is it easier to maintain a weight once you get there?

[hans007]

so i've spent the last year and a half or so trying to lose 15-17 pounds. at first it was a matter of the fact that i love playing basketball and my knees were killing me. so i thought maybe it'd help. well that and i just wanted to see if i could get all toned and cut and feel good poolside. liked the challenge of it too.

so from late 2009 to now, i've probably gradually lost 15 pounds but its taken a year and a half, though i probalby lost more than that in fat and gained some strength too (i'm quite a bit stronger now than i was in 2009). i'm pretty happy with how it went but it did take a long time, and it was much harder to lose the last 6-7 pounds than the first 6-7 pounds (i'm 5'11 and i was like 182-183... so i'm about 168 now)

so my question is, now that i'm more or less where i want to be will it get easier to just maintain it. the reason i ask this is a friend of mine told me you had to basically have a deficit of 3500 calories to lose a pound. so i didnt want to change my diet too much, so i just stopped eating red meat and basically went to the gym for 5-6 hours a week for that year and a half. i think most people would say i eat a lot of carbs, but i did manage to lose the 15 pounds .

so i'm not sure of the 3500 calories per pound thing are true, but if it is, now that i just want to stay the same weight instead of lose more, does that mean i can say not work out quite as often (starting a new job, and well not sure i will have quite as much time for a while), since i dont need a calorie deficit? i don't really want to lose more weight, but i really dont want to gain back any either.

 

[Wuzup101]

3500kcal = 1lb of fat that one is true

If you plan to stay at a given weight than yes you will be able to eat more or exercise less than you were before (generally). However, your deficit probably wasn't all that high to being with if you lost 15ish lbs in a year and a half. That being said, it's very hard to judge (as you said) because you believe you've gained some muscle mass. My advice - do everything in moderation and listen to your body. Don't simply quit going to the gym or decide to eat an extra 1000kcal a day. If you have to cut out a gym session or two for the new job so be it... do that an keep with the same diet. If you feel you need to eat a bit more go for it. You'll be able to tell in the mirror if what you are doing is working.

 

[marmasatt]

I can't imagine you *needing* to lose weight at 5'11" 182, lol but going on if what you are saying is true, it sounds like you just wanted to become as healthy and fit as possible and really tested yourself. It does not really get easier from there. Basically, as you know it is a lifestyle change as well. Most people will inevitably put it back on. So I would watch your calorie intake in comparison to your exercise as well. Moreover, your body has a weight that it really wants to be at. It is different for different people, but yours is probably back up to where you were (high 170's, low 180's). Meaning, your body is going to work hard to get you back up there. So you have to be aware of that.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

(3500*15)/(365*1.5)=95

You were running about a 95 calorie a day deficit. In principal you can eat that much more a day and maintain your new weight. So, it will get a tiny bit easier but not very much. Ever see those 100 calorie packs of snack food? You can have almost a full one of those.

 

[tedrodai]

Sorry if I ramble here, but I don't like to say "this is what works!" without telling the background, because everyone's a little different--in different places with their diets, daily activity levels, and overall goals.

For instance, not too long ago, I had a nice 2yr stretch of regular exercise, had dropped a good 15 lbs, was doing OK but not great with my dietary habbits, but then I moved and my schedule got out of whack...and I let all the gains slip away. My story may or may not apply to your situation, but for me, the primary issue is my diet.

I'm happiest when I'm VERY active--goin to the gym, playing sports--and have been since high school. Since high school, though, the activity level has been spotty, yet I never really changed my eating habbits. Well, they actually got worse--more sweets, indulging in good meals since I'm finally making a pretty good pay check, etc. Though I've had several good stretches of time when I'm regularly going to the gym, I've not been able to reach my target weight range nor keep off the extra weight when I do take some back off (5'11", ideally an athletic mid-high 170's but have hovered in the 185-200 range).

Over the last 4 months though, I've had more success than I ever have. I've dropped from 199 to 180, having lost at least 20lbs of fat while regaining a little muscle. While I've resumed regular exercise 2-3 times a week (and found a great, fun activity that doesn't require the gym), the key has been changing my eating habits. I cut out all the sweets and sugar-added stuff, some unnecessary carbs, and added a lot of protein and fiber. I counted calories for the first couple of months to get a better idea of what I'm actually consuming in the food I eat, but since then I've just been winging it based on what I learned. I don't go low-carb, just moderate carbs, and the same with fat.

The longer I continue, the more natural these eating habbits feel. I look at certain things and think 'gross' rather than 'yummy'. I do not, by the way, eat stuff I don't like just cause it's 'healthy'. Most importantly, I don't overeat like I used to and I haven't felt the intense cravings to go back to my old eating habbits--which I think is mostly a byproduct of moderating the carbs and scratching off the excess sugar. Anywho, it's only been 4 months for me, but having changed that part of my lifestyle, it feels so much different and more sustainable than anything I've done in the past. I still eat good food and eat if I'm hungry, I'm just mindful about rough % protein/carbs/fat, and the rest just kinda takes care of itself in my case.

