Afraid to go into Maintenance

kjm9713
kjm9713 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 25 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi all-

Some stats...
Age: 29
Height: 5'8"
SW: 203lbs
CW: 169lbs
GW: 165lbs, maybe 155lbs

I've been (mostly) steadily losing since July of 2017. I'm down 34lbs with 4 more lbs to go to my first "goal", which would put me at the high end of the "normal" BMI range. I do Crossfit 3-4x a week and run every single day, typically anywhere between 1 and 5 miles (although I do one long-run a week).

As I've come closer to reaching my "goal", I'm finding myself getting anxious. Although I'm excited by the prospect of reaching it (for as long as I've been weighing myself, I have been over 172lbs, so this is a whole new world for me), I'm afraid that transitioning into maintenance will not go well. I plan to continue tracking and everything, so I'm not sure where this is coming from, but I'm a bit fearful about not continuing to work toward a goal that I can see so clearly mapped out on a screen every day, if that makes sense.

So here is my plan:

Once I reach 165lbs, I want to change my MFP goals to lose only .5lbs per week. Currently, I avoid eating my exercise calories unless I do a longer run or if I'm hungry. I plan to transition into eating 1/2 of my exercise calories, as I don't want to consume all of them because I am unsure of how accurately they are calculated. I'd like to see how I do on that "plan", and make changes as necessary.

Does this sound reasonable? Does anyone have recommendations for how to make the transition into maintenance more seamless/comfortable?
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Replies

  • Brendalea69
    Brendalea69 Posts: 3,863 Member
    edited March 2018
    I don't count calories but that sounds like a good plan and I love your face paint, that's cool :)
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
    I found weighing in daily to help me be less afraid of fluctuations once I got used to seeing them.

    For I was also aiming for .5 lb/week loss and I basically found maintenance calories by eating at lowest amount of calories that seemed sustainable for me longterm, since myfitnesspal drops the calorie intake limit every 10 lbs.
    I thought I would want to go a couple lbs lower but if I want to eat regularly eat small desserts/ drink wine keeping at the current level seemed best. I went from trying to leave a 100 calorie deficit to eating most of my exercise calories back and have been stable for the past two months.

    note: I am at the lower end of my bmi ( in case that makes a difference) also due to my small snacking habit that isn't logged, I never actually change myfitnesspal from .5 to maintain, but since I am maintaining I just left it.
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    Sounds reasonable to me.
    I understand where you are coming from though. I transitioned into maintenance about 6 months ago and that was harder than loosing weight. It was not so much the goal thing for me but allowing myself more food was hard. Getting used to fluctuations etc. It did not help that on the tail of this transition I changed jobs and have had some stress issues resulting from that.
    My plan was to eat as I was used to but to allow more margin in the weekend. With the new job that did not go according to my plan but all in all I am coping. For me the secret is still logging and being honest (though slightly less strict about it).
    I am not giving up on MFP until I am satisfied my maintenance is under control and I don't have the feeling yet
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Running is one of the easiest exercises to calculate calories accurately so you can eat them back without worrying. Use the formula bodyweight in lbs x 0.63 x distance in miles

    If you don't like the idea of eating back exercise cals though, use a TDEE calculation instead of mfp.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    It doesn't actually make sense to me to eat a set reduced proportion of your exercise calories when you are aiming to maintain your weight. That would mean your estimates have to be not just inaccurate but inaccurate by a consistent amount and also high.

    So why not either work on the accuracy (which doesn't actually have to be precise, just reasonable) of your exercise expenditure or use the TDEE method which also includes an exercise estimate - just an average daily amount.
    As effectively you are doing the TDEE method already then maybe best to keep the same method going.
    Depending on how long the weekly long run is might swing the balance towards the MFP method of accounting for exercise though. As TavistockToad mentions running is easy to get a perfectly reasonable estimate.

    Beware the pitfalls of being over precise about accuracy of your CI and your CO and the consistency of your weight or you could be setting yourself up for a whole load of unnecessary stress.

