Need a Handle on Maintaining

godlikepoetyes
godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
edited December 2 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
First Question--

So, I'm ready to maintain, for now. I have a range, but in MFP, as far as I can tell, there is no setting for the fluctuations. Every time I gain a bit I have to go back in and adjust my goals so that I'm not maintaining the higher weight. Do you guys do this, or do you set a custom goal to maintain and just stick to that?

Second--

When I was losing I overate pretty consistently and lost with no problem. Some of this was likely overestimating calories, the rest my metabolism that evidently burns calories at a higher rate than I had thought. I am accustomed to eating back my exercise calories and depend on those calories so that I can eat more food. The idea of setting a calorie goal based on TDEE scares me a bit because I would end up eating fewer calories than I do using NEAT. (I earn 400-500 calories for an hour of moderate/heavy exercise) Also, as I've been overeating by quite a bit all along, adjusting to a set calorie goal to maintain also makes me uneasy.

What I have mostly been doing is keeping my goal at .5 lb per week and then just eating back all the exercise calories, and overeating. This would be okay, but coming from my eating-disordered (a loose term for bingeing and food stuffing) background, it feels like I'm playing games with myself and that is never a good thing.

How did/do you guys approach these issues?

Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I set my goal at 1800 and don't log exercise. My TDEE is 2200. On easy days, I stick to it and I'm under (and that stops me from going for the ice cream or chocolate). But if I have a bad day, it's not a huge deal.

    Losing too much has never been a worry of mine though, heck I still haven't reached my goal even though I've been maintaining (or lost inches) for 2 years.
  • TangledThread
    TangledThread Posts: 312 Member
    I'm only on week 2 of maintenance myself.

    Even though I fluctuated upward and put in my current weight, MFP didn't increase my calories from the weight when I set it to maintain (goal weight). For me it only changes the caloric amount when I go into settings and change the goal weight.

    I have a plan to track my calories by the week with high and low eating days. I trust the math but I haven't been doing it long enough to experience the reality of it.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    maintenance is a range...body weight isn't static. I've been in maintenance for over three years...you have to look at the average/trend. On average I'm 182...I can jump as high as 185 and as low as 178 but generally my fluctuations are +/- 3 Lbs...but on average I'm 182. I don't do anything different just because I fluctuated up...there are a lot of reasons for that...the only time I really make adjustments is if as a trend my average weight is going up...so it's something you have to look at over weeks, not days.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    It can be a bit scary, that transition. Here's what I did. I thought I was done losing when I hit a plateau at 123 lbs and couldn't seem to get down to 120 no matter what I did. I decided my maintenance range was 120-125 and just logged 123 as my weight and stopped logging any fluctuations that were within that 5 lb range. I looked to see what MFP said my maintenance NEAT cals were (1850) and set myself a goal of 1750 to account for any logging inconsistencies (I don't weigh my food) and to just have a buffer since I often exceeded my weekly goal while losing and wanted to still have some wiggle room. I use a FitBit and have it also set to maintain, it calculate s my TDEE at 2200 so I still get exercise adjustments and I eat them back.

    The funny thing was, after changing all the settings and my mindset to "maintenance" I started slowly losing again (not surprising as I still had a slight deficit built into my numbers). The scale was going down and after a few months I had more weeks below 120 than above it. So I logged 120 as my new midpoint and kept everything else the same. That seems to be holding steady for me now, and I'm much more comfortable in maintenance and with the slight fluctuations than I was when I first started.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Once you set your goals to maintain a certain weight, MPF doesn't change it just because your weight fluctuates. Your goal weight and calorie goal for that weight will stay the same.
  • bioklutz
    bioklutz Posts: 1,365 Member
    I would not log your weight in MFP - as long as you are within your maintenance range.

    If you work out roughly the same amount every week you could use TDEE, but if your workouts are variable it doesn't make sense to use that method.

    A lot of people look at their calories for the week. Some days you might eat more than others. As long as you are on track for the week all is good!

    Don't complicate things. If your weight is trending down, you are not eating enough. If you are trending up, you are eating too much.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    Once you set your goals to maintain a certain weight, MPF doesn't change it just because your weight fluctuates. Your goal weight and calorie goal for that weight will stay the same.

