Rocky road into maintenance

leahkathleen13 · July 2016

Hi everyone! Soon I will be joining you here. I am having a hard time as I approach my goal. I seem to be fluctuating between loss and also justifying bad eating without logging. I am recommitting to entering maintenance in a steady fashion. My goal is 110, and I want to stop losing at 108 and maintain there. My range is 108- 112. I'm 5'1". I'm worried that after a long deficit I will eat way too much. Three times last month I gained 5 lbs after eating in my old habits. I'm getting myself on a roller coaster here. Any advice or tips? I need to do better entering maintenance. I have about 3 lbs to go, and I keep losing and regaining it. Thanks!

LivingtheLeanDream · July 2016

Its just a matter of getting your head around the fact that maintenance is just the same as when losing only you get some more calories, depending on your rate of loss that can be anywhere from 250 to 500 calories more a day. The nitty gritty is, if you don't pay heed to extra eating when at maintenance gain will happen so it takes keeping focused and perhaps forming new goals, such as fitness.
We mostly do a bit of up and down on the scales when close to maintenance, alot of the time its just fluctuations from what we're eating or a new workout.

llbrixon · July 2016

I am where you are right now. I cannot seem to lose those last 5 pounds without sabotaging myself. I have decided to change my goal to 160-165 pounds, instead of 155-160 pounds. If I lose the extra few pounds, then great, but I am not stressing about it. I am enjoying the weight I am right now at 163. I am able to eat the foods I enjoy and maintain the weight. June, I basically stayed at 163 pounds.

californiagirl2012 · July 2016

When you are within 10 pounds of your goal that is pretty much maintenance, you can't go for deficits too low or too long or you will binge because your body just does not have the fat stores to draw from to make up the difference. The slow steady only slightly under maintenance is the only thing that will work. This is where true consistency comes into place, the too low causes the too high. Make it a nice even keel slightly under maintenance and make sure to have a couple days each week right at maintenance. Those maintenance days are nice "eat normal days" without cheating (how could eating normal needs for the body possibly be cheating?!) and they will help keep your hormones stable and help prevent the binge hormones from coming on.

dorkyfaery · July 2016

If you are seeing changes of 5 pounds within a short window, like a four week period, this is most likely due to normal body weight fluctuations due to water retention and release. Don't let those things get you down. Californiagirl has some good points as well.

leahkathleen13 · July 2016

Wow thank you everyone so much for the informative and fast replies! I am so grateful for all the knowledgable support!

Colt1835 · July 2016

I thought this thread was going to be about ice cream.

leahkathleen13 · July 2016

Honey butter pecan waffle cone with sprinkles actually!! Hahahah

vingogly · July 2016

What everyone else said. I'm 10-15 lbs from where I need to be, and as others have pointed out the weight loss slows down as you approach the goal.

In the past, I'd go on maintenance and figure I was done with the diet. I'd stop logging my foods, eat what I thought was "normally", and stop weighing myself. After a couple of years, I'd be back where I started.

After a lot of thinking and reading, I decided I'm just not wired like "normal" people - I don't have the intuitive ability many seem to have to regulate what and how much they're eating. Whether this is a learned thing or partly genetic, who knows. As a consequence, I'm going to need to continue monitoring what I eat for the rest of my life, and staying on top of my weight. If I gain five pounds, that means cutting back on the calories for a while.

Do I wish I didn't have to do this? Yes -- but it's a small price to pay for not getting back into the shape I was in before. At my age and with my health problems, I can't afford to do that.

brenn24179 · July 2016

me too, I have been into rocky road ice cream,maintenance is harder, have to be cautious all the time.You can tell where your mind is, mine is always on food, that hasn't left me.

leahkathleen13 · July 2016

New fitness goals, realizing that I still need to accurately log and follow my plans, and accepting this long term are a great start! As I reach my goal again I will eat maintenance a few days per week and slight deficit a few. These ideas are so helpful! Thanks everyone! I will slow down and not restrict too much, so far that has only led to frustrations. I'll strive for consistency!

nxd10 · July 2016

What made a difference to me was having my goal be maintaining for the rest of my life. So I celebrated when I hit the top of my goal range and again when I hit the bottom. But I celebrate every day that I get on the scale and I'm still there. It's been four years.

People regain because they go back to old habits. This is the rest of your life. Find ways to enjoy where you are. Losing is a good place to learn it.

leahkathleen13 · July 2016

My downfall is family visits. I'm Italian and my family celebrates with special foods. It's so difficult for me to stay on track and one weekend does some real damage. This will be a big challenge but an important one to me maintaining. Unfortunately I have an all or nothing mentality and this needs to be addressed.

kirstenb13 · July 2016

leahkathleen13 wrote: »

It's so difficult for me to stay on track and one weekend does some real damage.

Not unless you go seriously over board. The weight gain you might see after a weekend with a lot of food is 99% water and excess waste in your digestive system, this can easily be a few pounds but it is no reason to worry. You will lose it again quickly if you go back to your normal eating. If you stick to your plan most of the time you have nothing to worry about for the long term.

RoxieDawn · July 2016

Yeah I agree that anytime you gained 5 pounds during those times you mentioned it was water, etc.., I am sure that you did not over eat by 3500+ calories over maintenance each time to gain real fat..

I agree with @kirsten13. Even adding additional calories to a deficit will ensure some sort of weight (water) gain on the scale.. More food in the gut, more waste in your colon, water from additional salt and carbs and if there is hyrdration or lack there of will always show on the scale...

OP you should try to mark trends in your weight due to day to day fluctuations that even include time of the month.. The scale will play havoc for everyone especially those in maintenance if you rely on the scale every day as your true cursor to your weight.. A weight range (daily) is a good idea to adhere to..

KareninLux · July 2016

Oh, la. really glad to find this thread! I am/was/am five pounds away from my goal and it is really challenging. Been sitting at, or just above or under the same weight for three weeks - longest 'plateau' yet! Grrr.

I am going to keep at a deficit until the 27th when I go on holidays and then I am going to try maintenance during the holidays and see how it goes.

During the holidays I am tentatively planning to try to keep a very strict eye on breakfast and Lunch and then can relax and enjoy the extra maintenance calories during supper. I have a very active holiday planned so that should help.

leahkathleen13 · July 2016

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful and helpful replies! The support is incredible!

Rocky road into maintenance

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