What do you think about cycling between weightloss and maintenance?

I had this idea that maybe when I feel like giving up, instead I would switch to maintenance calories for a while. Just until i can regain some time and motivation. It will take longer to lose weight of course. but somehow I feel like long run I would stick to the plan longer and lose more weight overall. Thoughts on this?

For example I lost about 12 lbs between Jan and Feb and the March hit with a huge work load and I really struggled to stay on track.. I did not manage to keep within the weightloss calorie limit but I did maintain. So I didn't undo my work. Now I am ready to jump back in and at least I'm not starting over.. ya know?

In the past when i hit a road bump i would all together give up and just eat anything.. bc I was like screw it I didn't keep my weightloss calorie goals so eff it. This might be a good alternative to fully giving up?

Are there any cons or pitfalls to this idea? Am I just tricking myself into eventually giving up or could this work psychologically to keep me on track?

Replies

  • joyanna2016
    joyanna2016 Posts: 323 Member
    I think its a great idea!
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    edited April 2021
    I've done this from obese to < 2lbs from a normal BMI. It's glorious and has served me well and I hope that it continues to do so. I'll be taking a couple of months on pause this summer, at that high end of a 'normal' BMI to give my brain a break and to see how much more I want to lose. - and to focus on doing fun fitness related stuff.

    It's taken me a good 8 months to lose 40lbs, and that's fine. I've had zero regains (plenty of scale fluctuation but no *regain*) and that's great. My goal has always been to avoid becoming a yo-yo dieter and to make things as easy for myself as possible.. Pushing 'pause' on LOSS here and there has helped me with that. I might stop LOSING for a little bit - or slow it down - but there's been no going backward.

    So, I guess I clearly think it's a pretty good idea.

  • ChickenKillerPuppy
    ChickenKillerPuppy Posts: 297 Member
    Absolutely you should do this. If you are a podcast person, the podcast “Half Size Me” pushes for maintenance breaks all the time. Maintenance breaks also help teach you to learn how to maintain which is helpful once you do get to your goal weight. Think how much better it would be during a difficult or busy period to just keep your weight steady rather than gain, feel like you “blew it” and then give up, only to start over?

    Maintenance breaks are a wonderful tool. The podcast I mentioned suggests setting a start and end date for your maintenance break and literally putting the dates on your calendar.

    Congrats for thinking this way - this is the kind of thinking that can allow you to sustain your weight loss for life, not just stay stuck in the lose-regain cycle! Most of us know how to lose and know how to gain - learning to keep your weight steady is really the skill so many of us actually need.
  • Live4Pasta
    Live4Pasta Posts: 5 Member

    There are times I don't officially eat at maintenance, but where I set my MFP goal to maintain and then just eat 'less than that'. not by a particular amount just anything between 1200 calories and less than maintenance. [...]

    And I am a big fan of making this stuff easy.

    I've been doing this on my period weeks. It stops binging/guilt/worry about going over etc. I count calorie totals over the full week, and it's so much less stress.

    I'm top end of overweight, so although there are health risks at my weight, it's not as risky as obesity where I'd need to lose faster. I'm ok losing 3lb per month, rather than 4lb, but struggling for a week along with feeling terrible.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,394 Member
    lgfrie wrote: »
    I wholeheartedly support this approach of taking planned maintenance breaks. I'm almost 2 years into my diet & have lost 87 lbs, so it's been a long journey with some ups and downs, but I have been pretty consistent most of the time. During covid (March 2020 to a month ago) things got a lot harder for me, due to boredom, nothing much to do besides eat, etc. I gave back 11 pounds at one point and it was very hard to get back on the train, but I finally did. Seeing things starting to fall apart and getting into bad binge/restrict cycles, I decided to take a maintenance break over the summer and ended up taking most of the summer off. After gaining a few pounds over the first two weeks, I got mentally organized for maintenance and didn't gain another ounce the whole summer, chugging along happily in maintenance mode. When I finally got reengaged with the calorie deficit, I was ready to dive back in with renewed motivation. The maintenance break really, really helped.

    As mentioned above, the only real downside is that it slows down the weight loss project, which isn't really much of a downside in the grand scheme of things.

    I would say the other downside may be that it is not as easy to eat at maintenance as it looks. In fact, for me, it's easier to eat in a deficit. Maintenance requires just as much if not more vigilance, and slippage on the calories can be insidious and really start taking chunks out of your hard won gains. You REALLY have to have a plan, and a calorie target, and stick to it at least as hard as when you're dieting, to make maintenance work.

    I preach re finding things and methods that are EASY to implement / start again. because the easier to slip back into the groove... the better off you are.

    But maintenance does get better with time.

    while you DO need to continue to be vigilant AND WILLING TO ADJUST... even down the road, the amount of "effort" you need in order to be in the maintenance caloric ball-park reduces over time, absent eating for reasons other than hunger.

    n=1, of course (and absent eating for reasons other than hunger ain't a minor side issue)

  • LtHammerhead
    LtHammerhead Posts: 33 Member
    It just depends on your willpower. Personally I find abstinence easier than moderation. So for example I just haven’t been drinking. Probably not going to start anytime soon because I know that if I do, it’ll be a slippery calorie slope that I’m all too happy to slide down.
  • LisaGetsMoving
    LisaGetsMoving Posts: 664 Member
    I think that's how a lot of people live in order to not gain everything back.
  • paperstargirlie
    paperstargirlie Posts: 7 Member
    Oh and something else that sort of but not really fits here that I found useful:

    There are times I don't officially eat at maintenance, but where I set my MFP goal to maintain and then just eat 'less than that'. not by a particular amount just anything between 1200 calories and less than maintenance. ..actually right now that's basically all the time. Sometimes I'm 500 calories under it, sometimes i'm 10 calories under it, gives me a lot of freedom and flexibility in dealing with days I'm inexplicably STARVED versus days I'm not as hungry. Which also makes things easier.

    And I am a big fan of making this stuff easy.

    ooh this is also a good idea.. huh. Thanks!
  • paperstargirlie
    paperstargirlie Posts: 7 Member
    Absolutely you should do this. If you are a podcast person, the podcast “Half Size Me” pushes for maintenance breaks all the time. Maintenance breaks also help teach you to learn how to maintain which is helpful once you do get to your goal weight. Think how much better it would be during a difficult or busy period to just keep your weight steady rather than gain, feel like you “blew it” and then give up, only to start over?

    Maintenance breaks are a wonderful tool. The podcast I mentioned suggests setting a start and end date for your maintenance break and literally putting the dates on your calendar.

    Congrats for thinking this way - this is the kind of thinking that can allow you to sustain your weight loss for life, not just stay stuck in the lose-regain cycle! Most of us know how to lose and know how to gain - learning to keep your weight steady is really the skill so many of us actually need.

    I will definitely look into that podcast! Thanks :)
  • paperstargirlie
    paperstargirlie Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for all the insight everyone! This was really helpful! :)
  • MaggieGirl135
    MaggieGirl135 Posts: 975 Member
    I think this is a great idea, especially so because you think it will work for you!
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    Great idea, it could keep you going as well. to eventually losing all the weight. as you cycle back and forward.