Maintenance mood: What was your hardest adjustment?

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jamja
jamja Posts: 190
in Motivation and Support
For me that's easy answer...eating more. I had been losing weight for a long period of time and trying to stabilize my weight was a becoming more of a challenge than I expected. I want to avoid the ups and downs and stay within a 5 lbs range.

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  • ariel3561
    ariel3561 Posts: 27 Member
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    When I lost weight in the past I just went back to eating the way I had before and the weight came right back on. It's that fine line between eating for maintenance and eating to gain. Always been a problem for me.
  • Figuringoutme
    Figuringoutme Posts: 330
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    bump
  • runs4zen
    runs4zen Posts: 769 Member
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    First it was figuring out how many calories were going to work for maintenance (for me, anywhere between 1800-1900. If it's an exercise day, it'll shoot to over 2000) and then actually eating that much daily. I had to look at my base calories and then add about 200 every couple of weeks until I stopped losing weight and didn't gain any.

    When you're eating food that is good for you and avoiding the empty calorie, high fat stuff, it can be a little challenging. Now I only bounce up or down a pound or a pound and a half depending on the day, my activity level, hydration level, etc.


    Trial and error!
  • kamk16
    kamk16 Posts: 205
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    It has been hard for me to keep counting my calories like I was. I find myself being lazy and having a bite of this and a bite of that and I am afraid if I don't watch it I will end up going back to my old ways of eating too much:noway: I have been maintaining since September 2011. Lately I have been in such a snacking mood and don't always make the wisest choices. I feel like the bear going into hibernation. But this week I vow to do better before this gets out of hand it has been getting worse since Thanksgiving time.
  • runs4zen
    runs4zen Posts: 769 Member
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    It has been hard for me to keep counting my calories like I was. I find myself being lazy and having a bite of this and a bite of that and I am afraid if I don't watch it I will end up going back to my old ways of eating too much:noway: I have been maintaining since September 2011. Lately I have been in such a snacking mood and don't always make the wisest choices. I feel like the bear going into hibernation. But this week I vow to do better before this gets out of hand it has been getting worse since Thanksgiving time.

    You can get control! It's a head change, for sure. The first thing is, absolutely forbid yourself to put anything in your body that doesn't get logged. Absolutely log every bite of everything. First off, it'll make you nuts trying to figure out what a bite of something is, calorically ( you may stop popping food in just randomly to avoid logging it); and, secondly, it'll make it black and white for you as to how those bites add up. Counting calories doesn't get any easier than this program allows.

    Maintenance is planned...just like weight loss is! Be your own best friend, here!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    The hardest adjustment for me has been that I missed working towards a goal. So I decided to become a faster runner instead of becoming a slimmer person.

    Also, I had to learn to accept that my weight fluctuates... a LOT. I'm living in a range on the scale and not set on staying at a certain number.
  • robinogue
    robinogue Posts: 1,117 Member
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    For me it's putting myself in maintenance mode, everytime I reach a goal I reset it because I'm scared to put myself there.
  • jamja
    jamja Posts: 190
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    I also focus on setting workout challenges. Need a goal to work towards!
  • Jill_newimprovedversion
    Jill_newimprovedversion Posts: 988 Member
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    I'm looking forward to hearing advice from those who are *ACTUALLY* succeeding in this area-
    and can benefit from *their* trials and errors.
  • jkmurphy06
    jkmurphy06 Posts: 28 Member
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    For me it's eating more calories and not getting upset when my weight fluxuates. It's hard for me to adjust eating a significantly larger number of calories, but I know that if I go under my calorie goal I risk losing muscle and putting myself into "starvation mode." Also when my weight goes up a couple lbs due to water weight or normal fluxuation it's hard for me to realize that it's going to come back down or that I'm probably gaining more muscle. Keeping track of calories and exercising frequently is still pretty easy for me, hopefully I won't get lazy!
  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
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    The hardest adjustment for me has been that I missed working towards a goal. So I decided to become a faster runner instead of becoming a slimmer person.

    Also, I had to learn to accept that my weight fluctuates... a LOT. I'm living in a range on the scale and not set on staying at a certain number.
    [/quote

    Yes a range on the scale, that's me too. However I have a number I WILL NOT let it get beyond and it's not too far from my ideal.]
  • runs4zen
    runs4zen Posts: 769 Member
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    I'm looking forward to hearing advice from those who are *ACTUALLY* succeeding in this area-
    and can benefit from *their* trials and errors.

    I've maintained at my current weight for about 9 months.

    I was about 5 pounds heavier for 5 months prior to that when I was trying to figure out the right calorie amount for maintaining. I guess I'm a slow learner but I have it covered now! :)

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