Weight Flucuations after reaching Goal Weight

actorguy73

Hello All,
With the help of regular exercise and My Fitness Pal I was able to take off 15 lbs that had been creeping on over the last few years. It was almost a year ago that I reached that goal. I am 6' 2" and my final goal weight was 185. I had the app set for 1 lb lost per week and a daily calorie goal of 1660 calories. Over the following weeks after reaching the goal I decided to make the shift towards maintenance level. I started shooting for 1760 net calories per day. Within a week of increasing to 1760 I noticed my weight starting to increase.. I went back to 1660 and stopped the pounds from increasing but could not get those extra lbs to come back off. Last fall I took on a temporary part time job. Between the activity of the extra job and having less down time to consume extra calories my daily net calories dropped to 1350 to 1450 and those extra few lbs came off. A typical day is consuming 2200 to 2300 calories with 700 to 900 exercise calories ( I use a HRM to get an accurate read). The temp job has ended and I am maintaining 1350 to 1400 net calories a day. After the holidays those few lbs crept back on and they have not come back off despite the lower net calories. I weigh myself once a week and last week I gained a pound. Frustrated. Sorry for the long post. Thanks for any words of encouragement.

JodaNord

Sorry,. besides keeping on, I am feeling like I am in the same boat, and just need to play around with intake and really measure to make sure what you take in is what you log...

DemoraFairy

We all fluctuate everyday, sometimes by several pounds. Most people in maintenance have a 3-5lb window that they allow themselves above or below their maintenance weight. And when you stop eating in a deficit your body replenishes its glycogen stores. It's not fat, you won't see it, but it puts a few more pounds on the scale (which is why some people recommend to go 5lbs below your goal weight).

Mom_of_X

if you are eating that amount and still burning the same amount of calories, you likely aren't eating enough, and your body is in 'sustain' mode.

however, you may want to try zig-zagging, to shake your metabolism out of complacency. extra calories some days, under goal other days - total weekly intake should end up under your TDEE by 500-1000 cals, and you should be able to drop those extra pounds in a couple of weeks without it rebounding back.

good luck!!

actorguy73

Thanks to all. Saturdays are my cheat day I usually consume around 3000 calories with no exercise. I also have to keep reminding myself that just because I put on weight doesn't mean that it is fat. Mostly water weight. I thought I was being so careful during the holidays, but way too much sodium and fat. Regular fitness and healthy eating has been a part of my life for about 16 years. I am not giving up now.

paxbfl

I read this earlier and was thinking about it... I'm 6'2 also, 200 pounds, muscular and around 12% body fat.

I can't imagine myself at 185. I would be in single digit body fat if I was.

So you must be very lean already. Do you know your body fat %? Maybe you can't lose more fat because you don't have it to lose. I wonder if you might do better to gain some lean body weight (muscle!) and maintain at a slightly higher weight but the same low body fat %.

FYI, I'm maintaining eating 2300 calories and burning about 600 for a net around 1700, with a free day every week or two. My TDEE before exercise is about 2250.