I finally like my body. How do I maintain it?

Hi Ariane,

I would like to make this month of Slim & Strong a maintenance month. Are the body fat percentages you emailed us what I need to maintain my weight? 

I am happy with the way I am now and would like to learn how to keep it without obsessing about what I eat. 

Thanks, Monica

Hi Monica,

I calculated your nutrition needs based on a goal body fat percentage of 19%. Right now you're at 20.9%. That little difference won't translate into a big difference in the amount of food you eat because you're not counting out exact grams of nutrients anyways. You are making estimates for most meals, which means eyeballing your protein and eating unlimited veggies and hence you're never eating exactly what the nutrition calculations call for (thank god, or you'd drive yourself nuts counting!) 

Maintenance mode basically means that you can afford to eat a little more without putting on weight. And by a little more I mean perhaps 10 bites of something starchy per day. Unfortunately we're not talking cakes, pies and burgers with shakes here :-)

Maintenance mode means that you keep your muscle mass or gain slightly more (always helps to boost your metabolism) and at the same time you keep your body fat and avoid fat gain. You can do that by doing the following:

1. Eat your 20 grams of protein within 30-45 minutes of working out

2. You can increase the number of cheat meals per week slowly. So, if you're eating 2 right now and continue to lose weight/fat, then you can add another cheat meal and see how that affects your weight/body fat/well-being. If you still continue to lose weight, then add a 4th cheat meal and see what happens. Once you notice an increase in your weight, you know how many cheat meals you can handle. Ideally, however keep a clean diet of protein and vegetables at all times and limit your unhealthy cheat meals for health reasons. You can (but don’t have to) add more starches to your diet (from root veggies or a little brown rice or oatmeal if your digestion can handle it) to slightly increase your carbohydrate intake.

3. Keep your workouts challenging. If you do the same routine for more than 3-4 weeks your body will get used to it and no longer change. Lift heavy weights with good form, try out various forms of cardio, and challenge yourself according to your fitness level. At this point there is no need for you to go easy because your body enjoys being pushed.

4. Maintenance mode also means that you need to come to terms with your current body image. If you are happy with the way you look and feel then I congratulate you. You have achieved what most people strive for but never quite accomplish. In my opinion it is the ultimate goal to have: to feel comfortable in your own skin and to want to stay that way.

Appreciate your hard work and recognize that it was you who did the work. Pay attention to all the great things about your body rather than focusing on the negatives.

5. Recognize that it took work to get here and takes work to stay that way. Your body will always be a work in progress and you will feel different from day to day. Just because you have arrived at your goal body doesn't mean you can stop now and go back to the couch. That's a realization most people don't make when they reached their goal weight. Recognize that some days you might be feeling lazy and lethargic. Other days you'll be full of energy. Some days you'll feel bloated and hormonal and on others you could wear a tight leotard because you feel so great (hello Jane Fonda...). Stay in tune with your body and you'll never fight the old battles again.

Keep up the great work you've put in and celebrate the success!