Daily weight variation

jacobmattison

Hi, folks. I'm within days of being able to switch from weight loss to weight maintenance (yay!) and have a question.

My sense is that my plan will be something like this:
1) eat the appropriate number of calories to maintain my goal weight
2) weigh myself regularly (daily?)
3) if my weight goes too high or too low, adjust the appropriate number of calories
4) repeat

My questions are about step 3 -- determining if I need to make a change.

I know that my weight will fluctuate by a few pounds normally. So -- how much should my weight change before I decide I need to change my calorie intake? And, should I wait until the change is present for multiple days before making a change? I certainly don't want to tweak my calories over and over based on meaningless fluctuations. But I also don't want to let my weight get out of hand.

Thanks for any advice!

Jacob

cwolfman13

get a trend app so that you can see the overall trend line over time...that's how you know.

SuzySunshine99

Your maintenance weight is not going to be a single number, it's going to be a range that accounts for normal fluctuations. You'll have to give yourself a little time to figure out what that range will be for you. Generally, I don't worry unless I'm a few pounds over the top of my range for a week or more. Then I know it's time to tighten things up and get back in range.

sllm1

Happy Scale is the app I use to track trends. It clearly shows when I'm gaining, losing, or maintaining based on trends, not one individual weigh in.

BigGuy47

I use Libra for tracking trends (Android app).

CoachJen71

I use trendweight.com, but I have a Fitbit.

lorrpb

I suggest a 5-10 lb range that will accommodate your natural fluctuations. Tweak when you hit the top end for 1 day. Just cut 250 or so for a couple days and you'll prob be ok. A lot of it is water fluctuations but it can be hard to know for sure. This is based on what people told me when I asked the same question. Congrats on reaching maintenance! Treat it like a precious gem.

sgt1372

I weigh myself daily and use Excel to track the 7 day moving average for my weight.

I also use Excel to track the 7 day moving average for my daily net caloric food intake.

There's an obvious statistical correlation between the 2.

STEVE142142

I'll give you my perspective. Lost 80 lb over 8 months been maintaining that weight loss for 10 months.
I also have access to scales at work and as part of the learning process I've weighed myself various times during the day and from day-to-day.
What you have to remember is you have to set up a range don't go by a specific number because your weight will vary day today. During the course of a day depending on what I ate the night before or would I eat during the day at work my weight has fluctuated by as much as five pounds.
As a few posters have stated what you have to do is look at the trend overtime. What that means is a couple weeks. Don't go day-by-day because I've weighed myself on a Friday and I've been 208 did a barbecue had a couple beers more barbecue and on Monday I weigh myself and I'm 215. But by the following Friday I'm back to around 208.

sofchak

To pointedly answer your question, OP, the answer is based on your comfort level. Personally, if I spend several days at 6 lbs or more above my goal weight, I start buckling down until I get back to within 1-2 lbs of my goal weight for a minimum of 3 days on the scales.

I've only been in maintenance and leveraging this part of the forums for close to a year now, but I find that most people, like myself, tend to think that 5-10 lbs is a decent maintenance window. Some lean toward the lower side of that window due to a smaller frame, like me.

Overall though, congrats on your progress and and early congrats on reaching your goal weight! Now the fun really begins...

countcurt

I've been at maintenance since 2009. There are a lot of good tips here. I'd reinforce sofchak's approach of having a 'drop dead' weight where you automatically cut back to 'loss mode' intake. While the fluctuations are normal, it's been my personal experience that it becomes very easy to rationalize any scale reading as a 'normal' fluctuation. I consider this to be my absolute, no-nonsense, 'time to get with the program' feedback.

mjglantz

I weigh myself a few days/week and Thursday is my official weigh in day. If I'm up a pound or two, I am more careful for the next few days. I have a range of weight that is OK for me and that has worked for 4 1/2 years of maintenance. I know that for me, going up more than 2 or 3 lbs is a slippery slope.

mmapags

cwolfman13 wrote: »

get a trend app so that you can see the overall trend line over time...that's how you know.

This^

OliveGirl128

Like others have said-you'll have a maintenance range of a few pounds (usually 3-5lbs). Once you get out of that range and stay for more than a few days, then you'll know it's time to adjust things until you settle back in. Daily weigh-ins help with this process, and they also help because you'll start to see your body's trends, which is pretty neat, (I always weigh my highest on Monday, always my lowest on Thursday etc).