Afraid to add maintenance calories

Tiifu · December 2017

I lost all the weight I intended on losing, but now that I've hit goal, I still feel chubby! I set a new goal for 3 lbs less than my original, and I don't see myself being satisfied there, either.

I know it's irrational, but I'm afraid that my body's gotten used to such a small amount of food and I'll gain at what should be maintenance. And I'm not even sure I want to stop losing. I think I look fine in certain lightings and poses, but I still have fat on my stomach I'm not happy with. Do I just have an unhealthy relationship with the mirror? Am I on my way to a downward spiral? At 5'5 and 117 lbs, I'm not sure I have enough left to lose to like how i look before I'll be out of my healthy bmi range.

I don't want to hurt myself, but the thought of adding more calories freaks me out. Does anyone have advice?

Tania_181 · December 2017

I felt nervous too but then once I added my extra calories back in it didn’t feel like a major change (I was only on a 250 deficit at the end of my diet). I don’t know how large your deficit has been but you could start slowly by adding an extra 100 calories at a time, until you’ve gradually increased to your maintenance calories.

Nony_Mouse · December 2017

You're probably at a point where you should be looking at recomping - eat at maintenance and engage in a progressive strength training plan. You're basically at the bottom of your healthy weight range, so definitely shouldn't be trying to lose more weight.

aemsley05 · December 2017

Don't worry - lots of people aren't totally happy when they hit goal. What was your goal based on? My original goal was the top end of a healthy BMI but when I got there I wasn't happy so I changed my goal to the middle of my healthy BMI range, which was around 20lb lower. Even after hitting this goal, I don't look in the mirror and think "ah, perfect! I'm done!" - there's always room for improvement. You may want to look into doing a recomp so you can eat at maintenance, stay around the same weight but trade some of that fat for muscle to improve the way your body looks. There's plenty of threads and advice on recomping and lifting programmes on here if you're interested.

As to adding in the calories, yes, it's terrifying! I second adding them in slowly. As I approached my goal weight, I changed the MFP rate of loss at various stages and started eating back more exercise calories to work up to the maintenance number slowly so it wasn't so scary. Even at maintenance it takes some playing around to figure out your real maintenance number, since MFP can only give an estimate. Be patient, don't freak out when the scale goes up because it will at times and that's normal. I recommend using a weight trending app (Libra or Happy Scale) to help keep you sane and keep on track. Remember also that maintenance isn't one specific weight - set a range (most people do a 5lb range) to stay between. Add more calories if you hit the lower end, remove some if you hit the higher end.

Good luck - maintenance is a lot harder mentally than you expect when losing! But there's plenty of help, advice and people in similar situations on these forums to give you all the support you need. You got this

Tiifu · December 2017

So it's normal to not feel small enough at a low BMI if you're not toned?

I've been this weight before, it's not that much lower than the 125 range i maintained for years with no effort. I decided i needed to lose weight when the scale crept up to over 130. When I started MFP I found it easy and decided to go all out with it and go even lower than my normal weight that I looked pretty thick at.

Tbh though my specific goal was based on Marylin Monroe's weight according to google, haha. I figure that we're about the same height, and she looked great. I know that she did strength training, but I don't have access to a gym (broke), and when I tried to look up workouts, none of it seemed beginner friendly. It was like people were speaking a language I don't understand and it's all very intimidating. Do you know of resources for people who don't know even the basics?

Tiifu · December 2017

Oh and also, I had been losing 1-2 lbs a week until now. Would it be unhealthy to keep at a deficit until Christmas so inevitable festivities even out?

jyeager5188 · December 2017

It's so nice to know I'm not alone. I lost almost 100 pounds over the past year, but it's not the first time. I've never been able to maintain a healthy weight for more than 2-3 years. Now that I'm down again, I just wish I didn't have to eat at all. I'm terrified of gaining the weight back to the point of obsessing with caloric intake and the number on the bathroom scale. I'm hoping to learn from you all how to proceed. No one in my life understands. Thank you!

Nudgey02 · December 2017

Tiifu wrote: »

So it's normal to not feel small enough at a low BMI if you're not toned?

