Maintainers weekly Check-in June 2017

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Replies

  • mk2fit
    mk2fit Posts: 730 Member
    @fitand50inSD I, too, have stopped tracking. I was faithful forever until a month ago. I've been on maintenance for nearly two years and thought I'd try living on the edge. So far, so good.
  • bringbackthejoy
    bringbackthejoy Posts: 255 Member
    @fidangul. I was responding to an upward tick in weight that you mentioned. I thought maybe it could just be more muscle mass, since you are looking and feeling good.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited June 2017
    Gender: Male
    Age: 66
    Height: 5'8"

    Total Initial WT lost: 36# (196 to 160#)
    Time it took to lose: 6 months; May 15-Dec 9, 2016
    How long in maintenance: 7.5 months; Dec 9, 2016 - June 27, 2017

    Maintenance WT range goal: 155-160
    CPD Goal (TDEE)=2000; CPD=Calories per day consumed

    Average WT/CPD in December: 159.7/1915
    Average WT/CPD in January: 159.8/1854
    Average WT/CPD in February: 158.7/1835
    Average WT/CPD in March: 158.6/1847
    Average WT/CPD in April: 158.5/1924
    Average WT/CPD in May: 157.8/1887
    Average WT/CPD in June: 157.5/2033

    June WT range (min/max) to date: 155.4-158.8
    June CPD range (min/max) to date: 1663-2401* (Excluding 1 binge day of 3243 cals)

    7-Day Moving Average WT/CPD as of:

    June 5: 157.4/1815
    June 12:157.6/1938
    June 19:157.1/2080
    June 26: 157.9/2034*

    Notes/Comments:

    No notable problems or difficulties this month.

    My level of activity remained the same; moderate exercise -- lifting, cardio and/or crossfit training -- 5 days/week.

    However, I increased my TDEE/CPD goal from 1900 to 2000 cals/day on June 4th because it appeared that I was very gradually losing weight over the past 5 months rather than maintaining it. My weight did not drop but stayed pretty constant during the month after the change, which indicates that 2000 CPD is probably a better maintenance level for me.

    Including 1 binge day, I averaged 2033 CPD for the month. Excluding the binge day, the average CPD was 1985. The binge day also elevated the 7 day moving ave for CPD on June 26th to 2270 CPD, far above my 2000 limit. However, excluding that day from the computation, reduces the 7 day moving average for the week down to 2034 more in line w/the daily average and my 2000 cal/day objective.

    The conclusion? I just need to avoid anymore binge days to stay on target.

    PS: I had a DXA scan done on June 3rd which came in at 13.3% which was higher by 3% than the 10% hydrostatic test result I got on April 1st but was slightly lower than the prior DXA scan on Feb 25th at 14%.

    When compared w/the Feb results, the June DXA scan measured a total weight loss of 3.3# resulting from a 1.8# loss of LBM and 1.5# loss of BF. In the DXA scan on Nov 21st, I lost a net 2.9# but gained 1.3# in LBM and lost 4.3# in BF. So, compared w/the Nov results, I lost a net 6.2# in BW while losing only 0.5# in LBM and 5.7# in BF resulting in a drop of 3.1% BF from 16.4 to 13.3% during the past 6 months.

    Oddly, while I lost BF overall during the past 3 months, my VAT (visceral adipose tissue) mass & vol for actually increased slightly by +0.04# in mass and +1.1 cu in in volume. However, over the past 6 months, VAT mass decreased by 0.16# and VAT volume decreased by 4.89 cu in.

    So, while It appears from the 3 month data that I am not working out hard enough to maintain my LBM, the 6 month data indicates that I'm doing just enough to maintain my LBM while still losing BF resulting in an overall drop in BF%.

    The question is: If I continue to lose more BF, am I doing enough lifting and other strength building exercise to continue to increase my LBM in order to maintain my weight at current levels?

    Ideally, if my weight doesn't change, either my BF & LBM will remain static or my LBM will increase to offset any loss in BF. The worst case would be if I maintain my weight and my LBM decreases and my BF increases; definitely NOT what I want to happen.

    At the moment, I'm just trying eat enough to maintain my current weight and do enough exercise to maintain my strength at my peak 1RM lift levels and am not trying to increase my strength beyond that. If I continue to lose LBM (and, even worse, regain BF, I'll have to reconsider this approach.

