Starting Today...What to expect?

lucyholdcroft363

Hello everyone, so I'm taking a pause from dieting. I am well into healthy with a BMI of 21 and only want to lose a little more weight for vanity, but at the moment feel that I need to stop for a while as I have been dieting for months and I am about to have a few changes to my life. Anyway, I am just wondering what to expect while beginning to maintain? Will water weight fluctuate up again? How often should I weigh in and adjust accordingly?

Francl27

You will probably gain water weight if you increase your calories by too much at once. It's better to just add 100 calories a week or something until you maintain (plus you might be able to lose a couple more vanity pounds that way).

galprincess

I'm only just into maintenance and I lost 2lbs so going to steadily increase

nxd10

I've been maintaining over 3 years. To be honest, I just upped my calories to a 250 calorie deficit from a 500 and saw how it went. My weight loss leveled off (I eventually lost a bit more, and upped my calories at that time). I never saw a weight gain - I went straight from losing slowly to maintenance. I kept losing inches but no weight. A year later I dropped another 5 pounds without trying.

The one thing I would say is to watch what type of calories you add back. I am always tempted to add back carbs - the goodies. But that's a mistake because it makes me hungrier. Add back your calories in mostly protein. You'll have more energy and be less hungry. Besides, extra carbs absolutely will make you hold water.

Azurite27

As nxd10 said, you're only likely to see a large increase in scale weight if you were low carbing and incorporate them back in. I upped my calories slowly and saw my weight actually drop a couple more pounds until things evened out.

DancingMoosie

Try weighing in about once a week. Track your weight until you find a normal fluctuation zone of about 3-5lb that you are comfortable in. Adjust according to your comfort zone and how your clothes fit. You might see a slight weight increase right at the beginning, due to glycogen replenishment, this should not affect how your clothes fit. If you see a sudden spike, it could be water, so watch your sodium. If you notice an upward trend over time, adjust your calories down, and vice versa.