Morning everyone

This is my first week for trying to maintain my weight - I got to my goal weight of 10st7 last wednesday, took me a year and a half and I went from 19 stone (266 pounds) to 10stone 7 (145 pounds) and a UK dress size 22 to a 10 and I am over the moon!! So I am in the middle of my first week trying to maintain my goal weight.

To get to goal, I counted calories and stuck to a 1000 a day and did exercise of course I drank lots of water and I counted everything I eat. OK, so my plan to maintain is to do the same, but to add in fruit (unlimited) and veg (unlimited) without counting them - so i'll still have a 1000 a day, but have lots of fruit and veg which will be "free" and to exercise the same amounts and drink the same amount of water.

Thursday and friday went fine. Saturday and sunday were a bit different (it was my birthday!) but overall this week, I will have stuck to 7000 over the whole week, changing each day but not going over 7000 for the whole week - but this doesnt include fruit and veg. I have done the same amount of exercise as normal and drunk plenty of water still. So I was wondering if you could tell me if this seems like a good plan to maintain?? I'll weigh in each week as before - and i'll weigh in this wednesday night at the gym as normal and fingers crossed I will have stay at 10,7! I really dont want to have put on weight on my first week of mainting!!!! So any tips and advice would be great!!!!

I am over the moon to have gotten to my goal weight, but I know this is the really tricky bit - and I so dont want to put on again.

Thanks !!! I'll have to let you know if I have stayed the same when I checked on wednesday night - fingers crossed!!!!

Luv Tash XX

I havent been maintaining all that long myself. I got to my goal weight at the begining of june. I was 171 pounds and am now 120. My actual goal was 125 so i've still been losing. I was eating around 1100 calories a day to lose, and have since upped that to around 1400 a day. I will need to increase it still further, possibly to 1600-1800 before i stop actually losing more weight (which is becoming a problem in itself as i am 5'6 and of a medium frame). I keep up my gym routine which is 3 days weight with 5 days cardio. I also walk every day and now it's getting warmer i run some days as well.

Your plan sounds okay to me, but you might want to increase the calories a little? As i have read around here and found myself, it's all a matter of finding and fine-tuning a balance that works for you. Be realistic about things too; this is for life, so dont worry or feel guilty if you indulge every now and again. I sure do occaisonally lol. Just, as you know, dont do it all the time :P

I am sure you'll be more than capable of keeping the weight off! A huge congratulations to you!

Livi

Hi Livi

Thanks for the reply and congratulations on your weight loss and keep it off too!! Glad you like my plan, its a bit tricky to know what to do now. I dont think I would ever go back to my old eating habbits but I would like to be able to add a few calories to my daily total and be able to stay the same. I guess it is guess a trial and error thing, i'll have to wait until wednesday and see what weight I am then, on my normal scales and that way i'll know how this weeks plan went and then I can change it or stick with it

As long as I havent gained, i'll gradually up the calories each week, probably by a couple of hundred a week until I get use to it again. I guess i'll soon know if i've had too many one week and I can always cut back again

Thanks for the advice and congratulations!!

Luv Tash XX

Congratulations on achieving your goal weight, Tash!

I also count calories, and I found a book called DIETING FOR DUMMIES extremely helpful. In it, she includes a formula for you to calculate the calories your body needs based on age, weight, activity level, etc. I find that her calculations are pretty accurate. For instance, I calculated that at my weight (140), I can eat about 1900 - 2000 calories a day. If I stick to that, I find that I don't gain and I don't lose. I don't know what the formula is or I'd post it (I don't own the book; I checked it out from the library). If you can find the book, that might help you figure out how many calories you can eat to maintain your weight.

My hunch is that you're not eating enough. I give you a lot of credit for being able to stick to 1,000 calories. When I want to lose weight, I drop down to 1500 calories & I feel deprived--LOL!!