    The next hydrostatic test is due on or about July 1st.



  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    edited June 2017
    Name: Macchiatto
    Height: 5'7.3"/171cm
    Total Weight lost: 30 lbs
    Time it took to lose: came off in stages over several years (with some unfortunate yoyo'ing in there)
    How long in maintenance: Since March 8. I "maintained" within 5 lbs of goal for about a year before this.
    Maintenance weight range: 128-133

    Moving average end of January: 132.8
    Moving average end of February: 133.3
    Moving average end of March: 132.1
    Moving average end of April: 130.8
    Moving average end of May: 131.2

    Week of...
    5th June: 130.8
    12th June: No scale access while traveling June 9-19. (Was 131.8 the morning of June 9 when we left.)
    20th June: 132.6
    26th June: 131.2

    Success/struggles of the week: Happy that my weight went further back down so I'm not s close to the top of goal range. Struggling to find a new workout routine now that I'm home with the kids for the summer. Schedule's been all over the place so far. I did do YAYOG (strength) last night though so I'm getting back on track!
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    fitand50inSD wrote: »
    Just curious if most of you continue to track your food while in maintenance? I feel like I can probably maintain in my goal range without a lot of effort and could just pick back up if I see my weight trending up. Thoughts?

    So far I've mostly tracked but have experimented with times of not logging and plan to move more in that direction but keep a close eye on the scale. (e.g. didn't log on our 11-day road trip or previously on weekend retreat and those both went fine) I have yoyo'ed a good bit in the past. Learned some from my mistakes but I really don't want to fall back in that pattern!
  • Trina2040
    Trina2040 Posts: 214 Member
    @fitand50inSD, I continue to log every day almost 2 1/2 years into maintenance. I will have to closely monitor my weight and adjust calories along the way. I'm trending slightly up to the top end of my maintenance weight so I've started cutting again ever so slightly. I just think of counting calories like balancing my checkbook.
  • fitand50inSD
    fitand50inSD Posts: 166 Member
    Trina2040 wrote: »
    @fitand50inSD, I continue to log every day almost 2 1/2 years into maintenance. I will have to closely monitor my weight and adjust calories along the way. I'm trending slightly up to the top end of my maintenance weight so I've started cutting again ever so slightly. I just think of counting calories like balancing my checkbook.

    @Trina2040 I think I will keep tracking most days, but maybe loosen up a bit if we have a special occasion, vacation, etc.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    TangledThread wrote: »
    kgirlhart wrote: »
    @girlgroves and @b3achy Thank you both for your replies. Looking at my own data, I would say that my fitbit is underestimating by 200-250 calories per day. Not a huge amount, but enough to keep me slowly trending down. I probably need to stop looking at the fitbit calories burned. And I do think that I am at a really good weight. I have had several people tell me lately that I need to stop losing (which annoys me because I am trying) and even that I should gain some back ( which I don't want to do). But I would be very happy to stay where I am. I am not underweight, and I have become very active and I feel really good at this activity level. And I think I look pretty good too. Maybe my sisters really are just jealous.

    Me too. My Fitbit underestimates and I can't stand the red numbers either. I set MFP to gain 0.5 lbs a week and BOOM! perfect maintenance when I close the day with 80 cals left uneaten. I love the green.


    This fascinates me. Fitbit definitely overestimates for me; I try to stick closer to 1800-1900 calories per day (MFP tells me my weekly average has been around 1750 give or take 100) and I seem to be maintaining on that, but Fitbit estimates my average calorie burn was 2250/day over the past 28 days (I think my average was a bit higher than that in April-May when I was training for races). I wonder what all contributes to its accuracy in estimating for an individual. (In my case, it is possible that it's PCOS-related, since I know there was one study that indicated women with PCOS may burn fewer calories per day on average than the control group w/o PCOS.)

