Is maintenance REALLY harder than losing weight?

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  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    crooked_left_hook wrote: »
    I also have expensive taste in clothes so gaining enough to need a bigger size is enough motivation to snap me back into line :)

    Oh yes, not wanting to buy bigger clothes is a HUGE (and incredibly vain) motivator for me. I had to buy EVERYTHING new except for one fleece which was microscopic on me to start with. The thought of having to buy all that again is just too much effort and waaay too much money.
  • glassofroses
    glassofroses Posts: 653 Member
    edited April 2017
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    jennypapage wrote: »
    glassofroses wrote: »
    jennypapage wrote: »
    @glassofroses i agree it does become 2nd nature. And like i said it's really easy to do. But sometimes i find myself feeling a tad annoyed when i have to weigh 3 pieces of an apple, or a tomato, knowing how few calories they actually have. I'd rather save 100-150calories each day just so i won't have to weigh these things. At the moment though i have to weigh everything to make sure i eat enough.I lost a bit more weight than i wanted, and i do not want to drop any lower, but i don't want to gain any either.So for now, i keep weighing everything in order to keep the balance right.

    My comment was more aimed at @crazyycatlady1 than you, but I know what you mean. I can't say that I weigh tomatoes anymore but I don't really eat them with any sort of frequency. Does weighing them make much difference to your overall calorie goal over not weighing them?

    I've been trying to count macros this week which is a whole other ball game but I had someone explain it to me and I finally understand it. I still weigh things but it's just a nice vibe to be counting something other than calories. I'm hoping that the transition into macros will help with the transition to maintenance, just because I can't seem to fuel my body on calorie counting because I just fill myself with carbs. Love carbs. :wink: Macro counting means structure, high carb structure, mind, :tongue: and I have to hit or get as close to my protein as possible. It's going pretty well so far. She says on Day 3. XD

    well it can be tomatoes, or onions, or any of that sort of little thing.well the thing is i like knowing exactly how much i can eat.Because it helps to know how much of the "good stuff" i can eat. A tomato can be the difference between a 28gram cookie instead of a 27gram cookie. Thus a bigger cookie for me.So i keep weighing :smiley:

    I don't count macros faithfully, but try to get as close as possible.Sometimes i'll be low on carbs and "complain" to my boyfriend that i had to eat chocolate and cookies just to reach my carb goal, because tomorrow is a running day. I love these days! :smiley:

    Oh I see. I don't eat cookies -- 'trigger' food, can't moderate them so I just don't eat them. Then you must always believe in the love the of the cookie, even when you're frustrated. :lol:

    Yes, I know these days too. Like today, I have to eat apple pie popcorn to get to my carb goal. So terrible. Much pain. So do you low carb the day before a run so you can high carb that day?

    I tried on and off with macros, tbh, because I didn't quite understand them but I really think this new perspective is going to work for me. Before I was eating to not gain weight and eating what I liked, which is fine, but I have goals I want to reach and I need different kinds of food for that. I have had to break out the protein powder which I wasn't too happy about but if you need it, you need it. Add a bit of ice and call it a milkshake. :lol:
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
    edited April 2017
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    glassofroses wrote: »
    jennypapage wrote: »
    glassofroses wrote: »
    jennypapage wrote: »
    @glassofroses i agree it does become 2nd nature. And like i said it's really easy to do. But sometimes i find myself feeling a tad annoyed when i have to weigh 3 pieces of an apple, or a tomato, knowing how few calories they actually have. I'd rather save 100-150calories each day just so i won't have to weigh these things. At the moment though i have to weigh everything to make sure i eat enough.I lost a bit more weight than i wanted, and i do not want to drop any lower, but i don't want to gain any either.So for now, i keep weighing everything in order to keep the balance right.

    My comment was more aimed at @crazyycatlady1 than you, but I know what you mean. I can't say that I weigh tomatoes anymore but I don't really eat them with any sort of frequency. Does weighing them make much difference to your overall calorie goal over not weighing them?

    I've been trying to count macros this week which is a whole other ball game but I had someone explain it to me and I finally understand it. I still weigh things but it's just a nice vibe to be counting something other than calories. I'm hoping that the transition into macros will help with the transition to maintenance, just because I can't seem to fuel my body on calorie counting because I just fill myself with carbs. Love carbs. :wink: Macro counting means structure, high carb structure, mind, :tongue: and I have to hit or get as close to my protein as possible. It's going pretty well so far. She says on Day 3. XD

    well it can be tomatoes, or onions, or any of that sort of little thing.well the thing is i like knowing exactly how much i can eat.Because it helps to know how much of the "good stuff" i can eat. A tomato can be the difference between a 28gram cookie instead of a 27gram cookie. Thus a bigger cookie for me.So i keep weighing :smiley:

    I don't count macros faithfully, but try to get as close as possible.Sometimes i'll be low on carbs and "complain" to my boyfriend that i had to eat chocolate and cookies just to reach my carb goal, because tomorrow is a running day. I love these days! :smiley:

    Oh I see. I don't eat cookies -- 'trigger' food, can't moderate them so I just don't eat them. Then you must always believe in the love the of the cookie, even when you're frustrated. :lol:

    Yes, I know these days too. Like today, I have to eat apple pie popcorn to get to my carb goal. So terrible. Much pain. So do you low carb the day before a run so you can high carb that day?