Thanks vmelo!! That book sounds really helpfull! I shall look out for it! I am really scared about putting on, I just dont want to move away from my goal - but I know that I have to find out what I can eat to stay the same weigh - and if I do put on some, I just need to be strict again to lose - but I just dont want to move away from 10,7 ;-) I've been sticking to my plan (still eating under 7000 for the whole week, but each day was slighlty different) but eating lots of free fruit and veg and doing the same amount of exercise and drinking the water - but the signs so far arent good - my scales at home are saying 10,10, the scales at boots are saying 10,8 and i'm scared. ;-) I know that weight changes all the time, and I need to stick to my same sclaes at the same time - so i'll go by what I am tomorrow night at the gym - but I have having a look on other scales just to get an idea of whats happening - and by the seem of things - it isnt good. but i'll reserve judgement until tomorrow night at my normal scales If I'm still ok, i think i'll have to introduce more calories very slowly - i've been use to just 1000 for so long, I think if I add many it'll immediately put weigh on! I'll just have to wait and see I guess... I'll just keep my fingers crossed and i'll be looking out for that book - sounds just the thing I need - thanks!!

Hi Tasha and welcome to Maintainers! Congratulations on your weight loss — it’s the best feeling in the world, isn’t it? You’ve done an amazing job and I totally understand why you don’t ever want to gain it back. So stick around here — we’re a whole bunch of people who feel just like you do.

I think your maintenance plan sounds great — sticking to your basic food plan and adding in more calories in the form of fruits and veggies — and maintaining your exercise routine. You got some terrific advice from Lyria and Vmelo — it is all about finding out the right balance that works for your body and that does take a little experimentation and fine-tuning. Try not to panic if the scale moves a bit! There’s going to be an adjustment period as your body shifts from losing to maintaining but you’re not going to regain the weight eating fruits and vegetables! (much better choices than adding in chocolate and cake calories ).

I think we all feel the way you do about regaining the weight but if you keep up your exercise, track what you’re eating, monitor the results, and tweak as necessary, you’ll do just fine. We're glad you're here!

Ahh, thank you so much Meg, thats very nice of you Congratulations on your amazing weight loss by the way!!!

I'm glad you like my plan to stay the same - I hope it works! I'll weigh in tomorrow night at the gym on my usual scales and that should give me a good idea if my new plan has worked. I'll be over the moon if it has - i'm really happy eating like this - I dont feel hungry, because when I want something extra, there always fruit and veg to keep me going, which i've learnt to love ! So fingers crossed i'll still be 10,7 tomorrow night. If not, thats probably true about my body having to get use to staying the same - so I wont get too upset if I have done up - I have to see this as a experiement to see what I can eat to maintain the weight. Its a horrible fear of putting it back on though! Never mind, i'll just have to wait and see what the scales tell me tomorrow night and i'll go from there

Thanks again for your reply!

Luv Tasha

Hey Tasha! How did your weigh-in go?

Hi Meg,

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply - well it wasnt so good - I was 10stone 10 last wednesday, so thats up by 3 pounds wasnt happy with that, as I knew I had stuck to the 100 cals a day still, and just added in free fruit and veg, but it made me determined to get rid of the extra 3 pounds and get back to goal for this wednesday - so this week I have been counting everything again, includinig fruit in the hope of losing some of the pounds and getting back to goal

I have just come back from a weekend away for my birthday, and I did lots of exercise, badminton, tennis, walking, swimming, and 4 aerobic classes, so I am hoping for a good loss this week - I did have a treat on saturday night (a bag of sweets) and on the sunday, which was my birthday, I had a meal out but counted for the main dinner, but did have a few glasses of wine and some ice cream which wasnt exactly counted for - but I figured all the extra excercise would cover for this - I hope!!! I'll weigh in again tomorrow night at the gym and see if I have lost any of the 3 pounds, and whether I am any nearer to my goal weight - I hope so! I wasnt happy about putting on three pounds in my very first week of trying to stay the same, but never mind - i'll get back there again at some point - I hope

Luv Tash X

Hi Tasha! It sounds like you're doing really well with maintenance! Don't worry about those three pounds -- it's impossible for them to be three pounds of fat (since you're not eating very much more at all), so it's just water weight fluctuations, I'm sure. It sounds like you handled your week and your birthday very well -- you had a few treats and did lots of exercise to offset it.

