How to maintain weight at 12x?

Ivonnely · 09-21-2011, 10:00 AM

So I finally hit my all time low at 125 pound a few days ago~ I was super excited and decided to "take a break" with weight loss. I started eating a little more but after 3 days, I gained almost 4 pounds.

I was horrified. I tried eating more in the morning, and less at night, didn't help. I tried eating more in the night and less in the morning, didn't help neither.

I am so stuck, it just seems like no matter what I do, I gain weight instead of just maintaining.

I've never been 12x in my teen-adult life so I have no clue how people maintain it.

Any insight would be great

Panacea86 · 09-21-2011, 10:10 AM

I guess one can't take a break from weight loss if they want to maintain their weight, but I'm sure maintenance comes with "relapses" and you'll just have to figure out how many calories/exercise and what types of foods work best for your new size. It really is a life long headache :P but so worth it.

I think generally, one should give themselves a teensy bit leeway when they are still in a healthy weight range. Maybe 125 is too low, but 128 is where you're better off.

runningfromfat · 09-21-2011, 10:29 AM

You might want to check out the maintenance forum for those who have BTDT. But I have heard that it's fairly normal for your body to gain a few pounds initially once you start eating a bit more for maintenance.

The reason being is that you have more food for your body to digest and it takes a little while for your body to adjust to the incoming amount of food. I know I experienced this recently when I made some changes in my diet according to my nutritionist's plan where I ended up eating a larger volume of food (but a lower calorie amount). I did see my weight fluctuate up for about a week and then it eventually started dropping again.

Now if this is a permanent move up then it could be that you just ate too much once you started maintenance... what time frame are we talking about here? That might help to decide what is going on.

bargoo · 09-21-2011, 10:31 AM

How many calories a day are you eating ? I found that I can't forget about calories just because I am at goal. I am shorter than you and maintain on about 1300-1400 calories a day. You might have to experiment a bit to find the right amount for you.

mkroyer · 09-21-2011, 11:02 AM

Absolutely you will gain weight (3-5 popunds) as SOON AS YOU STOP EATING AT A DEFICIT This is true for EVERYONE... no matter what. you CANNOT live your life in a deficit, and sooner or later, all the water you lost from starting to diet will come backl. The weight you gained IS the result of more food in your body, PLUS more water do to replenished and full glycogen stores. DONT FREAK and start restricting again. Remember when you first started dieting, and you probably had an initial fast loss of several pounds? that was the water weight, and that WILL COME BACK for everyone. you have to accept it.
People dont understand this concept and that is what leads to yo yo dieting,, and perople thinking they cant ever eat at mmaintenance without gaining weight, cuz whenever they do, they gainw weight!! If theyd let it be for a bit, insteaad of either a) giving up and going on all out binges or b) freaking out and restricting agian, then everything would be fine

Ivonnely · 09-21-2011, 11:46 AM

That makes me feel better

I was about 1300-1450 when I was dieting. BUT, I had stomach flu, which caused me to diarrhea for about 2 weeks straight and I lost weight even when I was eating more. Now it seems to have calmed down and I haven't been running to the washroom as much.

I am a bit upset because I really want to be at 125 .. Though now it just seems to be water weight that I lost during my week of diarrhea

I am going back to 1 good breakfast/snack lunch and snack dinner >.< looks like I have to hit 120 then gain some during maintenance T^T

Ty for all the insights!

Jubilee · 09-23-2011, 10:49 AM

I'd stay on your maintenance plan for a few weeks, weighing only once per week under the same conditions, i.e. time of day, clothing, full vs empty bowel. If you are stable, you are fine if you are still increasing, you'll have to adjust your maintenance plan. Good luck.

anneslayes · 09-28-2011, 01:46 AM

First start by getting up earlier than usual. Around 5:30 AM to do some of you workouts. Getting up early shocks your metabolism because the body needs more energy to get going. Right? This will start your system on the road to weight loss. That early start with about 10 minutes of stretching. Have a cup of coffee to get the blood going also.