Maintenance Thread

[SingaporeSlinky]

Hello, I’ve been on a few other threads since January and managed to lose 19lbs (down from 10st 7 to 9st 2). Motivation was a holiday, which I’ve just returned from, but do want to carry on at least maintaining, if not losing more.

Anyone else in the same position? Thought I’d start this to chat specifically about how to maintain, because I feel like it’s slightly different now, rather than focussing on aiming for the big weekly losses, I need to refine my eating habits, and find the balance of how much exercise to do. Before holiday I was calorie counting on MFP aiming for 1200 cals or under, and was going to the gym 5 days a week - a 45 minute class (bodytone, spin, pump, legs/bums/tums) and then doing up to an hour on machines. But I know that’s not practical long term, so need to work out the best combination going forward.

Hoping to hear other successes and strategies if anyone wants to join me?

Hi @CrimsonAlligator that’ll be interesting to see how accurate the maintenance calorie calculator is! I think mine would be quite low anyway because I’m 5’4” so I don’t have much wiggle room.

I had intended to keep logging on MFP but because I’m only eating 2 meals a day, I’m just having a break to see if I need it for accountability or not. I fast until I get home from the gym around 11am, have a coffee, then lunch is usually greek yoghurt or skyr, berries, granola and seeds. Then a ‘normal’ dinner, whatever I’m cooking for the whole family. I calorie counted every single day for 3 months, so I feel like I’m pretty good at judging portions now, but we’ll see.

DH cooked a roast chicken Sunday lunch today, but he’s pretty good at knowing what portions I like now. He had a look in the chest freezer today and said it’s full of desserts 😂 I think I kept buying ones that were on offer, but didn’t actually eat them while I was trying to lose weight, now they’re just sitting in there taking up space 🤦‍♀️

A freezer full of deserts shows remarkable restraint @SingaporeSlinky 😄

I think that if I gave up calorie counting at this point, it’d just be a free for all, but it will be interesting to see how that works out for you. I guess that if you eat roughly the same every day, it should work well and take some of the tediousness of calorie counting away.

I was looking at my weightloss stats from the last time I lost weight and it was really sobering to realise that last time round it took me less than 18 months to put the 3 stone I’d lost back on. I’m determined not to let that happen this time, so will be keeping a close eye on those calories!

Yesterday I ended up having a pizza for my meal out. I don’t usually eat pizza, so I was a bit oblivious to the calories. I was absolutely shocked when I entered it in NutraCheck to discover that this type of pizza is, on average, 950 calories 😯 I’m glad I didn’t eat all of it!

@CrimsonAlligator how long had it taken you to lose the 3st? In the 18 months did you completely go back to old habits, or not quite?

In the past, I’ve lost a stone, on two occasions, for holidays. But that was my only real motivation, so once the holiday was over, I didn’t really think much about it, so stopped eating healthily, and slowly it crept back on, and then over Christmas inevitably I’d gain more than a few lbs and it stayed on. I think I was so used to being a bit overweight (not hugely, at around 10.5-11st) that I just got used to it again.

This time, I want to stay at this weight, because I look better, I feel better, I have more energy, I sleep better - or at least don’t wake up aching. I know my body is healthier.

I had been worried that if I wasn’t logging on MFP that I would abandon all accountability somehow, or that I’d forget what proper portions were, but with only one meal changing each day, I’m hopeful I’ll be ok. If a few lbs start to add on, I can easily start logging again.

Ah yes, pizza. It’s shocking isn’t it! I had one slice of my DH’s pizza with a salad, and when I logged it, I was shocked because my slice was over 200 cals, and I realised if he’d eaten the whole thing, it was close to 2000 cals!

It took me just over 6 months to lose the weight. I didn’t do anything too extreme. It’s just that I’m tall and active, so if I stick to 1400-1500 calories it will just fly off.

Once I stopped dieting, I had may be six months of not doing too badly, but then COVID hit and, separate to that I ended up going through some fairly serious mental health issues. The comfort eating was out of control as I didn’t really have anything else to distract myself with + no exercise apart from the daily 30 minute walk, that could only be started from home. The perfect recipe for piling it all back on!

Hopefully this time round, there won’t be anything as extreme as that 😂 For me, weight gain is always associated with mental health issues, so as long as I can stay on top of that, I’ll be ok I think.

I think it’s so important to have something that motivates you. Not waking up in discomfort is a really good reason to want to stay on top of things!

