Maintainers - how do you keep your head in the game?
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maintaining for 3 years, lost 40 but up 10. It can creep up on you fast, couple pounds in the summer, then couple in fall and little more over holidays as I have done. I made up my mind not to gain the 40 back. I wear jeans, no stretchy pants so I am in my clothes! little snug right now so it reminds me to cut back. I don't have any clothes that I have grown out of and I want it to stay that way.11
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Adequate sleep has helped me maintain my weight. Not 6 hours of sleep. I need 8 hours. I also eat small meals throughout the day, and I think that helps, too.1
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Honestly the biggest thing for me is making sure that I get some sort of daily excercise in. I feel much better if I do, even if it's a 1/2 hour walk with the dogs.9
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I started MFP two years ago to lose fat, I lost five stone (70lbs) and have been on maintenance for around 6 months.
I think I've managed to re-educate my brain about food being fuel, I eat at maintenance and log consistently, I have never looked or felt so good in my whole life, I want to stay like this...it feels great
It's just the way I eat now....it's normal for me, so much so I do it all automatically, being healthy has become a habit, I run and lift weights, I feel strong, fit and full of energy....not bad for an old git 8 -
Enjoying exercise and having it become a hobby, for me that is CrossFit. You'll quickly see a decrease in performance if your eating isn't going well. I've gone through periods of no logging, no weighing, no food restrictions, but exercise has been a staple and has allowed me to maintain within a reasonable range.4
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I had to mentally accept that there would be no "end" to the effort. It's for the rest of my life. Once that was firmly in my brain it seemed easier.21
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I wanted to quit logging on maintenance so I have a simple rule. I have a goal weight to stay under. My rule is if I go over my goal weight for two weeks I need to start logging again. After the holidays, since I was overdoing the sweets a bit, I went over . Today I got to 1.5 pounds under my goal so I am good for another two weeks. I haven't logged in about 3 months and so far so good. The two weeks gives me enough time to get things back under control since it takes a while for dieting efforts to show up.12
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Its become second nature to me now.
I have a 5 lb weight range so as long as I stay within 5 lbs of 135.8 then I know I'm on track. I don't weigh myself daily anymore and I know what my portions should be. So in time, it really just becomes second nature. Its a habit now ,its part of my daily life for so long that I don't have to put much thought into it5 -
thorsmom01 wrote: »Its become second nature to me now.
I have a 5 lb weight range so as long as I stay within 5 lbs of 135.8 then I know I'm on track. I don't weigh myself daily anymore and I know what my portions should be. So in time, it really just becomes second nature. Its a habit now ,its part of my daily life for so long that I don't have to put much thought into it
135.8 is a very specific number to maintain a range around. How did you determine that point?
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LumberJacck wrote: »I'm just wondering if you do anything that helps keep your focus towards maintenance, and preventing gains. Are there any traditions, things you do, preventative methods etc that you do which help you stay at your current weight. I'd love to know of any.
Sweat every day1 -
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I track my calories consistently every day, weigh myself and record every am, restrict calories to maintenance levels every day, aerobic exercise everyday, drink water exclusively everyday, eat nutritiously evey day, 3 meals per day with 1-2 snacks per day, eat breakfast every day, and drink plain, black coffee every day.LumberJacck wrote: »I'm just wondering if you do anything that helps keep your focus towards maintenance, and preventing gains. Are there any traditions, things you do, preventative methods etc that you do which help you stay at your current weight. I'd love to know of any.
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I go take a good long look in the mirror.0
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I set new, higher fitness goals, so where one journey ended, another began.
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I dislike logging but after being a great logger for a year, I know that I am very good at estimating and eyeballing my calorie intake. So, I weigh myself daily to keep engaged, watch potion size, try to not get "too full" and I get in 30 min intense exercise every day. I find that the weigh-ins each morning then keep me mindful of what I eat throughout the day.3
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I switched my goal from weight loss to fitness. Being over 50 I do strength training to improve my strength and reduce muscle loss. I think if my only goal was to lose weight, I would have stopped putting in the effort once I hit my goal.
this is so key and is my mindset as well. Having a great base level of Fitness allows you to then go out and do things that were once hard, like going for walks, riding your bike to work, participating in sports and recreation. Everything gets easier once your fit and when your feeling good and having fun, its the best motivation to keep you going.
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Hey! I hope this is relevant and admins please feel free to remove it not, but it might help you maintain your weight and keep your head in the game! I know how hard it can be, but if you are committed by participating in a study investigating mental and physical training (MAP), it might help you get out of bed!
If you are interested, Fitsmind is conducting a study which you have a free 8 week personalised training guide, which you have to log your workout completion online. You will have to complete 3 workouts per week (45 mins each) for 8 weeks. Please let me know if this sounds like something you might be interested in participating in, its completely free and you can participate from wherever you!
Thanks,
Grace-1 -
I'm at 4 months maintaining and I know it's because I still log.5
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Unforgiving/non-stretchy clothing. I really can't gain too much before I have to do something about it or go around naked.
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Keep old progress pics handy.6
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LumberJacck wrote: »I'm just wondering if you do anything that helps keep your focus towards maintenance, and preventing gains. Are there any traditions, things you do, preventative methods etc that you do which help you stay at your current weight. I'd love to know of any.
