Long time maintainers how do you do it
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sellis2844 wrote: »How do we know what an appropriate # of calories is when we are ready to start “maintaining”???
I made a post about that over in the maintenance forum. It's still the basic advice I'd give, and others made some great additions in the replies, too.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level4 -
I believe the key to maintaining is picking a program you can live with for life in the first place. The mistake I always made in the past was to try something to lose fast. This time I focused on what I could do for life. I've been at it long enough that it has become second nature although I still log every day.9
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Weight loss: approximately 134 pounds. Time in maintenance: 4 years
After all of these years in maintenance, a couple things I’ve learned. One is that using an application like my fitness pal helped me develop new habits which I have kept. I still weigh and measure 80% of what I eat or drink. My husband and I like to travel now and then, so my treat is that when we travel I eat and drink whatever I want, but the very moment we return home, I am right back to healthy eating, and weighing my food. For me, another huge motivator has been the enjoyment of the clothes I can now wear, and that I feel really good wearing them. I never want to go back to the weight I was when I started this.16 -
Just started posting in the last year on MFP but lost all of my weight around five years ago using a competitor's tracking site (that is slowly dying!). Been on maintenance for over 4 years and not tracking over 2 now. When I say "not tracking", it's engrained now in me what's healthy and what's not.
The National Weight Loss Registry is open to people that have lost a decent amount of weight and were once obese and kept it off for over a year. Standard things have been reported by most - exercise (on average) around an hour a day, having a "red line" (mine is 195, but it used to be lower but I've put on a ton of muscle over 3 years), tracking when you hit the red line again, always being really aware of what you eat and weighing yourself often (I weigh still nearly daily, don't want any surprises). I stay around 188 or so all the time any longer and really push working out hard.
I've switched mostly to a Whole Food, Plant Based Diet, which it's much easier to maintain on that because it eliminates nearly all processed foods (I'm dairy/gluten free). Not eating any dairy, gluten, limiting sugar/corn syrup and eating practically no vegetable oils as a rule doesn't leave you many garbage options! Sounds fairly simple (and it is) but you'd be surprised that nearly everything high calorie fits into those areas. I still use coconut oil and olive oil but that's it.9 -
so glad I've found your forum
I am now just reached my goal weight. Since I started I have lost 3 stone which is a real achievement. I have gone down 2 sizes. I would like advice on how to keep this weight without becoming obsessive. I am scared of regaining the weight!!3 -
I, too need help. I know it's been a month since I went back on my journey, and I want to know how to maintain mine. I started at 234 lbs, then being a woman who still goes through "time of the month", I pretty much ended the month of July with a 4 lb. gain. I am starting to learn to watch my portions, drink lots of water, and I recently added exercise to my journey (before I couldn't because of my hectic work schedule). I too need answers; how are you maintaining your goals? What do you do when you get distracted by life outside your goals? What do you do when you hit a plateau?0
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Maintaining has always been a problem for me. For many years I have been a yo yo dieter. Never put on heaps of weight but enough to feel uncomfortable and keep a size or two bigger set of clothes tucked away in my wardrobe. I am an active person. Have had a fit bit for a couple of years and am paranoid about getting my 10,000 steps each day as a minimum. A friend introduced me to MFP recently. I love it. It is helping me to get back on track. Great advice on this forum, It is obvious to me tracking regularly is the only way I will be able to do it. MFP makes it so much easier to do. Love the break down of food and it helps make healthier choices. Thank you so much.2
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sunrise611 wrote: »I agree that weighing yourself daily -- at the same time every day, preferably first thing in the morning -- is one of the keys to success.
Yes I know you said this back in February but only just read the thread - i disagree with this.
Have only ever weighed weekly both during my weight loss phase and since being in maitenance.
I dont think any particular way of weighing is a key to success - whatever works for each individual.
Maintained for nearly 5 years now.
In answer to OP - what works for me is keeping on counting and using MFP- but doing so now in a loose approximate way that is easy to sustain long term but is enough to keep me on track and accountable
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I, too need help. I know it's been a month since I went back on my journey, and I want to know how to maintain mine. I started at 234 lbs, then being a woman who still goes through "time of the month", I pretty much ended the month of July with a 4 lb. gain. I am starting to learn to watch my portions, drink lots of water, and I recently added exercise to my journey (before I couldn't because of my hectic work schedule). I too need answers; how are you maintaining your goals? What do you do when you get distracted by life outside your goals? What do you do when you hit a plateau?
