Hi everyone,

Well, I've been *officially* maintaining for about 4 weeks now. The first week wasn't MY idea , but my body seems to really enjoy 141 lbs so I'm rolling with it. I've been on "maintenance practice" and experimenting with how many calories I can get away with, etc. It's been going pretty well (apart from one wild morning when I woke up and somehow had gained 4 lbs in 24 hours -- but that crisis has passed thankfully and I'm back to 141 ). And last week was crazy-busy for me and I'm pretty sure I wasn't getting enough calories during the day. I know this because I was up a few times in the middle of the night eating .

So my (hopeful-but-dubious-there's-an-answer) question is this: Is there any kind of formula I can find that tells me what amount of calories will keep me at a maintenance level? Or is it all about trial and error (like I've been doing)? LOL...I look at my dogs' cans of food and it says things like "a 40 lb dog should be fed X cans per day for maintenance" and I guess I'm looking for similar *instructions* for me .

Also, now that I've decided to maintain for a bit, what do you recommend for a good between-phases maintenance time period? I'd still like to get down to 135 lbs eventually, but I'm really in no rush. What amount of maintaining has worked for you before re-starting on losing again?

Thanks!

hi there!

I am at 138 and (am 5'7) but would like to be 135 also, but my bod has been holding steady as well. I lift and am really muscular, so the extra four pounds does not bother me to badly, but I would like to lose those last pounds if possible.

I was at 1400 cals a day to go from 145-130, but it was too hard, and I was tired and cranky all the time.It was not worth being miserable. I got TOO skinny too. My family got a bit worried, so I took it to 1600 cals.

However, after talking about my diet with a trainer, I'm going up to 1800, but the extra 200 calories has to come in the form of protein. I was having too many treats, like cappaccino. I was counting the calories, but my bod needs the healhty proteins and carbs instead of the junk I was having. It was storing the fatty stuff, so with less treats and more protein, I should get to 135 in no time.

Thanksgiving will be a set back, but then it's back on the wagon.

I'm the Workout Queen though. I never miss my two-hour daily workouts, so I'm not too worried about the extra cals on Fatsgiving!

How many calories do you have? Do you workout?

Kate, I can't answer the question regarding calorie levels. I'm in exactly the same spot as you - maintaining my current weight but with the intention of eventually losing another 10-15 pounds. Right now I'm just experimenting with the number of calories I'll need to maintain and so far, so good.

As for how long a maintainence break should last I can only say what I've determined is going to be my guide. After weighing as much as 214 pounds 135-137 is really quite comfortable, even if I know in my heart I want to reach 120-125. Like, you, I am in no hurry to get there because I am actually quite content right where I am. Although, the longer I stay in this range the less acceptable it seems. So, I expect that I will eventually get to a point that I don't feel any happier at 135 than I did at 214 and at that point I'll begin pushing off these last few pounds. I don't expect to ever be 100% happy with my body but I know what I am capable of and what I want (which, by the way is very reasonable - I'm certainly not looking to be "skinny"). In the meantime, I'm enjoying my current body, my new clothes, and healthier lifestyle.

At first I felt quite a bit of guilt for not biting the bullet and doing what needed to be done to reach my final goal. But, I've come to believe that this experiment in maintaining is going to have a real payoff once I finally do reach my ultimate weight. First of all, I think there is something to be said for learning to appreciate the changes our bodies have been through and all the new things that they can do. But, that takes time. My body is far ahead of my brain at this point but the gap is beginning to close.
Second of all, this break is teaching me that I CAN maintain which has lessoned a lot of the anxiety that I've felt all along. I'm not nearly as concerend that this journey will have been for naught anymore. And, who knows, as reasonable as 120-125 pounds is for me it may not end up being what I REALLY want. I feel as though this break is giving me the chance to find a balance between what I want, what I can maintain, and how much effort I'm willing to exert over the long haul.


I know that in the long run maintainence could become an uphill battle. But, for now, it is exciting and fun. It is a new experience completely different (emotionally and mentally, anyway) from losing weight. I want to relish it while I can.

Thanks for your responses ,

Cherryh, I do work out -- cardio 30 - 45 min, 3 times a week & weight training 30 min, 3 times a week. I know if I increased the number of days I do cardio, those last 6 lbs would go relatively quickly. But I hate cardio . I have some new cross-country skis, so I intend to add at least 2 days a week of that to my cardio schedule once it snows -- so that will be 5 days.

I also don't count calories -- which is ironic considering that was actually part of my original question . I estimate that I eat about 1200 - 1400 calories a day. Does this seem low for my weight and activity level? I'm just under 5'4", by the way, and I'm (I guess) "fairly muscular" as I've been lifting w/ a personal trainer since February, and also worked w/ the same trainer back between Aug. '02 - Aug. '03. My job is fairly physical, too -- I work as a vet tech and am constantly lifting and restraining dogs.

I'm forever reading posts about how adding more calories will help you lose if you're taking in to few, but it seems like such a thin line to walk... I could definitely boost my calories w/more veggies and fruits (which I'm not so great at getting enough of ANYWAY) and see if that gets the weight loss going again.

I eat a lot of protein (I aim for 100 grams a day) but I could boost that, as well.

I guess my big fear is that I will get too comfortable where I am and never make the effort to get to 135. I'm a size 8 now, which I've never been -- and I'm satisfied with that. But I don't want to get complacent and "blow" a chance to get down to the '30s. I feel sort of like I'm "on a roll" with the weight loss -- up until the last few weeks, at least -- and I don't want to lose my momentum. Does that make sense?

