Ask the Nutritionist: What does maintenance actually look like?

Hi, I’m Sam Jones, a nutritionist. You might’ve seen me on myBMI’s socials, or at @SamJonesNutrition on Instagram. Welcome to Ask the Nutritionist, a new series where I answer questions from the myBMI community about the realities of losing weight and keeping it off.

This month, we’re talking about maintenance after losing weight with weight loss medication. These questions came in through Instagram and Facebook, and many share the same worry: “I’ve worked hard to get here. What happens when my appetite comes back and life carries on?”

You asked, I answered. Now let's dive into your questions.

What’s the best way to manage my appetite when the food noise returns?

First, weight regain is a well-studied part of weight loss, whether you’ve used medication or not. Feeling hungrier again isn’t a personal failure.

A few things may be happening together. At a lower weight, your body generally needs less energy than before. Losing body fat also reduces leptin, a hormone made by fat tissue that helps regulate hunger and fullness. And if weight loss medication has been helping you feel fuller, that assistance may reduce if your treatment changes or stops. This can make maintenance harder, but regain isn’t inevitable.

This is where the routine around your food matters. Are you eating regular meals that actually satisfy you? I’d look at building main meals around a good serving of protein, perhaps around 30 grams, alongside fibre-rich foods such as beans, wholegrains, fruit and vegetables. These can help with fullness.

I’d also make room for food you enjoy. Chocolate or dinner with friends doesn’t mean your healthy routine has ended. Learning to include those things without guilt can help you avoid feeling restricted and then overeating because you think you’ve “blown it”.

If the food noise feels overwhelming, especially while your treatment is changing, speak to your myBMI clinical team.

To maintain my weight, do I find my maintenance calories, or do I still need to be in a deficit?

If your goal is maintenance, you don’t need to stay in a weight loss deficit. You’re looking for an amount of food that keeps your weight broadly steady over time.

Your maintenance needs may be lower than they were at your previous weight, but they aren’t one exact number. A calculator can offer a starting estimate. What happens in your real life is more useful.

Look at how you’re eating now, whether it feels satisfying, and what happens to your weight trend over the next few months. If weighing yourself helps, a couple of readings a week under similar conditions can give you information without making every morning a judgement.

You might see the scale rise when you start eating more. There may be more food in your digestive system. Eating more carbohydrate can also replenish glycogen, a stored form of carbohydrate in your muscles. Roughly speaking, each gram of muscle glycogen is stored alongside around three to four grams of water. So, a rise of a couple of pounds doesn’t automatically mean a couple of pounds of body fat.

You may settle slightly above your lowest weight. I’d ask whether that gives you a routine you can enjoy and sustain, rather than immediately treating it as a setback.

My maintenance calories feel low. Do I have to exercise more to allow for “cheat days” or nights out?

First, where did that calorie number come from? An online calculator is a starting estimate, not a precise limit on what you can eat.

I’d also gently challenge the phrase “cheat day”. Cheating is sneaking a look at your mate’s cards during a game of Uno. Going out for dinner with your friends is just having a life. You don’t need to earn it with a workout or make up for it the next day.

Let’s say you work out three or four times a week and burn a few hundred calories each time. For most people, those workouts make up a fairly small share of their total energy use across the week. Your body is using energy around the clock to keep you alive, digest food and get you through all your everyday movement. At that level, exercise on its own generally leads to modest weight loss. It isn’t a reliable way to create room for specific meals.

Exercise because you want to be stronger and healthier. Walk more if it fits your life. But a sustainable maintenance routine has room for dinner out without treating it as a debt to repay.

How do I work out calories during maintenance, and stop thinking about food all the time?

A calculator using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and an activity estimate can give you somewhere to start. It won’t produce a precise allowance you must hit every day. Tracking food for a while might help you learn what maintenance looks like, but you don’t have to log every bite forever.

I’m particularly interested in the second part of your question. Are you thinking about food because you’re hungry and your meals aren’t satisfying? Or because you feel you’re not allowed certain foods?

Try building meals you enjoy that contain protein and fibre. A tuna sandwich with some mayo, perhaps on wholemeal bread with fruit on the side, can be a filling, nutritious lunch. Healthy eating doesn’t have to look like what diet culture calls “diet food”.

And if chocolate is allowed tomorrow as well as today, today stops feeling like your last chance to eat it.

If thoughts about food are causing you distress or taking over your day, please tell your healthcare team.

What should I focus on besides my weight during maintenance?

I love this question.

The scales give you your total weight, but they don’t tell you everything about your health. Muscle has weight too. Staying strong and mobile matters, as does looking after your health beyond a single number.

I’d encourage you to consider strength training. Two sessions a week is a good starting point, and some people will enjoy more. Maintaining muscle supports strength and mobility. Muscle also uses energy at rest, although gaining some won’t dramatically increase the calories you burn.

Then zoom out further. Are you sleeping well? Can you put together meals you enjoy? Does your food environment make that easier? Can you go out for dinner without guilt? How much of your self-worth have you placed on your body?

Once your weight is fairly stable, I’d love you to spend less time obsessing over the scales and more time building a routine that feels good to live in.

Is it normal for my weight to fluctuate from week to week?

Absolutely. Your weight can change between weeks, days and even morning and evening.

Glycogen and water are part of that. So are salt, hydration, food still in your digestive system and, yes, whether you’ve had your morning poo.

For women who menstruate, fluid retention can also change across the cycle and cause a noticeable, short-term increase on the scales. Some women experience premenstrual mood changes too. If you’re already feeling low and the scales suddenly jump, it can create quite the emotional cocktail: “I’ve failed.” But one reading cannot tell you that you’ve gained body fat.

If weighing helps you see the longer-term trend calmly, it can be useful. If it sends you on a roller coaster, you can find other ways to check how you’re doing. You don’t have to weigh yourself forever.

My final thought on maintenance

I often encourage people to see their eating as a jigsaw puzzle. One meal or one weigh-in is just one piece. The bigger picture is your overall food intake, protein and fibre across your days and weeks, plus habits you can keep up.

For many women, roughly 90-110g of protein a day may be a useful ballpark, depending on body size, activity and health. The Irish guideline for adults is 25-30g of fibre a day. These numbers can guide you towards filling meals and help you look after your muscle. They aren’t another test to pass. Over time, you may not need to know your exact calorie intake if you’ve built habits that support your weight and your life.

That’s maintenance: the totality of those pieces in a life that includes busy weeks, family meals, holidays, and the occasional bit of chocolate.

If you have a maintenance question of your own, make sure to join my upcoming TikTok Live. All the details will be up soon on myBMI's Instagram, Facebook group or TikTok, so keep an eye out for that!

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next Ask the Nutritionist.

About Sam Jones

Sam Jones is a nutritionist who understands first-hand how challenging your relationship with food can become. Having overcome his own cycle of restriction, cravings, and bingeing, he now focuses on helping people move away from rigid food rules and towards a balanced, sustainable approach to nutrition. He's a frequent contributor on myBMI and you can also find him on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok,