So I'm finding that the maintenance plan that works for me is something of a lose, gain, lose, gain which equals maintain. I eat somewhere between my losing cals and maintenance cals during the week and then indulge within reason during the weekend (my binging is under control at the moment). So that means I'm at towards the top of my range on Monday and toward the bottom on Friday. So far this is working well for me, I'm just wondering if there are any health issues with sort of yo yoing.

My only other concern is that, for the exception of this week with TOM and Thanksgiving, I'm actually still losing. Will that just work itself out? I'm eating 1650-1950 during the week and way over that on the weekends...From what I figure I'm probably eating maintenance for 135 lbs, so it will just work itself out at that point and I'd be ok with that, although I'm not sure I want to go under 140, but I also don't think I can handle eating anymore. Did anyone have trouble eating enough to maintain? I'm probably getting ahead of myself and should just get through the holidays

Oh, I should only have that problem!

Really, what kind of problem is this? You are eating at a good level for getting good nutrition and you're complaining that you might drop a couple pounds more? Puleeeeeze!

Jay

I apologize, I know sometimes I use this forum as sort of a personal diary and maybe that's insensitive and inappropriate, but it's really the only place I have to turn for support.

I think my issue is probably that I'm not eating back my exercise cals and as a "dieter" of 4+ years it's hard to accept that if I want to keep up my fitness level I'll have to likely eat more, especially when I see so many maintainers eating in the 1400-1600 range. Maybe this is a better post at runner's world or something. I guess I'm also concerened that I'll get my cals up high enough and then get injured or have to cut back my exercise for some other reason and cutting the cals back to compensate would be very difficult. I guess you can't have it all can you...

I hope that I didn't offend you, and I'm not complaining about losing a few more lbs, I'm actually concerned about finding the maintenance sweet spot and worried that the level I'll have to eat to maintain my weight will trigger old habits (especially with a history of binging). I mean how many veggies can one person eat to fill up those needed cals? I already eat lots of healthy fats - nuts, avocados, flaxseed and plenty of whole grains. I've even incorporated whole grain pasta into my diet on the nights before longer runs.

And while I'd love love love to be in the 130s, I can't afford the tummy tuck it will take for me not to have the body image issues that will come with that. So I guess I just need to shut up and eat more But is there another way? Yeah, exercise less...ok so there's no good answer to this...again, using this forum as my personal diary.

Anyway, my apologies again...

No, hon, you didn't offend me, but you have to admit that the way you put it made it not exactly sound like a problem...

That's right, eat more or exercise less. Voila! But why are you thinking of more veggies? Eat more protein--that's a good place to add calories. Have lots of tuna, lots of lean chicken, more lean pork (weighed and measured, of course). Or if you're vegetarian, more eggs, more milk, a bit more cheese... Or, if vegan, more soy protein, seitan, tempeh, beans...

Jay

Maybe it's my scale (I have a cheap non-digital scale from IKEA that measures in kilos) but I don't notice that much bouncing around. And I think not everyone our size in maintenance eats that low, especially if they are exercising as much as you. I lost -- at a rate of 1lb a week -- at 1400-1600 not counting my exercise. I am maintaining at 1600-2000; the LoseIt app (I don't remember what formula they use) gives me about 1950 a day. I did up my resistance exercise a bit where before I was doing mostly cardio.

I do eat quite evenly during the week though, without going up regularly for weekends. Only about 2-3 times a month over 2000. I have coped with the average 300 or so additional calories quite nicely by adding back in cheese, peanut butter, and butter occasionally, and pork (which I had totally cut out while I was losing).

Dagmar

My guess is that your weekend weight gain is mostly water from the extra sodium that "treat food" and alcohol has in it. It's very, very difficult to gain 4-5 lbs of true fat in 1 weekend.

What if, instead of having every weekend be an off-plan situation, just eating like you normally do? Then, when an occasion rolls around (ie.Thanksgiving), you can have a small amount of treats. I know that if I allowed myself to eat whatever I'd like within reason every weekend, I would binge or think about bingeing. I exercise a LOT, too, so I upped my calories 200-300/day so I wouldn't lose anymore. That keeps me from feeling like I have space to eat extra treats every day and on the weekend. I really don't. A treat may be having 1 glass of wine with dinner one week, or 1/2 piece of dessert another week. Not all together in one weekend.

I sense from your posts that you are afraid to stop losing. Is it the high that comes from seeing the scale go down? Or fear that if you increase your cals to maintain that you won't be able to stop? You've learned such good habits during your loss phase, that you just need to implement those with a couple hundred more cals/day. Not much at all changes. Also, have you thought about seeing a therapist for body image issues? Those can take you down fast if you don't stay on top of them.

Just need to say this:

Oh. How. I. Envy. You. Runners.

1) I also bounce around from Monday to Friday. I think with water fluctuations and such it's perfectly reasonable to have your weight change within 5lbs or so during the week. I'm usually at least 1-2lbs higher on Monday morning than on Friday morning and I consider it normal fluctuations.

2) There are a couple possibilities about the continuing loss. One is that you're just exercising so much that your body needs more calories to maintain your current weight. If this is the case you'll probably continue to lose if you keep eating the same until you reach the point where your body doesn't require quite so many calories anymore, and you'll stabilize. HOWEVER, if you just continue to lose and lose despite eating a good amount of calories, you should see a doctor. Unintentional weight loss is a symptom of many different medical problems.