SparkPoints: (22,423)
Fitness Minutes: (7,227)
Posts: 750
3/22/12 12:57 A

Obviously I continued losing after I reached goal. It was hard to change from the diet mentality to the maintenance mentality. I have allowed myself occasional splurges in my effort not to go below the healthy BMI, and I've switched to milk fortified with vitamin D, since I need that anyway, even though it's 2%.

Edited by: DENISEFULLER at: 3/22/2012 (00:58)

122 Maintenance Weeks

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SparkPoints: (67)
Fitness Minutes: (240)
Posts: 5
3/16/12 10:13 A

I spread a 40# loss over about a year from Sept 2010 to Sept 2011 and have pretty much maintained 128# but bounce up as high as 133# which is usually water fluctuations. I looked at my logs and see I averaged 1319 calories a day whiloe losing and from 9/2011 thru today average 1601 calories a day. I'm 5'5 female age 59. Maybe this information is helpful for someone new to maintaining. Oh, I exercise 5-6 days a week, usually two 1 hr weight training classes and two 1 hr yoga classes and 5-6 days 30-60 minute sprinting/walking sessions while walking the dogs with Mike.

SparkPoints: (26,891)
Fitness Minutes: (21,787)
Posts: 1,391
3/15/12 3:46 P

I'm Nancy from TX. I joined SP in May 2011 and just lost 40 lb and reached my goal of 130#. Just starting to figure out what to do to maintain. Working the issues. Getting ideas from your posts. Thank you.

P.S. ATGOAL135 suggested 50+ Maintainers group to me....which made me look around. I liked your daily/weekly goals.

Edited by: NANCYLRAGS at: 3/15/2012 (15:50)

current weight: 148.0

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130

Posts: 6,740
3/14/12 6:02 P

At some point, you're going to have to decide how you are going to live for the long term. I've already determined just what guidelines I'm willing to live with for the long run in eating. I don't see myself changing much of anything, unless it's to possibly slightly pare down portions on weekends, but I'm not eating the lowest amount I can. It's not my goal to weigh the least I can. It's to live comfortably with appetite, daily life, and pleasurable social interaction with as few food worries as possible. I'm still working on what exercise I'm willing to live with permanently, too.

current weight: 146.5

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146.5

SparkPoints: (36,962)
Fitness Minutes: (39,044)
Posts: 2,279
3/14/12 3:39 P

I'm in the same boat as a new maintainer and am having a hard time adjusting to the mentality shift. I've been staying in the same calorie range and working out just as much as before. I wouldn't mind dropping a few more pounds to have a cushion but I'll definitely want to level off at a certain point. I'd love to be able to add on some calories soon, even if it's just 100-200 a day, so I don't want to lose so much more that it will really be a struggle to maintain. Let me know how you're managing!

current weight: -1.0  under

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Posts: 30,394
3/14/12 2:42 P

to the team on reaching your goals Great questions you asked about maintenance we have some real pros here on the subject fro me I'm still trying to figure it all out though I know I need ot monitor my weight at least 4 times a week and continue with my workouts as I did before and I have added some more calories back into the equation

155 Days until:  Bride of FrankenFooter 5K

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Posts: 602
3/14/12 11:30 A

Thank you for your replies!! I am sure that I will have a lot more questions as time goes by! I am very nervous/inquisitive!!

Posts: 5,098
3/14/12 11:25 A

Definitely don't cut back on the exercise. Even when your weight stops changing you still want to be improving your body composition, and exercise is what does that.

Slowly boost your calories, by maybe 100 or 200 per week until your weight settles. And they should be nutritious calories. I made the mistake at first of thinking I could add in treats to make up the difference. Nope. LOL

And do go read that column by Peele, because it's really good. She has an iTunes podcast on the subject which is also well done.

Edited by: 4A-HEALTHY-BMI at: 3/14/2012 (11:26)

current weight: 15.0  over

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-20

Posts: 602
3/14/12 11:14 A

Did you guys change your exercise level or calorie intake at all? Right now I exercise about 40-70 minutes 5-6 days a week, and I mean actual exercise like circuit training, running and kickboxing. I'm not sure if I should cut back on exercise or boost my calories. I have just been losing 2-3 pounds every week since I hit my goal. Maybe it is just that my body wants to be smaller. I'm just not sure.

SparkPoints: (16,723)
Fitness Minutes: (10,417)
Posts: 1,915
3/14/12 11:12 A

I'm going through another weight loss phase right now - stress related - but when I first moved into maintenance I found I only needed about 200 to 300 extra calories a day to stop my weight loss and maintain fairly steadily.

Add the extra calories gradually, over a few weeks and weigh daily/weekly to see how your weight loss is slowing down or stopping. If you start to gain more weight than you want to, cut back a little bit. It is kind of experimental to see what is going to work for you.

I have kept my exercise regimen the same as through weight loss - we need it, and it is good for more than just losing weight. Decide what exercise you can maintain for a lifetime and just keep it part of your life.

Welcome to Maintenance! Good Luck finding your new eating/exercise plan.

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Posts: 756
3/14/12 10:21 A

I really haven't changed much. I figure that my maintenance calorie intake is pretty close to my "weight loss" level--I've just gotten down to what my body actually needs so now I'm not losing any more. I continue to track food and exercise and be active with Spark. It is really hard to shift the brain to the notion that you're not fat any more and you don't really have any weight to lose, especially if you can't remember when you WEREN'T either trying to lose weight or wishing you were thinner!

Posts: 5,098
3/14/12 10:12 A

Congrats! It's surreal, isn't it? LOL

It can take a really long time to change our minds. Much longer than it takes to change our bodies.

In order to maintain you need:

1) frequent monitoring
2) immediate correction

So for maintenance you need to figure out how you're going to monitor the situation and if you need correction, how you'll fix it.

Leigh Peele did a nice article and podcast about maintenance and the mentality that goes with it...
www.leighpeele.com/a-lesson-in-the-art-of-
maintenance

current weight: 15.0  over

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Posts: 602
3/14/12 9:54 A

I have officially lost 50% of my body weight and although I have been at or below my goal for 4 weeks now I am just starting to feel more comfortable admitting I am in maintenance! LOL!!

I have a question for all of you:

What did you change when you switched into maintenance mode?

I have had a hard time not losing more, which lets face isn't a bad thing, I could probably afford to lose more but I don't want to go overboard.