Is maintaining weight, just as hard as losing weight?

I lost roughly 109 pounds between June of 2014 {326 pounds} and June of 2015 {217 pounds}. I've been maintaining since then.

Maintaining is much much much much harder than losing.

i love this thread.

for me, maintaining has been more difficult for just about all the reasons listed above.

nice to know i am in good company!

i'm just back from a 9 day vacation involving "all you can eat and drink" cruise option - so i'm up 5 lbs and determined as ever to go back to "maintenance" weight. whether it's water weight gain from increased sodium intake or pure fat, it was worth it, and that's life!

i feel like when you're doing all sorts of research on which method of losing weight may work best for you, the focus is 100% on the process of loss instead of how you're going to think/feel/behave once you get there.

before my vacation, i felt old habits creeping in. i got lazy with logging, thinking i knew what 4 oz of pork loin looked like, etc. i think that sets me up for slow weight gain. the weighing/logging keeps me accountable.

so yeah, more difficult for me, because once the fanfare of hitting that goal weight died - you just don't have as much momentum/motivation to keep up with the logging so critical to keeping on your daily goal.

good luck, everyone! you are an inspiration to me

I've been at 'maintenance' for three months after losing 45 pounds. It's definitely a big adjustment. I'd made the investment to workout with a trainer at a specialty gym that's all one-on-one but couldn't afford that indefinitely. I gave myself three months to get used to being able to eat increased calories and have now switched to a 'box' gym. My current challenge is developing a good workout routine. Having a set appointment with a trainer I'd paid so much for really helped me stay accountable. I did my first class today - Les Mills Body Pump. I'm going to be hurting tomorrow! I think I'll do better if I plan one or two weeks ahead what/when my workouts will be.

Maintaining seems to be harder than loosing. Looking for some practical tips.

I don't think of maintenance as harder or easier - either one is just a process I need to stick with over the long haul in order to achieve my goals.

During weight loss, it was a matter of tracking calories, nutrition & activity, adjusting to keep the weight trending down.

In maintenance, I get more calories (yay!), and I need to track calories, nutrition & activity in order to stay in my goal weight range (for me, goal weight plus or minus 3 pounds, which encompasses normal daily fluctuations).

Psychologically, it might have been harder to maintain, but I learned a lot during weight loss about how to eat in a healthful way while staying full, energetic & happy. That learning is serving me well in maintenance.

Granted, it's early times - I've only been maintaining for 6-7 months. But it's going just fine so far.

@STLBADGIRL - Thank you! I think that was actually one of the most interesting things about these past 18 months. I had never exercised before or ever enjoyed working out. I would join gyms and never go. I think I took one spin class and walked out after 10 minutes. Or I would typically try one class, be so out of shape that I would physically not be able to do it, feel horrible, self-conscious, hate it, and never go back again. When I got serious about losing weight last year, one of my friends said, "You have to just be willing to suck for awhile." It ended up being good advice. I kind of relaxed about my starting point and stopped comparing myself to people who had been at this for years. I was not in shape, I was so de-conditioned. My heart rate went up to 172 in the first 3 minutes. Working out was NOT fun or enjoyable. But I stuck with it. Consistently. Feet to the floor, just gotta do it.

And then you start seeing the progression. And one day you're running a minute longer than you could the day before. Or lifting a weight you couldn't even pick up a month ago. Or feeling your core now strong enough to support you for an exercise instead of sagging. And realizing you don't need to do the modification anymore. Now I can barely get my heart rate up to 172, even with intense exercise. A group fitness class is still always challenging, but you get stronger. And it becomes fun to attack new goals or reach new milestones you never thought possible. Now it is my stress relief, my adrenaline burn, my therapy, something I genuinely look forward to doing.

I've also found the more I challenge my body and the more it performs for me, the more motivated I am to fuel it, take care of it, give it good nutrition, get recovery sleep. I went from someone who ordered (not healthy!) takeout every single night to cooking, and trying new things, and being creative in the kitchen.

And I think surrounding yourself with like-minded, supportive, positive people makes a huge difference too. People who inspire to be better, push harder, help others. In all aspects of life, not just health and fitness. I think with enough consistency, somewhere along the way healthy changes shift from feeling strenuous, uncomfortable, unappealing - to habits and routines that make you feel good, energetic, capable..and then it spirals.

Why, yes. Yes it is. You still have to count calories. You still have to work out hard and often. You're not really doing anything differently from weight loss except you get more calories. How many more depends on gender, age, and body size. For me it's...

wait for it....

A WHOPPING 200 MORE! *throws confetti*

So basically for some people it just entails being reasonable; for others it's restriction for life. As a man, you are probably going to be on the less restrictive end of things.