Maintainers - what was the most important thing you learned this year?
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To plan for a treat every day so that I don't feel deprived.4
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All that matters is eating a maximum amount of calories and a minimum amount of protein.
(Caveat - within reason, don't cut out or go single digit %s on fat and/or carbs, and loosely monitor things like saturated fats, sodium, sugar, etc. so that you aren't getting excessive)3 -
That it's not the end of the world that I have gained 15-20 pounds over my maintenance range. I know how to lose it.
I threw myself a 6 month "pity party" due to medical issues - herniated a disk in my lower back that required surgery, started healing and had a small bowel obstruction that required emergency surgery, started healing, then had to have a cervical disk replaced, started healing and an idiot ran a red light and t-boned my car causing a tear in my rotator cuff. See how my year went? I guess I should be grateful I only gained as much as I did!16 -
As I approach two years since joining MFP, I have gradually learned that it truly is a “friend” here to help me, not to rule me. Meaning, it makes life more manageable not having to guess at calories. By putting it in the log, it’s off my mind and I can focus my energies on other things. It’s one less thing to worry about.7
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That I really need to limit sweets and desserts unfortunately and can't really afford days off.
That it's much harder to go back to a deficit to lose the 20 lbs that you gained back because you're much hungrier than when you lost those last 20 lbs the first time.
That tastes can change after 3 years and it's much harder to eat healthy when eggs make you gag and you'd rather be hungry than eat vegetables...4 -
This year was a weird one.
My health was fine but, between having to go stay with my sons family for 5 weeks during a medical emergency, and travelling to the UK twice (4 weeks each time) to celebrate my mum's 90th birthday, my fitness level certainly dropped - no problems maintaining weight.
What I learnt was- family is far more important than being in the gym every day to maintain the level of fitness I have enjoyed these past few years.
Both my cardio and strength training suffered. I have found my cardio picked up really fast, and my lifting will probably be back on track early next year once I get a chance to settle back into my routine.
I almost lost my son, and celebrated still having my mum. Compared to these a small setback in my personal fitness goals is a drop in the ocean.
Cheers, h.30 -
Great thread! I love all these answers. I am just a week into maintenance so I really need all of this advice!3
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Gosh what a tough question. I honestly can't think of anything.1
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Thanks for sharing all these things about maintenance. Very helpful.0
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Love all awesome answers
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To build in snacks of my favorite foods every day.3
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All I learned was from Conan The Barbarian. "Crush your enemies! See them driven before you and hear the lamentations of the women!" Lol2
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February marks 2 years on MFP for me. Like @middlehaitch, I learned that sometimes family/friends are more important than your gym time or healthy meal. I learned that it's OK for the scale to go UP, not to be tied to a number but to use other forms of measurement. I learned that consistency trumps motivation always. And most of all, that staying on here is paramount for me to keep up said consistency.8
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If you don't exercise low calories don't matter. Losing is all about calories. Maintenance is about exercise.6
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Need to get my *kitten* together.If you don't exercise low calories don't matter. Losing is all about calories. Maintenance is about exercise.
And this. Absolutely can't maintain if I don't exercise. As much as I like exercising, I honestly hate the pressure of HAVING to do it every day though (but the prospect of having only 1700 calories to eat is worse).5 -
I learned that I have more energy and feel better now that I adjusted my macros to more carbs and less fat and protein. Everyone is different, you can’t read this in a book, you have to try till you get it right for you, not what someone else works for them. Calories can stay the sane but macros can be adjusted.3
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Need to get my *kitten* together.If you don't exercise low calories don't matter. Losing is all about calories. Maintenance is about exercise.
And this. Absolutely can't maintain if I don't exercise. As much as I like exercising, I honestly hate the pressure of HAVING to do it every day though (but the prospect of having only 1700 calories to eat is worse).
To get enough extra burn, you really shouldn't need that much more exercise. I exercise every day because I love it, but I could probably get by with a 45 min walk if it was just about the burn.5 -
richardgavel wrote: »Need to get my *kitten* together.If you don't exercise low calories don't matter. Losing is all about calories. Maintenance is about exercise.
And this. Absolutely can't maintain if I don't exercise. As much as I like exercising, I honestly hate the pressure of HAVING to do it every day though (but the prospect of having only 1700 calories to eat is worse).
To get enough extra burn, you really shouldn't need that much more exercise. I exercise every day because I love it, but I could probably get by with a 45 min walk if it was just about the burn.
Haha that would barely give me enough calories to make me survive, lol.2 -
I learned that I have more energy and feel better now that I adjusted my macros to more carbs and less fat and protein. Everyone is different, you can’t read this in a book, you have to try till you get it right for you, not what someone else works for them. Calories can stay the sane but macros can be adjusted.
I am like that too, 45% carbs feels on the low for me.
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this year:
I have learned how to maintain thru injury which kept me from running: I turned to walking 30 minutes each morning - doing something active throughout the day while recovering. I did not cut calories.
and through the FLU which kept me from doing anything at all pretty much for 3 weeks.
just don't worry about your weight and try to drink and eat to fight the virus. Watch your resting heart rate. You might actually need to eat more!
And also how to maintain past that first BINGE breakdown. - don't beat yourself up and throw the baby out with the bathwater. A few days of clean eating - stock up on a lot of good stuff at home! and you will be back on track. This one is really hard because of my history all my life. Esp bad in winter time of course. ONly 28 more days until Solstice . hurrah.