@cygarza80 Sounds like you need help with getting started and logging. You posted in a thread about "maintenance" which means staying the same weight once you've reached your goal, which I assume would be your long-term goal.
I suggest going to the Getting Started forum, and the General Weight Loss forum, and reading the "Announcement" topics in them called "Most Helpful Posts". These posts are invaluable and I've returned to them many times in my 3 years here.
I'll add that your "weight loss journey" does need to keep eventual maintenance in mind. One thing the successful people in here recommend is losing weight at a sustainable rate, not crash-dieting (which can lead to bingeing the weight back).
The smaller your weekly weight loss, the easier the calorie limit is to stick to for the long haul. Plus, the closer it is to eating your maintenance calories, and learning habits that you can stick to for life.
Best wishes.2 -
In my case nearly 4 years ago cold turkey I just stopped eating any food or drink containing added sugar and or any forms of any grains and keeping gross carbs around 50 grams daily for 2000-3000 daily.
While this WOE is helping long term health issues I did lose 50 pounds that hasn't returned for the past 3 years eating the same way.
There are many ways to maintain but it can take a while to find the best way of eating I found personally.
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After college I was pushing 155lbs and I really didn't like how my clothes were fitting, so I committed to losing 30lbs. It's been 10 years and I've successfully maintained 125-130lbs (I'm 5'7). What's worked for me:
- Habits! Forming healthy habits that became part of daily life really take the brain work out of maintaining. I love a hot water with lemon in the morning, I stretch before I get out of bed, I have a huge water bottle at my desk that I fill up with cold water numerous times a day, I always pack veggies and hummus for an afternoon snack, I keep fresh mint, ginger and oranges in the fridge so I can have a mug of tea before bed . . . these little self care rituals I do daily really help. And they're really robotic at this point.
- Repetition! There are only 5 breakfast recipes I typically make - overnight oats, eggs, oatmeal, fruit and yogurt, smoothie bowls - and while I usually switch up the fruit and flavors pending what's in season, because I eat these things so frequently, I can easily whip together a breakfast that's right for my desired caloric intake that day. I have the same thing every day for lunch (salad with roasted veggies, lean protein, and vinaigrette), and I have a list of about 20 unprocessed, meatless meals that my husband and I make for dinner, pending what we're in the mood for or how much time we want to spend cooking (ranging from cauliflower crust pizza to Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes to falafel and hummus bowls). I'm actually thee opposite to most people here - in my 'normal' day to day I have so much repetition, I don't need to log. However, when I travel or have a weekend meal out, that's when I bust out MFP to make sure I'm not over indulging.
- Planning and Balance! As someone else mentioned, if I know I'm going to have a few glasses of wine with dinner, or maybe get an ice cream, I'll have a black coffee in the afternoon instead of a latte, or I'll have a piece of fruit for breakfast instead of a big bowl of porridge just to balance things out
- Exercise and Move! I plan to exercise every day. For me, having lots of options keeps me on track. I have a few memberships, so I can go to a barre class before or after work, go to a hot yoga session late at night if I get wrapped up in the office, or if I'm crunched for time I can hit the elliptical for 30mins at the gym next to my work. My husband and I like to try new things together often on date nights (rowing, spinning, bouldering) and we sometimes go for a run or bike ride together on the weekend if the weather is nice. I also try to walk between 6-10k steps in my normal day to day.
- Find Healthy Treats! This is a weird one, but instead of saying 'Wow, this week was so stressful, I'm going to order a pizza and eat four slices and watch a movie' (which I do sometimes still do, but now it's two slices and some salad!!) I go to a really nice sushi restaurant for a sashimi platter. Or to my local raw bar for freshly shucked oysters. Or, instead of picking up a pint of ice cream and a bag of chips at the grocery store, I'll splurge on some out of season fruits that are uber expensive but look so amazingly delicious!! Or I get a massage, a manicure, etc. instead of treating myself with food all together. Re-framing pleasures and treats has made it so I never feel deprived
- Weigh regularly! I weigh myself every day. I also take note in regards to how my pants are fitting. If the scale starts to creep up, I usually calorie count more regularly for a week or two until I get back into my normal range. I usually also need to do this after a vacation or longer work trip where I'm more inclined to drink with meals, pick at bread on the table, splurge on a dessert, etc.