  • fidangul
    fidangul Posts: 673 Member
    @bringbackthejoy oops my bad. It might be that actually. I have been focusing on trying to get more definition recently. I think I should start taking measurements as well. But if the trend continues it definitely means I'm eating more than what I should be.
  • authors_r_awesome09
    authors_r_awesome09 Posts: 0 Member
    Age: 26
    Height: 5'2"
    Total Weight lost: 100 lbs
    Time it took to lose: 1 year
    How long in maintenance: 6 months
    Maintenance weight range:118 - 121

    Average weight recorded from January: 120.2
    Average weight recorded from February:119.6
    Average weight recorded from March: 119.6
    Average weight recorded from April: 118.8
    Average weight recorded from May: 118.6
    Average weight recorded from June: 119

    Week of...
    5th June: 119
    12th June: 119.6
    19th June: 118.4
    26th June: 118.6

    Success/struggles of the week: Success with my food prep as I have made it a habit - It does not seem like work anymore.
  • Trina2040
    Trina2040 Posts: 214 Member
    fitand50inSD wrote: »
    Trina2040 wrote: »
    @fitand50inSD, I continue to log every day almost 2 1/2 years into maintenance. I will have to closely monitor my weight and adjust calories along the way. I'm trending slightly up to the top end of my maintenance weight so I've started cutting again ever so slightly. I just think of counting calories like balancing my checkbook.

    @Trina2040 I think I will keep tracking most days, but maybe loosen up a bit if we have a special occasion, vacation, etc.

    Sounds like a plan! You can always adjust according to your needs!
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    @mk2fit that is what I do when I don't log; I tend to eat similar meals anyway so I just stay within my guidelines and have an idea of how many servings each of protein, dairy, vegetables, etc., that I've eaten.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
    fitand50inSD wrote: »
    Just curious if most of you continue to track your food while in maintenance? I feel like I can probably maintain in my goal range without a lot of effort and could just pick back up if I see my weight trending up. Thoughts?

    I don't log or track. I keep an eye on portion sizes, and since i eat similarly, except for dinner, it's relatively easy to do. I step on the scale every morning though, that's how i know how things are going. I don't get bothered by fluctuations, since i can pinpoint what caused it, and this way i have a data to work with and tweak things if needed.
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    edited June 2017
    Name: Jen
    Age: 45
    Height: 5'2.5"
    Total Weight lost:140lbs
    Time it took to lose: 2.75yrs
    How I lost it: My story
    How long in maintenance : I declared it at 140 in January 2016, but that was too high for a petite lady. Redeclared it 4/14/17.
    Maintenance weight range: Would like to stay under 125 at morning weigh-in.
    Ongoing struggle: I still need to learn to trust my body cues, be content with eating just enough, and stop asking food to be more than just fuel. Life after work is just filled with getting steps and eating food to fill my evening. Really need to make peace with having fewer cals to work with. Contentment and an attitude of gratitude (and maybe a hobby, like sign language) are the order of the day.

    January avg weight: 126.8lbs
    February avg weight: 126.1lbs
    March avg weight: 124.6lbs
    April avg weight: 122.9lbs
    May avg weight: 123.4lbs
    June avg weight: 122.6lbs

    Week of...
    26th May: 123.1lbs
    2nd June: 123.1lbs
    9th June: 122.8lbs
    16th June: 121.9lbs
    23rd June: 122.5lbs
    30th June: 122.6lbs

    Trendweight63017.jpg

    Successes of the week: Started teaching summer school. Did a 6 mi hike Saturday and my 10.5mi hike Sunday in Baxter with no problems other than threatening clouds cutting us off from the 4th peak. Thankfully the arthritis and bunions were reasonably quiet. The trip was gorgeous!!

    Challenges of the week:
    Started teaching summer school. The arthritis and bunions are killing me this week, as is a snatch and grab hunger. Meh.


  • girlgroves
    girlgroves Posts: 235 Member
    Name: Mandy
    Total Weight lost: 4 stone (56lbs)
    Height: 5ft 6in
    Time it took to lose: 16 months
    How long in maintenance: 1 year
    Maintenance weight range: 137 - 140lbs (there - officially lowering my max from 142lbs)

    Average weight recorded for January: 141.9lbs
    Average weight recorded for February: 141.2lbs
    Average weight recorded for March: 141.2lbs
    Average weight recorded for April: 140.8lbs
    Average weight recorded for May: 141.7lbs

    Week of...
    26th May (for ref): 139.2lbs
    2nd June: 138.8lbs
    9th June: 139.2lbs
    16th June: 139.4lbs
    23rd June: 138.8lbs
    30th June: 139.0lbs

    Successes/struggles of the week:
    Successes: I'm really happy I've finished the month well! (despite all the turmoil going on at the moment!) I feel much better at this 'under 140lbs' weight range - my clothes fit nicer, so I feel more confident, and, since going over 140lbs is a psychological thing for me, I feel much happier!