    Think you would do better to reduce your weight loss down to 0.5lbs/week before you get to goal to make it less of an adjustment and less of a big bang event. You can also set your goal manually rather than the somewhat crude approach of adjusting by changing your rate of loss.
  • paulduddy54
    paulduddy54 Posts: 12 Member
    Set new goals! Performance goals can be achieved at maintenance level. I don't know if you are currently doing any strength training or just cardio but just have a think about what you'd like to achieve with your body once you're at your desired weight. Increase in strength, training for a marathon...There are endless goals to achieve just think about what you would like to see and achieve with your body!
  • jillstreett
    jillstreett Posts: 69 Member
    kristinecapua wrote: »
    Hi all-

    Some stats...
    Age: 29
    Height: 5'8"
    SW: 203lbs
    CW: 169lbs
    GW: 165lbs, maybe 155lbs

    I've been (mostly) steadily losing since July of 2017. I'm down 34lbs with 4 more lbs to go to my first "goal", which would put me at the high end of the "normal" BMI range. I do Crossfit 3-4x a week and run every single day, typically anywhere between 1 and 5 miles (although I do one long-run a week).

    As I've come closer to reaching my "goal", I'm finding myself getting anxious. Although I'm excited by the prospect of reaching it (for as long as I've been weighing myself, I have been over 172lbs, so this is a whole new world for me), I'm afraid that transitioning into maintenance will not go well. I plan to continue tracking and everything, so I'm not sure where this is coming from, but I'm a bit fearful about not continuing to work toward a goal that I can see so clearly mapped out on a screen every day, if that makes sense.

    So here is my plan:

    Once I reach 165lbs, I want to change my MFP goals to lose only .5lbs per week. Currently, I avoid eating my exercise calories unless I do a longer run or if I'm hungry. I plan to transition into eating 1/2 of my exercise calories, as I don't want to consume all of them because I am unsure of how accurately they are calculated. I'd like to see how I do on that "plan", and make changes as necessary.

    Does this sound reasonable? Does anyone have recommendations for how to make the transition into maintenance more seamless/comfortable?

    First, Ill start by saying I am a big proprietor of TDEE instead of calculations for eating back or not eating back calories burned during workout. It is just my preference and makes sense to me a little better for day to day tracking. Then, I was reading this thinking, "wait, did I write this in a dream or something?" because you and I are roughly the exact same person in the exact same stage with the same goals! Stats and all are almost identical to mine the only difference is my workout style. I have been thinking the same thing that I am eating at a reasonable deficit now, not ever going to bed hungry and a great healthy balance to give me all I need avout 1400 cals per day. And I began to wonder, holy crap maintenance is roughly 2100 calories a day, that's way too much for me! - see math below:

    My plan truly is to keep losing just like you, .5lbs per week would be great and my maintenance math (see below) would work out to that. For me, if I lose the .5 - great, if I don't, as long as I don't gain, then I am okay with that too.

    Math: my BMR at 165lbs is 1546calories and with a light activity multiplier to get my TDEE (1546x1.37) my maintenance would be 2118 calories per day. I do a light activity multiplier even though most weeks I would qualify for moderate (1.55), so that I am extra sure I am not overestimating my calories allowance. That for me is a fail safe and keeps my brain from worrying as much.

    First, I am not going to eat 2100 calories a day, whew, no! But instead my thought was to actually eat between my BMR, 1546, and my TDEE at the sedentary multiplier (1546x1.2=1855). Daily caloric intake between 1546 and 1855 for maintenance. I do not lead a sedentary lifestyle, but I do have a desk job so again this is my fail safe so that I never overestimate my calorie allowance even if my multiplier should technically should be moderate. So 2100 is what my maintenance could be (or higher at moderate multiplier) and if its down to 1855 that's a 245 calorie deficit each day and if it's down to 1546 that's a 554 calorie deficit each day. To lose .5 pounds a week my total weekly deficit should be 1750 calories. 245*7=1715 and 554*7=3878. So, like OP, think I have a good plan going into it. Albeit different, still mathematically correct and mentally doable.

    IMO, I believe that it is too difficult, possibly inaccurate and harder to try to figure out what you burned during each workout. If you can get it accurate for sure and then eat back half the calories burned, then I say go for it, but I think that doing TDEE is a better guide because it doesn't vary day to day or with each workout. The TDEE calorie number takes into account the whole week of activity therefore accounting for active time, recovery time and even rest time. Using lower multipliers doesn't hurt anything it just ensures there is a little room for error.

