Make it stop!

...or at least, help me make it slow down!

I know many of you have BMIs much lower than mine, which is probably wonderful on you. I have a large frame and various bones are starting to portrude. So while I know I theoretically could lose more weight safely, I really don't want to. I have a cushion below my target weight, I love how I look, I feel marvelous, and I'm ready to stop.

Unfortunately, even with upping my calories I've lost 10 lbs in the 6 weeks since I hit goal. Not what I'm hoping to achieve. So, please help me brainstorm how to get the loss stopped.

I'm up to 1200 calories a day. To do that, I've added milk in my two protein shakes (and upped it to 1% instead of skim), and I've added two full servings of nuts to my day (a serving is an ounce of nuts or 2T nut butter, and from 160 to 200 calories).

Capacity-wise, I can only eat about 2 oz if it's meat and veggie, up to maybe 4 ounces if it's yogurt.

I'm trying to avoid adding back in starches and sugars because of the cravings they trigger, although I do OK with fruit in my Greek yogurt or fruit and some cheese.

Any thoughts?

Not a problem we ever thought we would have, huh? 

I went thru this exact same thing and I lost more weight than I wanted to lose and could not stop it at one point.  I have now stopped the loss and I have managed to put back on a few pounds, which is perfectly fine with me because I HATED seeing those bones sticking out. 

I know that adding more food and calories in is scary when we have been so focused on not eating too much while we were losing.  In order for me to stop my loss I switched to whole milk, started having a spoon (or 2) of peanut butter everyday, added in extra snacks, and allowed myself to have my Starbucks again.  You can also add in avocados and drink some (but not much) juice.  I also started eating a half of a peanut butter and nutella sandwich as a snack/treat.  I will be honest and say that I also started indulging in more sweets but I am not suggesting you do that..it's just what I did.  Also, when I hit the year mark my capacity seemed to increase a great deal so I was able to eat more in my meals which I think helped me slow the loss down a great deal. 

Hope this helps and I'm sure some of the vets will be along with some other great suggestions.

Thanks!

You're about my weight - how many calories do you eat a day?

 I don't track my calories so I have no idea how many a day I'm eating but I would say it's somewhere around....way too many.  LOL

 
In maintenance I have worked up to 80 grams carbs from the 40 for WL......and my baseline is about 1200cals.

What 80 grams of carbs does for me is a little freedom..... It's not....ok, today I'm having a potato.......or bowl of rice.

It's the freedom of.....putting ketchup on something.....or have a little sauce that I know has flour in it.....or a breaded chicken or fish....might eat some of the bread on a restaurant sandwich....or a couple bites of amazing bread dipped in exotic flavored olive oil at my fav restaurant......

In general....care less on how my proteins are prepared and taste other things of interest.

frisco

Thanks, Frisco!

As you said, you are a tall lady and need more than 1200 cal/day. I would add avocado, which is a healthy fat. Nuts are good, peanut or almond butter would be good, possibly in your shakes. Maybe, you could try some sweet potato, which is a great complex carb. I love sweet potato and have a small amount a few times/week. Maybe, try a 2% or full fat yogurt. Full fat cheese might help.

Do you have a dietitian that you can consult with?

Some high fiber cereal, like Kashi Go Lean, might be helpful in your yogurt, along with the fruit.

Oatmeal with milk, some fruit, and perhaps, protein powder might help.

Some olive oil on your veggies and meat would up your calories and would be a healthy fat.

gail

Yeah, 1200 calories isn't going to get it. With my small capacity, though, I've been struggling to bring it up. I will try 2% milk an yogurt. I already do protein powders, and have started using milk instead of water with them.

May try stir fry in olive oil just for fun.

I went through this exact thing when I hit 101 pounds.  I did not like the way I looked and wanted to stop the weight loss right away.  I was told to eat more fats and increase the carbs a bit.  I now eat about 100 grams of carbs a day and full fat with most things.  I want to share a few thoughts with you about this strange time you are going through.  This really played with my mind, and I had to really convince myself that it was OK to eat more food.  This was really tough.  It is also a bit dangerous because it is so easy to go too far in the other direction.  Just remember, this doesn't need to be solved overnight.  This is not an emergency situation and to some extent, it will resolve itself over time.  I no longer struggle to maintain weight and have to work again at keeping unwanted weight off.  This is just another stage, it will pass.  Just add in good fats, avocados, nuts, nut butters, seeds, and other calorie dense foods.  I also loosened the grips on some occasional indulgences.  It worked out fine in the end.  I am now 105 and quite happy here.

Thanks, Elina. I'm slowly getting there. Got a couple of good ideas from this thread. Gonna shoot for 1300 a day next week.

It's scary not knowing what the magic number actually is, you know? So I'm trying to sneak up on it!