Anyone in long term maintenance? share your stories :-)

LivingtheLeanDream
LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
After seeing a zombie thread resurrected from 2009 recently, it made me wonder how many of those posters back then lost the weight they aimed for and kept it off and are possibly still here on MFP today...:smiley:

So please share how long you folks have been at maintenance and how are you finding it.

Me? In July I will be in maintenance 5 years, the first year of aiming to stay within my goal range was hard, there were a few bumps along the way, but persistence paid off and from the 2nd year on it felt easy and normal. I feel the way I eat now has become so normal I hardly have to think about it. Plus I've continued to be active which helps.

I still log in daily here but more because I like interacting on the forums - its a fount of knowledge and woo :smiley: - but that keeps it interesting! :smile:

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Ruth :smile:

Replies

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Derpy_Hooves wrote: »
    Well done Ruth!

    I'm here since 2011. Been away for a bit but created a new account fairly quick and been back ever since.
    Went from BMI 27 to 22 initially, and been in maintenance ever since really. I have given myself a small weight margin and as long as I stay within that margin, I won't log food. I do log in every day though. Once I go over the margin (which is now :( ) I'm back logging every morsel, until I'm in the clear again - usually a month or so.

    You have nailed it :smile: if weight creep happens its easier to catch it early on. Personally I never let the scale get above or below a 5lb range.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Reached my weight goal in early 2016 and went about 10-12lbs under it. So about two years in maintenance. First six months or so I did very well with it, only fluctuating the normal ~5lbs water weight or so. But that was still under my original goal of 190. Then in the holiday season of 2016 I decided I was not getting anywhere with recomp without adding some muscle and it was pretty much impossible to add much more unless I added calories and got over the number on the scale. So I put the scale in the closet and began bulking slowly until the spring. I thought. I managed to gain about 10 lbs and in the summer of 2017 I managed to cut back about 5 lbs of that which put me still around original goal of 190. I hadn't gained any strength or real muscle mass but had become leaner. Somewhere in the ~10% body fat range +/- 2%.

    Holiday season of 2017 rolls around and I decide this time to add about 15%-20% calories to maintenance levels instead of the 5% I did the prior holiday season. I did that until around March 1st and managed to gain a good 15 lbs. Since March 1st I've cut back to maintenance and increased the intensity of my workouts to try and cut some body fat, and sitting here at about the middle of April I'm averaging around ~200lbs and have gained a significant amount of muscle from last year, but still nowhere near where I want to be. So I'll probably keep in recomp throughout the summer, maybe periods of cutting to reduce body fat, but holiday season 2018 I expect to bulk again, but not more than 15-20% calories over maintenance.

    My final goal is to stay under about 210 or so and replace more body fat with muscle. I'm probably sitting around 16% body fat now, and would like to trim that back to around 10%-12% again this summer. I'll be creating the deficit needed for that with exercise rather than calorie restriction any further than I am now.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    @Spliner1969 with that low a bf% it looks like you don't need to worry about a scale number. Congrats on maintaining :smile:
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    It's not where I want it.. fluctuates 16-18% right now. Looking forward to warm weather soon to start cutting it back more. ;) I'm 48, will be 49 in July. My original goal in 2015 was to be in the best possible shape I could be by the time I turn 50. So I'm on track, and will never be a body builder or super athlete, but am already in better physical shape than I've ever been. Whether or not I can maintain that past the age of 50 is anyone's guess, but will be giving it a shot.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Spliner1969 wrote: »
    It's not where I want it.. fluctuates 16-18% right now. Looking forward to warm weather soon to start cutting it back more. ;) I'm 48, will be 49 in July. My original goal in 2015 was to be in the best possible shape I could be by the time I turn 50. So I'm on track, and will never be a body builder or super athlete, but am already in better physical shape than I've ever been. Whether or not I can maintain that past the age of 50 is anyone's guess, but will be giving it a shot.

    I think warmer weather/longer days makes it easier. I'll be 49 in June. I'm hoping when I get to my 50's it wont be much different, although I'm not sure how going through the change at some point will affect me.
  • jrwms714
    jrwms714 Posts: 421 Member
    I will be 3 years in maintenance (hopefully) in October, but 6 years with MFP and logging regularly. Have not missed a day in all that time. It took me 2.5 years to lose 40 lbs., and during that time, I substantially changed how I viewed food. I always was an exerciser, but added some other twists to what I did, and that helped, too. Maintenance has been fairly easy for me, once I changed my food view. I now am one of those people who eats to love, rather than lives to eat. This perspective really makes a difference in my relationship to food. I'm not perfect and I do go overboard sometimes, but I have found it easy to rein myself back within a day or so. I just had a weight gain over my two lb. range (I'm 5'0 and petite, so can't afford much more than that). I just upped my exercise and lowered my calories and am getting back to that range. For me, it's all about knowing that I have to be vigilant as I said in another post, and that food is not as important to me as health is.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    Been in maintenance at 155-160 for 18 months after 5 months of rapid initial weight loss from 196 to 160.

