nxd10 Member

This sounds like a good plan. I think a lot of people on this site confuse 'calories' 'net calories' and 'eating calories'.

It was easier than I thought - I just had to follow directions. I'm in my 50's. It was my first diet. I lost 40 pounds and have maintained 4 years.

If I skip breakfast I don't get hungry until lunch but I overeat at lunch and dinner. In general, I feel like if I eat something small every time I'm hungry I don't overeat and have lower overall calories. That usually means 3 meals at the same time every day plus a snack.

I'm your height and weight and I net 1300-1400. But I'm 56. I've maintained 4 years. I used to use a fitbit and now use an apple watch to measure my exercise and just go with that. I have them synched with MFP so that it automatically adds my exercise into my diary. You have to make sure you have done that correctly or it…

I have also maintained for four years and I know what you mean. It has helped me to continue to log every single meal every single day. But I have loosened up a bit - I no longer log little things that I know don't add up to anything - the lettuce and mustard and ketchup for instance. I have started to look at it like…

My husband and I started MFP at the same time 4 years ago. I lost 40 pounds and have maintained. He's lost 5 of the 50 he needs to. I have found lots of good food I like to eat that isn't calorie intense. I eat anything I want, just in small helpings. It's been good for him to have me maintain. He knows what he has to do,…

One of the things I noticed in this post is that a couple of folks who have been in this community when I started four years ago are still in this community. I bet that's part of why they've maintained. As have I.

I love food! In fact I appreciate it even more now that I'm eating consciously. That has helped me maintain four years. Never put food in your mouth that doesn't taste good.

I eat like that all the time and I've maintained four years. Look at portion size. Walk.

The research suggests breakfast isn't important, even if most maintainers do it. The reason I do it is that if I skip meals I eat too much later. And I get HUNGRY!

I study adolescents for a living. Yes, they grow as fast as toddlers. At that age I grew an inch a month for 8 months. Calorie dense foods like peanut butter, cream . . . . basically anything with a lot of fat. Then they have to slow down. Peak height velocity for growth lasts around a year. And protein powder isn't that…

I'm in that study. I also read it before I started so I would know how to maintain. I do all those things - and have maintained 4 years.

I've been logging four years. I've also maintained that long. It's a habit like brushing your teeth. There are times it bores me. But I'm not that interested in brushing my teeth either. The longer you do it the less time and attention it takes. It is invaluable. I also weigh every morning so I don't have to think about it…

First, I think you look fine. Your backk and side look fantastic. I see why your tummy bothers you, but wow, you've done great. Second, I lost inches for at least 8 months after I stopped losing weight. My skin firmed up. There was lots of extra room where there used to be fat and now there wasn't. Same as after when I had…

I never dropped things like ice cream - I just eat it 1/4 cup at a time. Same with any other food. I eat what I want but a piece or two of candy, half a piece of cake, one or two cookies . . . . All the taste and I realized I don't even want more than that. It's been 4 years.

Like people say, you're either eating or drinking more than you think, you're exercising less, or your food composition has changed. That's how it works. I know for me (I've maintained 4 years), if I eat too many carbs, I'll gain weight even if I have the same calories. You don't have to go low carb - no one can maintain…

I'm 57, 5'10" and well within my healthy BMI and maintain at that. So you should be eating more. AND EAT YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES. I actually eat 500 calories or so over my alotment because I measure my steps and exercise and that gets added on. Good luck!

It matters for me. If my carbs go over 40% I couldn't lose and if they consistently go over 50% my weight will start to creep up even though I'm in my calorie zone. I also get hungrier. Doesn't matter for a day. It does for a week or two. So I try to hit my macro goals. It may not make a difference for your body, but it…

What made a difference to me was having my goal be maintaining for the rest of my life. So I celebrated when I hit the top of my goal range and again when I hit the bottom. But I celebrate every day that I get on the scale and I'm still there. It's been four years. People regain because they go back to old habits. This is…

Congratulations! What you do is to keep doing what you've been doing, but with more calories.

I don't weigh or measure things much now because I have gotten very good at estimating. I know my dishes and have a good sense of what food is how much. But yeah, I log every single thing that goes into my mouth. And have, for four years.

byrnnsman - Don't get depressed. I'm in the same place, and I've lost some of it but still have more to do. We can do it! I've been maintaining 4 years.

Really - take action. Remember how easy it is to lose at first and then takes longer and longer as you get closer to goal? That's still true. And you're still close to goal. If you crept up, you're eating too much. Go for a deficit and get back to where you want to be. It's worth it.

How nice for you. I can't. Now I EAT more than that, but I NET less than that. And I'm 5'10" Different people's bodies work really differently.

I never eat all my calories after exercise comes in. But I maintain. I find logging useful because it tells me when I haven't eaten enough and just should and when I'm hungry and should definitely give in and eat. I trust my body, and logging confirms it's right.

Great you learned that. It's the small things that make a difference.

Congratulations!

I picked the weight I was at when I graduated from college and my body seemed to naturally gravitate to after both my kids were born. I have a 5 pound weight range (I've maintained 4 years). I celebrated when I hit the top of it. I kept at a deficit until I hit the bottom, then went off. I knew I would bounce around within…

I found my weight loss dropped to a crawl when I got close to my goal. If I'd dropped my deficit down more, I would never have gotten there. Alternative strategy: I had a 5 pound weight range I counted as 'success'. I celebrated success when I hit the top. I dropped to half that deficit when I was in the middle. And I got…

If you're eating at future maintenance, and you're not that much bigger than you will be then, you don't won't be at a very big deficit. To lose, you need to be at a deficit. To maintain, you're balancing intake and output.