Its tough!

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Replies

  • JessiesGirls520
    JessiesGirls520 Posts: 75
    I totally agree. I feel like it is a constant struggle! Intuitively eating clean foods and tracking my activity is helping some.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    I'm doing the gain muscle and lose fat thing right now. Since starting this three months ago, I have successfully maintained my weight while reducing BF% 1% to 2%. That equates to a LBM gain of around 3 lbs while losing 3 lbs of fat. I am happy with that.

    I could end the story there and declare victory, but that would be less than honest. It is a slow and very inefficient process. Very, very inefficient. And somewhat frustrating. I would like my strength to be progressing faster. I would like to be losing fat faster. Basically, I am doing neither very well. Jack of both trades, master of neither. I will continue this until Oct/Nov when I will start a traditional bulk/cut cycle which I think is a much better approach. I've never done a bulk, so that will be weird to control weight gain vs. weight loss.

    Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

    Tom
    It is sort of semantics, but if you are breaking even on weight and losing fat, you are not building muscle at a deficit because there is no deficit. There is actually a tiny surplus that you are erasing when you do the strength training. So you are doing really short bulk/cut cycles IMO. I feel like I improved my strength and muscle tone while I was eating at a pretty large deficit. The gym rats tell me my muscles look bigger to me because I melted away fat around them and increased the glycogen stores so they are holding more water. poe-tay-toe, poe-tah-tah - they look a lot better. :smile:
  • itsok2beme
    itsok2beme Posts: 2 Member
    I have found maintaining especially in this day of COVID harder. Too easy to reach for a snack, to get lazier about tracking, portion size growing. Seems to take more vigilance for me than the weight loss did.
  • StargazerB
    StargazerB Posts: 425 Member
    edited September 2020
    I personally find maintainence to be difficult. My first year was pretty easy because I did a recomp and saw a lot of body changes. After that it really slowed and it felt like so much work to keep tracking my intake and not see results. I got lazy and now gained about 10 pounds over the last 1.5 years and now I need to lose it again.
  • Iwantahealthierme30
    Iwantahealthierme30 Posts: 293 Member
    I'm trying to lose and maintaining. It's frustrating.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    I've always been contrary and it looks like I am on this subject too :smile:

    I find maintenance so much easier than losing. I love my food and those extra few hundred calories make such a difference in the choices I can make.

    Having lost weight successfully just gives me confidence that if it starts to creep up again I know exactly what to do to get back on track.

    agreed
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    I've always been contrary and it looks like I am on this subject too :smile:

    I find maintenance so much easier than losing. I love my food and those extra few hundred calories make such a difference in the choices I can make.

    Having lost weight successfully just gives me confidence that if it starts to creep up again I know exactly what to do to get back on track.

    agreed

    Wow - nice reminder of how long I've been on MFP!!

    7yrs on I'm still maintaining, still enjoying my food and exercise.
    Calorie allowance is far higher now though as I'm retired and both exercise volume and NEAT is much higher.

    Of course there's been a few blips along the way but I've not let them get out of hand and part of that is simply enjoying being the right weight.

    We're maintenance twins :smiley: wish I could say my calorie allowance was higher but don't have the privilege yet of being retired and having more time to be active... one day though hopefully :smile:
  • brenn24179
    brenn24179 Posts: 2,144 Member
    I am glad to see I am not the only one that has found maintenance difficult. I do think it is worth it but I have to log my calories every day and weigh every day. I have had my weight off since 2013 , 40 lbs but gained 25 of it back after 4 years and had to get that off. Yes life happened and I got a flu and then could eat again and ate everything in sight. So I have had the weight off for last couple of years but would still like to overeat but have to be disciplined to keep the weight off. Yes it takes effort but worth it.
  • tuckerrj
    tuckerrj Posts: 1,453 Member
    In maintenance I lack the 'joy' or satisfaction of seeing the scale number go down. I need to learn to find other goals to replace weight loss. Heavier bench press or leg press; a faster time in my 5k; or a new pursuit like biking or pickle ball, maybe...
  • MadisonMolly2017
    MadisonMolly2017 Posts: 10,955 Member
    tuckerrj wrote: »
    In maintenance I lack the 'joy' or satisfaction of seeing the scale number go down. I need to learn to find other goals to replace weight loss. Heavier bench press or leg press; a faster time in my 5k; or a new pursuit like biking or pickle ball, maybe...

    Yes, and great health, energy...

    Why did you lose the weight in the first place? I find revisiting that helps me!

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