    Dropped 5# at a very slow rate from 160 to 155 w/plateaus at 159 and 157 during the last 18 months.

    All of the last 5# in weight loss was in fat based on my DXA/hydro BF measurements which show my LBM rising and my BF dropping. Last BF measurement was 8.3% based on hydro.

    So, no problems or issues to report.

    I continue to weigh myself and log all of my food intake and exercise activity daily. For exercise, I lift and do BW exercises 4-5 days/wk and row for 1 hr daily, 7 days/wk.

    Plan to keep on doing all of these things for as long as I can do so, so that I can maintain my weight, health and fitness.

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    @sgt1371 your plan is a sound one :smile: your BF% is to be congratulated!
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    I lost the weight I needed to over a 10 month period in 2013 and have kept it off since

    I continue to do 'loose logging' and to intermittently post on here.

    to Livingthelea.. who mentioned menopause - when I started i was 49 and pre menopausal. Now I am 54 and havent had a period since last August - has not made any difference.
    I continue the same loose logging and eating aproximately 1710 to maintain and that still works fine.

    Incidentally I also developed a thyroid tumour in 2015 and had half my thyroid removed and then commenced on thyroxine - that didnt make any difference either.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    I lost the weight I needed to over a 10 month period in 2013 and have kept it off since

    I continue to do 'loose logging' and to intermittently post on here.

    to Livingthelea.. who mentioned menopause - when I started i was 49 and pre menopausal. Now I am 54 and havent had a period since last August - has not made any difference.
    I continue the same loose logging and eating aproximately 1710 to maintain and that still works fine.

    Incidentally I also developed a thyroid tumour in 2015 and had half my thyroid removed and then commenced on thyroxine - that didnt make any difference either.


    Thanks for sharing, sorry to hear about your tumour but its good to hear that despite that issue and also the menopause made no difference to maintaining your weight.
  • wogie60
    wogie60 Posts: 5 Member
    I've been at this for 785 days straight, having lost ~60 lbs. But I still want to get another 15 pounds less, to hit the so-called "normal" range. I've been in this range I'm at now for 4 months but it's been a hard winter to do any outdoor exercise, like walking.

    I have noticed a trend that I've sometimes skipped entering the evening meal so about a week ago I committed to myself to complete my logging each day and I am getting some daily walks of 2 miles or so since we are close to the end of this long winter. Days are longer and old man winter cannot hold out to Sol who grows stronger and is out longer times each day.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    wogie60 wrote: »
    I've been at this for 785 days straight, having lost ~60 lbs. But I still want to get another 15 pounds less, to hit the so-called "normal" range. I've been in this range I'm at now for 4 months but it's been a hard winter to do any outdoor exercise, like walking.

    I have noticed a trend that I've sometimes skipped entering the evening meal so about a week ago I committed to myself to complete my logging each day and I am getting some daily walks of 2 miles or so since we are close to the end of this long winter. Days are longer and old man winter cannot hold out to Sol who grows stronger and is out longer times each day.

    Better weather will make it easier to be more active. All the best shedding that 15lbs :smile: .
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »
    paperpudding wrote: »
    I lost the weight I needed to over a 10 month period in 2013 and have kept it off since

    I continue to do 'loose logging' and to intermittently post on here.

    to Livingthelea.. who mentioned menopause - when I started i was 49 and pre menopausal. Now I am 54 and havent had a period since last August - has not made any difference.
    I continue the same loose logging and eating aproximately 1710 to maintain and that still works fine.

    Incidentally I also developed a thyroid tumour in 2015 and had half my thyroid removed and then commenced on thyroxine - that didnt make any difference either.


    Thanks for sharing, sorry to hear about your tumour but its good to hear that despite that issue and also the menopause made no difference to maintaining your weight.

    Is fine. Was benign. Post surgery only ongoign treatment is thyroxine replacement

    I only mentioned it as people often suggest thyroid problems are issues in weight control - I did not find that.

    Of course I have to have blood levels monitored and take correct level of replacement - just like everyone on thyroxine.

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    @paperpudding you are right, I see a lot of people blaming thyroid or even menopause for gaining weight but as usual weight gain/loss is always about CICO.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Spencerport wrote: »
    Started MFP 1399 days ago at time of this posting. I lost a total of 105lbs from January 2014 to October 2016. I have been in maintenance since October 2016. My happy weight is 195lbs +/- 5lbs. Maintenance has been relatively easy as I got into good eating habits by tracking food. I'm absolutely ok with fluctuating 5lbs.

    Congrats on maintaining that whopping loss :smiley:

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