Maintaining after quick loss - what now?

Hi, any advice would be great. I reduced my calorie intake to 1000 and upped my exercise to 6 x 60 minute fast walks a week from 11th March. 14 weeks later I’ve dropped from 76.5kg to 62kg, lost 5” off my waist, 4” off my hips -goal achieved and don’t want to lose any more weight. But I’m scared about increasing my calories after such a rigid 3.5months of this new lifestyle! Can anyone help me work out what to do next to simply maintain my goal weight? PS - I am vegan so dietary info needs to bear this in mind :) thanks for any help given.

Replies

  • kes2201
    kes2201 Posts: 6 Member
    I hear you. I didn’t intend to lose that much weight that fast - it just kind of happened and I was so happy to be back at my original weight after 7 years of slowly piling it on I guess I just went with it. Never thought to diet until now so it’s a whole new ballgame for me at 42yrs of age. I suppose I should be kinder to myself and allow a few more calories and maybe take up some weights or something rather than focusing on cardio. Thanks for your feedback.
  • kes2201
    kes2201 Posts: 6 Member
    edited June 2019
    Wow - 31kg! That’s amazing! Thanks for the advice, it doesn’t sound too daunting and as long as I continue to monitor daily I will feel more in control of this next stage. Just need to bite the bullet and crack on with it I guess! Thanks again :)
  • OooohToast
    OooohToast Posts: 257 Member
    Well done on the weight loss OP - maintenance is calling and these boards will show you that plenty of people have struggled with this phase, regardless of how they lost the weight.

    @Uniqum87 advice is good - You might find that the way to ease your way in is to contune with your current way of eating, but bump up the portions sizes.

    I would add that you should continue to weigh and record your food and weigh yourself once a week so you can see the impact of your changes.

    And again - well done on getting the lard off !
  • kes2201
    kes2201 Posts: 6 Member
    Thank you so much for your encouragement :) Upping portion sizes is a good idea actually as I’m enjoying what I eat, but I admit I have room for more sometimes! Definitely going to keep track of my progress as this has become a firm habit now. Appreciate your help. Thanks
  • jan110144
    jan110144 Posts: 1,281 Member
    I lost 50 pounds in 6 mo and shared your concerns going into maintenance. I did struggle a bit in early maintenance, especially with binge/restriction cycles... which were never a problem during weight loss. What I discovered was that I simply was not eating enough in maintenance. On the advice of a MFP friend I started eating at a TDEE level and no longer adjusted for exercise. That did the trick ... no more cycling between undereating and overeating. I actually had to up my TDEE because I was continuing to lose weight and at a BMI of 30, I did not want to go lower.
  • kes2201
    kes2201 Posts: 6 Member
    Hi, thanks for the tip re TDEE. I’ve just looked into it and worked out my BMR is 1374 and taking exercise into account is 2130 :o which seems far too much! By “no longer adjusting for exercise” do you mean going by the BMR rate? This seems more realistic as a jump to more than twice my current calorie intake would probably throw me right out! My current BMI is 22.2 but tbh I take that with a pinch of salt as I also measure my subcutaneous and visceral fat levels which feel more important given I have high bone density and muscle weight. Well done on your amazing weight loss btw! :)
  • kes2201
    kes2201 Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks so much for the calculations - it’s all very new to me so the above is very helpful :) definitely think I’ll take the increase in calories slowly and steadily so I can monitor it. All of you have been so helpful and reassuring ~ thanks
  • jan110144
    jan110144 Posts: 1,281 Member
    kes2201 wrote: »
    By “no longer adjusting for exercise” do you mean going by the BMR rate?

    Sorry, I was not clear. During the active weight loss phase, my calories were set to lose 1.5 pounds per week. I tracked both food and exercise calories and would "eat back" some portion of the exercise calories. In maintenance I continued doing the same thing, but just had trouble consistently eating enough. So, I set my calories at my TDEE (2000 calories) and did not "eat back" exercise calories. After a couple of weeks I raised my TDEE from 2000 to 2100 because I was still.losing at 2000.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    jan110144 wrote: »
    kes2201 wrote: »
    By “no longer adjusting for exercise” do you mean going by the BMR rate?

    Sorry, I was not clear. During the active weight loss phase, my calories were set to lose 1.5 pounds per week. I tracked both food and exercise calories and would "eat back" some portion of the exercise calories. In maintenance I continued doing the same thing, but just had trouble consistently eating enough. So, I set my calories at my TDEE (2000 calories) and did not "eat back" exercise calories. After a couple of weeks I raised my TDEE from 2000 to 2100 because I was still.losing at 2000.

    You were still losing because you were not fueling your exercise -- your TDEE should include *all* exercise activity, not just a portion.
  • jan110144
    jan110144 Posts: 1,281 Member
    edited June 2019
    @collectingblues blues

    "You were still losing because you were not fueling your exercise -- your TDEE should include *all* exercise activity, not just a portion."

    More likely, the TDEE calculator was not accurate. At best they are a statistical estimate based on imperfect data. Which is why you continue to track and adjust based on results.
  • ChelleDee07
    ChelleDee07 Posts: 396 Member
    Congratulations on your loss!! I also loss rather quickly and I have been in maintenance now for more than 21 months. I loss more than 100 lbs in 8 months and 4 days. I changed what and how much I ate and got active. My method of maintenance is different from most. I take my weekends off. I don't gorge myself... but I eat freely starting lunch on Friday through Sunday night. Monday morning I get back to my healthier choices, weighing and logging my food, exercise. Come Monday morning my weight will have shifted up, but I drop it right back down during the week. So in a sense I am always in 'loss mode' but only during the week. This is totally a sustainable lifestyle for me... and has been since Sept of 2017. Wishing you all the best with however you choose to maintain and again, WTG on the weight loss!!