To maintain or to lose those last 15...

maybe1pe · September 2019

I've been maintaining my weight easily for the last 18ish months... (stopped losing spring 2018 sometime). I lost 115lbs over about 3 years using MFP.

I'm 28F, 29 soon, 5'5" and 165. My goal had been to lose into a healthy weight range, but early 2018 decided to take a break for maintenance while I worked on figuring out my low blood pressure. My dr. doesn't think I need to lose more weight necessarily and is unsure how it will effect my blood pressure moving forward. I am on medication now which keeps it high enough for the most part...

I do mostly weight lifting 5-6 days a week, following a program with a coach that focuses on progressive overload. It's 3 lower body days, 2 upper body and 1 full body cardio type workout a week. I also walk between 10-15,000 steps a day (have three dogs, one is a young mini Aussie with too much energy so we are constantly on the go with him).

Currently maintaining my weight on 2300-2500 calories a day average.

Here's my problem... I keep mentally thinking I want to get into the healthy weight range, or at least try and see how my blood pressure responds... HOWEVER every time I try to cut I feel like my energy levels and workouts take a huge dive...

I managed a consistent deficit for 6 weeks earlier this year and felt like absolute crap... workouts suffered, my muscle recovery tanked and instead of recovering I was just sore all the time, wasn't sleeping well, constantly had headaches. It just...SUCKED.

I seem to be able to manage a 300 calorie deficit for a few weeks before I start to feel negative side effects. I'll be honest I didn't track much while in maintenance so my calories are estimated. It's possible I was eating more and therefore trying to lose on 2000 is a steep cut but realistically it should be 300-500 calories from my TDEE.

I know how to lose weight, now that I've committed to tracking the last month I track accurately, weigh everything, even prepacked items, hit my protein, know what macros I feel good on. I just can't figure out how to make workouts not suck in a deficit and don't want to compromise my lifting... I enjoy my activity level and am not willing to cut any of that out, so I don't know how to make losing these last few lbs work form...

I genuinely don't know what to do and am just looking for suggestions/advice/experiences from other long term maintainers...kind of trying to avoid the other forums...

Unknown · September 2019

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LivingtheLeanDream · September 2019

How about you just stick with eating at maintenance for now, there will be weeks when you can think about having a 300 cal daily deficit and even if you could do that for one week in the month, slowly, slowly you'd keep losing. (Or even a 200 cal deficit, sometimes even 100 more calories can make all the difference)

I get you about the deficit, its hard when you're used to maintenance cals, I'm currently on a cut because I saw a little weight creep happening (I'm 6 yrs in maintenance), I'm aiming for 300-400 deficit Mon-Fri and eating at TDEE on the weekends, that helps keep me sane. I prefer to catch the weight creep any time I go outside my +/-5lb range.

A lot of it is mental attitude - while you aren't in the notion of cutting you wont feel like doing it. And honestly, if you're happy enough where you are, keep doing what you're doing.

Huge congrats on a fantastic loss and on maintenance.

ps I wish I could have those cals to maintain on, the downside of being petite!

Ruth

elisa123gal · September 2019

why not do an even lower deficit a day.. like 100 or 200 calories and see if losing super slow will not mess with your balance of energy and mediations that keep you feeling well.

dashagrr · September 2019

Why don't you lose, say, half of it (about 7 lb) over 14 weeks and see how you feel/look? That only means cutting 250 cals so you will still be eating 2,000+/day.
Another thought, sounds like you a lot of weight training. Have you had any (reputable) body fat analysis done to see where you are? You may have a very healthy level of body fat already and if that's the case, losing more may not be healthy.
Also, are you happy with the way you look and the way your clothes fit?

sijomial · September 2019

Sounds like simply a slower cut might work or just cut for a few weeks at a time?

You don't have to cut hard.
You don't have to lose all 15lbs in one go.
You don't need a deficit every day of the week.
You don't need to have a deficit for weeks or months continuously.

Personally I can either drift down very slowly over a long period of time with no ill effects or I can cut at 1lb for a number of weeks (5 or 6 is about the limit for me when training very hard) if I have a fixed date event in mind that I want to get to my best weight for.

When I was food logging one thing I used to do was mentally convert my desired weight loss into calories. So if I wanted to lose 3lbs I would see that as 10,500 cals to nibble away in small or larger chunks sporadically whenever and only when it suited me.
Skip breakfast - 400 off, substitute a lower calorie snack - 100 cals off, two pints of beer instead of three - 260 cals off, volunteer to be the designated driver on a night out and that's 780 cals saved.
It can be quite painless and as the majority of the time you are either at maintenance or coming off a maintenance day no significant training impact either.

maybe1pe · September 2019

dashagrr wrote: »

Why don't you lose, say, half of it (about 7 lb) over 14 weeks and see how you feel/look? That only means cutting 250 cals so you will still be eating 2,000+/day.
Another thought, sounds like you a lot of weight training. Have you had any (reputable) body fat analysis done to see where you are? You may have a very healthy level of body fat already and if that's the case, losing more may not be healthy.
Also, are you happy with the way you look and the way your clothes fit?