@crimson you’re lucky you can lose it so easily. For me, it was a hard slog because I had a lot of habits to break. So I reduced from about 4 sugary coffees a day down to 1. I’ve stopped having biscuits, hardly ever have crisps now, still some chocolate a few times a week I’d say. I’ve been Intermittent Fasting which I’m not finding difficult, so I’m sure that’s helping massively. Plus just being very mindful of nutrition. Also switched squash to plain water.

The sleep one was interesting as I’ve always slept well (about 8 hours straight) but I was almost ready to order a new mattress because every morning I’d feel achey and like I needed a good stretch. Then a friend recently noticed my weight loss and asked if it’s had any other physical benefits and I said not really, then said actually, I’d realised I don’t ache anymore. They then said that’s a massive benefit, of course. It must be due to exercising so regularly and not sitting around on the sofa, so my overall posture has improved. I felt silly that I assumed it was the mattress.

9st 0 3/4 this morning! I’m surprised as I’ve been having chocolate and crisps over the weekend, despite saying it was rare these days. Back on it today.

45 min spin class done, plus usual school run, and walking to and from the gym, so I’m nearly at 10,000 steps already today.

That’s a great result @SingaporeSlinky ! A fair amount of exercise for me today - just under an hour of rowing and a walk at lunchtime.

After telling myself that I’m now ready to start maintaining, I had a bit of a wobble over the weekend when I went clothes shopping and realised I’m basically a small 12, or a large 10, a.k.a. nothing fits quite the way it’s supposed to! So may be I should try and lose a bit more. I’ll still post on this thread though, as I’m not in a rush to see the scales go down. Slow and steady will do just fine 😊

@CrimsonAlligator wow an hour of rowing. I find it hard (maybe boring) when I row, and I only do 1500m, rest for a minute and then another 1500m, which is a total of about 18-20 mins. I don’t think I could do an hour. Well done!

I wouldn’t necessarily judge it on shop sizing, as they’re all different, and even one size in the same shop, but different garments can be smaller or larger. I’m a different size in Next, to say H&M. Some are terrible for vanity sizing too. So unless you particularly love a certain shop, and want lots of items from there, and are between sizes, I’d take the labels with a pinch of salt. I’d say if you feel comfortable in yourself, that’s good enough!

Rowing for an hour is as much of a mental, as it is a physical challenge. It’s absolutely tedious! But it’s what I’ve signed up for and I have to say the changes I’m seeing as a result of it are pretty impressive. My resting heart rate is down by 10%, my IBS is under control and for the first time in my life I’m not struggling to fall asleep. I also have sore muscles 24/7 and am spending a fortune on hand cream…best not dwell on that 😁

No loss on the scales for me today, but no gain either. So far sticking to maintenance calories seems to be working.

Ah yes, i know what you mean about the rowing hands! I only started about a week before I went on holiday and I got calluses. I’ve heard it’s a great overall exercise for toning, so I will start it up again, I’ve just had a busier week than usual. Might start Monday fresh. Good result if you’ve stayed the same!

I was ravenous yesterday, after saying I’d be back on it, I’m wondering if I’m due on. I was up to 9st 2 today, which I think is down to the crisp sandwiches 😳

Just been to TK Maxx for a marathon clothes shop. Tried on about 8 items, then headed to the till, where I realised I’d missed the trousers and shorts section, so ended up back in the changing room with another 10 to try on. Only bought 4 things I think, but all size 8-10 which felt good. I know for sure I am NOT a size 8, I’d be lucky if I’m a true 10, but taking my own advice, I’m ignoring the sizing and just bought what I felt good in.

Does anyone else feel like they somehow don’t recognise their body since they’ve lost weight?

I keep catching glimpses of myself, and then thinking ‘ooh, I look thin’ - a few times at the gym while I’ve been bent over stretching (that sounds weird!) I’ve noticed my legs look nice. Also in the mirror in my bedroom I’ve just been taking a top off and thought my mid section looked nice. BUT I also still feel the same, because I still have my wobbly tummy. And over the last 3 or 4 days I’ve felt a bit bloated from eating junk food. I realise this is actually a good thing, because I don’t like that feeling, literally feeling bloated at bedtime, so I will curb this from tomorrow.

But after my clothes shopping today, it got me thinking, I wonder how long it takes to get used to the weight loss, and what you see in the mirror?