    I tried on and off with macros, tbh, because I didn't quite understand them but I really think this new perspective is going to work for me. Before I was eating to not gain weight and eating what I liked, which is fine, but I have goals I want to reach and I need different kinds of food for that. I have had to break out the protein powder which I wasn't too happy about but if you need it, you need it. Add a bit of ice and call it a milkshake. :lol:

    No i do high carb the day before my run in order to get the energy i need to fuel it.The other days i don't pay attention to my carbs,so i can go as low as half the recommended amount and not care.
    After many months of resisting, eventually i caved in and bought some protein powder myself. It's just too hard to reach my protein goals without it some days.Fat i can do easily, but protein, nope.
  • glassofroses
    glassofroses Posts: 653 Member
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    jennypapage wrote: »
    glassofroses wrote: »
    jennypapage wrote: »
    glassofroses wrote: »
    jennypapage wrote: »
    @glassofroses i agree it does become 2nd nature. And like i said it's really easy to do. But sometimes i find myself feeling a tad annoyed when i have to weigh 3 pieces of an apple, or a tomato, knowing how few calories they actually have. I'd rather save 100-150calories each day just so i won't have to weigh these things. At the moment though i have to weigh everything to make sure i eat enough.I lost a bit more weight than i wanted, and i do not want to drop any lower, but i don't want to gain any either.So for now, i keep weighing everything in order to keep the balance right.

    My comment was more aimed at @crazyycatlady1 than you, but I know what you mean. I can't say that I weigh tomatoes anymore but I don't really eat them with any sort of frequency. Does weighing them make much difference to your overall calorie goal over not weighing them?

    I've been trying to count macros this week which is a whole other ball game but I had someone explain it to me and I finally understand it. I still weigh things but it's just a nice vibe to be counting something other than calories. I'm hoping that the transition into macros will help with the transition to maintenance, just because I can't seem to fuel my body on calorie counting because I just fill myself with carbs. Love carbs. :wink: Macro counting means structure, high carb structure, mind, :tongue: and I have to hit or get as close to my protein as possible. It's going pretty well so far. She says on Day 3. XD

    well it can be tomatoes, or onions, or any of that sort of little thing.well the thing is i like knowing exactly how much i can eat.Because it helps to know how much of the "good stuff" i can eat. A tomato can be the difference between a 28gram cookie instead of a 27gram cookie. Thus a bigger cookie for me.So i keep weighing :smiley:

    I don't count macros faithfully, but try to get as close as possible.Sometimes i'll be low on carbs and "complain" to my boyfriend that i had to eat chocolate and cookies just to reach my carb goal, because tomorrow is a running day. I love these days! :smiley:

    Oh I see. I don't eat cookies -- 'trigger' food, can't moderate them so I just don't eat them. Then you must always believe in the love the of the cookie, even when you're frustrated. :lol:

    Yes, I know these days too. Like today, I have to eat apple pie popcorn to get to my carb goal. So terrible. Much pain. So do you low carb the day before a run so you can high carb that day?

    I tried on and off with macros, tbh, because I didn't quite understand them but I really think this new perspective is going to work for me. Before I was eating to not gain weight and eating what I liked, which is fine, but I have goals I want to reach and I need different kinds of food for that. I have had to break out the protein powder which I wasn't too happy about but if you need it, you need it. Add a bit of ice and call it a milkshake. :lol:

    No i do high carb the day before my run in order to get the energy i need to fuel it.The other days i don't pay attention to my carbs,so i can go as low as half the recommended amount and not care.
    After many months of resisting, eventually i caved in and bought some protein powder myself. It's just too hard to reach my protein goals without it some days.Fat i can do easily, but protein, nope.

    That's why I asked because to go low carb before a run didn't make any sense. :lol: I'm trying to be more consistent with my running as I'm doing a Race For Life 5k again this year in July and I want to take 3 minutes off my time (1 for every mile) but mostly it's just a time issue as I'm doing my normal martial arts training as well as trying to incorporate more resistance training on top and then runs on top of that. Busy busy beaver.

    I was dead against it when I was trying all different kinds of whey protein because it gave me such tummy ache. Moving to casein, which historically gives people tummy ache and whey doesn't :lol:, has been so much better for me. The Bulk Powders (UK brand) chocolate casein is my favourite. I just wish they did more flavours in it like they do the whey protein. Apple crumble sounds awesome. :smiley:
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
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    i don't want to spend too much money on the protein powder so my only options are vanilla and strawberry.the vanilla one is awesome though and i've been mixing it with my oatmeal lately.also used it for a low.cal.protein cheesecake which was also great.dessert and reaching your protein goals at once.i would love me a coffee flavoured one,or banana (i'm a simple gal :smile: )
  • cs2thecox
    cs2thecox Posts: 533 Member
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    I find I need some kind of structure, or things slip.
    Now, that's macros and aiming to see my abs, so a bit more body fat to lose to make that happen.
    Also, I want to up my bench press, so I have that to work towards too.

