July Challenge: Maintainers Back on Track Thread
sofchak
Posts: 862 Member
This challenge is specific to Maintainers who may have lost a little enthusiasm along the journey to better health or simply need to refocus efforts - let’s use this space as a discussion / accountability thread to get back on track and ultimately back in goal range. Check in as often as you like (weekly or bi-weekly preferred).
I just ask that you focus on up to three things:
1. Your current goal - can be big (like run a 10k or lose 10 lbs by Christmas) or small (like eat at a deficit 2 days a week or lose 1/2 lb a week)
2. Recent success - this can be tied to your goal (lost 3 lbs!) or a completely separate NSV (lost a pant size or ran a mile without stopping)
3. Strategy - how are you planning to meet your goal?
Here goes...
Name:
How long in maintenance:
Goal maintenance range:
Current weight:
Current goal:
Recent success:
Strategy for your goal:
I just ask that you focus on up to three things:
1. Your current goal - can be big (like run a 10k or lose 10 lbs by Christmas) or small (like eat at a deficit 2 days a week or lose 1/2 lb a week)
2. Recent success - this can be tied to your goal (lost 3 lbs!) or a completely separate NSV (lost a pant size or ran a mile without stopping)
3. Strategy - how are you planning to meet your goal?
Here goes...
Name:
How long in maintenance:
Goal maintenance range:
Current weight:
Current goal:
Recent success:
Strategy for your goal:
4
Replies
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Name: Ruth
How long in maintenance: 6 yrs this month
Goal maintenance range: 125-130lbs
Current weight: 130.5
Current goal:125-126
Recent success: n/a
Strategy for your goal: aim to be in calorie deficit consistently! and for me that means gross calories of less than 1600.
I always seem to start these things when I'm about to go on holidays! we leave on Sunday for our 14 night Scandinavian & Russian cruise, but at least the first and last week of this month I CAN be on target!
My eye has been off the ball lately, we lost our young grandson just over 5 weeks ago so weight issues were put on the back burner as I just tried to get through each day.
Its now time to recommit to looking after myself again. I'm happiest at 125/126, a few pounds on my petite frame matters.
All the best everyone.
7 -
Jul 1 - total CI/1703, CO/1890. OK so a small deficit, but one all the same.
@sofchak looks like its just two of us on this thread, hoping more will join us cos there are people in the same boat out there for sure3 -
Name: Jan
How long in maintenance: Coming up on 6 months
Weight lost: 50 pounds in 6 mo
Goal maintenance range: 130-135 lbs
Current weight: 128.5
Current goal: 130
Recent success: Stabilizing my eating plan for msintenance
Strategy for your goal: continue to work on finding the best calorie intake to maintain weight. Mostly. It's figuring how many of my exercise calories to eat back to avoid losing more weight
I'm still here! June was a good month for me... solidly back on track and in the maintenance zone for the entire month.
I am starting to believe I have finally figured maintenance out. Big issues for me are not undereating (inevitably leads to overeating later) and getting enough sleep. I was finding that eating enough can be very challenging when you try to avoid "empty" calories. Pretty amazing how much you can (have to) eat!
5 -
@jan110144 it takes a while to figure out TDEE but with figuring that out comes a confidence.3
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Name: Kim
How long in maintenance: 1 year, 3 months
Goal maintenance range: 127-131
Current weight: 129.2
Recent success: maintained my weight through a maintenance break! It was a lot harder than I expected. I had a few days where I was way, way over, and then a lot of water weight. I'm still figuring out my TDEE too.
Current goals:
Reach 128 / Keep the trend line under 131!
Maintain weight while moving!
Exercise
Learn to accept my body for what it is
Strategy for your goal:
We’re moving next weekend. I have a few boxes packed but a lot of work ahead of me. It is tempting to ease my stress with chocolate but the Oreo cookies are now gone so things can only improve on that front, lol.
I wasn’t happy with the way my stomach looked in the wedding pictures, but I think I just need to make peace with the fact that I’ll always have a B belly unless I have skin removal surgery and that’s just not in the cards. Trying to cope with that and remind myself that it doesn’t affect my health -- but letting myself get all depressed over it will.6 -
Name: Meg
How long in maintenance: 1 year
Goal maintenance range: 120-123
Current weight: 126.2
Current goal: 125
Recent success: I ate fruit instead of a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast and weighed myself instead of avoiding the scale
Strategy for your goal: I’ve fallen into a habit of eating high calorie foods daily (bagels, bars, pastries). If I can plan meals ahead of time I’ll get into the routine of saving those foods for special ocassions again.4 -
@MoTownSweat that's actually a pretty nifty idea that breakfast food swap you did, way to reduce calories in that one meal
I find it works for me to just cut out a night time snack - which for me is usually a packet of Walkers Prawn Cocktail crisps 127cals and a snack sized choc bar i.e Kit kat at 100 cals. I can only do that for so long though! I need want a little chocolate most days LOL2 -
Name:jrwms714
How long in maintenance:4.5 years
Goal maintenance range: 136.5-138.5
Current weight:139.5
Current goal:range above
Recent success: n/a. I keep yo-yoing from 138.5-140.0 Not where I want to be!
