Maintenance Day

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ferd_ttp5
ferd_ttp5 Posts: 246 Member
edited April 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone here do some maintenance days on their weight loss in occassions?, because for me its hard to stick on my calorie budget on a full day party or celebration if im still on weight loss deficit, I find out if i switch my calorie goal to maintenance its easy for me to stick on my calorie plus calorie bank for extra more and it doesn't pissed me off because i didn't over eat over my calorie goal.

Replies

  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    edited April 2017
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    I do it all the time for special occasions. You are allowed to do whatever you want as long as you track it and don't start lying to yourself. (you can do that too if you want, just don't whine about lack of progress if you do... :smiley: )
  • ferd_ttp5
    ferd_ttp5 Posts: 246 Member
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    4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »
    I do it all the time for special occasions. You are allowed to do whatever you want as long as you track it and don't start lying to yourself. (you can do that too if you want, just don't whine about lack of progress if you do... :smiley: )
    Thanks for kind reply :) i try to exercise more so i can eat more without restriction

  • SiegfriedXXL
    SiegfriedXXL Posts: 219 Member
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    Yup. I take breaks all the time. My eye is on the prize and I'm losing steadily but things come up, holidays, parties, what have you. Then I'll eat at maintenance or even over and move on the next day.

    I'm not able to exercise too intensely but I'll make sure I get my walks in that day as well.
  • ferd_ttp5
    ferd_ttp5 Posts: 246 Member
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    SiegfriedXXL wrote: »
    Yup. I take breaks all the time. My eye is on the prize and I'm losing steadily but things come up, holidays, parties, what have you. Then I'll eat at maintenance or even over and move on the next day.

    I'm not able to exercise too intensely but I'll make sure I get my walks in that day as well.
    Thanks for kind answer :smile:

  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    I do. It's part of life. It doesn't happen often, but a legit special occasion I will go over calories or eat at maintenance. I took two weeks in December and ate at maintenance and it did a world of good emotionally during the holidays. Ya gotta live life the best you can, and sometimes the reality is eating more.
  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
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    Now that I'm very near my weight goal, I more or less aim for maintenance on the weekends.
  • mlinci
    mlinci Posts: 403 Member
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    I've been doing it throughout my weight loss over the last year and a half, and I think occasional eating at maintenance really helped me. I was at a consistent deficit only the first couple of months, and then I incorporated occasionally eating at or slightly over maintenance. Probably about once a week at maintenance (~2000), and once a fortnight or at least once per month over maintenance (~2400)
    - I wasn't in a hurry to lose; it also helped me focus on weight loss as something that's for the long run, a marathon rather than a sprint.
    - I refused, REFUSED to call those days cheat days. I think that's the stupidest expression ever. I like eating, I continue to love eating after my weight loss, and I always log what I eat, whether under or over. No cheating is involved.
    - I tried to save the extra calories for foods that are worth it. Supermarket biscuits or donuts? I'll probably pass. Homemade cake? Yes please. Couple of months ago a friend of mine made a fantastic bread and butter pudding with orange marmalade. It was glorious. I had a double serving, with custard. It was worth it :). But I'm managing to mostly say no to chocolate chip biscuits at work.
    - I think occasionally eating at maintenance also teaches you what maintenance will look like, which is a good thing.
    - It might be also good from the point of view of replenishing glycogen levels, but I'm not entirely sure I understand how it works, so that's very tentative.

