Keeping it off.

coopervince10
coopervince10 Posts: 2 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Now that I’ve reached my goal, it’s a question of whether or not I can keep it off. Wondering if there is anyone else in this position?

Replies

  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,333 Member
    Yep been there done that. :)
  • AmunahSki
    AmunahSki Posts: 265 Member
    Am there, doing that…!

    Congratulations on your achievement! Have you got a plan for maintenance?

    I didn’t have a plan the first 2/3 times, as I thought I could wing it: turns out I was wrong. This time, I am still logging and staying accountable, and finding different challenges to exercise my willpower!
  • jspecies11
    jspecies11 Posts: 1,355 Member
    Great comments. I think it’s also knowing your personal “why” to keep you healthy and going when you feel old habits kicking in.Think of yourself as a healthy strong person and you will act and behave as one. Don’t expect perfection from yourself but have a plan for your new life style to carry you through each day.
  • varianval
    varianval Posts: 14 Member
    Staying consistent with food, movement, and balance keeps the weight off!
  • NotForJustNowForever
    NotForJustNowForever Posts: 29 Member

    I'm exactly where you are.

    Actually I'm progressively adding calories because I'm still trying to determine what maintenance is for me. Also I really want to be as close to maintenance as possible (TDEE) or even at maintenance because I'm trying to build muscles. (A lot of my "cushioning" is gone and I feel more "fragile" right now which I don't like. I'm super clumsy.) I tend not to trust TDEE calculations because they feel too high because I grew up with the mentality that women needed to eat very little (one of my own doctor told me to eat less and move more during a slight plateau when I panicked… So.) But for my current purposes, I need to eat enough.

    The way I see it, this stage is about eating the way you did to get here, + enhancements. What I mean is using that extra spoonful of cheese for example, adding a bit more rice/pasta/whatever. It absolutely is a learning process and I feel it's likely to take about 2-3 months to get to that point where I can be invited out and I know I wont pick anything that feels like a binge or weird, because I still feel like I'm showing love to my body.

    As I got closer to goal I taught myself to stop thinking that an occasional outing where I couldn't politely refuse the food offered to me was a make or break, and forced myself to remember that I was going to pick things back up right after. It's the long run, right? A marathon not a race and all that. (I say that because I'm saying it to myself. 😅) I both want to not be neurotic about it, but I have no intention to yo-yo or ever have a high weight cycling again.

    Something that I heard recently (again and again but I feel it finally clicked) is that as you increase your calories, you initially can gain up to 2% of your weight in water weight. I say this because when I did, three times in a row, I panicked and brought my calories back down. Which goes against what I'm trying to do because I want to strengthen and can't if I eat at too high a deficit.

    To deal with that I'm following the advice I've gotten here on this forum: watch the weight trend over 2-3 weeks. Realistically, I will not regain all my losses in 3 weeks. 🙂 But if if I'm still gaining when I get to 3 weeks, it may mean that my calories can afford to be a little lower. Or I can add a little intensity to my workout. Something where the calories in vs calories out work better basically.

    I'm also taking my measurements preferably once a week, at worst once a month. For the same reasons (weight fluctuations) but also strength training. And I've adjusted my wardrobe down and have at least one pair of pants that isn't stretch that I just want to be comfortable in.

    And if I sense a regain, now, I wouldn't do what I did before. I'd use a much gentler and very soft deficit because I really want my body to learn what maintenance is (in terms of calories eaten and how I fuel myself). So I would never want to stray as much as I have in the past. I don't ever want it to think that there's ever any food scarcity. LOL

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