Maintenance Calories Causing a gain?
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cheryldumais
Posts: 1,907 Member
Just looking for information from those of you on maintenance. I've been on maintenance calories for less that a week and have gained 4 pounds??? I know it's not fat because I have only increased 200 calories a day. Is this normal to see an initial gain? Is it just my body reacting? I have seen similar gains when quitting crash diets and low carb but I've been doing a reasonable low calorie diet for 2 years. This seems odd to me. And before it comes up yes I weigh and measure my food. Just want to know if others experienced this and should I just wait it out?
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Low calorie and low carb will deplete your glycogen reserves.
So when you top them up again it gets stored with about x4 as much water - that water is why the gain doesn't match your calorie increase.
It's the reverse of when you initially get a large loss of weight (out of proportion to calorie deficit) when you switch to low cals/low calories.
It will even out - it's your body returning to normal.
I never get the effect because I don't go low carb.10 -
It really does seem odd. Did you change anything else like medication? Did you maybe have a spurt of water weight from eating out in a place which uses high sodium? Because otherwise, that seems to be a very quick gain for less than a week. How often did you weigh yourself while losing? For some people, high fluctuation seems to be a thing (for me totally not, so I am not an expert in "normal weight fluctuations").2
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I wasn't on low carb this time just mentioned it as I have experienced this in the past on low carb. For the last two years I have just been on a balanced low calorie diet at roughly 1250 to 1350 calories a day. Maintenance gave me 1530 calories which I have been under each day. I haven't ingested any extra sodium and haven't eaten out. I generally weigh once a week but since going to maintenance have been weighing every day to see what's happening. I worked really hard to get to this place so am concerned about gaining the weight back.1
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As. @sijomial mentioned this is normal for a lot of folks, not only those doing low carb but anyone who is in a calorie deficit who then adds cals to get to maintenance. It is likely water retention and should level off in a week or so.
It's also why many people aim for a maintenance "Range" rather than a specific number because there will be fluctuations as part of normal daily changes.
Stick with it and good luck in maintenance!6 -
cheryldumais wrote: »I wasn't on low carb this time just mentioned it as I have experienced this in the past on low carb. For the last two years I have just been on a balanced low calorie diet at roughly 1250 to 1350 calories a day. Maintenance gave me 1530 calories which I have been under each day. I haven't ingested any extra sodium and haven't eaten out. I generally weigh once a week but since going to maintenance have been weighing every day to see what's happening. I worked really hard to get to this place so am concerned about gaining the weight back.
You know how calorie balance works or you wouldn't have successfully lost your weight. Trust the maths that got you here.
If the gain isn't in proportion to your calories then it's water, plus a small amount simply from the increased volume of food.6 -
Thanks sijomial, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I'm sure you're right I'm probably a bit paranoid. I've not had my weight this low in 40 years so am terrified of going back to being 250 pounds. I'm gonna give it a couple of weeks and tighten up my weighing to ensure I'm not missing anything. I've actually weighed my food more in the last week than I did the whole 2 years I was losing, lol. But with being so close to maintenance calories I guess I should really be careful. Maybe 1530 is too high for me too. I'm 61 so don't get alot of calories. I'm 5'5" tall and 148 if anyone is curious. I was down to 144 before maintenance.1
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Congrats on your achievement! :flowerforyou:
One of (the many) good things about maintenance is that there is no time pressure. Would say make small adjustments and wait a few weeks for each adjustment to settle down.
The terror fades as being at maintenance becomes the new normal after two years of dieting. Logically you know that it would take an awful lot of overeating without noticing or intervening to regain 100lbs+.4 -
So happy you are now in maintenance. Congrats!! Since you're weighing every day instead of once per week as you were, you will see more fluctuations. I also see more fluctuations in maintenance because I no longer have an ongoing loss to offset part of the fluctuation. What might have shown a 2 lb fluctuation before now shows up as 4 lbs. I like to use a trending app like Libra (android) or Happy Scale (ios) or Trendweight (web). You can log your weight daily and it will show a rolling average trend line that smooths out the fluctuations. In Libra you can tell it how many days to smooth and I like to tinker with this. Set a 5-10 lb range for maintenance. When you get to the top or bottom of the range, cut back 100-200 calories per day until you're back in midrange. For me, that's the strategy to keep from getting back to where I was. As simple as it seems, it's the part of the plan I was missing for the last 40 years! Please join us in the October maintenance thread if you're not already there, I can't remember off hand. Maintenance is a constant series of adjustments.4
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Thanks lorrpb. I hadn't thought of that but it makes perfect sense. I'll try the trending app.1
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cheryldumais wrote: »Just looking for information from those of you on maintenance. I've been on maintenance calories for less that a week and have gained 4 pounds??? I know it's not fat because I have only increased 200 calories a day. Is this normal to see an initial gain? Is it just my body reacting? I have seen similar gains when quitting crash diets and low carb but I've been doing a reasonable low calorie diet for 2 years. This seems odd to me. And before it comes up yes I weigh and measure my food. Just want to know if others experienced this and should I just wait it out?
