Hard times.

lindseychizek13 · February 2023

Is anyone else completely terrified of gaining the weight back that adding calories or trying to accurately pin point you maintenance calories is hard? I’m 5’3 27 years old and 122 pounds. I work a desk job but workout 6 days (sometimes even 7) a week for at least an hour. I don’t know how to find out my maintenance calories with my activity level. Or how to distinguish how “intense” my workouts are.

AnnPT77 · February 2023

Have you taken a look at the thread here in the Maintaining Weight Most Helpful Posts about different ways to determine maintenance calories?

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10638211/how-to-find-your-maintenance-calorie-level/p1

I think it's sort of normal to worry at first when going to maintenance about over-shooting, but I can't say that I felt terrified. (Maybe it's because I'm old and have been through a few things, so it takes kind of a lot to terrify me?

)

If you're calorie counting, but truly afraid about going to maintenance, you might like an "add back calories gradually" approach. If you've been losing weight, consider adding back 100 or 200 calories a day (depending on how fast you've been losing), then wait and monitor your body weight for long enough to feel confident that you're still losing, or are maintaining. If you're still losing, add another hundred calories, and repeat. You'll probably drop a little below your goal weight along the way, but maybe that will feel like a little cushion or insurance policy.

If you add back in increments of 100 calories, and overshoot maintenance calories by a whole 100 per day, it will take over a month to gain back just one pound of fat. You've proven you know how to lose 1 pound, if necessary, right? This is not a big risk.

I do think it might be smarter to add back more calories at the start, if you've been losing faster than half a pound a week lately. You don't want to just keep losing and losing, right? That wouldn't be healthy. Think about adding enough calories to get close to your estimated maintenance calories. Stay there until you feel comfortable that you know what's happening, then add 100 calories daily if necessary.

Whatever you decide to do, you can do this. You know it isn't possible that increasing calories a small amount will lead to a sudden giant jump in body fat. That's just not going to happen. (You might see a little extra water weight at the start, but that's not fat). You've proven you can lose weight if you want to. The big deal is just to keep an eye on the scale, and if you start seeing your weight gradually increasing over a month or two, cut back eating a little until your weight creeps back down. Set an upper limit a few pounds above your goal weight (to allow for water weight fluctuations) and if you're over that limit for more than a day or two, cut back.

It'll be fine.

mtaratoot · February 2023

I agree with what @AnnPT77 wrote. I'll add this:

Have you been logging your food and workouts completely and accurately? If so, you have a great database to start from. If you know what deficit you've been averaging over the last several months and know how fast you've been losing weight, you can calibrate whether or not you've been losing at the rate expected by your calorie budget (in and out).

If you've been losing faster than expected, you can probably add back more calories, and if you've been losing slower than you would have expected, you should maybe start adding back fewer calories. Then, and this is important, keep logging accurately and completely! Then observe over several more weeks to see if you have it right.

You might even be surprised and get to a point where you're actually afraid you won't stop losing! That happened to me when I first lost weight five years ago. That was really weird. I had nothing to worry about to say the least.

Use the good habits you've developed and build on them to craft what maintenance looks like for you.

Sinisterbarbie1 · February 2023

I agree with the above advice and am chiming in only to confirm that trouble calibrating so you stop losing is indeed common as mtaroot says. That was my problem and I have been trying to get it right and gain back weight for several months now after continuing to lose after I wanted to stop. Don’t get stressed over finding the maintenance point if you are continuing to eat sensibly and pay attention because it could just make the whole effort worse. It is stressful to make yourself gain weight bc you have lost too much so its better just to try to manage the end point to begin maintenance from with if you can.

JaysFan82 · February 2023

I just hit my maintenance goal this past Thursday and have been experiencing the same things

I've been eating about 4-500 more calories a day now. My workouts feel a ton better. I was doing fasted workouts but now I have a glass of orange juice and a whole wheat english muffin beforehand. Much more energy after my run to do strength training.

