[Shannon in ATL]

I've exceeded my goal and ready to start maintaining. I find myself really nervous about the thought of increasing my calories. Nervous enough that my hands are a little shaky and I get short of breath... Don't know where that is coming from...

I read in another thread to up by 100-200 calories per day to see what happens at current exercise level, so I'm going to give that a try. I lost mostly 1 pound per week until the last month, when I tracked my calories better (food scale! ) and it jumped to 1.8-2.2 pounds per week. So, do I add the 100-200 to what I'm doing now, which is 1250-1350*, or what I was doing then, which averaged to around 1400?

I also tend to overthink things... that might explain the shakiness - I feel a little out of control at adding calories back in...

*Edit: oops - didn't proof before I posted - what I am eating now is 1150-1250, not 1250-1350, earlier in the process at 1 pound per week weight loss was around 1400...

[BlueToBlue]

Congratulations on reaching your goal! That is very exciting! :

I was a little scared about adding calories once I hit maintenance as well, but I got used to the idea pretty quick once I actually started eating more (it was so nice to be able to eat a little more).

In terms of how many calories you add, I don't think it really matters that much whether you start from where you are now or where you were at a month ago. I think the idea behind just adding 100-200 calories per week is just that you want to increase your food gradually. If you suddenly add a lot of extra calories to your diet, I guess maybe there is concern that your body might not know what to do with them and start storing them as fat. And significant changes in diet can cause you to retain water, which isn't necessarily bad--your body will release it eventually once it adjusts--but it might be stressful for you to see that water weight on the scale. Finally, sometimes drastic changes in your diet can be disruptive to the digestive process and can cause unpleasant side effects .

But there's not that much difference between what you were doing then and what you are doing now, so I'm not sure it really matters that much (but I'm not a doctor, nutritionist, or anyone else that has any professional expertise, so take my opinion for the amateur one that it is). I would probably just add 100-200 calories to what you are eating now, since that would clearly be the safest approach. But if you really aren't happy with what you are eating now and want to add another 100 calories or so, I don't think it would cause any lasting damage.

[mamaspank]

Congrats on reaching your goal -- and surpassing it! That's great. I don't think you have anything to worry about on maintaining. You're done with the hard part -- well, I guess you could just be starting the hard part, depends on which way you look at it. I would just weigh yourself as often as you need to keep yourself in check. I weigh myself every day. I know when I've eaten some foods I shouldn't, and it shows on the scale in the next couple days. I just get back on the wagon and stay within my points.

[bargoo]

I weigh myself everyday and stil plan all my meals ahead of time and still log all food. If I don't plan I will eat much more than I think I am. Planning ahead is much better than gaining it back.

[Mrs Snark]

Congratulations on exceeding your goal, how exciting! I know what you mean about being nervous about maintaining (I know I'm almost terrified of it and I'm not even quite there yet) but I think you'll be fine.