounds. If I notice the scale goes up a couple of pounds I just throw in a deficit for a week or two and i'm back at a number I like. Nothing really changed for me other than being able to eat more calories which is obviously a good thing.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    I liked losing better. At least with losing I knew I wouldn't gain. Losing if I wanted to eat a bit more it was like oh well I guess I just won't lose as much this week, but in maintenance its like if you eat more you will gain. I also sometimes am not motivated to exercise but have to anyways because I want to eat more. For me it is a lot like losing except losing I got that gratification seeing the scale go down and knowing I was making progress you know. I am always super paranoid I am burning less some days or am losing muscle if I don't exercise as much.
  • ARGriffy
    ARGriffy Posts: 1,002 Member
    What is the definition of hard? is it mentally battling with your body image? or is it physically checking what goes in your mouth? For me, it's the first.

    I'm at 2 years of maintenance now, and i've not logged for months. It was a battle for me, losing was easy, i knew what i was doing, i knew how many calories to eat, i had gratification from scale move. sitting at maintenance had no goals, no gratification, no fun. i hate to say it but i've only gained happiness in my body after loosing about 5 lbs more in the last 5 months, not through anything in particular but through finding a sport i love. Now, it's the easiest thing in the world. no logging, weigh once a week or so, use my clothes as a guide.
  • TitaniaEcks
    TitaniaEcks Posts: 351 Member
    edited June 2016
    Losing is harder for me, by far. Here's why:

    1) Restricting calories to a degree that would cause weight loss requires constant vigilance. I'd obsess over every little calorie I eat, every carb, the time of day I eat, the temperature of my food...

    2) Not losing weight fast enough, not feeling pretty yet, not being able to drink that beer or eat that slice of cake, etc., are all discouraging factors that make the goal seem so far away and unattainable that sometimes I'd just feel overwhelmed, give up and binge.

    3) By the time I reached my goal and went into maintenance, I had already had a good long time to develop new eating/drinking habits and figure out what works for me. Staying at maintenance is second nature as long as I'm just the tiniest bit mindful. Three pounds up, three pounds down, no big deal; I just reduce or increase my food intake for a couple of weeks to get back to goal. No need for daily weigh-ins and calculators.

    4) Feeling pretty helps. Keeps me with a positive attitude. I find it easier to be gung-ho about losing 3 pounds than 30 (see #2).
  • tamaraworrall
    tamaraworrall Posts: 166 Member
    Maintaining is so much harder than loosing the weight. I've always said this and now I know it to be true as I'm trying to maintain
  • bennettinfinity
    bennettinfinity Posts: 865 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Since I didn't do anything while losing weight that I don't do in maintenance, it literally is "just eat more" for me.

    ^^ This... For me, they both require the same amount of diligence and discipline - I need to track activities and food just as closely in maintenance as I did in the loss phase.

    YMMV
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Maintaining is harder for me because I'm hungrier. Losing was cake.
  • lovetolose20
    lovetolose20 Posts: 29 Member
    It's interesting how different maintaining and losing is for everyone.
    I really appreciate all of you for taking the time to respond. Thanks!!
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    I've had different experiences at different times. Right now maintaining is hard. I've been trying since March but the scale keeps creeping back up and now I'm back in weight loss mode. (Trying to get back to the bottom of my maintenance range so I have a little wiggle room rather than being right at the top so I keep going over.)
  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Maintaining is far more enjoyable for me:
    • It's easier to stick to a higher calorie goal than a lower goal.
    • Feeling more energetic, training and recovering better.
    • More personal satisfaction of meeting my goal (maintaining) than working towards my goal (losing).
    • Feeling happy in my own skin.
    • I can maintain my weight without food logging but have to log to lose.
    • I love food and hate having to eat at a deficit.

    Agreed with all of this! Maintaining is easier for me. I have so much more energy to achieve my fitness goals! I don't count calories now, but I know roughly how to eat in proper portions and it's working great.