Strategy for your goal: I still am cutting out snacks after dinner, which is a major help. What I really need to do is watch what I buy every three weeks after my hairdresser appointment (yes, go figure!) but especially when I go to Trader Joe's. It is a MINEFIELD of snacks for me, and not the healthy ones! I'd totally avoid it, except our essentials are there: favorite coffees, eggs, Tangerine juice, etc. These are two habits that I have to break. I have had success doing that in the past, but slipping back to it once again. And the snacks that I buy don't even really taste all that great.
@LivingtheLeanDream, nice to see your helpful, encouraging comments on this particular forum. People seem to post and let it go; that helps me, I know, when I do it, but engaging in conversation about the post is even more of a help!4 -
Name: Frantz
How long in maintenance: 8 years
Goal maintenance range: 180-184
Current weight: 192
Current goal: Seems like I am caught in this constant cycle of calorie deficits for several weeks to reach a goal and then falling completely off the wagon. Not good. I have a meeting coming up in 3 weeks and I want my clothes to be loosely comfortable for it. That means getting back to the upper bound of my goal range at the very least.
Recent success: Went on a couple 20+ mile group bike rides last weekend (brown shirt in the photo...)
Strategy for your goal: Eat right, exercise, and log everything on MFP. Internalize my desire to be lean, trim and fit; make it stronger than my urges to slack off.
6 -
@jrwms714 you're right, it's others commenting and supporting that helps spur us on.
I'm going on holiday now so it'll be only now and again I can drop by here.
@fh1951 my friend you are only a little above your range, nip it in the bud and keep your eyes on the prize. You have done so well. God bless.
Ruth4 -
One day of calorie deficit and exercise and I’m down to 188 from 192. Water weight...4
-
Lowest - 125
Goal - still 135
Actual - still 145
Survived 15 day vacation with 0 gain
Floundering...but hopeful
Plan - eat more vegetables and less ice cream
Training for 9/11 run and want to get under 30 mins this year. The last two years I was seconds over.
8 -
@nowine4me excellent to maintain while on vacay I'd love to do that! We're heading on our cruise today and I'm aiming to eat only slightly above TDEE, from past experience there's no point me trying to try to eat less - I can work on losing a few extra pounds when I return.
Keep on keeping on everyone.
Ruth4 -
-
Ok so I'm officially cruise bound today and won't be checking in much here for the next two weeks. Keep focused friends4
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LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »Ok so I'm officially cruise bound today and won't be checking in much here for the next two weeks. Keep focused friends
2 -
Name: Nijntje
How long in maintenance: around 9 months
Goal maintenance range: 112-118
Trendweight 30th June: 119.2
Trendweight 14th July: 122.3
Current goal: 116
Recent successes: ummmmmm, limited?! It’s been a funny couple of weeks - after the big hike my weight didn’t really come back down again. Then I went to Paris last weekend, and while I didn’t eat hardly any of the pastries I did eat quite a lot of cheese. This week was 3 dinners out for leaving parties and bf’s birthday, and while I know I’ve eaten a bit over maintenance I don’t think it’s been 10k over maintenance! Going to see how things settle next week before freaking out. Also really noticing I’m pretty good when in my normal routine, but have real trouble moderating when out of it, particularly when it comes to politely declining when others offer me food I don’t want/need. Would like to figure that out, as there’s always going to be times when routine is not possible, and I don’t want the default to be ‘eat everything’. Sigh. Back to the grind.
Hope everybody is ticking along well, ‘tis a little quiet round these parts - supportive thoughts being sent to all.9 -
Name: Elle
How long in maintenance: on and off 8 months
Goal maintenance range: 124-130
Current weight: 132.2
Current goal: 131
Recent success: Lost 1.5 pounds!