    Struggles: I've had something going on virtually every evening this week, so it's been really difficult to fit in my usual workouts - I've only managed 2 all week! Although, on the plus side, it has proved to myself that I don't need to worry about missing a few workouts occasionally - I can still happily maintain.

    See you in July's thread - thanks @fidangul for setting it up.
  • girlgroves
    girlgroves Posts: 235 Member
    @CoachJen71 Your trip looks amazing - beautiful scenery!
  • girlgroves
    girlgroves Posts: 235 Member
    fitand50inSD wrote: »
    Just curious if most of you continue to track your food while in maintenance? I feel like I can probably maintain in my goal range without a lot of effort and could just pick back up if I see my weight trending up. Thoughts?

    I have had varying degrees of success with not logging. I am a sloppy logger anyway - in that, whilst I log 100% of the foods I eat, I don't measure and weigh anything, so I am likely not very accurate in terms of the amounts of food I eat. It has worked for me all the way through my weight loss and maintenance and, since I cook evening meals for all the family together, I so much prefer being able to eyeball portion sizes, and trusting the weights of pre-packaged food - weighing it all every time and then not being sure that what was on my plate as opposed to everyone else's felt like so much more hassle.

    I have found that I can successfully maintain whilst not tracking and logging my food at all on occasion (the odd weekend, whilst on holiday, etc) but over the longer term I think I need the accountability in order to not slowly put weight on. But that's how I view logging - just accountability to myself - so you can use it as a tool as and when you need it. I'm hopeful that I eventually won't need that accountability on a daily basis - but I'm also a bit of a data lover, so I actually quite like having the information to hand!
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    edited June 2017
    girlgroves wrote: »
    @CoachJen71 Your trip looks amazing - beautiful scenery!

    It was heavenly! :)
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    icemom011 wrote: »
    @CoachJen71, i read your story too, very impressed. I wish i can find that same bond over an activity with my SO, but so far she refuses my invites. Good for you, and you look great. Congratulations!

    Thank you. I hope you two can find the right activity! :)
  • kalchthaleri
    kalchthaleri Posts: 231 Member
    Name: Ingrid
    Age: 45
    Height: 5'4
    Total Weight lost: 208.5lbs.
    Time it took to lose: 3 years and 6 months
    How long in maintenance: 2 months
    Maintenance weight range: 128-135

    Average weight recorded from January: 135
    Average weight recorded from February: 132
    Average weight recorded from March: 132
    Average weight recorded from April: 132
    Average weight recorded from May: 132
    Average weight recorded from June: 130.4


    Week of June 2: 132
    Week of June 9: 129
    Week of June 16: 131
    Week of June 23: 130.5
    Week of June 30: 129.5

    Average weight recorded for June: 130.4

    Struggles/successes of the week: I felt very tired this week. But when I would get discouraged I would come here and read your successes and the ways in which you encourage me and one another. Feeling thankful.
  • bringbackthejoy
    bringbackthejoy Posts: 255 Member
    Name: BBJoy.
    Age: 43
    Height: 5'6.5
    Total Weight lost: 33lbs
    Time it took to lose: 5 months
    How long in maintenance: Brand new
    Maintenance weight range: 115-120

    Average weight recorded from January: 148
    Average weight recorded from February: 141
    Average weight recorded from March: 133
    Average weight recorded from April: 128
    Average weight recorded from May: 122

    Week of...
    5th June: 116.6
    12th June: 113.8
    19th June: 115.6
    26th June: 113.8
    30th June: 113.4