    It was a good motivator to see the number drop on the scale but it's just as great of a motivator to see my lifts increase! Just today, I've upped my weight on the bent over row to 50 lb! It's oddly satisfying seeing a big dude next to me use 35 lb dumbbells. I don't lift to compete with others, but *kitten*! It still feels good when I can outlift a guy!
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
    For me maintaining. Dieting to me is kinda a game where I get to use fancy technology which is my hobby and obsession anyway to "level down". Maintaining is harder because its well maintenance. Kinda like how driving a Ferrari is fun but changing its oil isn't. Sure you get to eat more but it could easily turn into "what is an extra piece of cake? I just lost 100 pounds I deserve it" and before you know it you've gained some back.That being said I've *kitten* up quite a few times in the 2 weeks I've tried maintenance and am still down maybe half a pound. So maybe it's not that hard.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
    I like maintaining better because I'm skinny now lol. Losing weight wasn't actually anymore difficult than maintaining, I'm basically continuing to do the same things. I still weigh and log food, still exercise, still weigh myself regularly. I don't feel like I get to eat much more now. I started out so obese and I was breastfeeding so I actually was losing weight initially on more calories than k get to eat in maintenance. But I still feel ok with where I'm at calorie wise.

    When I first switched to maintenance I had a hard time with my weight not going down. I missed seeing that and it was weird to still be working hard at eating well and exercise while the number on the scale stayed the same. But now that some time has passed I don't miss that and I'm happy just to see the number stay around the same every day. I have other fitness related goals now that are more fun and I still get to see positive changes in my body.
  • Nachise
    Nachise Posts: 395 Member
    I have lost weight before through Weight Watchers, and their idea of maintenance was not sustainable to me. Frankly, neither was the weight loss program. I always felt deprived.

    This time around, I am eating food that I love. I am able to track and record meals that I make from my own recipes. Maintenance will be scary, nonetheless, but I will have guidance from my nutritionist.
  • bfanny
    bfanny Posts: 440 Member
    edited June 2016
    For the last 10 LOSING for me is harder! Maybe because I'm already at a "healthy" weight (top) I eat as healthy as I can and exercise most days (cardio+lift) so my body is not that impressed anymore
  • bfanny
    bfanny Posts: 440 Member
    Oh and I have to add that I lost 40 lbs (WW) and maintained without a problem for years, now that I want to lose a few more "vanity" lbs is when it got HARD
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,338 Member
    I lost just over 80 lbs in the last two-ish years.....Finally hit "maintenance" in January....I love maintenance, but I do find it harder. My body and brain seem to have adjusted to weight loss after so long, that I am actually finding it hard to STOP losing weight! Eating over 1600 a day, but some days I have to scale back my cardio that I love, just to keep my net from being too low. ~
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    I lost just over 80 lbs in the last two-ish years.....Finally hit "maintenance" in January....I love maintenance, but I do find it harder. My body and brain seem to have adjusted to weight loss after so long, that I am actually finding it hard to STOP losing weight! Eating over 1600 a day, but some days I have to scale back my cardio that I love, just to keep my net from being too low. ~

    This is EXACTLY what I am dealing with, trying to stop losing. With the weather turning nice, my cardio workouts are outside and longer. Upping my calories to match is difficult mentally. I hope when winter comes and I'm back inside that I'll be able to dial it back down.
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
    I find maintaining harder because for me it takes a lot of diligence to keep that weight balance. At the same time I find it more enjoyable because I have more self confidence, I love choosing clothes, I'm healthier and get to eat more yummy stuff.
  • swim777
    swim777 Posts: 599 Member
    I'm relatively new to maintenance and struggling to find that perfect place. I've lost a lot, enough that I will never go there again, but I still struggle between not going over so much on weekends that I can't relax a little more any other time. I'm really careful during the week, but I see the water, weight creep on Monday and I spend the week trying to get it back down. I am staying on the higher end of my range, and I'm actually trying this week to get back down to the mid or low point! Too many celebrations lately!
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