    And before anyone jumps on me saying I shouldn't eat below my BMR like I am right now. I know. And this is not permanent, most of my weight loss has some from eating at BMR or a little above and the only reason I have to do 1400 now is because I plateaued twice and I the 1400 helps me break through until I can go back up to BMR in a week or so.

    Finally, these are just my opinions and with the help of my brother who has a Master's in Exercise Science and is a trainer, this is what has worked for me since November 2017. I've done COUNTLESS worksheets with math and different ideas and this has always been my go to style to track calorie allowances.

    Keep kicking butt out there guys! :)
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    I think if you reset your goal to stay within a 5 pound range of your goal weight, you'll be able to manage your anxiety. You'll still have a plan and can manage that just as you did your plan to lose weight.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I'm a year at maintenance now and I found it very rocky to start so I get where you are coming from. Just keep trying out different things and you'll find your comfortable place - make sure to give each 'plan' a month or so to see if it works out for you through the ups and downs the average month brings.

    I've settled at having my cals set to maintenance and activity to sedentary, even though I am probably "lightly active" because my individual setup tracks exercise cals but not incidental walking around. So even if I eat up all my exercise cals I still have the buffer from the fudged TDEE numbers and don't have to fiddle with my cal allowance or watch that number go red (I know it's stupid but I hate it). If I need to do a little cut, I leave 1-200 cals on the balance for a while and see what shakes out.
  • SummerSkier
    SummerSkier Posts: 5,141 Member
    here is a link to a good thread.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level/p1
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,099 Member
    edited March 2018
    I am still just a few months into maintenance, actually hopefully in a "slow" bulk, but it is scary. I still wake up expecting to be 400lbs! What I am learning is, in less you grossly overfees or underexercise, weight gain is slow. It kind of creeps. Hopefully giving us time to adjust. I hope that's the way it is. Still learning from the fine folks here. Some, have years of experience and knowledge. I tend to listen to them. One of the few things yhay help keep me sane is the sense of community you get here. Knowing there are people attempting to do the same thing i am. I live in a small town, and there are few people attempting this. Most lose weight just to regain it quickly. Now i might be the red headed step child of ths family, but we are family. Peace
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 11,152 Member
    @cwolfman13 Totally agree - even with weight loss...at the beginning when I was very sedentary I limited calories to 1200 to lose. Now, almost 50lbs later, after 18 mos of 2-3 Pilates sessions a week (easy at beginning, higher level now) and walking (infrequent & slow at beginning, now faster, longer, and often in the hills) I can eat 1700-2000 and still lose a pound a week. It’s much easier to keep moving throughout the day when lighter/stronger and the bottoms of your feet don’t hurt when you stand. Your comments make me less worried about moving to Maintenance soon. Thank you.
  • maqqie
    maqqie Posts: 3 Member
    So glad about this thread ..I’m struggling getting my head round maintainance..losing weight was relatively easy worrying about how to stay here is torture!..see to have to stick to “losing level “ having to keep way down on calories not to gain with moderate exercise on 1600 calories ..seems bit deprivation level!
  • bee_bee8
    bee_bee8 Posts: 96 Member
    I was about to post here expressing almost exactly those feelings! I actually just hit my goal weight (which btw is about 5 lbs higher than I thought it would be when I started out - I feel good and I think I look good, so why push it?) but I have never actively maintained my weight in my whole 30 years of life. I've always been aggressively losing or semi-aggressively gaining. I've worked a lot on my relationship with food, but I still have some tendency to either overeat or undereat which makes maintenance a little scary.

    I think there's a lot of great advice here, and I'm definitely going to follow some of it. I think setting your MFP goal at .5 lb loss per week is a good way to start out - that's what I'm doing. I also generally never eat back my exercise calories (even though I burn a good amount every day), but I'm gonna try your method of eating back half and seeing what happens. Personally, I'm gonna really work on hitting my calorie goal every day and being consistent, I feel like that's probably the best way to gauge how my body responds to maintenance.