    I found it really hard having no goal at all, so if you're someone who likes a goal to feel motivated then maybe just switch to a different metric once you've hit goal weight. There are plenty out there! :smile:
  • juliemargaretkim
    juliemargaretkim Posts: 206 Member
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    I'm in maintenance now -- though to be honest, I wouldn't mind losing another 3-5 lbs. to have that "cushion" -- I'm at 120 (SW was 152) and my husband is at 172 (SW was 199) so we have both been ecstatic with having lost the pounds (and stomachs!) and we weigh ourselves every day. I don't see that changing. We center our meals (especially dinner) around huge (HUGE) salads, we've given up salad dressing (add in sauteed mushrooms/veggies and guacamole and/or salsa -- stuff like that instead) and add protein. I don't see that changing. We've done lifestyle changes -- and we're sticking to them. The weighing in daily(every morning), for us, is the key. It keeps us "honest" -- and supportive of each other. I am starting to feel that I'm glad the "losing" part is mostly over. It's great to be where we are now -- and I am never going back. And it's a relief to have done it. I'm 59, he's 62, and all things are possible. No meds for us!-- we're healthy now, and I think that's what's going to guide us in this next phase. I do yoga (power yoga), he's a runner (again) and we both bike all summer long. It's all easier at this weight so I think (and I hope I'm right) that maintenance is just going to be easier. It's how we live now.
  • irxproductions
    irxproductions Posts: 28 Member
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    I think the biggest challenge for maintaining my weight for me is losing that "I hit my goal!" motivation. I ended up losing about 15-20 pounds more than my goal weight, so now I just fluctuate between 140-150 (my goal weight was 160).

    I'll put on a few pounds, and then I'll take it back off again. On the bright side, now I take the opportunity to splurge at special occasions like birthdays and holidays because I have the confidence that I'll be able to get the weight back off again.

    But, yeah, maintenance is definitely not as rewarding as weight loss. Results are a huge motivator.
  • glassofroses
    glassofroses Posts: 653 Member
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    jennypapage wrote: »
    i don't want to spend too much money on the protein powder so my only options are vanilla and strawberry.the vanilla one is awesome though and i've been mixing it with my oatmeal lately.also used it for a low.cal.protein cheesecake which was also great.dessert and reaching your protein goals at once.i would love me a coffee flavoured one,or banana (i'm a simple gal :smile: )

    Apparently some people add their protein powder to their coffee. My brother does it on occasion with unflavoured protein if he's in a hurry. I'm going to try and expand into protein powder cooking, just not cheesecake as I don't like it. :lol: Not a huge fan of pancakes either, so I think cookies will probably be the way to go.

    TBH, I'm struggling to find that sweet spot of maintenance as I got on the scale the other day at 147.4, steadily down from 149 in the space of a week despite being on a reverse diet regime. I'm 5'10 so I really don't want to be less than 145 so I will just have to up my calories by 100 again this week and probably next. Who'd have thought that when I started my weight loss my biggest problem would be making it stop. :lol:
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
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    glassofroses wrote: »
    jennypapage wrote: »
    i don't want to spend too much money on the protein powder so my only options are vanilla and strawberry.the vanilla one is awesome though and i've been mixing it with my oatmeal lately.also used it for a low.cal.protein cheesecake which was also great.dessert and reaching your protein goals at once.i would love me a coffee flavoured one,or banana (i'm a simple gal :smile: )

    Apparently some people add their protein powder to their coffee. My brother does it on occasion with unflavoured protein if he's in a hurry. I'm going to try and expand into protein powder cooking, just not cheesecake as I don't like it. :lol: Not a huge fan of pancakes either, so I think cookies will probably be the way to go.

    TBH, I'm struggling to find that sweet spot of maintenance as I got on the scale the other day at 147.4, steadily down from 149 in the space of a week despite being on a reverse diet regime. I'm 5'10 so I really don't want to be less than 145 so I will just have to up my calories by 100 again this week and probably next. Who'd have thought that when I started my weight loss my biggest problem would be making it stop. :lol:

    i don't drink coffee,so haven't tried that, but when i eat greek yoghurt, i add protein powder in it together with some fruit (or no fruit).It makes the yoghurt sweet, so it doesn't need any honey or anything like that to make it yummy.
    I'm always looking for ways to incorporate protein powder in my meals and i have some interesting ideas for the future. Cookies seem like a good idea.
    Yes, finding the right cals for maintenance is challenging, i think i found mine. As long as i stay within a range i'm happy. It's still hard seeing the scale go up though, i'm not gonna lie.

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