Maintenance means that we have to figure out a way to make this work for the rest of our lives and it sounds to me like that's just what you did this past week. It has to be something that's comfortable and liveable (or else who could do it forever?) Birthdays and weekends away and dinners out all happen and we have to be able to adapt our eating and exercise plans to them.

And if you're not quite back at goal this week, don't worry! You know what to do -- you know what works -- just keep doing everything you did to lose the weight and you'll get right back there!

Thanks ever so much Meg, that makes allot of sense! I shall see what my weigh in brings tonight and then carry on as before - you are right, I do know what to do now, and it is just a case of getting on with it I will get back to 10,7 soon, and shall stay there Its not as though I dont like my eating plan, so it is something I can do for the rest of my life - I like the foods I eat now and I enjoy the exercise, and I even get to have the very odd treat, so I just need to stick with it and stay positive Thanks for your help, i'll let you know how I get on tonight.

Luv Tash

Tasha, Congratulations on your weight loss. It sounds like you are doing well on your plan. I have found that my weight bounces up and down about 3lbs. I have lost 137 lbs over the past 16 months. I hit my original goal of 150lbs during the summer. I decided I would like to lose about 10 more pounds. My body as different ideas however. I have been maintaining 147-150 for the past 3 months. I am 5'5 1/2" with a small frame. I wear a size 6 or 8 and I can really feel the difference when I am up the 3 lbs. I really panicked in the beginning but have seen it come off as fast as it goes on. The trainer I work with at the gym thinks it the increase in muscle and water weight.
Lynda

Wow Lynda, that weight loss is fantastic, well done!!!! Thanks ever so much for the message, made me feel much better about having put on 3 pounds while trying to stay the same - I checked again last night on my usual scales at the gym and they still say 10,10, which I was upset about! I just want to get back down to my goal weight and then I can try and stay there Everyone at work doesnt believe me - they think i'm making it up - but its true - I put on 3 pounds in the first week of trying to stay the same and so far it hasnt shifted even though I have been folllowing my diet plan still!! They think i'm mad and that I dont need to worry about the 3 pounds, but to me, it does matter, I can feel the difference and to me, i'm just not where I want to be, why cant they understand that and stop worrying that i'm not eating enough/getting obessed ect ect ect I'm dertermined to get rid of these 3 and then concentrate on staying there! I'm really happy with my food plan - I dont feel deprived or hungry and I enjoy the foods and exercise that I am doing, but everyone else seems to have the problem with it ! Oh well, at the end of the day, its me and my body, and I feel like I need to lose the 3 extra and get back down to the 10,7 that I once was

Thanks again for the message!!

Luv Tasha

Tasha,
I have had the same problems with some of my co-workers. If you read some of my past posts you will see that I have become very upset by what others have said. Some of them have good intentions others are trying to sabotage my efforts. I want to encourage you that I have found that my weight goes up and down. I am down this week. I also found that the scales at the gym are not always reliable. If they have been jarred or moved they will give a different reading. My scale at home does the same thing. My cat loves to sleep on my scale and the first time I weigh it is always higher after he has had a nap. I also find that right before my period I am 3 lbs higher. Just hang in and I am sure you will see a difference on the scale. There is a weight chart on this web site that I have used.
Lynda

Welcome to Maintainers, Lynda and congratulations on your fabulous weight loss! You’ve lost a whole other person! We’d love to hear more about how you did it, if you’d like to share. We even have a sticky called “Introductions” in this forum as a place for you or anyone else to tell your stories. Please don't be shy -- a lot of people like to read here for inspiration.

Yeah, funny how sometimes our bodies have their own ideas of what goal is. As you said, you’d like to lose ten more pounds but your body has other ideas? I think a lot of us can sympathize with that! And you bring up a good point that a weight increase can be an increase in muscle mass so we shouldn’t necessarily panic if the scale goes up, especially if we’ve been working out hard. I’ve found that my weight fluctuates a lot in a five pound range, even if I do everything exactly the same with diet and exercise. The important thing to me is to stay in that five pound range.

at your cat sleeping on your scale!

Hi to you Tasha and please, both of you -- keep posting!