I'm terrible at this, help!

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  • cmm7303
    cmm7303 Posts: 423 Member
    Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »
    I'm a bit late to this conversation, and I don't know if the OP will see my post, but I think you must be an absolute EXPERT at losing weight. Just like me and many others, you've done it many times and you know exactly what needs to be done.

    What I do for "maintenance" is that I have a 5lb weight band and whenever I get above it, I go into deficit until I'm back in the band. For me, this is the worst time of year, and I'm guessing I could be nearly 10lbs over my target weight at the end of the holiday break. I almost always go into deficit for the whole month of January and often into February. (I usually give up booze as well, which really helps.) This drops me back to my goal weight usually by February.

    So: Maintenance is not staying at some exact weight. Maintenance is going into deficit whenever you are consistently over your preferred healthy weight band. The corrections are easier when they are smaller, so if you find you are 3 lbs up, for example, you can fix that in just a few weeks.

    Now, if you really think your total calorie needs are lower than what MFP recommends, you need to adopt a plan that works. When you're in balance you shouldn't be hungry (much!). There is a little bit of an effect that your calorie needs will decrease when you've been on a diet (metabolic adaptation). You may feel a bit colder at times and be a little lethargic. So long as you are at a healthy weight and stay active, this will all normalize, and things will go well.

    Best of luck!

    Saw this, and am grateful. Part of me thinks that not being able to keep it in the 5lb range is a huge issue, but with the meds and the lack of sleep, I have been willing to shoot for a loss back to where I wanted to be and then a 10lb flux. Not enough (for me) to screw up my clothes fitting (128-138 still means my stuff would fit), but I can also acknowledge that if I'm going to have things like the holidays happen (my family, my partner's family, etc) I can intentionally drop a little ahead of time.

    As to the calorie count, I'm not hungry most of the day (I do IF and only eat from about 5 to midnight...stumbled into it due to work and have found it to be very comfortable since I've never really been a breakfast person and tended to skip lunch anyway) but get the overwhelming urge to just eat all the things at night.
  • cmm7303
    cmm7303 Posts: 423 Member
    Beautyofdreams wrote: »
    I take over 13 medication's each day. After significant weight loss, several of my medications needed to be increased. This included my thyroid medication. If you haven’t had labs drawn in a while, you might want to have them checked.

    As for IF, have lived my entire life eating 16:8 and was obese until started calorie counting. If intermittent fasting is beneficial to you then more power to you. Just made no difference for me.

    Yeah, I don't think that IF really has much to do with it (except when I had to talk to a doc about a mid-day med and how it needs to be taken with food. He had no problem with me moving it to the night box).

    Good thought on the meds, though. Some are one-size-fits -all due to being pre-packaged injections, and I get labs every 3 months, but realizing that they might be impacting me differently isn't something I've really talked to rheumatology or neurology about. I will go do that.
  • makethistimedifferent
    makethistimedifferent Posts: 31 Member
    First thing I will say, it reword what you tell people and yourself, specifically "I can't maintain to save my life." I used to say I sucked at weight loss maintenance and I lived up to what I told myself and others. I was on the yo-yo dieting hamster wheel for 30 years and never kept the weight off for more than 2-3 months, until I changed my mindset and what I told myself, for starters.
  • hessiondesign4
    hessiondesign4 Posts: 18 Member
    You may have just gone below your body's happy weight and it's fighting you to put some back on. Try staying on a track of eating healthy foods at the portion sizes that has already worked for you so well, and doing a set of activity (doesn't have to be intense because you are not trying to lose more) on a daily schedule (can take one or two days off) like 30 min on a bike, or a walk, or what have you....just a daily dose of movement. Yoga stretches also help with the stress involved in any medical related treatment. Basically you need to find that magic formula that lets you life a non-restrictive life but also has you eating healthy and doing a little movement every day...that's where the maintenance falls, in that sweet spot.

    Thing is, you will gain, and you will lose, your weight will fluctuate on the daily up to 5 pounds, so keep your weight as an average, it's up this day it's down that day, but it averages at the right spot. This is important to keep in mind...and it's helpful to create a weight zone rather than a set number....so you can fluctuate within that weight zone without getting frustrated with every up. This also allows you to notice if your zone is averaging on the top side and then you can take action to bring it back down a little.

    Don't know if that helps, but just gauged off the numbers and your story, it seems like maybe you just went a little lower than what your body easily maintains. Way back when Self magazine dubbed it happy weight...the weight your body easily maintains with normal diet and exercise; and it's usually a healthy weight especially if you are eating healthy; below that threshold you need to work a little differently, maybe harder, to counteract your body's set point...it can be done, but it may take a year to reset that set point. (the body like to work in the long haul space, where we prefer the quick fix space). When you are dealing with meds and other stressors it creates different factors and on some level you just have to be kind to yourself and acknowledge that as long as you eat healthy and move a bit every day, you are doing yourself a world of good.

    Best wishes and love!!
  • hessiondesign4
    hessiondesign4 Posts: 18 Member
    Here's an article that outlines some of the concepts and talks about set-points as well. https://www.livestrong.com/article/13729967-weight-set-point-theory/
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    You are fantastic at losing and not maintaining.

    I know macros (carbs below 40%) are critical for me maintaining. Otherwise my weight creeps up. That’s been especially true since the pandemic.

    I also had to start measuring again because my portion sizes creeped up. Not everything, but enough.

    Finally, exercising is everything for maintenance. That’s what the studies show. A lot of exercise - 30 to 60 minutes a day. I walk. It helps. My Apple Watch helps.

    And I also just set my calories lower than I ‘should’ because it’s what my body needs.

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