Maintenance woes

 I will be the first to say, I have NO CLUE what the hell I'm doing when it comes to maintenance. I have spent more than several hours laying in bed not sleeping because I'm worrying about how I'm probably doing something terrible to myself. 

So, I'm finally taking my head out of my ass to ask for help/input/advice...

I hit goal several weeks ago now, and I've started upping my calories slowly because I didn't want to shock the hell out of my body by adding too much too quickly. I've also tried upping my carb intake without a ton of success. 

Let me explain that during WL I was averaging around 400-600 calories a day and around 20g of carbs. In the last couple weeks the average calorie intake has been around 700-800 calories a day and maybe 30g of carbs. I feel like I'm eating nonstop just to get to that and those numbers freak me out, probably because I was overly strict during WL. I know I need to add more because I've lost another couple pounds. 

So, suggestions on how to up cals and carbs in healthy ways, I don't want to do it eating junk. And how to go about doing it without feeling like I'm eating constantly. Any help or advice is appreciated.

 
I'm reading two things you are doing perfect......

- You raised cals and carbs just right.....give it a week or two.....watch the scale......

- You are thinking about it correctly....it is a new mindset.....this is where the work really starts......not as exciting as watching the numbers drop like in WL..... but very satisfying.

Keep the protein and fluids up and your all good......!!!!

Start adding more fibrous veggies.......I do veggie only snacks sometimes.....nice!

frisco

Thanks for your wise musings. I'm always encouraged by your zen-like advice.

Protein and fluids are good, and I've been adding more veggies recently so I'll continue that trend... nom nom broccoli!

And I'm alright with it being work, anything worth it always is!

Look back through some of the older posts on this group on this same topic. Many people get to goal and find they can't change to a maintenance level of calories etc overnight. Not to worry. You are on the right track. Upping calories at 100 per day for a week at a time is a good plan. Carbs can be increased so long as its not the refined stuff or sugar.

Try adding some healthy fats like nuts, avocado, peanut butter, and fine cheeses. These are calorie dense but have protein and are not junk. keep your protein up to 70. One thing I liked was a small serving of oatmeal with some PB2 and a dab of honey in it.  If you still keep losing change your gy from fat free to the regular which is usually 2%.

You will gradually be able to eat more and you will find the calorie level that works for you. Be sure to keep journaling so you know exactly what you need.

Congrats on meeting your goal. Maintenance is where the training wheels come off!  Diane

Started adding peanut butter more frequently a few weeks before I hit goal. I love me some cheese, nuts and avacado so that shouldn't be too big of a problem. The only time I ever use Greek yogurt is when I'm cooking. The carbs were always higher than what I allowed in WL. Guess that's something to try...

Thank you for the advice. Like I said, I'm just having that mini-panic of watching those numbers rise in my food tracker and thinking it's too much. Along with feeling like I'm eating too much and too often.

But, like you said, it's time for the training wheels to come off. Time to put the skinny girl panties (what? saying big girl panties feels wrong ) on and do what needs to be done.

It is not too much.  You will find that your balance point is somewhere in the 1000-1800 range.  Where that number is, only you can really find out.  Do this exactly the way you have been doing it, up your calories for a few weeks and see what happens, but keep track of the calories and your weight.  You are one big science experiment right now, take good notes.  Try to increase calories by eating more fats and up your carbs to between 40-60.  You should know where you need to be in a few months.  Also, don't stress if you lose a bit more, it is easy to put in back in the long run.  Take a deep breath, this is very doable and is totally in your control and will remain in your control so you can't break anything that can't be fixed easily.  You can do this.

 Thank you Elina! I needed to hear that this morning. As always, you all are a ray of sunshine into the storm of confusion I've been in. 

I've been blessed to have such awesome support!