Lose beyond goal before entering maintenance?

LessthanKris

I am about nine pounds away from my initial goal weight. I know I am still a way off but I am starting to think about maintenance. I have been reading this forum and see a lot of people say they have a five pound range on the scale. So I was wondering if before going into maintenance if it is a good idea to lose a few pounds beyond goal before increasing calories?

bm920

You should hit a goal weight, or preferably look the scale is just a #, and then start a reverse diet. Where you add anywhere from 50-100 or so calories back in each week. This will increase your metabolism over time. You should still lose another pound or so during this period because you will still be in an energy deficit.
Jumping straight to maintenance is not a good idea because you don't know what your maintenance actually is because everyones metabolism adapts while dieting. This method will prevent this initial 4-5 pound gain from excess calories, or water/glycogen that is common when increasing calories too fast.

Cortelli

I find for myself (and reading others as well) that "maintenance" becomes more about body composition and happiness than pure scale weight - so keep that in mind.

Having said that, when I move to maintenance I usually find I gain a few pounds before settling into a steady weight range. This is usually due to water weight associated with greater carb intake and fully restoring lowered glycogen stores (I tend to do more cardio when cutting, and increase my protein intake when cutting / dieting which necessarily reduces carb intake in my case). I'd say you play it by ear and just be prepared to add a few pounds in the first days and weeks after trying to level off. If that's a problem for you, then, yes, consider reaching a few pounds below your target -- and recognize that the target will fall in the middle of a range of weight that will still vary day-to-day (just as it does when cutting or bulking).

5stringjeff

My strategy was to lose until I hit the bottom weight of my range (180, for me), and then maintain in that five-pound range (180-185).

nxd10

I also celebrated getting to the top of my 'zone' but lost until I got to the bottom.