How to not feel like it's one long endless diet.

I hit maintenance back in May, but I'm struggling. I'm still having to track and weigh almost daily or I'll creep up a lb or two. I just feel like I'm on one super, long endless diet. The maintenance level of calories for me feels like deprivation for sure. I know it helps when I load up on the protein, but this is not fun, nor enjoyable. Is it worth it to look and feel slim, sure, but honestly it kind of sucks. What helped you adjust to the long term lower calorie intake of maintenance? Will I someday be OK with feeling hungry a lot? How long does that take? Is there anything I can do to feel satiated more frequently? Sure, water helps some, but I still have that empty feeling inside and I really miss just being able to eat a fast food meal out occasionally without practically starving myself the rest of the day. I need something sustainable long term without making me feel like I'm dieting forever. Living off salads and grilled chicken is not making me feel super excited inside. Articles or personal experiences are super appreciated.
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Replies

  • tnh2o
    tnh2o Posts: 161 Member
    I'm not at maintenance but when I get there I'll only be able to eat 1200-1400 calories and I'm concerned I'll be dieting forever. How many calories do you eat to maintain?
  • PAPYRUS3
    PAPYRUS3 Posts: 13,259 Member
    freda78 wrote: »
    I am not at maintenance yet but I do IF - eating well 4 days a week but seriously restrict my calories on 3 days a week. I also walk 4 miles a day minimum and that wins me another half a pound or so worth of calorie deficit a week.

    So my thoughts when I get to maintenance is to keep up with the walking, of course, as that is for general health as much as anything, and to keep a single fasting day.

    At the moment my fasting days are 600 calories and for that I tend to have a a big bowl of porridge, a bowl of homemade vegetable miso soup, a yogurt and an apple - so the calories can go a surprisingly long way.

    So hopefully the upshot will be that on maintenance I will be able to eat well most days and not feel restricted - but I do intend to keep with the calorie counting as stopping that has been my downfall in the past.

    Do you mind me asking what your 'generic 1200 calorie' breakfast meal might be?
  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    edited August 2020
    PAPYRUS3 wrote: »
    freda78 wrote: »
    I am not at maintenance yet but I do IF - eating well 4 days a week but seriously restrict my calories on 3 days a week. I also walk 4 miles a day minimum and that wins me another half a pound or so worth of calorie deficit a week.

    So my thoughts when I get to maintenance is to keep up with the walking, of course, as that is for general health as much as anything, and to keep a single fasting day.

    At the moment my fasting days are 600 calories and for that I tend to have a a big bowl of porridge, a bowl of homemade vegetable miso soup, a yogurt and an apple - so the calories can go a surprisingly long way.

    So hopefully the upshot will be that on maintenance I will be able to eat well most days and not feel restricted - but I do intend to keep with the calorie counting as stopping that has been my downfall in the past.

    Do you mind me asking what your 'generic 1200 calorie' breakfast meal might be?

    I never have a 1200 day, eating 1800 four days a week and 600 three days a week, but also never eat breakfast as this makes me hungry all day. My first meal will never be before lunchtime.

    Today is an "eating day" and I had my first meal at 3pm as it happens and it was crispbreads, cheese spread and a pear which came to 220 calories.

    I do eat porridge every day, eating or fasting day, but have this in the evening. 40g of rolled oats, 13g of skimmed milk powder and some sweetener = 200 calories.

    I started this journey with 5:2 but have modified this to suit my personal preferences and experience as I have gone along, finding fasting every other day to be a step too far for example, and this week I hit a lose of 7 stone, which has taken around a year. :-)
  • PAPYRUS3
    PAPYRUS3 Posts: 13,259 Member
    freda78 wrote: »
    PAPYRUS3 wrote: »
    freda78 wrote: »
    I am not at maintenance yet but I do IF - eating well 4 days a week but seriously restrict my calories on 3 days a week. I also walk 4 miles a day minimum and that wins me another half a pound or so worth of calorie deficit a week.

    So my thoughts when I get to maintenance is to keep up with the walking, of course, as that is for general health as much as anything, and to keep a single fasting day.

    At the moment my fasting days are 600 calories and for that I tend to have a a big bowl of porridge, a bowl of homemade vegetable miso soup, a yogurt and an apple - so the calories can go a surprisingly long way.

    So hopefully the upshot will be that on maintenance I will be able to eat well most days and not feel restricted - but I do intend to keep with the calorie counting as stopping that has been my downfall in the past.

    Do you mind me asking what your 'generic 1200 calorie' breakfast meal might be?

    I never have a 1200 day, eating 1800 four days a week and 600 three days a week, but also never eat breakfast as this makes me hungry all day. My first meal will never be before lunchtime.