Thanks everyone,

Yeah I do a fair amount of weight lifting, and I have always been fairly muscular. Even in high school/college when I was active I was around 20% body fat at 175 lbs. But I haven't had a test done recently.
If I go by height-waist ratio I'm good. My waist is 29 inches. making my ratio about .44 under .5 is considered good for women (or so I've read).

I'm fairly happy with how I look. I have some loose skin on the back of my arms and lower stomach, I think because of how quickly I gained weight (got married, started a masters program) and then how quickly I lost the weight after my divorce. My weight went up and then back down in the matter of a few years. The skin kind of skews my perception of myself a little. Like I know that there is still some fat in that skin but the appearance of that fat I think is made "worse" because of how the skin is looser...
I could definitely stand to lose a couple of pounds of fat probably I just enjoy the weightlifting so much that the second that starts to feel impacted it doesn't seem worth it and I cycle back to maintenance.

I think maybe I will try a very slow deficit and eat between 2100-2300 for two weeks and then cycle to maintenance calories for a couple weeks and kind of go back and forth and see how that goes for a few months. I'm not in a rush to lose weight so I don't mind a slow rate of loss.

slbbw · September 2019

I was going to ask about BF% or waist size which you responded to above. It definitely sounds like you are at a healthy weight. If you want to try and get under 150 (also 5'5") working to do it very slowly sounds like the right idea. I have run into the same issue myself. I did get under 150 but my body reacted and I got super hungry and gained back to 150. I am trying to get back to 145 now very slowly. Good luck and try not to let BMI get you down since every other health marker looks good.

maybe1pe · September 2019

slbbw wrote: »

I was going to ask about BF% or waist size which you responded to above. It definitely sounds like you are at a healthy weight. If you want to try and get under 150 (also 5'5") working to do it very slowly sounds like the right idea. I have run into the same issue myself. I did get under 150 but my body reacted and I got super hungry and gained back to 150. I am trying to get back to 145 now very slowly. Good luck and try not to let BMI get you down since every other health marker looks good.

Thanks, for the response. It's kind of nice to know I'm not just losing my mind.

I've decided on .5 lbs a week for two weeks and then two weeks at maintenance to see how that plays out.

So far my first couple of weeks have been good and I've lost slight over .5 lbs each week. I'm getting ready to switch back to maintenance this coming weekend, just in time for my birthday.

I definitely think slow is the way for me to approach it.

Thanks!

RealWorldStrengthLLC · September 2019

maybe1pe wrote: »

I've been maintaining my weight easily for the last 18ish months... (stopped losing spring 2018 sometime). I lost 115lbs over about 3 years using MFP.

I'm 28F, 29 soon, 5'5" and 165. My goal had been to lose into a healthy weight range, but early 2018 decided to take a break for maintenance while I worked on figuring out my low blood pressure. My dr. doesn't think I need to lose more weight necessarily and is unsure how it will effect my blood pressure moving forward. I am on medication now which keeps it high enough for the most part...

I do mostly weight lifting 5-6 days a week, following a program with a coach that focuses on progressive overload. It's 3 lower body days, 2 upper body and 1 full body cardio type workout a week. I also walk between 10-15,000 steps a day (have three dogs, one is a young mini Aussie with too much energy so we are constantly on the go with him).

Currently maintaining my weight on 2300-2500 calories a day average.

Here's my problem... I keep mentally thinking I want to get into the healthy weight range, or at least try and see how my blood pressure responds... HOWEVER every time I try to cut I feel like my energy levels and workouts take a huge dive...

I managed a consistent deficit for 6 weeks earlier this year and felt like absolute crap... workouts suffered, my muscle recovery tanked and instead of recovering I was just sore all the time, wasn't sleeping well, constantly had headaches. It just...SUCKED.

I seem to be able to manage a 300 calorie deficit for a few weeks before I start to feel negative side effects. I'll be honest I didn't track much while in maintenance so my calories are estimated. It's possible I was eating more and therefore trying to lose on 2000 is a steep cut but realistically it should be 300-500 calories from my TDEE.

I know how to lose weight, now that I've committed to tracking the last month I track accurately, weigh everything, even prepacked items, hit my protein, know what macros I feel good on. I just can't figure out how to make workouts not suck in a deficit and don't want to compromise my lifting... I enjoy my activity level and am not willing to cut any of that out, so I don't know how to make losing these last few lbs work form...

I genuinely don't know what to do and am just looking for suggestions/advice/experiences from other long term maintainers...kind of trying to avoid the other forums...

You just described cutting while maintaining a high activity level and strength training 😉

Maxxitt · September 2019

maybe1pe wrote: »

slbbw wrote: »

I was going to ask about BF% or waist size which you responded to above. It definitely sounds like you are at a healthy weight. If you want to try and get under 150 (also 5'5") working to do it very slowly sounds like the right idea. I have run into the same issue myself. I did get under 150 but my body reacted and I got super hungry and gained back to 150. I am trying to get back to 145 now very slowly. Good luck and try not to let BMI get you down since every other health marker looks good.