 

[hans007]

i guess the one thing that has become "natural" during the last year and a half for me has been the red meat , and cheese / fried foods thing.

i have gotten so used to not eating them (or well not often anywya) that i dont like necessarily want to eat them. so i would figure that mostly permanent change will help.

i guess for me i want to stay where i'm at. just feels better, just concerned with how hard it will be. but i'm fairly certain ill make every effort to stay here.

 

[hans007]

I can't imagine you *needing* to lose weight at 5'11" 182, lol but going on if what you are saying is true, it sounds like you just wanted to become as healthy and fit as possible and really tested yourself. It does not really get easier from there. Basically, as you know it is a lifestyle change as well. Most people will inevitably put it back on. So I would watch your calorie intake in comparison to your exercise as well. Moreover, your body has a weight that it really wants to be at. It is different for different people, but yours is probably back up to where you were (high 170's, low 180's). Meaning, your body is going to work hard to get you back up there. So you have to be aware of that.

yeah i dont think i needed to lose weight. but i got a little inspired a few years back playing in some IM basketball league. i was 28 , icing my knees, taking ibuprofen etc, and decided i needed to fix that. i figure if barak obama can ball at 48, i shouldnt be icing my knees at 30. and like basketball just isnt worth playing if you are in pain while doing it.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

To many people view diets as temporary. Diet is defined by whatever it is that you eat, whenever you eat. That is your diet.

What you need to do is accept the fact that you need to make a lifestyle change. You have for 1.5 years. Why stop?

I might restart my goal to dunk a baketball before I die. I'm 35 so the window is short. After 6 months of good exercise starting Jan 1 (took 2 months off) and some weight loss I am close to where I was 10 years ago. If I really stay with it, I should be touching rim in a month or two.

 

[hans007]

To many people view diets as temporary. Diet is defined by whatever it is that you eat, whenever you eat. That is your diet.

What you need to do is accept the fact that you need to make a lifestyle change. You have for 1.5 years. Why stop?

I might restart my goal to dunk a baketball before I die. I'm 35 so the window is short. After 6 months of good exercise starting Jan 1 (took 2 months off) and some weight loss I am close to where I was 10 years ago. If I really stay with it, I should be touching rim in a month or two.

haha i had that same goal growing up, good luck. i could dunk a tennis ball in college and thats i think realistically as far as i'm ever going to get.

i can probably still touch rim now, but i think i just gained too much muscle and weigh too much now too ever hope to do it with a real ball.

 

[Powermoloch]

It's been a year for me that I kept my 180~ lb weight (was 243), so far it's not that difficult at all. I just kept up my activity level and eat enough food to maintain my weight.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

haha i had that same goal growing up, good luck. i could dunk a tennis ball in college and thats i think realistically as far as i'm ever going to get.

i can probably still touch rim now, but i think i just gained too much muscle and weigh too much now too ever hope to do it with a real ball.

In 9th grade, when I was less than 6' tall. Not sure what I was. I could get about 4" above the rim. Never high enough to dunk but I find it funny thinking back upon it. I figure if I can drop 10% of my weight while gaining leg strength that I could do it. Back in 9th grade though, I was able to do it because before practice we had to run for 5 minutes and running around the gym, I'd always try and jump and touch the rim at each end of the gym. It was funny too, I went from not being able to touch it to touching 4" above it overnight. it was not gradual.

Well, touching the 10' rim is my next goal among other things.

I can't bench alot compared to most here, but I am now at my all time strongest in terms of curling, benching, military press, dead lift, etc. At the age of 35. My goal is to be able to bench 250+ pounds within a years time sicne I restarted lifting. So, I hope to do it by June 1, 2012 or so. Hopefully be new years but only time will tell. I laughed looking in the mirror yesterday. My traps have been bigger (in high school) but my shoulders overall are huge today compared to anytime in my past.

 

[hans007]

In 9th grade, when I was less than 6' tall. Not sure what I was. I could get about 4" above the rim. Never high enough to dunk but I find it funny thinking back upon it. I figure if I can drop 10% of my weight while gaining leg strength that I could do it. Back in 9th grade though, I was able to do it because before practice we had to run for 5 minutes and running around the gym, I'd always try and jump and touch the rim at each end of the gym. It was funny too, I went from not being able to touch it to touching 4" above it overnight. it was not gradual.

Well, touching the 10' rim is my next goal among other things.

I can't bench alot compared to most here, but I am now at my all time strongest in terms of curling, benching, military press, dead lift, etc. At the age of 35. My goal is to be able to bench 250+ pounds within a years time sicne I restarted lifting. So, I hope to do it by June 1, 2012 or so. Hopefully be new years but only time will tell. I laughed looking in the mirror yesterday. My traps have been bigger (in high school) but my shoulders overall are huge today compared to anytime in my past.

wow 250 is a lot for most basketball player types since the tall guys their arms are too long and the short guys that wouldu be way more than their body weight. i can bench 205 in sets , maybe like 2 reps at 225... but yeah not really something im concentrating on so much, its not the most useful thing to be super strong at. kind of hurts your arm movement too.