    Today is an "eating day" and I had my first meal at 3pm as it happens and it was crispbreads, cheese spread and a pear which came to 220 calories.

    I do eat porridge every day, eating or fasting day, but have this in the evening. 40g of rolled oats, 13g of skimmed milk powder and some sweetener = 200 calories.

    I started this journey with 5:2 but have modified this to suit my personal preferences and experience as I have gone along, finding fasting every other day to be a step too far for example, and this week I hit a lose of 7 stone, which has taken around a year. :-)

    oh sorry...I took a peek into your food diary and saw 'generic 1200 calories' on various days listed under 'breakfast'.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    + what others above said... if you aren't weight training now/before, for instance, and started with that - you might like how you look at BMI 24 with extra muscle (you'll see more muscle definition at 24 and look leaner than before at 24).
    ..(Note that I don't know what the weight difference/maintenance calorie difference is between BMI 20-24 for the OP... also possibly other lifestyle changes adding to the difference? or unnoticed weight creep?)
  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    edited August 2020
    PAPYRUS3 wrote: »
    freda78 wrote: »
    PAPYRUS3 wrote: »
    freda78 wrote: »
    I am not at maintenance yet but I do IF - eating well 4 days a week but seriously restrict my calories on 3 days a week. I also walk 4 miles a day minimum and that wins me another half a pound or so worth of calorie deficit a week.

    So my thoughts when I get to maintenance is to keep up with the walking, of course, as that is for general health as much as anything, and to keep a single fasting day.

    At the moment my fasting days are 600 calories and for that I tend to have a a big bowl of porridge, a bowl of homemade vegetable miso soup, a yogurt and an apple - so the calories can go a surprisingly long way.

    So hopefully the upshot will be that on maintenance I will be able to eat well most days and not feel restricted - but I do intend to keep with the calorie counting as stopping that has been my downfall in the past.

    Do you mind me asking what your 'generic 1200 calorie' breakfast meal might be?

    I never have a 1200 day, eating 1800 four days a week and 600 three days a week, but also never eat breakfast as this makes me hungry all day. My first meal will never be before lunchtime.

    Today is an "eating day" and I had my first meal at 3pm as it happens and it was crispbreads, cheese spread and a pear which came to 220 calories.

    I do eat porridge every day, eating or fasting day, but have this in the evening. 40g of rolled oats, 13g of skimmed milk powder and some sweetener = 200 calories.

    I started this journey with 5:2 but have modified this to suit my personal preferences and experience as I have gone along, finding fasting every other day to be a step too far for example, and this week I hit a lose of 7 stone, which has taken around a year. :-)

    oh sorry...I took a peek into your food diary and saw 'generic 1200 calories' on various days listed under 'breakfast'.

    Ah OK.... I understand. :-)

    MFP does not allow different calorie goals on different days so I set every day to 1800 and do that to "delete" 1200 calories on fasting days so I can see how many of my actual 600 calories I have left for the day.
  • figurethefat
    figurethefat Posts: 1,445 Member
    I've been in maintenance for about a month. Like yourself I was not keen to keep logging everyday and weighing constantly. Instead I've just been eating sensibly. I know from months of logging pretty much what foods work best. I also know that if I eat too many calorie-dense foods I'll gain weight. Instead I'm choosing to stay away from bread, wheat crackers, etc or only eating half as much as a normal person might. I've had a few days where I've gone off the rails, but the next few days I know if I want to "maintain" I need to be a bit more creative to put together a satisfying meal that's within limits.

    My BMI is 22.5 at maintenance. It would be great to move it a bit lower but I need to be sure it's right for me. I agree with other posts about evaluating the best BMI for you. I've never had any luck keeping my BMI at 20 although I can diet down to that point :-)
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I eat whatever I like, but not a lot of it. So I never feel deprived?

    I also eat what I want FIRST. So if I want cake, I eat a small piece, log it, and then eat other things I like. I have ice cream every day, but just 1/4 cup. I pay a lot of attention to what I like and I savor it.
  • ep30241
    ep30241 Posts: 9 Member
    edited August 2020
    Exercise! I've been at maintenance for >3 years now eating 1500-1600 calories of pretty much whatever I want and working out 5+ days/week. Exercise has really bumped up my metabolism and setting fitness goals helps break the monotony. I do a mix of high-intensity cardio and lifting. I'm never going to have a normal relationship with food, but I'm less likely to overeat if I know that one 100cal mini candy bar = 100 burpees I did earlier.

    That said, if you are older than me you may not be able to get away with eating sugar and junk food like I do and still maintain. I'll enjoy it while it lasts...