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I started back in 2004 at 260lb. I'm currently 178 and in that whole time I don't think I've been above 190 or so. My lowest was about 155 but I realised that 180ish was my "comfortable" maintenance point so I've been there or thereabouts since about 2012.
How? Big lifestyle change in that my first priority has always been getting fitter. Weight loss was a side effect. I started as a runner and became a cyclist (the switch is part of the reason my maintenance weight is now a bit heavier, I think) and training means that if I eat sensibly I don't need to worry too much.
I didn't calorie count/log at all until earlier this year when I hit about 190 and decided to try to get a bit lighter to see how it impacted my performance. So while I'm currently using mfp (and it's working), I only seem to need that level of precision at a lower weight or if I take time off training for some reason.3 -
By trying to better myself every day...2
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As the OP I wanted to say, once again: THANKS to all who have replied. I'm sure we all appreciate it!5
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AliAppleLover wrote: »- Repetition! There are only 5 breakfast recipes I typically make - overnight oats, eggs, oatmeal, fruit and yogurt, smoothie bowls - and while I usually switch up the fruit and flavors pending what's in season, because I eat these things so frequently, I can easily whip together a breakfast that's right for my desired caloric intake that day. I have the same thing every day for lunch (salad with roasted veggies, lean protein, and vinaigrette), and I have a list of about 20 unprocessed, meatless meals that my husband and I make for dinner, pending what we're in the mood for or how much time we want to spend cooking (ranging from cauliflower crust pizza to Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes to falafel and hummus bowls). I'm actually thee opposite to most people here - in my 'normal' day to day I have so much repetition, I don't need to log. However, when I travel or have a weekend meal out, that's when I bust out MFP to make sure I'm not over indulging.
I'm glad you wrote this. I'm not in maintenance but am actively trying to get to my maintenance weight. I've yo-yo'd and three times now hit goal and shot right back up. This time I'm losing weight and I have really cut down the variations on what I eat. I have three or four breakfasts to choose among, about two lunches. For me dialing in what is a good combination of palatable/simple/cheap/healthy/easy and then I just stick with it. I think it is now a habit, that i'll be able to mostly stick with after obtaining maintenance weight.
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New to this thread.... what I’ve done in the past to help maintain and not get out of control with my eating is drinking water. I have a 32oz water bottle I bring everyday to work. I’ve also been drinking green tea the end of the day (during dinner) to help curve my appetite along with taking supplements such as ginger root and garlic.3
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I never had the apportiounty to maintain weight
I only lost weight and know how to do that may be and may be not✅✅1 -
As a lifelong yo yo er of say 20-30 pounds I have been maintaining now for about 2 and a half years. I was thinking about what is different "this" time as about the 3 year mark is probably where the curve has always started to climb again in the past. I "think" what is different is that we have so many MANY more tools available to us these days than we did say in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. There is of course this website MFP, but the fitness trackers are so much MORE improved and the information out there on food composition is so much more available to us. Id like to think that all of those tools will help me make this the last yo.....12
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SummerSkier wrote: »As a lifelong yo yo er of say 20-30 pounds I have been maintaining now for about 2 and a half years. I was thinking about what is different "this" time as about the 3 year mark is probably where the curve has always started to climb again in the past. I "think" what is different is that we have so many MANY more tools available to us these days than we did say in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. There is of course this website MFP, but the fitness trackers are so much MORE improved and the information out there on food composition is so much more available to us. Id like to think that all of those tools will help me make this the last yo.....
@SummerSkier
Excellent point, and I totally agree!
I’d add far more widespread & complete nutritional info on packaging & on Internet...
I remember adding up calories by hand using charts in books, using a postage scale. Doing that for all of the macros & micros would have taken hours.
We are very lucky.4
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