Booo...back on the bus

13

Replies

  • jrwms714
    jrwms714 Posts: 421 Member
    Great to hear! It's all about vigilance and being honest with yourself. I have just done exactly the same as you. Lowered my calories, worked out extra hard to get off 2 -3 lbs. above my scream weight. Even tho' I am fairly sure that came from water retention (salty restaurant food, new exercise regime), I still take it seriously and work to get it off. Congrats! And you are right ... it sure feels good to know that we can just take some simple steps and get back to where we want to be.
  • swim777
    swim777 Posts: 599 Member
    Love the title of this thread!! Guess I’m a permanent bus rider! Working on getting back to my maintenance range, too. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel FINALLY! There are no French fries or chips worth losing 15 pounds over... sheesh! I seriously don’t want to have to repeat this again.
  • MiaRabago
    MiaRabago Posts: 12 Member
    I agree with this post 100%. Maintaining is rough! I thought reaching my goal weight would make me feel happy and content-unfortunately, (in my case) all I do is nitpick other things to be dissatisfied with on my body. It's sad really!
    A suggestion, I find that calorie cycling helps me with maintaining my weight. I'll consume 1200-1400 calories between the week and then I eat freely on my weekends (2000-2500). So it all balances out. Maybe try that logic for a little. Really stick to a goal throughout the week and then treat yourself on the weekends. It's been working for me for the past 7 months.
    The biggest downfall with this method is that it can open up a floodgate. I'm constantly struggling to get back to the "no more cheating" mentality. Hope that helps!
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    MiaRabago wrote: »
    A suggestion, I find that calorie cycling helps me with maintaining my weight. I'll consume 1200-1400 calories between the week and then I eat freely on my weekends (2000-2500). So it all balances out. Maybe try that logic for a little. Really stick to a goal throughout the week and then treat yourself on the weekends. It's been working for me for the past 7 months.
    The biggest downfall with this method is that it can open up a floodgate. I'm constantly struggling to get back to the "no more cheating" mentality. Hope that helps!

    I somewhat cycle my calories on a much smaller scale. I'll generally eat a 200 calorie snack for breakfast, limit my lunch to 600 calories and eat ~150 calories of snacks in the middle of the afternoon.

    Given that I burn about 500 calories per day in exercise on average, this puts me to a net of ~400-500 going into the evening. Given a maintenance target of 2300 calories per day, I can pretty much eat however much of whatever I want for dinner (with a modest dessert) and it's almost impossible for me to go above target. Most days I end up with a 300 calorie deficit or so, which gives me plenty of room for splurges on the weekend.

    The biggest monkey wrench for me tends to be alcohol. I can easily add another 600-800 in calories a day if the drinks start flowing. The easiest way for me to stick to maintenance thus far has simply been to limit my alcohol calories during the week!
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,257 Member
    KelGen02 wrote: »
    CarlydogsMom wrote: »
    I'm walking to the bus stop contemplating whether or not I want to get on. Meaning...I've slid, I've gained, I know what I need to do, and I'm just dragging my feet (almost literally!) and not doing it. Maybe this will be one of the kicks I'll need to climb onto the first bus that comes along instead of waiting for the next...and the next...

    Its like these words just came out of my mouth... seriously describes my current situation. I just climbed back on the bus after a steady gain over the past 4 months. Not sure why I decided to keep on taking the next bus week after week but here I am, once again kicking myself in the pants.

    Me too. I've actually been getting on the bus, but walking out the emergency exit in the back before it even leaves the station... I finally got fed up and took a front seat, as it were. Scale is going down. Slowly, but it's moving.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    My goal was to stay at or below 164. I'm 5'8" so 164 is a BMI of 24.9. I have been maintaining at 160 for about a month and a half while working minor recomp; I don't want to become a body builder, just wanted a little more definition in chest, shoulders and arms. I am now pretty happy with upper body and legs, but still have a small bit of fat just above the belt line, so I am going to go down another 5-7 pounds.
  • juliemargaretkim
    juliemargaretkim Posts: 206 Member
    DX2JX2 you wrote
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    Also, based on my experience I cannot recommend daily weigh ins and nipping issues in the bud enough. Two weeks of light calorie restriction really was no effort at all and it's so darn satisfying to know that I'm back where I want to be.

    I totally agree! I weigh myself every single morning -- it gives me the "ammunition" I need for the day -- if I'm down a little, it actually works to keep me "on the bus" -- and if I'm up, I know what I need to do. During the day when I'm tempted, the idea that maybe I'll have lost another pound keeps me motivated to reject the sugary stuff. I am up about five lbs. from where I want to be (was 8, so I'm making progress!) and I remember what it felt like to be just that five pounds lighter -- it IS satisfying and its the best to feel good about yourself!
  • kdiffily
    kdiffily Posts: 2 Member
    Also back on the bus as of Monday -- and feeling so deprived again! Lost 27 lbs. between Oct and Feb., and in the last 3 months, managed to put 7 lbs back on. I did really well when I was on the "train" -- and had a goal -- but found it so difficult to maintain moderation once I was "done" dieting. Ugh and sigh.
  • swim777
    swim777 Posts: 599 Member
    I was doing really well. I was past the “deprived” feelings because I was making such good progress finally! I knew I was going to enjoy myself on our trip. I really did! Sooooo now back to normal. It is difficult beginning again, but I am too, back on the bus!! Feel free to message me for encouragement and I will return the favor!!
  • HappyInTheWater
    HappyInTheWater Posts: 5 Member
    DX2JX2 wrote: »
    I went into maintenance mode in October and have been rock solid for the past 5 months despite quitting smoking and greeting a new baby over past few months. Unfortunately, I've seen a uptick in my trending weight for the past few weeks. It's definitely not a surprise as I've felt myself drift back into some old habits with portion sizes at dinner (justifying splurges as 'exceptions' on the regular), cocktails during the week, and having 'just a few pieces' of chocolate at night.