Just portion control, I watch what I eat and I exercise. We are all different, for some people loosing and maintaining are harder for others not so much; there is not a magic or exclusive way to do things.
In my opinion it will depend in your relationship with food, motivation and self control. If you live to eat instead of eating to live, you may have a problem. If you had a lot of weight to lose, can't stay away for some foods, and are a volume eater, it may be also harder. Some people need to weigh, measure and log their foods forever, others not so much. How to focus in your maintenance depends on you and sometimes is trial an error.
I have been in maintenance for 7 years. I log when I am home but not when on vacation or eating out (I don't have what I consider bad eating habits}, so that helps. I need a break from MFP so I don't became OCD, and I have a good idea of the portions, nutrition, and I read calories in the menus (when available); if I overdo it one day, I scale back the next one. I weight myself almost daily when I am home, but on vacation (and I take lots of it), I leave all the scales at home.
If you are or were successful at losing your weight, keep the same routine while maintaining; just increase your calories a little bit at the time until you find your happy medium.7 -
I've been in maintenance mode for nearly 3 years.
My method - LOGGING, LOGGING, LOGGING!
And weighing in weekly...
There are ups and downs - key is to keep honest and keep logging.
Jean4 -
I am now at my goal weight. Since I started I have lost 3 stone which is a real achievement. I have gone down 2 sizes. I would like advice on how to keep this weight without becoming obsessive. I am scared of regaining the weight!!2 -
1. Discipline. Meal prep, planning my day, getting my workouts in. It's all routine and good habits for me. It doesn't feel like discipline - it's just...my thing now.
2. Accountability through logging. Not every meal. Not necessarily weighing (I do occasionally). But enough "tracking" to see where I'm at daily / weekly.
3. 80/20 or 90/10 - sticking to consistent go-to meals and macros.
#1 though is what makes a difference. I always work out bc I love it (I struggle to force in a recovery day!) and eat intuitively at 80/20 or 90/10.
My struggle is food volume, partly bc I am so active. An undisciplined weekend of eating TOO MUCH can set me back 4 days (minimum) to 2 weeks. I feel terrible, I get in my head. Blahhhhh4 -
When I decided to get back in shape, I established some patterns—like logging—so it’s a matter of sticking to those and not falling back into my old behaviors. New thing I’ve been doing is a brisk walk first thing every morning—and every other day I lift after. I load up my Contigo with coffee, cue up a podcast, and head out. Been doing this since early June so now it’s just what I do. I think the key is being consistent and sticking with the habits that got you to your goal.5
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Just bumping this a little. As a serial yo yo er, I am now into year 2 of maintaining within my weight range. I won't say that it hasn't been a struggle. But one thing I have noticed is that if you don't FREAK out when you go over your range, and just slowly work to trend the other direction, you have less of a tendency to keep gaining. What I mean by that is not to "punish or restrict yourself" too much. What I see happens with that is that I can't maintain at that restriction and have a lot of "bad" days. So the secret which I am telling myself is "look how far you have come". You don't need to get back there ASAP, just take your time and remove one or two items you have been treating with and the trend will go the other way. Learn to enjoy the accomplishment and not beat yourself up for a minor blip. You won the war, now don't go into all out war again, just do little skirmishes and enjoy your days.26
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SummerSkier wrote: »Just bumping this a little. As a serial yo yo er, I am now into year 2 of maintaining within my weight range. I won't say that it hasn't been a struggle. But one thing I have noticed is that if you don't FREAK out when you go over your range, and just slowly work to trend the other direction, you have less of a tendency to keep gaining. What I mean by that is not to "punish or restrict yourself" too much. What I see happens with that is that I can't maintain at that restriction and have a lot of "bad" days. So the secret which I am telling myself is "look how far you have come". You don't need to get back there ASAP, just take your time and remove one or two items you have been treating with and the trend will go the other way. Learn to enjoy the accomplishment and not beat yourself up for a minor blip. You won the war, now don't go into all out war again, just do little skirmishes and enjoy your days.
Very helpful! Thank you!2 -
The creep has hit me the past few weeks. What has nipped it in the bud is a new giant full length mirror placed right by my front door. Amazing how that works.. I see myself..and now I'm back to my work outs and eating right ,..no problem.
I also agree with the no stretchy clothes or older big clothes waiting in the wings.. wear those tight pants..you have no choice but to cut back,0 -
I think I've done this 6 years - I've never missed a meal logging I don't think. I do it as a habit - like brushing my teeth and putting on moisturizer. I log everything. I weigh every morning. I lost 38 pounds when I was at the bottom of my five pound target 'zone'. I'm now around 3 pounds out of my zone but dropping again.
I don't think about it that much. I log all my food but barely look at the numbers. I have habits that keep me eating what I should be. When I started going up two years ago, I refocused a bit on accurate logging. I finally dropped it all again when I did the Whole30 on my doctors recommendation for another issue. Basically effortlessly.
To maintain I have to do three things: keep my calories where they should be, keep my carbs under 40% (lower if I want to lose), and walk at least half an hour a day. I do that, I don't have to keep my head in the game. I just maintain.
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