    FYI, I'm 41, 5'5, SW 185, GW/CW 139, moderately active (11000 steps a day on average but no other exercise)
  • ferd_ttp5
    ferd_ttp5 Posts: 246 Member
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    mlinci wrote: »
    I've been doing it throughout my weight loss over the last year and a half, and I think occasional eating at maintenance really helped me. I was at a consistent deficit only the first couple of months, and then I incorporated occasionally eating at or slightly over maintenance. Probably about once a week at maintenance (~2000), and once a fortnight or at least once per month over maintenance (~2400)
    - I wasn't in a hurry to lose; it also helped me focus on weight loss as something that's for the long run, a marathon rather than a sprint.
    - I refused, REFUSED to call those days cheat days. I think that's the stupidest expression ever. I like eating, I continue to love eating after my weight loss, and I always log what I eat, whether under or over. No cheating is involved.
    - I tried to save the extra calories for foods that are worth it. Supermarket biscuits or donuts? I'll probably pass. Homemade cake? Yes please. Couple of months ago a friend of mine made a fantastic bread and butter pudding with orange marmalade. It was glorious. I had a double serving, with custard. It was worth it :). But I'm managing to mostly say no to chocolate chip biscuits at work.
    - I think occasionally eating at maintenance also teaches you what maintenance will look like, which is a good thing.
    - It might be also good from the point of view of replenishing glycogen levels, but I'm not entirely sure I understand how it works, so that's very tentative.

    FYI, I'm 41, 5'5, SW 185, GW/CW 139, moderately active (11000 steps a day on average but no other exercise)
    Thanks for sharing it to me.

  • bobbimrn
    bobbimrn Posts: 74 Member
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    Not to sound dumb but how did you guys figure out your maintenance calories? Did you erase your MFP numbers & then put them in again?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Saturday and Sunday are both maintenance days...I take two per week.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    bobbimrn wrote: »
    Not to sound dumb but how did you guys figure out your maintenance calories? Did you erase your MFP numbers & then put them in again?

    Change your goal to maintain and save it. The set it back to what you want to lose once you have the number.

    Just be warned if you have set macro goals, they get reset to the defaults if you play with it in this way so you'll have to reset them as well.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    bobbimrn wrote: »
    Not to sound dumb but how did you guys figure out your maintenance calories? Did you erase your MFP numbers & then put them in again?

    Any number of online calculators will give you an estimate. I figured mine when I actually went to maintenance...I've more or less been in maintenance for about 4 years save for the 8-10 Lbs I put on every winter. I'm cutting the winter weight right now and usually eat maintenance or close to it on the weekend.
  • FreyasRebirth
    FreyasRebirth Posts: 514 Member
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    Oh yeah. Parts of my cycle make me really hungry so I just switch my goal to maintenance temporarily. Maybe I won't lose as quickly but I'm still in a long-term deficit and it keeps me from giving up and going overboard.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    Yup, I think it's a great way to stay on track and make the process more sustainable.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
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    I just look at weekly average. I try to "bank" 800-1000 extra calories for Friday or Saturday. So I have 1-2 maintenance or even well beyond days a week. Makes it easy to fit in the higher calorie items that I want.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    bobbimrn wrote: »
    Not to sound dumb but how did you guys figure out your maintenance calories? Did you erase your MFP numbers & then put them in again?

    I like this TDEE calculator, it's quite comprehensive: http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

    (Maintenance = TDEE by the way).

    And yes, you'll need to manually set your calorie goal and change your macros.
  • Pam_Shebamm
    Pam_Shebamm Posts: 167 Member
    edited April 2017
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    I eat at maintenance every Friday. On Saturdays and Sundays I eat a smaller defecit as well.

    I'll also eat at maintenance for special occasions, and the majority of the stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
  • ActivatedAlm0nds
    ActivatedAlm0nds Posts: 169 Member
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    I started 5:2 so I could have more maintenance days. :p

    There are days where I'll just eat over it.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    I'm actually heading into a diet break where I will be eating at maintenance for a week or two starting Wednesday April the 13th. I have been on a deficit since the beginning of the year, and it's partly to restore my hormones and to also restore my mental sanity.

    It's also my birthday on the 13th so I can celebrate with friends a bit easier. :)
  • bobbimrn
    bobbimrn Posts: 74 Member
    edited April 2017
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    Thanks guys for "how to" help! This is a really, really helpful idea! I would have never thought of it & hadn't seen this before......Now on those special occasions when I want more- I can eat more & not feel guilty, because it was "planned". Feeling guilty can lead to bingeing.

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