    Thank you for your post, and thanks to everyone else for all the helpful replies. Who knew that maintenance could be more stressful than losing? :D
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    I share your anxiety and your height, so I am in the same range. I am down in the low 160s now and slowing the loss by moving the calories up but I am more than a little nervous about trying to keep it steady. While at a deficit, estimates of stuff I couldn't weigh and.or can't find a listing for (often home made by someone else) are usually just going to make it less of a deficit with not much loss for that day. At maintenance, missteps could start edging the scale up. I will just be vigilant, I guess.
  • maqqie
    maqqie Posts: 3 Member
    Glad I’m not alone! I’m on holiday this week and my routine eating and drinking is not as usual,also have no scales , my usual is daily weighing..don’t want to become obsessed but have a fear of getting home and putting on weight..I know intellectually that if I put on a few pounds I can just cut down again to 1200 cal to take off ..but my feelings tend to get in the way..’start of slippery slope..or well no point doing this .. ..feel better even writing this down .. maybe just need to support each other and have somewhere to be accountable !
  • bee_bee8
    bee_bee8 Posts: 96 Member
    maqqie wrote: »
    Glad I’m not alone! I’m on holiday this week and my routine eating and drinking is not as usual,also have no scales , my usual is daily weighing..don’t want to become obsessed but have a fear of getting home and putting on weight..I know intellectually that if I put on a few pounds I can just cut down again to 1200 cal to take off ..but my feelings tend to get in the way..’start of slippery slope..or well no point doing this .. ..feel better even writing this down .. maybe just need to support each other and have somewhere to be accountable !

    That's something I love about these forums... Sometimes it helps just to share how you're feeling. I know that "slippery slope" problem well and the anxiety of not being able to weigh yourself daily. If it makes you feel better, I took a little break in December where I wasn't diligently logging and wasn't even really working out; I just ate when I was hungry and tried not to overindulge. I only weighed myself a few times over the course of that month and didn't gain a single pound.
  • ITUSGirl51
    ITUSGirl51 Posts: 191 Member
    maqqie wrote: »
    Glad I’m not alone! I’m on holiday this week and my routine eating and drinking is not as usual,also have no scales , my usual is daily weighing..don’t want to become obsessed but have a fear of getting home and putting on weight..I know intellectually that if I put on a few pounds I can just cut down again to 1200 cal to take off ..but my feelings tend to get in the way..’start of slippery slope..or well no point doing this .. ..feel better even writing this down .. maybe just need to support each other and have somewhere to be accountable !

    I understand the anxiety about vacation. There is a fine lime between enjoying yourself and pigging out. I try to stay active and just eat what I really want, not everything. I don’t log my food and I know I go over my maintenance calories. I start back the day I return to really watch the calories I don’t wait until Monday. This practice makes home a place I no longer overeat.

    I came back from my fourth vacation last week while on my weight loss journey this past year (down 64 lbs). I left for vacation 5 lbs from my final goal and I gained 3.8 lbs. After 1 week of my normal diet and activity I’ve lost all the extra plus an extra .5 lb! I made some mistakes on vacation by not go going to the gym and eating more desserts than I actually wanted. I felt weak and bloated when I returned. Next vacation break I will do better and remember how crappy I felt when I returned.
  • DamienAngelica
    DamienAngelica Posts: 281 Member
    edited March 2018
    I'm at a size and weight I'm happy with, so I'm ready to ease into maintenance. I'm scared of slipping back into bad habits, of gaining weight, of undoing everything I've done, but I love being thin and fit more than that fear. I love how my body moves, how it feels. And I'm so much smarter now about mindful eating, portion sizes, and calories.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    DamienAngelica wrote: »
    I'm at a size and weight I'm happy with, so I'm ready to ease into maintenance. I'm scared of slipping back into bad habits, of gaining weight, of undoing everything I've done, but I love being thin and fit more than that fear. I love how my body moves, how it feels. And I'm so much smarter now about mindful eating, portion sizes, and calories.

    It's up to you to keep your current weight/size - frequent weigh ins will help you with that. Have faith in yourself that you can do it :smile:
  • DamienAngelica
    DamienAngelica Posts: 281 Member
    LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »
    DamienAngelica wrote: »
    I'm at a size and weight I'm happy with, so I'm ready to ease into maintenance. I'm scared of slipping back into bad habits, of gaining weight, of undoing everything I've done, but I love being thin and fit more than that fear. I love how my body moves, how it feels. And I'm so much smarter now about mindful eating, portion sizes, and calories.

    It's up to you to keep your current weight/size - frequent weigh ins will help you with that. Have faith in yourself that you can do it :smile:

    I weigh myself daily, so no worries there. The fear is definitely irrational (as long as I stick to my new habits) and I know it.
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