Maintenance range: actual weight or moving average weight

lorrpb

For those who weigh daily or frequently and track in a trending app: is your "take action" number an actual daily weight number or the moving average line? For exampke, When the daily weight jumps above the top end of the range, say 150, do you immediately go into deficit mode or just when the moving average gets up there? Likewise if you've been in a high fluctuations and start to drop, do you relax when your daily weight gets below 150, or only when the average gets below it? Also, how many days do you include in your moving average?
Just curious how others manage this? Thanks.

nowine4me

When I WAS successfully maintaining at 150, I used my actual weight (that days weight) as my measure. If I got close to the top, I simply dialed it back for a few days and dropped right back into mid-range.

zyxst

TL;DR I go by the weight I weigh that day, not an averaged number.

If tomorrow I weighed in at 140, I'd look back and see why I gained 7#. Was it too much food, sodium, water, new exercise? I just dumped off 6# I gained from my anniversary blow-out after 8 days. When I know it's from food and/or sodium, I ride it out because I know it's going to come off. If my diary tells me I've been over eating my TDEE more and more every day, I'll start cutting down on calories.

neldabg

A bit of both really. I do make a mental note if my weight is higher than usual on any given day, but I look at the trend of the past seven days to make a final decision. I maintain a range of 108-114lbs, but my ultimate goal weight is 110lbs. If I notice the trend getting higher, I cut back just a bit, and if I'm consistently under 110lbs, I add a little more. I never cut or add dramatically.

FitOldMomma

I don't use a trending app, but if my daily weight is nudging near my upper limit number (154) for three days in a row- it's deficit eating time for a couple of weeks. I opted for the three days in a row option because my weight can fluctuate by 2-3 pounds just from higher sodium and mega carbs eating: thus, it could just be temporary water weight.

The one morning I weighed in and saw 154.5 I kind of freaked out...until the next morning, it was back to 152. So, one day is not enough to spur me to make changes. Three days in a row tells me it's a trend up.

I have a 5 pound leeway and so far, all's good. I have a feeling with the warmer weather just around the corner, I'll be MUCH more active and my weight may hover a bit toward the lower limit.

lorrpb

Great idea!

AnnPT77

Actual weight, but with some thought. I know my daily fluctuations well enough by now to know whether I'm at/over the top end for one or even several days because of something like more sodium or a workout change. If I'm at/near the top end for multiple days for no obvious reason like that, then it's time to take action.

(That said, I shouldn't even be posting on this thread, as I've been a few (single digts) pounds above my upper limit for a while now, holding fairly steady there, and struggling a bit psychologically to get back down. But the above worked well for a year! ).

Christine_72

Does anyone go by their weight trending apps? Like when it changes from "you are losing 0 per week" to "you are gaining x per week"

Okohme

I track my first thing in the morning weight as my weight fluctuates significantly throughout the day, except when it doesn't.

AnnPT77

Christine_72 wrote: »

Does anyone go by their weight trending apps? Like when it changes from "you are losing 0 per week" to "you are gaining x per week"

I like my weight-trending app (Libra), but the trend jumps all over the place, just like scale weight does, for me . . . it just reacts a little less abruptly.

(I still do NEAT method, eating back exercise; and usually under-eat daily NEAT most days to allow for some indulgent meals here & there. So, the trend isn't stable. For people sticking to a consistent calorie level, it might be more useful as a guide.)

RoxieDawn

I do TDEE method, and do trust the trending app to do the work for me. I never weigh the same on any given day and I use a +/- 5 pound range.

sgt1372

I record my weight and net cals consumed daily on Excel and compute a 7 day moving ave for each.

I have not needed to take any "action" since starting maintenance 4 months ago but, if I did, I would focus on the trend and not on my weight on any particular day.

BTW, there is a direct correlation between body weight and cals consumed and any change in the 7 day moving ave for weight gain (up or down) should be preceeded by a coressponding change in the 7 day moving ave for cals consumed, which is why I monitor both of them.