How do you maintain weight successfully?

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yanie55
yanie55 Posts: 2 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
To maintain weight successfully, do you give yourself a range of pounds you can gain and then lose? For instance, if you're maintained weight is140 lbs, do you say I'll only get to 143 lbs then lose the three pounds? I hope I'm making sense! Lol

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  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I go by how clothes fit and count calories. I've gained a few pounds actually but lost inches, so I don't really care about what the scale says.
  • orange_hoodie
    orange_hoodie Posts: 65 Member
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    Thats exactly what I've done for the past year. I've learned that I can maintain without counting calories, but I usually need to count if I'm going to loose. For maintenance I give myself a five pound window that I aim to stay in the middle of. If I go over, it's back to counting calories. If I go under, I revise my five pound window.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    yanie55 wrote: »
    To maintain weight successfully, do you give yourself a range of pounds you can gain and then lose? For instance, if you're maintained weight is140 lbs, do you say I'll only get to 143 lbs then lose the three pounds? I hope I'm making sense! Lol

    You have to have a range....body weight isn't static...nobody weighs exactly XXX Lbs...you will always and forever have varying degrees of water retention/release, waste, etc. Body weight is always in flux...don't confuse weight with fat...body weight is made up of far more than fat.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,980 Member
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    yanie55 wrote: »
    To maintain weight successfully, do you give yourself a range of pounds you can gain and then lose? For instance, if you're maintained weight is140 lbs, do you say I'll only get to 143 lbs then lose the three pounds? I hope I'm making sense! Lol

    That is exactly what you need to do.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    I have a cap of 140#. If I reach that (hoping never again), then it's back to eating less. I still have a long way to go before needing a low number.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    I have a goal range of +/-3 lbs
    I weigh myself regularly.
    I eat all foods but stay consistently within maintenance calories the majority of the time.
    I workout most days - keeping active has been key to me maintaining my goal range for almost 4 years now.
    I am inclined to look at weekly calories rather than daily totals.
  • crzycatlady1
    crzycatlady1 Posts: 1,930 Member
    edited November 2016
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    Yes, I have a 5lb maintenance 'window'. My weight fluctuates daily but if it gets above/below that 5lb range and then stay for a few days, then I adjust my calorie intake to get back into my window.
  • LVNF04
    LVNF04 Posts: 2,607 Member
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    I've been maintaining a weight of 200-205lbs for almost a year, I exercise every day, (walking, weights, biking, shadow boxing, aerobics, pushups). Some days more than others, the other thing is I usually watch what I eat, meaning I stay away from fast food, junk food, bread, rice, noodles, cereal. I usually eat to maintain my protein goals. Sometimes I can't afford food, so I look at it as fasting periods, and I drink water or low cal mixes with water, never juice or soda. I sometimes cheat, but not go overboard. Some people suggest you eat 6 times a day, others say you have to follow a certain type of exercise, I don't have a gym membership, and I don't follow a specific diet, but I got results. I don't consider my lifestyle anything that anyone should follow, but it works for me.
  • Kamperd
    Kamperd Posts: 10 Member
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    Basically, for me +/-4or 6 pounds, I will automatically catch up with my daily diet and exercise when I'm over 4 pounds with my standard weight. I drink more water and exercise regularly to maintain my body.
  • antdelsa
    antdelsa Posts: 174 Member
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    Best place to start is establishing maintenance calories, this will help you achieve a maintenance weight.

    When we want to lose weight we go on a caloric deficit but tend to drop waaaaaaay too low not understanding that the calories we consumed while over weight is what our bodies have established as our maintenance calories, when we go to a super low deficit this of course allows weight to be lost but it also establishes an unhealthy amount of maintenance calories that is usually too low

    For example say before any weight loss or calorie counting, you ate whatever whenever and had a daily calorie consumption of 4000... well you decide to lose weight and drop to like 1500.. this is a drastic deficit and soon our bodies will establish that 1500 as our maintenance calories, we hit a plateau and stop losing, what do you have to do next? Eat less calories right? ..NO!!! Most people get this wrong, when trying to lose weight we first should establish a healthy maintenance calorie goal, if you are used to eating 4000 calories a day then dropping to 2500 is a 1500 calorie deficit this will equal weight loss, now the good part is when you plateau you can comfortably drop another 3-500 calories, not starve and still lose weight, when you are your desired weight then you just continue to eat healthy and exercise as usual, you shouldn't add more than the normal 2-4lbs water weight

    Idk if this helps but for me I've had success doing this, its consistent and healthy and easily achievable, for me its all about adherence and i think sometimes people go so extreme that it makes that part impossible

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