I jumped on the scale this morning and my weight hasn't really changed. I'm learning that as long as I keep up with my exercise and don't go back to bad habits that everything is going to be OK. I'm slowly realizing that.

springlering62 · February 2023

Oh, baby. I feel you and feel you again.

I get smart cracks (and some legit concern) about “why do you do as much as you do?”

I just answer “because I’m running from weight”.

It always feels like it’s nipping at my heels, but I guess in a way, that’s good. The specter keeps me in line.

They say most people gain some or all of the weight back within five years.

My five year anniversary of starting will be in September.

Upon thinking about it, I’ll be in that group, but not “of” that group. I have put on about fifteen from my lowest, because I was scary some intentional, some not. I’m at a very happy place right now, even rethinking my goal of losing travel pounds. I’m strong, healthy, and fit all the clothes I fit fifteen pounds ago.

The headspace is completely different right now, but the “completely terrified” of going back? Yeah, yeah I AM indeed.

momlongerwalk · February 2023

I've been at something I consider maintenance for over 10 years. I still don't know "exactly" what maintenance is because my activity level rockets around like an electron around an atom. I keep close accounting of my food intake, the problem for me is how much am I burning? I used MFP alone for years, now have a Garmin watch, still is a bit of a mystery, but one I'm still working on. The advice you've been given is solid gold, you can get close by essentially having a conversation with your body. Tack on some calories, see the response. Tack on a few more, maybe that's perfect. But it will be a bit of back & forth, and perhaps you will never have a "perfect fit." Frankly, I suspect most successful maintainers have to adjust . . . because life changes. Have a baby (whether by birthing it or adopting or parenting?), move (colder clime?), change jobs (hours?)--these are the kinds of things that happen, and a conversation with your body will be constant. Don't freak out-it's just a conversation.

Sinisterbarbie1 · February 2023

Posting again (I mentioned this in another thread) to add in case it helps the OP or anyone else that I met with a nutritionist since posting in respone to your question. She told me I need to eat about 300 extra calories a day to gain back a few pounds slowly. This will allow me to quit when I want just like when I was losing (it is almost exactly how much I was cutting out daily to lose so that makes sense, obviously). I could cut that in half to maintain.
As to what I am eating/drinking for these calories - not much, and mostly foods high in calcium for my bones. So an extra coffee or tea latte a day made with 2% or skim milk at home and 24 almonds or a greek yogurt gets me there. Otherwise I am continuing to eat as I have been.

DebbsSeattle · February 2023

No where near my goal yet BUT I was curious about what my maintenance calories would be. I tabulated the last 90 days of caloric intake (I log every bite), I deducted my legit exercise calories (log every minute) and then subtracted my pounds loss (pounds times ~3500 calories per) and divided by my 90 days for the net deficit per day average. Compared against my “estimated” BMR and TDEE from online calculators gives me an idea.

mtaratoot · February 2023

DebbsSeattle wrote: »

No where near my goal yet BUT I was curious about what my maintenance calories would be. I tabulated the last 90 days of caloric intake (I log every bite), I deducted my legit exercise calories (log every minute) and then subtracted my pounds loss (pounds times ~3500 calories per) and divided by my 90 days for the net deficit per day average. Compared against my “estimated” BMR and TDEE from online calculators gives me an idea.

That's a great exercise to do from time to time; it gives you totally personalized information. My question is: were you at all surprised with the answer, or was it about what you had assumed?

I am sure you already realize that when you get to your goal and go into maintenance, your calorie requirement will be lower. Still - knowing what you now know at your current weight, if you eat even any bit below that maintenance level, you will continue to lose fat. You know that the rate will depend on the deficit, and you can fine tune that so you keep losing at a healthy rate and continue to see progress until that day you say, "Oh wow - I'm in maintenance now - that was easier than I thought!"

chizzel2950 · March 2023

Yep

Hard times.

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