Thanks, for the response. It's kind of nice to know I'm not just losing my mind.

I've decided on .5 lbs a week for two weeks and then two weeks at maintenance to see how that plays out.

So far my first couple of weeks have been good and I've lost slight over .5 lbs each week. I'm getting ready to switch back to maintenance this coming weekend, just in time for my birthday.

I definitely think slow is the way for me to approach it.

Thanks!

I'd also suggest that you generally target the deficit weeks to those weeks of your menstrual cycle when you feel the best overall if you are among the women who find that hunger levels tend to rise after ovulation.

cheryldumais · October 2019

This was facinating to me. I agree you probably are already at a healthy weight. I am 5'5.5" and weigh 155 and my waist is around 35 inches. I am fat. You are not. I think you just have more muscle than most. If you feel good and look good then don't worry about the numbers. Congratulations on your weight loss and double congrats on the muscle building. That inspires me.

HoneyBadger302 · October 2019

I'm in the last 15-20 pounds myself, but fitness is more important than weight loss (although i want the weight off too). I don't have the BP issues though (if anything, HBP runs in my family).

I can't lose quickly and keep my workouts up. I'm current trending about 1 pound a month - PAINFULLY slow, and it gets really frustrating some days/weeks, but if I try to cut closer to 2-4 pounds/month my workouts and general energy levels plummet.

I'm not as active as you on the daily (desk job - boo) but try to workout 5x/week (ST, with a little cardio), and tend to be active on the weekends (horseback riding, motorcycles, housework, etc), so my calorie allotment is lower, but much like you, more than a small deficit is really hard for me to maintain!

I still want the weight off (it does not look good on me and makes me appear far heavier/fatter than I am), so sticking with it, but much as I wish I could lose a bit faster, reality is teaching me I cannot and keep up with my fitness training and goals.

jatin8721 · October 2019

Actually i am 5'4 with 188 pounds want to cut it down to 154pounds tried keto a lot of times but after a month it doesn't show any effect on fat loss want to know how to adjust macros to achieve this goal in span of 4 months as i have to get married and only have this time to look good, every time i get confused with my macro: i have tried low carb high protein low fat diet i have tried low carb high protein high fat diet but my body hits pleateau very soon, so if anybody can give me a good advice i'll be very thankful!

SummerSkier · October 2019

whenever I try to put weight and weight loss in perspective, I pick up something which weighs the same. So for instance my cat litter weighing 24 pounds inspired me to lose that weight because it was REALLY HEAVY and I was carrying that around on my knees and frame ug. Pick something up which weighs what you still want to lose and get a feel for how much it is. 15 pounds is actually quite a bit if you carry that around in your arms for a while.

lorrpb · October 2019

You could consider looking at your macros. Sometimes a different macro split on the same calories can make a huge difference. Usually it means 5-10% more protein and 5-10% less carbs (not “low carb” though).

Although meal timing doesn’t directly affect weight loss, it CAN affect energy levels, so that’s something else to look at/tweak.

Hilogirl2018 · October 2019

@SummerSkier What a great idea to pick up something of equal weight to the weight you've lost/want to lose! I lost 30 lbs-too much for me to pick up-so I had my husband put a bag of dog food in my lap. Whoa! I was carrying that around, and I already have mobility issues! I'm so glad to be rid of those extra lbs. And I need to make sure I don't regain so I don't ever have to carry that around again.

kcmcbee · October 2019

lorrpb wrote: »

You could consider looking at your macros. Sometimes a different macro split on the same calories can make a huge difference. Usually it means 5-10% more protein and 5-10% less carbs (not “low carb” though).

Although meal timing doesn’t directly affect weight loss, it CAN affect energy levels, so that’s something else to look at/tweak.

Just some input here on the last part about timing, as I battle being a late night snacker. I’ve read lighten up on evening meal as bodies generally slow the metabolism down prior to and during sleep time. Heavy late meals and late snacks, even keeping within ones calorie range, impacts weight loss as our body doesn’t burn calories at an even rate for the 24 hour period. Just a thought. Seems to be working well for me to lighten up my late calories.

kcmcbee · October 2019

SummerSkier wrote: »

whenever I try to put weight and weight loss in perspective, I pick up something which weighs the same. So for instance my cat litter weighing 24 pounds inspired me to lose that weight because it was REALLY HEAVY and I was carrying that around on my knees and frame ug. Pick something up which weighs what you still want to lose and get a feel for how much it is. 15 pounds is actually quite a bit if you carry that around in your arms for a while.

Agree this! I’ve lost Four 18lb bowling balls!!! Imagine that! Great tip! Thanks!

fitqueenbess · October 2019

@maybe1pe - I've toyed with this idea myself... If you set your calories to the desired goal weigh you'd just float down and have an easy landing. Plug in your goal weight into setting and see what it says to maintain. For me that's a decrease of 6 calories per pound which would give a deficit of 90 calories. In 18 months you'd be at goal and well adjusted to the new life.

To maintain or to lose those last 15...

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