    Well, I'm like DUH. I hadn't figured this out on my own. Duh. Another poster also mentioned this. Thank you.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    One of you guys mentioned not logging my weight when it changes if it falls within my range--now THAT is scary. Truly. However, if MFP doesn't change my calories once I set to maintain, then that addresses my issues. Thanks to all of you!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I still log my weight, with MFP set to a certain goal weight. My calories only change depending on the exercise I input. There is a neat graph in the app that shows your weight over time, and you can pick what time frame, so you can see your trends.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    DancingMoosie wrote: »
    I still log my weight, with MFP set to a certain goal weight. My calories only change depending on the exercise I input. There is a neat graph in the app that shows your weight over time, and you can pick what time frame, so you can see your trends.

    I do look at the trend
  • jahillegas_51
    jahillegas_51 Posts: 143 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I set my goal at 1800 and don't log exercise. My TDEE is 2200. On easy days, I stick to it and I'm under (and that stops me from going for the ice cream or chocolate). But if I have a bad day, it's not a huge deal.

    Losing too much has never been a worry of mine though, heck I still haven't reached my goal even though I've been maintaining (or lost inches) for 2 years.

    Agreed.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited July 2016
    Bit confused by this...
    The idea of setting a calorie goal based on TDEE scares me a bit because I would end up eating fewer calories than I do using NEAT.
    NEAT + exercise calories is TDEE so you would be eating the same the only difference would be TDEE method is same every day and NEAT + exercise varies day by day. Over time they are the same.

    Why to you feel you need to change methods anyway?

    If you like to eat back exercise calories on the day (I do as well) then carry on - just custom set your base calories until you find your maintenance level.

    Do give yourself time to get used to maintenance, after a while you realise you can relax your iron grip on things whilst still remaining vigilant.

    This is spot on advice from @bioklutz
    Don't complicate things. If your weight is trending down, you are not eating enough. If you are trending up, you are eating too much.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    Why to you feel you need to change methods anyway?

    If you like to eat back exercise calories on the day (I do as well) then carry on - just custom set your base calories until you find your maintenance level.

    Do give yourself time to get used to maintenance, after a while you realise you can relax your iron grip on things whilst still remaining vigilant.

    Giving myself time is key. And trusting myself and the numbers. I've read a lot from folks who have difficulty with maintaining, but I probably am complicating it.

    However, if my TDEE is 2,200 and my NEAT is 2,000, then if I burn 600 calories, I would add that to the NEAT = 2,600. But if I do the TDEE at 2,200 I would be in a deficient. I suppose this evens out over time. I think I will take your advice and just continue with the way things are right now.

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    godlikepoetyes wrote: »

    However, if my TDEE is 2,200 and my NEAT is 2,000, then if I burn 600 calories, I would add that to the NEAT = 2,600. But if I do the TDEE at 2,200 I would be in a deficient. I suppose this evens out over time. I think I will take your advice and just continue with the way things are right now.

    The TDEE method really should be called "the average TDEE method".

    I have a very irregular exercise routine so logging on the day makes far more sense, my TDEE yesterday with a pretty sedentary working day plus strength training was probably about 2250, today with a long cycle ride my TDEE is about 4000.

    Keeping things simple and familiar has advantages - you would be throwing away all your data and experience if you changed methods now.
    Agree about trusting the numbers, that's the way to keep the emotions in check!




  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    godlikepoetyes wrote: »
    One of you guys mentioned not logging my weight when it changes if it falls within my range--now THAT is scary. Truly. However, if MFP doesn't change my calories once I set to maintain, then that addresses my issues. Thanks to all of you!

    I've only been at maintenance for about 4 months or so, so I hear what you're saying about the scary transition! So far, I'm staying in my 120 pounds plus-or-minus 3 range pretty successfully. But it's early times yet!

    I like to update my daily weight in a weight-trending app (I use Libra for Android, but iOS people seem to like Happy Scale, or there's Trendweight, or others). These do some statistical tap-dancing to try to show you whether your fluctuations are trending up or down over a period of time (some let you reset the time period). This is not a panacea - mine will sometimes show me that I'm on a gaining or losing trend when I know I'm not - but it give you another set of inputs.

    I don't update my current or goal weights on MFP anymore (though I can imagine circumstances where I might, if I truly changed my plan).

    I've stuck with NEAT + exercise eating (still logging, since I've proven over many decades that intuitive eating doesn't work well for me). My exercise is uneven by day, and weather-dependent, and seasonal. Plus I get hungrier (usually) on workout days, so it works best for me to continue NEAT.

    I also budget for routine daily calories 200 or so below where I think my true maintenance is, to allow for the occasional bigger-eating days. I just monitor my weight, weight trend, and (in MFP) average daily net/gross calories over the rolling week, as a guide to where I am.

    So far, so good.

    Congratulations on your weight-loss success and good luck in maintenance - enjoy!
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