    Success: I dropped 2% bf at my dexa scan this past week. I guess nose down is working. I ran 10 k on the treadmill and am thinking I might just make the 10k road race I signed up for next week. We will see. Woot woot
    Struggles. I had a pretty good week. I did fake a few cocktails to make friends feel more comfortable at a BBQ last weekend. While I didn't exactly lie verbally, I just didn't add vodka to my drinks. Diet tonic and lemons was super refreshing!!!
    Upcoming week plan: I am away again this week which is why I logged in early. I expect to have a gain due to flying and being less restrictive with food/ drinks. However, I hope to get some runs in.
  • TangledThread
    TangledThread Posts: 312 Member
    macchiatto wrote: »
    TangledThread wrote: »
    kgirlhart wrote: »
    @girlgroves and @b3achy Thank you both for your replies. Looking at my own data, I would say that my fitbit is underestimating by 200-250 calories per day. Not a huge amount, but enough to keep me slowly trending down. I probably need to stop looking at the fitbit calories burned. And I do think that I am at a really good weight. I have had several people tell me lately that I need to stop losing (which annoys me because I am trying) and even that I should gain some back ( which I don't want to do). But I would be very happy to stay where I am. I am not underweight, and I have become very active and I feel really good at this activity level. And I think I look pretty good too. Maybe my sisters really are just jealous.

    Me too. My Fitbit underestimates and I can't stand the red numbers either. I set MFP to gain 0.5 lbs a week and BOOM! perfect maintenance when I close the day with 80 cals left uneaten. I love the green.


    This fascinates me. Fitbit definitely overestimates for me; I try to stick closer to 1800-1900 calories per day (MFP tells me my weekly average has been around 1750 give or take 100) and I seem to be maintaining on that, but Fitbit estimates my average calorie burn was 2250/day over the past 28 days (I think my average was a bit higher than that in April-May when I was training for races). I wonder what all contributes to its accuracy in estimating for an individual. (In my case, it is possible that it's PCOS-related, since I know there was one study that indicated women with PCOS may burn fewer calories per day on average than the control group w/o PCOS.)

    For me I think it's two things- I'm quite fidgety and the Fitbit rarely catches any of that all day long movement when I'm sitting. Also the other day I was sighing that I "never" get to eat all my food as a bite was stolen from my plate. The combination of a little more burn and a little mislogging adds up.

  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,142 Member
    Name: b3achy / beachy
    Age: 52
    Height: 5'3"
    Total Weight lost: ~25 lbs
    Time it took to lose: 8 months
    How long in maintenance: Since mid-January 2017 (5 months ago)
    Maintenance weight range: ~120-125 lbs, for now (shooting for an eventual range of 115-120 lbs =~30 lb total loss)

    Average weight recorded from January: 123.2 lbs
    Average weight recorded from February: 122.1 lbs
    Average weight recorded from March: 121.4 lbs
    Average weight recorded from April: 122.4 lbs
    Average weight recorded from May: 120.6 lbs
    Average weight recorded from June: 122.6 lbs

    Week of...(I weigh for record on Fridays)...
    29 May (2 June): 120.8 lbs (Trending 121.53 lbs)
    5 June (9 June): 123.0 lbs (Trending 122.42 lbs)
    12 June (16 June): 123.2 lbs (Trending 122.92 lbs)
    19 June (23 June): 122.8 lbs (Trending 122.72 lbs)
    26 June (30 June): 123.0 lbs (Trending 123.09 lbs)

    Successes/challenges of this week:
    Successes:
    - Despite another bad week of eating and exercise, I'm spot on with my trending weight and right in the middle of the current maintenance range. I guess that's something.
    Challenges:
    - Totally rough week. Have been in menopause for 5 months (or so I thought) until this week which sets me back to peri-menopause and starts the clock over toward my year...it has been a rough week of bloating, serious nausea (so bad I thought I might have food poisoning), aches, bad food cravings, and curling up with my heating pad instead of doing much of anything for the past three days. Blargh! It is what it is, and tomorrow is another day and another month!
  • MichelleWithMoxie
    MichelleWithMoxie Posts: 1,817 Member
    Name: Michelle
    Age: 32
    Height: 5'1"
    Total Weight lost: Let's say from my very highest (~150 in late 2011), almost 50 lbs.
    How long in maintenance: Since February 2017
    Maintenance weight range: 100ish lbs - 107ish lbs
    Average weight recorded from April: 104.4 lbs
    Average weight recorded from May: 105.1

    Week of...
    June 3rd: 105.6
    June 10th: 106.0
    June 16th: 105.6
    July 1st: 106.8

    News of the week: So I'm post vacay, and up a bit. Gonna tighten up and get back to it. I don't like the up trend of my weight this past month, so I'm going to work on getting it trending the other way this month.

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