If there was ONE thing about maintenance you would share with everyone...
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I'm 6 yrs at maintenance (lost 30lbs).
Just one thing is hard to pin down cos for me its several things:-
* Use a trending weight app and weigh daily.
+/-5lb range - If I go above my range for more than a month, its back to calorie deficit I go.
* Keep my NEAT up as much as possible (I have a desk job but I rarely sit down for more than 15 mins at a time)
* Factor in at least 30 mins of cardio exercise a day
* Strength train 3 times a week - doesn't perhaps help with maintaining weight but it will stand me in good stead for the ageing process and I like having good muscle tone.
I no longer log my food but if I do have to eat at calorie deficit I do log for a few weeks to keep a better eye on my CI/CO.8 -
I have been in a maintenance range for almost 7 years - I'm working on taking it a little further down these days so that the range is slightly lower. I lost 35 pounds, bringing it to 40. I am now in my mid-60s so I find that the calorie intake has to be slightly less than before, even though I am still exercising regularly. There are some foods I simply don't eat, and gradually over these years, I don't miss them at all. I have revised my self-definition as a person who works out, who keeps track, and who is strong and lithe. That is really fun - and at my age it gives me hope that aging won't be horrible!
The hardest part of maintenance is just the vigilance, and never letting celebrations, little "rewards" and such get out of control. It is still easy to slip into some bad habits, but the more practice I have in getting out of those, the easier it gets to re-establish the good ones. I do not log ALL the time, but whenever things feel like they're sliding in the wrong direction, I go right back to logging. I'm also part of a fitness team challenge here on MFP as a team captain, and I find it fun to help others, encourage them, share in their process, even though I am maintaining more than losing. I enjoy the community.9 -
I'm two years in maintenance after a total loss of 108 pounds. The most important thing for me is to continue logging. I don't weigh everything but I do log daily to keep myself honest. It's still a daily struggle to stay within my calorie goal. I truly envy those who naturally maintain but for me I know what I need to do. I will never ever weigh 251 lbs again!25
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I am down 30 pounds and 6 months in ‘practice maintenance’.
1 Big Takeaway: Accurate logging is the ONLY way to know if I am eating under, on, or over the calories needed for my particular eating plan. (Lose, maintain, gain - different calories requirements).
My stats: 63yo,F, 5’4”, CW-169 GW-140
At 1/2 pound per week loss plan, MFP allows me 1400 calories a day.
I have slow but steady 30 pounds still to go, and this awareness about accurate logging, and my success with the practice maintenance reinforces my confidence in the long term success of reaching and sticking to my goal weight.
Good luck to us all.4 -
30 pounds down, Maintenance for 4-5 months, But currently trying to slowly lose 5 more.
Nobody can tell you your individual TDEE or amount to eat every day, It takes time and some backwards engineering to figure out where you are. Those calculators are averages and you might be higher/lower. I use to think 1500-1600 was my TDEE but I lose weight on that amount, It's closer to 1800-2000 on a normal day5 -
It's a constant balancing act. Sometimes weight is up sometimes it's down.7
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Male. 65. Down 50 lbs. Maintained for eighteen months. Working on slowly losing another 20.
For me, it's vigilance. I weigh and log daily. Like many here, I have lost and regained weight in the past. I don't get distressed if I indulge for a day or three, but I get back on program as soon as possible. It took a lot of effort to lose that 50 lbs. and I'm not going back there. EVER.9 -
Not really sure what maintenance is, but after losing weight steadily for a year I seem to have plateaued, so maybe staying at this weight will be maintenance. It's a little heavier than I'd like, but in the middle of the healthy range (I'd like to be at the lower end but I'm not going to push it). It's been an interesting journey
for me, as I've learned a lot about diet, food and exercise, subjects I never had any interest in before, and my diet is more interesting now, not less. I guess I've learned (to a degree) discipline & mindfulness, not to just stuff food in my mouth the second my stomach feels less than stuffed. Better late than never! I also find meal planning helps. 5 -
I've been maintaining for over 6 years (4/13) and the best advice is to keep doing what you were doing to lose weight. I still track everything and I exercise everyday. And I weigh a couple of times/week no matter what.6
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Maintaining 145 pound weight loss for almost four years. My biggest takeaway was balance. Not every day or week has to be perfect. If i end this week 1000 calories over my weekly goal, no biggie....i'll scale back a little next week to end my week 1000 calories under so i'm even steven. I think of it like using a credit card to make purchases. I can either save up for a big purchase or use credit but i'll have to pay it back eventually. So if i know i have plans that will create a surplus i can scale back before hand to "save up" or i can eat, enjoy, calculate my calories and "pay it back" the following week(s). What i can't do is let the "debt" pile up.22
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That the online calculators for recommended maintenance calories are all too high for me. I need to consume at least 200 cals less than the recommendations on a daily basis. I think this is due to a certain amount of leniency in my calorie recording and the fact that I have a free day once a week where I'm very probably eating up to the surplus. However I've managed to maintain a steady 54kg/120lbs loss over a year and feel happy and relaxed about this. On the other hand I do still sometimes miss the bad old days of being able to indulge mindlessly. But it is very clear now that I'll no longer ever be able to go back to that. Nor do I want to.7
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I've been maintaining for over 6 years (4/13) and the best advice is to keep doing what you were doing to lose weight. I still track everything and I exercise everyday. And I weigh a couple of times/week no matter what.