If you're on true maintenance you won't gain actual fat. You're in a surplus if you are gaining substantial weight over time. water weight and fluctuations day to day will happen no matter what though
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Hi Cheryl, I am right there with you. I only added 100 my first week in maintenance (beginning of Oct) and was freaking out some. According to calcs I should have continued to lose at least 1/2 pound but I think the glycogen and cells replenishing (as well as your colon... hahaha) causes you to retain a little more mass. I had planned to add 100 per week for 8 weeks based on the TDEE chart and the amount of weight I was losing per week, but I ended up just staying with the +100 for 2 weeks. The 2nd week things normalized. I am on week 3 now and have added the second 100. I may end up doing that again for 2 weeks also. I agree with the follow the trend ap and ride out the first week or so, but it is VERY HARD mentally when you are used to one thing to switch gears. To me maintaining is a WHOLE new ball game, I have NEVER had a good plan or approached it so carefully but as a veteran Yo yo 'er who's every success has ended in binges before, I am taking it slow with each little ratchet up in calories and keeping track carefully. Thanks for starting this topic. We can hold each others hands thru this and make it! CHeers2
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As someone that just started maintenance myself, hearing this makes me paranoid. Though in my own experience with week one weight in recently, I actually lost 2 pounds. For me I think it just comes down to the fact that I am having difficulty letting go mentally. I am eating more calories now, so when I go run at night after work I almost subconsciously pick up the pace or say to myself "one more mile, I am not tired yet" because I am scared of gaining weight.
I realize this is completely irrational. After all, by now I have a pretty firm grasp of CICO as it pertains to my body, but the thoughts and doubts still manage to persist.5 -
cheryldumais wrote: »Thanks sijomial, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I'm sure you're right I'm probably a bit paranoid. I've not had my weight this low in 40 years so am terrified of going back to being 250 pounds. I'm gonna give it a couple of weeks and tighten up my weighing to ensure I'm not missing anything. I've actually weighed my food more in the last week than I did the whole 2 years I was losing, lol. But with being so close to maintenance calories I guess I should really be careful. Maybe 1530 is too high for me too. I'm 61 so don't get alot of calories. I'm 5'5" tall and 148 if anyone is curious. I was down to 144 before maintenance.
I am so happy for you and I totally don't blame you for worrying. It's not paranoid at all. I know you already know this, but just for the sake of "saying it out loud" so to speak (can't stop the pun) you're not going to gain back the weight overnight. Take a deep breath and follow the plan, follow the plan, follow the plan. You're doing amazing. When I get to maintenance I hope you're here to talk some sense into me
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I've been on maintenance for a couple of years after losing 70ish#. First and foremost, don't freak out! It will take a little while for you and your body to get used to where you are. Try to stay off the scale except for once/week. Daily (and weekly) fluctuations can really mess with your head. How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Remember all you learned on your journey and stick with that! Yes, it is scary to think of gaining those nasty pounds back.
@JustRobby1 I, too, still think "one more mile" so I can eat more. Lol, it is nice to know we are not alone here!
Oh, yeah, I am a 59 year old woman. If I can do this, so can you 3 -
ladyhusker39 wrote: »cheryldumais wrote: »Thanks sijomial, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I'm sure you're right I'm probably a bit paranoid. I've not had my weight this low in 40 years so am terrified of going back to being 250 pounds. I'm gonna give it a couple of weeks and tighten up my weighing to ensure I'm not missing anything. I've actually weighed my food more in the last week than I did the whole 2 years I was losing, lol. But with being so close to maintenance calories I guess I should really be careful. Maybe 1530 is too high for me too. I'm 61 so don't get alot of calories. I'm 5'5" tall and 148 if anyone is curious. I was down to 144 before maintenance.
I am so happy for you and I totally don't blame you for worrying. It's not paranoid at all. I know you already know this, but just for the sake of "saying it out loud" so to speak (can't stop the pun) you're not going to gain back the weight overnight. Take a deep breath and follow the plan, follow the plan, follow the plan. You're doing amazing. When I get to maintenance I hope you're here to talk some sense into me
Thanks,and not to worry I am not going anywhere. Things are just very bizarre of late. According to my RunKeeper app, I recorded the fastest 5K I have ever ran on Monday. This generally does not happen on random Mondays. I am not training for a race right now, I am just paranoid. I am sure I will get over all of this soon and things will normalize. Getting on a weight loss program was tough at first and I adapted, and I am sure I will adapt here too.2 -
Just a quick follow up. Good News! Got on the scale this am and am already down 3.5 of the 4 pounds I was up. Whew, that was a relief. Thanks so much to everyone who responded.9
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cheryldumais wrote: »Just a quick follow up. Good News! Got on the scale this am and am already down 3.5 of the 4 pounds I was up. Whew, that was a relief. Thanks so much to everyone who responded.
Glad to hear it, Cheryl. Must of been water weight fluctuation.1 -
cheryldumais wrote: »Just a quick follow up. Good News! Got on the scale this am and am already down 3.5 of the 4 pounds I was up. Whew, that was a relief. Thanks so much to everyone who responded.
Move forward with confidence. I was going to tag your post up thread where you gave your stats then read your next post above.
Point: the 1530 MFP gave you sounds appropriate to me. Wehave similar stats. I'm female, 63, 5'6", pretty sedentary, have a weight range of 140-145 and have been maintaining for 3+ years on about 1500. Days I get a bit more activity (3-4 mile health walks) allow me some (additional) calories. Not much but some. ~200 maybe.
I've always weighed daily and have continued to do so all these years. My weight seems to fluctuate more in maintenance than it did during weight loss.
Trusting the process brought you great reward. Keep the trust.2
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