Starting maintenance- new/first time

vvww88
vvww88 Posts: 21 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi there. So I just recently hit my dream goal weight 🙌.

But now it’s time to figure out how to maintain this weight without losing or gaining again.... I never thought it would be tricky but after reading loads of posts I’m so nervous I will just start gaining again. How did you figure out your new caloric intake? Did anything else change for you during maintenance?

Replies

  • lx1x
    lx1x Posts: 38,330 Member
    Nah..it's the same.. keep good track and within your maintainance calories
  • Lynzdee18
    Lynzdee18 Posts: 500 Member
    Yes. Keep tracking. I was in maintenance for over a year. Quit tracking and I’m back losing again. Hopefully I’ve learned my lesson. If you’re mindful of your intake and activity, you should be fine. 😀
  • umbramirror
    umbramirror Posts: 256 Member
    I'm new to maintenance too. Congratulations on reaching your goal weight! I'm trying a TDEE method right now, so I inputted my data into a bunch of TDEE calculators and found an average. Basically, I eat those amount of calories per day on average (taking into account activity level and exercise).

    It can take experimentation to find the right intake for you so if it makes you more comfortable, you can slowly increase your daily calories by 100 calories or so each week or two to see at which point you will maintain. Best of luck!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,222 Member
    As far as the figuring out the calorie level, there's a thread that discusses alternative methods, plus a bit about monitoring.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level
  • thanos5
    thanos5 Posts: 513 Member
    nothing to offer except my best wishes. i'm scared as well lol.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Excellent work OP. Keep weighing every day and remember it’s a range, not a number. Make quick corrections and don’t let it slide beyond range in either direction (I wish I had taken this advice). Do whatever you did to lose weight —assuming it wasn’t something drastic— but with a few more calories.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    Trial and error.

    If you've been losing wt on the cals based on the cals you've been logging/burning and you now want to maintain, increase the cals by about 100 cals a day/700 a wk for a couple of weeks and see what happens. If you continue to drop, decrease by another 100 cals a day and so on.

    You will eventually start gaining BUT don't freak out when that 1st happens and immediatrly drop your cals back. Allow at least 2 wks for your body to fully adjust to the new cal intake and then reassess.

    Eventually, you'll find the right cal and activity level for you.

    Good luck!
  • Hammig74
    Hammig74 Posts: 28 Member
    Five months in and still working it out. So far, here’s what I consider important:

    Track everything honestly
    Exercise regularly, almost everyday
    Drink lots of water
    Eat the same most days of the week
    Reach out to others just as you did here
    Control your indulgences
    Don’t binge eat
    Plan ahead

    Hope this helps

    vvww88 wrote: »
    Hi there. So I just recently hit my dream goal weight 🙌.

    But now it’s time to figure out how to maintain this weight without losing or gaining again.... I never thought it would be tricky but after reading loads of posts I’m so nervous I will just start gaining again. How did you figure out your new caloric intake? Did anything else change for you during maintenance?

  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    I started with the maintenance calorie goal MFP gave me. It's worked well for me, and I continue to log my exercise separately.

    You might choose to gradually add calories rather than jumping straight to what you think your maintenance calories will be. That will help prevent the weight fluctuation that you might see from increasing your calories all at once.

    I still do almost exactly what I did while I was losing weight, except that I get to eat a little more now. I only got 200 more calories in maintenance than I did while losing, which I've used on a bigger and more nutrient dense breakfast.

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