Weight maintenance Topic

Febrown 01/12/11
I was terrified to stop and go on maintanence. I am im a weight maintaince program through a hospital. I took my time to get to the maintainance calorie that was set by a dietetian (which are lower than MND). I also continued to loss on maintainance . I am as of this morning 10 pound below my goal . That was my fault. I had to add 100 calories to my weight loss # every week to see if I would gain,if I didn't I added 100 more untill I reached the number set by the dietetian. I am not at that number yet as I got nervous over the holidays. I use the green yellow green method which was developed through studies. Which is, I weigh every morning if I am within 2 pounds OF GOAL , I am in the green zone, 2-3 pounds over I am in yellow zone and have to be careful and 3-5 pound pounds FROM goal I go back to weight loss, I do this daily but still have one fixed day per week to register weight, with the same parameters.I NEVER miss breakfast (even though it is very difficult for me)and try not to miss meals . I do have a weight loss tool box per say. which if you are interested we can discuss. I find weight maintanence harder than loss . I also know the stats on weight maintanence are dismal with only a small percent keeping it off so that is always in the back of my mind. I have maintained the lost since August and am very vigilant as I cannot regain this weight (140.2 pounds as of this AM). The program I am in has 2 sessions og group, one with dietician and one with exercise physiologist per month. I learn something each week. Sometimes it is useful to me sometimes not and times it is concerning. This next phase you are are entering is to me harder but the success rates are so much lower. People think the "diet is over and return to past actions" If you want to keep it off you cannot do that. You have to develop a plan of action. Have a good day-Fran

Kamdis 01/12/11
I still weigh just once a week, but like Trish it took me a while to stop losing weight once I hit my goal. It's hard to let go of both the mentality of losing (in favor of maintaining) and the little joys in seeing the scale number drop.

I slowly increased my calories by about 100/day each week until I found my sweet spot for maintenance. I still generally record everything, though I lapsed a bit over the holidays, because it keeps me accountable to myself.

My exercise routine has also changed a bit. I'm not quite so rigid about it, though I still go to boot camp 3 days a week and run at least 1 other day.

Dietitian 01/12/11
I actually weigh myself a little more frequently now that I am at maintenance since I am curious to see just how much I fluctuate. I now weigh myself about 4-5 times per week instead of weekly when I was losing weight.

I still follow a similar eating plan for mainenance, except that my caloric intake is a few hundred calories higher now. I had a very very slow weight loss plan since I hate being hungry and I am always hungry! So maintenance was only a small step up in calories for me.

I agree, you have to get past the fear of gaining weight again. Tracking daily over time will reduce your fear and anxiety as you see that you can control your weight successfully over time.

Because it is normal to fluctuate a few pounds by hydration, I do not change my plan with one weight reading. Instead, I weigh myself again the next day or two and if the gain is still there, I adjust my plan downwards again.

I have recently deleted my exercise PLAN and now only log it in my daily log. I find it easier now to view my intake relative to sedentary calories. This is a change I have made since being in maintenance mode. It just reminds me that unless I get exercise, I only have about 1800 calories to play with - for me, it has been working as an incentive to exercise.

Best,

Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD

Sune 01/12/11
Thank you all for your input. It is very helpful :D

Fran, what do you mean by weight loss toolbox?

Because of my diabetes I already eat 6 meals per day and with the limited amount of calories I currently eat, those meals are not very big.

I am still not sure what actual weight to stop at. At the doctor's this Monday I discovered I had shrunk 4 cms (almost 1.5 inches) since my youth, so that means my BMI range is a bit lower than expected. Although, it makes no sense that in a sense I would be "fatter" because my spine has been compacted over the years, lol. ;)

Febrown 01/12/11
Weight loss tool box is a tool for weight maintainence. It was suggested in weight management. You need to collect items that will help in a back slide. Some of thier suggestions. a written reason why it is so important to you and what youhad to do to get where you are right now (sound corny but you will need it. A place to go like MND when you need support because you will, What has worked for you during weight loss,food items etc. There are many things you can havein that virtual tool box, every person's is different but you need to start getting it together. Know where you weakess are list them be aware of them like triggers etc, identify them and avoid them as much as possible. Be aware you will back slide but make it quite clear to yourself that you have to not let a lapse become a relapse or a collapse as everyone will have lapses. This answer is not tailored to you just more of a framework you need to personalize. Hope was clear enough. Thought when they talked about it is was rediculous but as I lived it it made more sense.

Are you de

Febrown 01/12/11
Oh yes and being diligent with food diary of course is part of the the tool box

Sune 01/12/11
Yes, it makes good sense. I need to start thinking about it and planning it out. I have a pretty good idea what will go in the "box" :)

Sune 01/14/11
Okay, so I am starting to formulate a plan.

Once I hit my goal, I will work on getting my fat percentage down. That means I will have to alternate between a losing weight cycle and a gaining muscle cycle.

Do any of you have any experience with doing that?

To give muscle growth the optimal conditions I guess I should be eating my actual maintenance calories including whatever I burn during exercise?

To correctly assess the amount of calories you need to eat above your sedentary maintenance calories, as far as my logic dictates, you should add the exercised calories (from my heat rate monitor) minus your the amount of calories I'd burn if I was sitting still for the same amount of time. Correct?

I know, I ask more questions than seven wise men can answer. ;)

Dietitian 01/14/11 replied to Sune
Body weight change usually includes a change in both lean body mass and body fat. So, when we lose wt, we lose some muscle along with fat, even if we exercise and train while losing weight. The same also goes for weight gain - we gain a little muscle along with the body fat.

You decrease body fat percentage when you lose weight. If you exercise while losing weight, you lose body fat and minimize loss of lean body mass, so you can change your body composition that way as well.

If you are training hard for an endurance event or if you are competing, then weight maintenance is typically a better weight goal than trying to lose weight while simultaneously building endurance and strength. You need to be at your peak for competition so any small decrease in energy or increased risk of hitting the wall early is to be avoided.

If you train consistently and challenge your muscles (adequate resistence and reps), you will increase strength and lean body mass even during weight loss. So if you don't compete or engage in endurance aerobic events, then I don't think it is as important whether you are in weight

For weight maintenance during high activity, you would benefit from entering an exercise plan so that the caloric goal includes planned exercise. The actual daily log will tell you exactly what your net calories are IF YOU VIEW THE DAY ENERGY BALANCE STATEMENT.

And yes, technically, to be most accurate, you take off the sedentary calories for the # of minutes you exercise. I typically don't mention this since most people do not exercise that many minutes, but if you go for an hour or more, not adjusting will inflate your total calories expended estimate for the day. This is something that MyNetDiary will be tweak at some point, but right now, exercise minutes double-count sedentary calories too!

Best,

Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD

Sune 01/14/11
During the last four months, I have upped my cardio (30 minutes a day) from moderate to vigorous, my sets from 3 to 5, reps from 10 to 12. Weights have gone up gradually.

I am absolutely positive that I have gained lean mass during this time. There are places like my upper arms, my thighs and my back that are really showing muscle tone now.

In regards to the cardio, I am in the best shape I have ever been. I don't really tire anymore, I could go on for hours (but normally limit myself to 1 hour max).

On a regular day I work out about 1½ to 2 hours, so a bit of sedentary calories goes in there. Right now when I am losing, it just means there's a little bit less of a deficit than what MND says, but that's fine.

I guess precise logging is MUCH more important when you are maintaining. I was slacking a bit at the beginning of the year, but I've stopped slacking and are doing the correct recipes instead of just "finding a substitute". It seems to help my weight loss as well :)

Weight maintenance