Strategy for your goal: Stop mindless snacking and eat at a very slight deficit(100-300 under maintenance). I've been really good getting back into a deficit, kept thinking it would be too hard but I've been fine. I'm really surprised that I lost 1.5 in a week at 1400cals but I won't expect it again6 -
Name: Meg
How long in maintenance: 1 year
Goal maintenance range: 120-123
July 3rd: 126
July 17th: 126
Current goal: 125
Recent success: I didn’t gain weight on vacation
Strategy for your goal: Being more mindful about calorie dense foods (eg, nuts, bars and granola in moderation). Reduce late night eating.3 -
Name: Nijntje
How long in maintenance: around 9 months
Goal maintenance range: 112-118
Trendweight 14th July: 122.3
Trendweight 21st July: 121.3
Current goal: 116
Recent successes: Well, I’ve dropped a bit, suggesting that some of that gain had been water, but also suggesting that in the last 3 weeks I’ve gained around 2lb of actual weight. I’m feeling really frustrated with myself - I do well for a little while, then blow it. My clothes still fit but I feel like I’m getting squishier.
Strategies for success: Think about why I’m eating what I’m eating - a lot of the time recently it’s not because I’m hungry, but just because I just feel like it. Really try to think about whether I really need those biscuits/cake/chocolate - the answer is probably not!
4 -
Lovely to see new folks sharing in this post.
I'm just back from a two week Baltic cruise which was fantastic but now its time to get back on track and lose a few pesky pounds that have been creeping on in recent months.
I weighed in today knowing it was going to be high (for me) - it'll take a few days for the water weight to reveal any true gain from the holiday.
I wasn't shocked to see 133.2lbs today, its not too bad. Its actually my original goal weight. But I prefer to be 125-128. Already I am planning my calorie deficit so I'll see more favourable numbers within the next few months.
Hope everyone is sticking to their plans and feeling optimistic.
All the best,
Ruth5 -
Hello maintainers! I dropped off of mfp and now I'm back. On June 10th I quit smoking and since then I've shot up to the top of my maintenance range through binge eating. I've slipped a few times with the smoking so my current figure is 12.5 days nicotine free and day two of eating at a deficit. I just can't let smoking be the reason I lose all my progress!
Name: Lauren
How long in maintenance: 4 months
Goal maintenance range: 132-137
Current weight: 137
Current goal: 130
Recent success: ate at deficit for two days straight
Strategy for your goal: continue to eat at a deficit.
5 -
@laurenhugs23 well done on the giving up smoking and all the very best for that and also getting back to calorie deficit to sort that weight creep.1
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Name: Nijntje
How long in maintenance: around 1 year
Goal maintenance range: 112-118
Trendweight 21st July: 121.3
Trendweight 28th July: 121.7
Current goal: 116
Recent successes: none - hanging on desperately. Realized that one year ago I was sitting in my goal weight range - and still successfully losing - I don’t know where my head currently is but struggling to keep it in the game. I’m having some success with really thinking about what I’m eating - have managed to not mindlessly eat extra slices of brownie last night (actually, that indeed is a success!), but tbh could have easily done with not even having the first slice! Strategies for success: Downloaded a mindfulness app to see if this helps me focus more on my eating habits - just have to remember to use it.
I am not going to give up.2 -
How long in maintenance: Since July 2018 -- but with some fluctuation outside of goal range.
Goal maintenance range: 142 - 148 (and not sure that's the right answer)
Current weight: 145.2 (7-day average)
Current goal: Get back to original goal of 143
Recent success: This is really starting to look like maintenance. I just noticed it's been pretty much a full year that I've considered myself in maintenance, but I did have a few times I went up more than I want. Currently I am right at my ~revised~ goal weight and smack in the middle of my ~revised~ maintenance range. I'm actually even smack in the middle of my ORIGINAL maintenance range. I would still like to get back to my original goal. It's just a couple pounds lower, but those two pounds have proven difficult. I'm not beating myself up about it, and I'm fine with the revised goals because they make it easier for me to feel successful where I am.
Bottom line: My weight trends suggest I am still maintaining even if it's just a little heavier than I would prefer.
1 -
How long in maintenance: Since December 2014 but the past year I’ve been 3-6 pounds over my goal
Goal Maintenace Range: 155-160 lb
Current Weight: 158.4 lb
Current Goal: to stay under 160 lb
Recent Success: I’ve stayed under 160 for 2 weeks in a row
Strategy: Three months ago I downloaded a hypnosis app that focuses on weight loss. I use it 3 or 4 times a week. It has helped me to remind myself that I don’t need more than a small portion of fruit and cup of tea for my afternoon snack. I have been able to skip the crackers with peanut butter or cheese. Being mindful of the small extras I have been snacking on, I think, has helped get me back on track2
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