I never look in the mirror and see what I’m expecting to see! I go between thinking that I look so much smaller than I thought I did and thinking that I look so much bigger than I thought I did. It’s never “oh yeah, that’s what I look like”.

I think a lot of people have that kind of limited awareness. That’s why for so many people it’s photos of themselves on holiday that spur them into action, not what they see in the mirror every day. The human brain is basically very good at filtering out what we don’t want to see, while being hypercritical at other times 😖

I came across this website, which I thought was interesting. It’s set up to give women a better idea of what real bodies look like, at different weights and heights:

www.mybodygallery.com

When I put in my details, I was struck by how much variation there is in what women of the same weight and height look like. Some women have six packs at my weight! When I look at my own flabby belly, I can’t really get my head around that 😂

Ha, yes that’s so interesting isn’t it, they all look completely different to each other, despite being same height and weight.

Right, I clearly can’t be trusted to not log my food 🤦‍♀️

Today I had fruit and fibre cereal, then a packet of crisps, then a kitkat. Told myself off. Then had a small bowl of skyr with granola. Then another bloody kitkat, and a second coffee. Honestly, I need to stop before I head down that slippery slope.

I did another spin class this morning, plus 11000 steps today. So some positive, but mostly cross with myself. Tomorrow will be better.

I know what you mean. Without the structure and discipline of calorie counting it’s a free for all in my head too 😖 I’m sure that whatever “damage” was done is going to be limited though, so don’t beat yourself up too much.

I’ve had two days completely off plan, but am going to try again today. I’ve already had my one hour of exercise this morning and am just going to try and make better choices today. We can do this 💪

I couldn’t face a third spin class for this week today so just went on the cross-trainer for 20 mins at the gym and then did some arm weights. My stomach was rumbling, which was odd, but I swear the more I eat, the more hungry I get. So I think it was the excesses this week.
Weight was the same this morning (9st 2), but I do need to have a healthy few days to get back on track, as I’m up nearly 2 lbs for the week I think.
I have had a slightly busier week than usual, hopefully normal service will resume next week and I’ll get back to all the classes.

9st 1.5 this morning
23.3% body fat
21.7 BMI

quite pleased with that!

Well done @SingaporeSlinky

I’m going on holiday today and have been going totally off the rails for the last few days, because that’s what my head seems to think a holiday means 😬 I really have to reign it in a bit. A couple of days of going off plan doesn’t usually result in massive gains, but best not continue that for too long.

Enjoy your holiday @CrimsonAlligator !

I was at a kids party yesterday and couldn’t resist a few party ring biscuits, then a hotdog. But hadn’t had breakfast, and balanced it out by having salmon, spinach and a few olives for dinner.
Feels like I’m not drinking enough lately, and possibly confusing thirst for hunger, so must start drinking more water, and go back to my afternoon green tea which I haven’t had for weeks now.

Absolutely aching today, realised my legs, bums & tums class yesterday was my first one in 5 weeks, due to holiday, then bank holiday etc. I thought I was relatively fit now, but I guess targeting particular muscles (hips and bum) is very different to cardio.
If I sit for more than 10 minutes I’m struggling to get up again!

Spin class this morning and was sweating buckets.

TOTM so I’m hoping that explains why I’ve been so hungry lately, and hunting for chocolate.

9st 2 this morning

Still aching today from Monday’s class! Had bodytone class this morning. Think it was the glute bridges that did it.

Too many snacks yesterday and the scales have caught up with my naughtiness. 9st 3 this morning.

Today’s plan is coffee, lunch of greek yoghurt, granola and raspberries. Dinner will be spaghetti bolognese. I must not snack!

Hey @SingaporeSlinky , how are you doing?

I made it back from holiday, ready to undo some of the damage I’ve done 😂 I clearly only have an on and an off switch when it comes to dieting/ healthy living and absolutely nothing in between. I really need to work on that. On a positive note, I did do a lot of walking, so it wasn’t all bad I guess.

I’m back calorie counting today and have already done an hour of rowing, in spite of not getting much sleep last night. Let’s do this 💪

Welcome back @CrimsonAlligator I was about to give up on this thread. Doesn’t seem like there’s much need after all?

Hope you had a lovely time? Have you weighed yourself yet or going to give it a few days? Maybe you’ll have a nice surprise on the scales and it won’t be as bad as you think.