The scale fluctuates a LOT more on a day to day basis than when losing. Don't worry. just keep a set don't cross line or watch avgs (that is actually a little slow). It's now a marathon instead of a sprint. Make your sine waves for your weight flatter.
And you know what, although perhaps the running helps it doesn't really give you that many more calories from the run itself. Esp if you are petite. I can run an hour and get 400 more cals. Whoop. Whoop. <sarcasm> But I think it does raise your overall endorphin level and maybe overall TDEE. I wish it was all easy and I could quit logging and weighing etc but unfortunately at 59 I know myself. Those are just the first ways to turning a blind eye to a yo up again.
Maintenance can be fun. Your clothes fit. You aren't carrying around a lot of extra baggage. You can set other goals and clean out your closets and drawers of too large stuff.7 -
That i can do it, that the reflection in the mirror is actually me and not some other chick that looks great, haha. That i tend to gain to my higher level of maintenance range when we have family over for some time, but it's not a big deal and all goes back to normal after they leave, so i learned to not to stress over the trend going up some, and just enjoy the time with them as it's ready limited at this point, as my kids are grown and in school and don't visit as often, and my mom is 82. That i really do have tools for long term maintenance this time around.9
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That "maintenance" involves doing what's necessary to maintain both weight and strength and is a lifelong endeavor.
This ^. I fell into the same trap as @djscavone, and I am back to needing to lose a bunch of weight. However, I am in the middle of IM training, so I have to maintain. Last time I tried to lose while doing high endurance I lost muscle and got injured. So I am just making sure to eat properly based on my daily caloric expenditure and have strength as a primary part of my training plan. If I so happen to lose some pounds while doing this, yay!2 -
I joked earlier about destroying enemies. On a serious note, I learned 2 things for sure. One, I am my own worst enemy and critic. I also learned, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Things will ebb and flow and do not get too caught up on the short term things that happen.5
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I need to eat minimum 400 calories at lunch or I am cranky and want to overeat during the evening.
Even if that means weird stuff like always adding a boiled egg to smaller lunches and/or spoonful of peanut butter, it's like 400 is my magic number. 380 = horrible mood. 425 = excellent mood lots of energy.
Part of it is psychological I'm sure, but that's what I do.9 -
richardgavel wrote: »Need to get my *kitten* together.If you don't exercise low calories don't matter. Losing is all about calories. Maintenance is about exercise.
And this. Absolutely can't maintain if I don't exercise. As much as I like exercising, I honestly hate the pressure of HAVING to do it every day though (but the prospect of having only 1700 calories to eat is worse).
To get enough extra burn, you really shouldn't need that much more exercise. I exercise every day because I love it, but I could probably get by with a 45 min walk if it was just about the burn.
Haha that would barely give me enough calories to make me survive, lol.
Same here, 45min walking would give me an extra 50-60 calories max lol. Hour on the elliptical only gives me 250.2 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »richardgavel wrote: »Need to get my *kitten* together.If you don't exercise low calories don't matter. Losing is all about calories. Maintenance is about exercise.
And this. Absolutely can't maintain if I don't exercise. As much as I like exercising, I honestly hate the pressure of HAVING to do it every day though (but the prospect of having only 1700 calories to eat is worse).
To get enough extra burn, you really shouldn't need that much more exercise. I exercise every day because I love it, but I could probably get by with a 45 min walk if it was just about the burn.
Haha that would barely give me enough calories to make me survive, lol.
Same here, 45min walking would give me an extra 50-60 calories max lol. Hour on the elliptical only gives me 250.
I am still trying to find a balance myself. I am hopeful that after a year or two of this, it becomes easier.2 -
I had this revelation today, not exactly an aha-moment, more like an uhu-moment: I used to laugh at how easily people got bored. Now it dawned on me that I was never bored before because I would eat, sleep or just feel intensely sorry for myself whenever I had a moment of downtime. I don't have (or don't want to use) those outlets anymore, so I will have to tolerate some boredom and/or find a new hobby.
Today also marks the first time I was able to do a - not proper, but still - headstand
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Averaging my weekly calories rather then restrict every day6
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Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »richardgavel wrote: »Need to get my *kitten* together.If you don't exercise low calories don't matter. Losing is all about calories. Maintenance is about exercise.
And this. Absolutely can't maintain if I don't exercise. As much as I like exercising, I honestly hate the pressure of HAVING to do it every day though (but the prospect of having only 1700 calories to eat is worse).
To get enough extra burn, you really shouldn't need that much more exercise. I exercise every day because I love it, but I could probably get by with a 45 min walk if it was just about the burn.
Haha that would barely give me enough calories to make me survive, lol.
Same here, 45min walking would give me an extra 50-60 calories max lol. Hour on the elliptical only gives me 250.
.. that seems very low. I still get 200 calories walking my dog for 40 minutes (2 miles). I'm probably heavier than you though.2 -
I made a list of my personal MAINTENANCE TRUTH -- all learned the hard way through trial and error:
Weigh daily
Track calories daily
Treat meals, not cheat days
One drink a week
No trigger foods in the house
Walk daily
Real workout at least 3x a week
Limit restaurant meals
Don't skip breakfast
Limit added sugar and refined carbs11
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