Kind of scary

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Egotrapped
Egotrapped Posts: 13 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I have not been this low in weight in 20 years. Using this app I have taken off the extra and now I’m about 2 pounds below my goal weight- but I am afraid to eat more. I like being thinner but I don’t want overdo it and get an eating disorder.
I don’t know what I was thinking when I started this losing weight program, I didn’t think about what would happen when I actually reached where I want to be.
I would like to live, and not worry about food…

Replies

  • penny_tries
    penny_tries Posts: 1 Member
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    Hey! Good for you for monitoring your behaviors about weight loss and for ensuring you stay physically and mentally healthy.
    Hopefully, you’ve already switched your MFP goals to “maintaining weight” instead of “losing weight” so that you can meet a sustainable and healthy calorie intake. And keep monitoring your attitude towards food: food is fuel, and there are no “good” or “bad” foods! And bodies are just bodies: they fluctuate in weight (which is just a number!).
    If you’re noticing guilt around any of these things, be sure to be kind to yourself. And reach out for help if you’re concerned about your behaviors and/or thoughts!
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Egotrapped wrote: »
    I have not been this low in weight in 20 years. Using this app I have taken off the extra and now I’m about 2 pounds below my goal weight- but I am afraid to eat more. I like being thinner but I don’t want overdo it and get an eating disorder.
    I don’t know what I was thinking when I started this losing weight program, I didn’t think about what would happen when I actually reached where I want to be.
    I would like to live, and not worry about food…

    It takes time to settle in and feel comfortable at maintenence. What happens in maintenence? You do the same thing you did when losing the weight. You just adjust your MFP calories up a tiny bit. Honestly, you probably won't even feel like you're eating "more" because that "more" will consist of.... a few extra spoonfuls per meal maybe. Depending on what you're eating.
  • pony4us
    pony4us Posts: 127 Member
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    I did plan for maintenance from the beginning, since I am old and short I picked a goal weight that had maintenace calories that I would find easy to do (which is 5-10 pounds "overweight") Congrats on getting to your goal. Now take a deep breath and a hard look at how your lifestyle has changed in 20 years. Can you easily fit the calories and activity needed to maintain at that weight and does that lifestyle make you happy? Try it for a month or two and let it settle in. If you find that trying to stay at that goal makes you stressed and miserable there is nothing wrong with adjusting.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,761 Member
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    springlering62 wrote: »
    I was like you. After hitting goal after goal (to my absolute surprise!) I set a final goal that ended up unrealistically low: my wedding day weight.

    I got within a couple of pounds of it and realized I looked like a stick figure. That weight 30+ years ago sat totally different on my body than it does today.


    So, like you, I reevaluated, and made the (then) painful decision to add about six pounds back.

    Since then, I’ve added back a net of 15 to my lowest weight, carefully evaluating how it looks, muscle weight added, do my clothes still fit?

    What others say about a range rather than a fixed weight is the gospel truth.

    Goal is a moving target, whether is that you’re not happy once you reach it, or that you’re mindful of sticking to that range.

    If I find myself dropping, I eat more. If I’m running a couple more than I want, I simply cut a bit for a few days or weeks.

    The biggest part is relying on the newly built habits that got you here, to keep you here. I will never “not” log and, please be to the fates, never “not” exercise. I know it’s what I need to do to keep on track.

    Best advice I ever got off these boards was “treat maintenance like you still have ten pounds to lose”.

    Don’t feel shocked or alone. All of us posting here have been -are now- in the same boat. If anything, maintenance is kinda lonely, because most people are still trying to reach goal, and friends and family don’t understand that if you go back to old habits, you’ll balloon up.
    I agree that this is true.

    Another thing I think is true is that early in maintenance, it's easy to fall into the magical thinking that if we overeat at that one birthday party (or week's vacation, or whatever) we'll suddenly balloon all the way back up.

    Of course that's not how it works, not even remotely . . . but it takes some time to internalize that, and relax a little so that a tolerably sensible long-term real life can happen.

    For me, it actually weirdly helped that I let my weight creep up 10 or so pounds over the first roughly 4 years of maintenance, then decided to creep that back down again, intentionally very slowly, and was successful in doing that. It solidified the gut level (heh ;) ) sense that I'm in charge, have the power.

    I totally get it. Like you, I wasn’t “prepared” to reach goal. I was so focused, so surprised at myself for reaching it, I wasn’t prepared at all. I wasn’t prepared for the “you’re so lucky”, “it’s so easy for you” comments, or the male attention- as well as the female “lucky you” glares. It’s still surreal.

    Hugs to you for your success in reaching goal! That’s a real, sincere, genuine accomplishment!

  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,060 Member
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    Can you start by counting calories at maintenance? Get used to what you need to stay the same size, then if you want, you can try to stop counting. I personally like counting at maintenance when I am done losing weight because I end up eating enough vs too little.
  • Egotrapped
    Egotrapped Posts: 13 Member
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    csplatt wrote: »
    Can you start by counting calories at maintenance? Get used to what you need to stay the same size, then if you want, you can try to stop counting. I personally like counting at maintenance when I am done losing weight because I end up eating enough vs too little.
    So true if I’m not counting I am usually not eating enough because I’m so worried about it so it’s nicer just to count and Not be afraid
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,060 Member
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    Egotrapped wrote: »
    csplatt wrote: »
    Can you start by counting calories at maintenance? Get used to what you need to stay the same size, then if you want, you can try to stop counting. I personally like counting at maintenance when I am done losing weight because I end up eating enough vs too little.
    So true if I’m not counting I am usually not eating enough because I’m so worried about it so it’s nicer just to count and Not be afraid

    yep! tonight i had a cheese filled breast stick because counting told me i could! if i was just trying to maintain on my own, i would have told myself not to eat the breadstick.
  • maurej2021
    maurej2021 Posts: 3 Member
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    I am almost where you are. I'm about 3-4 lbs away and at some point going to switch to maintenance calories. But at this point I'm used to eating like I have been so it might seem strange to eat slightly more. My weight loss started about November of 2022 just after Thanksgiving. I know, weird time to start, but it was about time I tried again. I went super slow and lost about 23 lb since then. This is the lowest weight I've been at since about 2014. It's worked for me because I've never felt like I was on a diet, just paying attention.
    My concern is when I stop paying attention is when I have gained weight in the past. So I have to do better with that.

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