    The gain is pretty small now (only up about 2 pounds in the past month) but it's clearly there and I it's time to get back into gear before the trend gets any worse. On the plus side, I'll be able to lose it in a pretty short period of time without any major changes to my existing routine, other than to regain my focus on mindful eating and portioning (on a separate note, the ability to identify trends pretty quickly and nip problems in the bud is why I really believe in daily weigh-ins).

    At first I was kind of annoyed that maintaining requires effort. After the relative deprivation of weight loss, I expected maintenance to be mindless and easy. Clearly this isn't the case.

    The more I thought about it, the more I realized that many/most people actually do have to think about their weight on the regular. It's not hard or easy or good or bad, it's just something that has to happen. The sooner I can accept this, the sooner I can get on with things and get it done.

    So, back on the bus for me. Time to put some new batteries in the food scale and brush off my food log! When I get back into maintenance in a few weeks, at least now I'll know what to expect!

  • HappyInTheWater
    HappyInTheWater Posts: 5 Member
    Tell me about it! I have real difficulty losing and then maintaining weight. (Well, to be honest, I have trouble just losing too...) This is my second time on MFP, and although I've kept off 5 of the 10 pounds I lost the last time, I have a lot of weight to lose still. What is this mindfulness I keep reading about?
  • jrwms714
    jrwms714 Posts: 421 Member
    Maintenance is different for everyone; what I mean is, how they do it and how they maintain. For me, whenever I go over my scream weight, I am back to my weight loss calories until I am back within my range. As I get older, this gets more difficult. Right now I have been at the top of my weight range for at least a month. Two weeks ago, I decided to get back to weight loss calories. I have been on a plateau at that top weight ever since. I just keep moving on my plan, accepting that this may be a plateau, and not giving up. The key to maintenance, for me, is not giving up or giving in. Maybe they're the same thing, not sure. But if I accept this weight, then it will surely move to the next weight. And that I will never allow. Too many pluses to stay where I am. heading into 3 years of maintenance, lots of healthy changes, and I want them to remain!
  • cparsons_60
    cparsons_60 Posts: 95 Member
    I lost 50 pounds over the course of two years, kept it off for three years, then this past year I've gained 20 of it back. Ugh. I think this has happened because I got a dog. Walking the dog has taken the place of other workouts that burned more calories. The canine has been a wonderful addition to my life, but I need to walk her on top of my other workouts, not instead of them. Two pounds down so far this time. It's going much more slowly this time, but I'll get there. I too remember how much better I felt 18 pounds ago, though I'm glad to be 30 pounds down from my highest weight.
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,197 MFP Moderator
    cparsons_60 wrote: »
    I lost 50 pounds over the course of two years, kept it off for three years, then this past year I've gained 20 of it back. Ugh. I think this has happened because I got a dog. Walking the dog has taken the place of other workouts that burned more calories. The canine has been a wonderful addition to my life, but I need to walk her on top of my other workouts, not instead of them. Two pounds down so far this time. It's going much more slowly this time, but I'll get there. I too remember how much better I felt 18 pounds ago, though I'm glad to be 30 pounds down from my highest weight.

    You could train her to do those other workouts with you, if they're things like running or swimming. :)
    elisa123gal wrote: »
    just a thought from someone who is approaching maintenance ... please don't forget how it was when you had it all to lose. Or that point where you lost half..but have the other half to go? That is the tough road of the journey.

    . Now that i'm close to my goal weight..this is sooo much better. i find the comments that maitenence is harder than losing weight a bit over exaggerated. At this point..i can eat a splurge meal... work it off and still fit into my skinny jeans. life is good.

    I've been in maintenance for several years. I've recently jumped back 'on the bus' though due to getting a little too lackadaisical with my diet and subsequently gaining a few too many pounds. For me, maintenance isn't really hard. What's hard is for me is maintaining vigilance and even harder still is drumming up the motivation to climb back on the bus when I need to. It's all a matter of mind-set, I think. We're all different in the things we find hard or difficult. :flowerforyou:
  • cparsons_60
    cparsons_60 Posts: 95 Member
    You could train her to do those other workouts with you, if they're things like running or swimming. :)

    She can't run for 40 minutes on her short little legs, and I don't think she'd be much good at jumping rope. And the Y won't let her join me for Body Pump! But she's a plus in every other way. I just have to make time to run after I've walked her.

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