I love this! That’s pretty much my latest “ah-ha”. I recently let my weight creep back up to seven pounds over my maintenance range. But now I’m losing again by re-committing to the same old healthy habits. I’m learning that I need to weigh in at least once a week and log daily.2 -
35 lbs lost. Weigh in at 165lbs now.alteredsteve175 wrote: »Male. 65. Down 50 lbs. Maintained for eighteen months. Working on slowly losing another 20.
For me, it's vigilance. I weigh and log daily. Like many here, I have lost and regained weight in the past. I don't get distressed if I indulge for a day or three, but I get back on program as soon as possible. It took a lot of effort to lose that 50 lbs. and I'm not going back there. EVER.
Do ya one better (of course), buddy. I log each food separately, not using the meal feature; I force myself to look at what I ate. Maybe once a quarter is when I cheat bigly, I might accidentally forget to log in that day.2 -
Nine years plus in maintenance; after planning to lose 12 lbs and ended losing 14lbs. I still log and weigh my food but not too religiously. Don't log on vacation or when eating out of the house.
I go to the gym 4 times a week and take three yoga classes a week (I love working-out!). I am a much older petite lady so I check my weight 4 to 5 times a week, and I don't let it creep up more than 2lbs. Having a good relationship with food has been very helpful. I am not a foodie; I eat to live, not the other way around.5 -
I was in maintenance for 4 years, messed up last year and gained 25 back. I was eating over my calorie limit and got a flu and then kept overeating. I got myself back on track this year and lost 30 lbs and have kept it off for a year, learned my lesson. I use to not weigh very often, now I weigh daily so I can see the consequence. Also, I have done much journaling as to why I emotionally eat which has helped. I have learned to set boundaries with a lot of people also. Proud of myself for getting the weight off again, I knew what to do and I knew I could do it because I had done it before with MFP people supporting me.17
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Another one jumping on the bandwagon of vigilance. Also maintenance is kind of tiresome because when you are actively trying to lose weight you have the "yippee" moments when the scale or the measurements reduce. Maintenance is just booooring. Fortunately I have got keen on weight training, so I can now concentrate on attritional gains there and it gives me something health-related to aim for.3
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SnifterPug wrote: »Another one jumping on the bandwagon of vigilance. Also maintenance is kind of tiresome because when you are actively trying to lose weight you have the "yippee" moments when the scale or the measurements reduce. Maintenance is just booooring. Fortunately I have got keen on weight training, so I can now concentrate on attritional gains there and it gives me something health-related to aim for.
Boring is a state of mind, make your maintenance exiting by rejoicing in seeing that the numbers in the scale are mostly steady and within normal range. Be proud of yourself for being resilient, organized, vigilant, and engaged in your health and well being. Great job too concentrating in your weight training!15 -
SnifterPug wrote: »Another one jumping on the bandwagon of vigilance. Also maintenance is kind of tiresome because when you are actively trying to lose weight you have the "yippee" moments when the scale or the measurements reduce. Maintenance is just booooring. Fortunately I have got keen on weight training, so I can now concentrate on attritional gains there and it gives me something health-related to aim for.
Boring is a state of mind, make your maintenance exiting by rejoicing in seeing that the numbers in the scale are mostly steady and within normal range. Be proud of yourself for being resilient, organized, vigilant, and engaged in your health and well being. Great job too concentrating in your weight training!
Yes exactly this.2 -
You really need to find something you can live with. A way of being healthy that doesn't feel restrictive or punishing. Different ways work for different people, as there are lots of ways of doing this and everyone finds different things easier or harder and has different likes or dislikes.
For example, myself:- I try to eat healthy stuff most of the time, and if I find myself getting into a phase of eating rubbish or eating too much for several days in a row, I'll notice it and try to get myself back to normal, as this is how I end up gaining a few lbs if I let it continue.
- I don't typically count calories or track when I'm maintaining, but infrequently I might do for a bit to check I'm not way off with what I think I'm getting. Likewise, I don't weigh my food most of the time, but I do try to make sure I'm not too off with my intuition.
- I do weigh myself, but not every day or on a regular schedule.
- If I have gained maybe 5lbs or something, I'll come back on mfp and lose it before it becomes a bigger problem. That's why I'm here now.
- I don't go to the gym, because honestly I find heavy exercise to be more effort than I feel it's worth. I know I'm 'supposed' to do it, but I don't care enough about being muscular, and I don't need to be strong for any real reason. I don't have a car though, so I do walk a lot out of necessity.
This is just my way. It won't work for everyone and I'm not suggesting people should copy me anyway. I know it's not the way to be as healthy as I could be, but it's something I can live with. It's making trade-offs between what's healthiest and what you find sustainable.
This is why after a dramatic change, lost weight often returns in a lot of people.7 -
SnifterPug wrote: »Another one jumping on the bandwagon of vigilance. Also maintenance is kind of tiresome because when you are actively trying to lose weight you have the "yippee" moments when the scale or the measurements reduce. Maintenance is just booooring. Fortunately I have got keen on weight training, so I can now concentrate on attritional gains there and it gives me something health-related to aim for.
Hope you don't mind me saying but I really fear for your long term success if you don't manage to change your outlook, hopefully the weight training will partly help resolve that by giving you a new focus.
You could celebrate every single day you get on the scales and are in your maintenance range, not just the occasional day of seeing the number come down when you are losing weight but a small victory every day.
Give yourself a "yippee" when you see the scales confirm you have beaten the odds and have succeeded where many, if not most, fail.
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