Losing to goal weight vs 5 pounds below question

FitAndLean_5738

Hello MFP family!

So I've been thinking about my goal weight recently. My actual goal weight is 135 pounds. But I know that my weight fluctuates within 5 pounds (I know this from weighing myself several times over a couple of weeks when I wasn't trying to gain nor lose weight). And by within 5 pounds, I mean it fluctuates 5 pounds above and below a certain number. So when I was 160 pounds, it would fluctuate between 155 to 165 (not so perfectly, but this is roughly what happened).

My question is this: since my goal weight is 135 pounds, should I lose to 135 pounds and then switch to maintenance with fluctuations from 140 to 130? Or should I set my goal weight to 130 pounds (to account for the fluctuations) and fluctuate between 135 and 125? I hope my question is clear; I'll be happy to clarify for anyone willing to answer.

cwolfman13

Whatever floats your boat...I personally don't worry about accounting for fluctuations...it's not fat, so it doesn't matter.

FitAndLean_5738

@cwolfman13 It's not fat? I've been thinking about fluctuations all wrong then. I thought fluctuations were random changes in your bodies fat storage due to hormonal changes or something like that. If it's not fat what is it? Water? Food?

cwolfman13

FitAndLean_5738 wrote: »

@cwolfman13 It's not fat? I've been thinking about fluctuations all wrong then. I thought fluctuations were random changes in your bodies fat storage due to hormonal changes or something like that. If it's not fat what is it? Water? Food?

To actually gain 5 Lbs of fat you'd have to consume 17,500 calories over maintenance, and that doesn't happen day to day or week to week. I maintain on roughly 3000 calories...to actually gain 5 Lbs of fat in a week I'd need to eat 5,500 calories everyday...I'd know if I was doing that.

Your body is comprised of anywhere from 55-65% water, and that can flux naturally or be exacerbated by a higher/lower sodium day, higher/lower carb day, new workouts or increased intensity, increased muscle, menstrual cycle or pre-menstrual cycle, etc.

Unless you're also eating the exact same thing everyday, you're also going to have variable amounts of inherent waste in your system, hydration levels, etc.

kimny72

Why not make the decision when you get there? It's so hard to know what you will look like or how happy you'll be once you get to a specific weight. Leave your goal at 135. When you get there (or close to it), give it some more thought. Maybe you'll be tired of the deficit and decide to hang out where you are for awhile. Maybe you'll look in the mirror and think you could definitely stand to lose 5 more lbs. Maybe you'll stop trying at 135, but naturally end up drifting down to 130 anyway.

In other words, there is literally no right answer, and you may very well end up changing your mind anyway

FitAndLean_5738

@cwolfman13 Thank you for your thorough explanation, I understand now.
@kimny72 Yes, you know that actually sounds a lot better than stressing over the small details now. You're right -- I won't actually know what I look like in the future so I shouldn't stress about it right now. Thank you for your kind answer

AnvilHead

FitAndLean_5738 wrote: »

@cwolfman13 It's not fat? I've been thinking about fluctuations all wrong then. I thought fluctuations were random changes in your bodies fat storage due to hormonal changes or something like that. If it's not fat what is it? Water? Food?

http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/