So obviously, my mind isn't completely made up about maintaining right now. I didn't realize that until I started writing this post ! I'm okay with my plateau (if that's what it is), but I don't want to be TOO okay with it, if you know what I mean . I'm kind of an "all or nothing" person, so it scares me to stop doing something when things are going well. LOL, I'm the same when I clean the house -- I feel like if I stop in the middle of things, I'll never get going again!

Thanks again!

I think there are a million formulas you can use to find maintenance calories. Of course they'll all give you a different number! Of course even the dog food formulas don't work for all dogs. My 1/2 dalmation runs obsessive laps around the yard and I'm sure eats more than the dog food bag recommends for her weight

I'm 5'8" and am still losing slowly at 1800-1900 calories. I get in a couple hours of cardio a day though. I'm eager to see what my final weight and calorie intake will shake out to be. Let me tell you, I'm wildly relieved that I didn't have to drop my calories as low as some of the other maintainers have reported. Of couse, I'm also not really interested going for an extremely low body fat. My husband's already getting alarmed by my lack of booty. (Which trust me, is not really a problem at the moment)

Okie-doke, I found a calculator, but really going to depend on you. Your activity level, how many pounds of muscle you have, etc.

When I was figuring out maintenance it took.... Wow, 4-5 months, now that I think about it. I slowly ramped up from 20 Weight watchers points (~1200 cal-1400/day) to my currently level of just under 2000. OK, 2000 cal/day = slowly gaining. Also, FitDay uses a calculation similar to the above to determine calories burned.

I'm 5' 4", 130ish pounds, 27 years old, work out sporadically, and only lost about 40 pounds from my all-time high. These are all factors that seem to play in to a person's maintenance level. Being older, lower activity levels, more weight lost seems to mean fewer calories needed to maintain.

-Amy

I would start with the rough calculation of 15 Cal x bodyweight in #'s. That works pretty well for me. You will soon know your real number from monitoring your weightloss over several weeks.

I must say that, even though I think I am being good, my progress is much slower when I "estimate" calories rather then strictly weigh and count my portions.

Thanks again for your responses, everyone! I'll check out that calculator and then maybe keep a log over the weekend to see how the calculator results compare to my normal daily intake. I suspect I'm low, actually...especially with this "waking up hungry at midnight" stuff I've been doing lately -- that's always been a BIG not-enough-calories red flag for me!

I don't want to actually get into counting calories -- I've never done it, have lost plenty of lbs without doing it, and have no desire to start now (I'm getting a headache just thinking about it! LOL). But I think tracking cals for a few days may help me figure out what I need in relation to what I'm getting.

LOL, Robert. I know measuring, weighing, counting, etc. works VERY well for a lot of people but my HEAD would explode if I started doing all of that . Especially since this is for life -- I have a hard enough time creating a level teaspoon, much less measuring EVERYTHING I eat! I guess my left brain is significantly less-developed than my right . Thanks for the advice, though .

Katie,

Interesting to see that I am not alone. I always try to keep track on FitDay but max I managed was for 1 week! Plus this was the only week I gained even more that I was gaining before Anyways, I totally understand you when you say that you do n towant even to go there, keep what is working for you!

Good luck! And do not trust those calculators - in my case I can eat 1900 cal according to them, which is a total crazyness, as I gain easily on 1500

Cheers,
Sandy.

I think it's definitely about tweaking a little to find the right balance between incr4eased (healthy) food and working out. WIth Weight Watchers (which is what I used), you increase points weekly once you're in the 6 week maintenance phase. Well, I gained a few pounds back during Maintenance, which of course really upset me. Now I have a good balance and a good sense of how many daily points I can use especially as I keep up the workouts. SOme days I cut the points by 2-4 if I know I won't be exercising that day or the next day.

I'm 5'4, 122-124 and have been maintaining for over a year now. I take in roughly 2100cals/day with a bit more on the weekends. I do however exercise quite a bit as I am in the middle of a P90X cycle (cardio, weights, yoga, etc). What I did when I was done losing (I was losing on 1500) was zigzag my way up - 1500/1800/1500/1800/1500/2100 etc. It's worth a shot!

I just finished reading CALORIE QUEENS. The authors lost 300+ pounds between them. They say to multiply your weight that you want to be X 12 to figure out your calories..of course this will differ according to activity level.
BUT once you figured out how many cals it takes to stay where you are then..note that the difference between 10 pounds is as little as 120 cals per day.
Example...135 x 12 = 1620 (to maintain 135)
125 x 12 = 1500 (to maintain 125)
Difference...= 120 cals.

OR the 10 pounds you want to lose x 12 cals = 120 cals.

Remember this may vary from person to person.

Since there are 3500 cals in a pound..you have to wait till the 120 cals difference add up to 3500 to lose a pound....

Thus it would take 290 days using a maintenance way of doing it for the new weight

120 cals =
25 peanuts
1 apple
1 cup 2% milk
30 M & M's
1 and 1/2 oz cheese

So you can use this idea using your current maintenance calories.

I'd chew off a leg at weight x 12. (that's less than 1500 calories for me). It greatly varies from person to person and also depends on how much exercise/activity you do.

As I said in my post, "Remember this may vary from person to person."

The method will work for most average height women. The formula is based on an inactive woman and will vary. Its a starting point. If you know what your maintenance cals are then you can easily figure out how to lose 10 pounds.