I've been this weight before, it's not that much lower than the 125 range i maintained for years with no effort. I decided i needed to lose weight when the scale crept up to over 130. When I started MFP I found it easy and decided to go all out with it and go even lower than my normal weight that I looked pretty thick at.

Tbh though my specific goal was based on Marylin Monroe's weight according to google, haha. I figure that we're about the same height, and she looked great. I know that she did strength training, but I don't have access to a gym (broke), and when I tried to look up workouts, none of it seemed beginner friendly. It was like people were speaking a language I don't understand and it's all very intimidating. Do you know of resources for people who don't know even the basics?

Tiifu look up Joe Wicks 'The Body Coach' on you tube. He does 15-30 min home work out sessions that are very good, he shows you exactly what to do, they are mainly body weight excercises or some with minimal equipment such as dumb bells and resistance band.

Aw0627 · December 2017

I'm exactly the same I still have a bit of fat on my gut but if I lose any more I'll be considered underweight according to my BMI, but I'm scared to go into maintenance because it feels like I'll gain it all back

lorrpb · December 2017

Reset MFP for maintenance and follow what it gives you. Cross check based on your loss rate for the past month. If you've been losing the recommended .5 lb per week, then add back 250 cals to your daily goal. If you've been losing faster than that, add back 200 per week til you get to your range. Deal with the math and don't let your feelings overrule rational action. I was losing so slowly at the the end, I barely added any calories for maintenance. Just an extra dessert each week and maybe an extra glass or 2 of wine.

Set yourself a 5-10 lb range. When you get to either end of it, adjust your calories til you get back to mid range.

Consider the worst-case scenario: You add 250 per day and after a month you find that you've gained 2 lbs that is not part of your normal fluctuation pattern. What do you do? You don't just keep eating and gaining, you cut back 100-200 calories and see how that works the next month. Problem solved. You really have to watch the trend for about a month because water and TOM fluctuations are more visible in maintenance.

Tiifu · December 2017

I guess that worst case scenario doesn't sound all that bad. If I have to lose a couple of lbs again, it's not a huge deal, I even admitted that I found the process of losing to be simple. Thanks for the perspective

SeikoMonster · December 2017

lorrpb wrote: »

Consider the worst-case scenario: You add 250 per day and after a month you find that you've gained 2 lbs that is not part of your normal fluctuation pattern. What do you do? You don't just keep eating and gaining, you cut back 100-200 calories and see how that works the next month. Problem solved. You really have to watch the trend for about a month because water and TOM fluctuations are more visible in maintenance.

Thank you for that reality check. I'm a few months away from my goal,and have been nervously starting to figure out my plan for the switch over to maintain.

When you put it that way, removes quite a bit of the anxiety for me. It's no big deal, I've lost 300. 2-3 is quick and easy!

LivingtheLeanDream · December 2017

at 5ft 5, 117lbs is a low weight. Time for a recomp rather than losing more weight. Add some muscle and you'll feel happier about your body.

Add an extra 250 cals a day at least - before you know it you will really enjoy getting those extra calories.
There's really nothing to be anxious about when in maintenance, its still the same process as when losing except we just get to eat a little more. Keep an eye on weight trend over time and adjust intake up or down if necessary.

AnnPT77 · December 2017

Tiifu wrote: »

So it's normal to not feel small enough at a low BMI if you're not toned?

I've been this weight before, it's not that much lower than the 125 range i maintained for years with no effort. I decided i needed to lose weight when the scale crept up to over 130. When I started MFP I found it easy and decided to go all out with it and go even lower than my normal weight that I looked pretty thick at.

Tbh though my specific goal was based on Marylin Monroe's weight according to google, haha. I figure that we're about the same height, and she looked great. I know that she did strength training, but I don't have access to a gym (broke), and when I tried to look up workouts, none of it seemed beginner friendly. It was like people were speaking a language I don't understand and it's all very intimidating. Do you know of resources for people who don't know even the basics?

In case you haven't seen them before, below are two other threads that are excellent, and may be helpful to you.

This one is about picking a strength training program and includes beginner programs that don't have high start-up costs:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you

This one is about eating at maintenance calories while strength training to gradually lose more fat and gain muscle in order to look leaner at the same weight (called "recomposition"):

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

Afraid to add maintenance calories

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