Threshold Weight

riffraff2112

I have posted a similar thread, but this is more specific and was wondering what people who have succeeded at maintaining have to think about it.

This is the third time in my life (about every decade of my adult life) where I have lost a significant amount of weight. The two other times lasted about two years before I let things slip and gained back most of the weight.

However my metrics for the previous times were purely non scale related. I just wanted to be skinny (when I was 19) and muscular /ripped when I was 30 (early mid-life lol). I never weighed myself.

I am thinking of picking a number (say two or three pounds) above my current weight and making that my 'ALARM' weight. If the scale reads that number I am going to have to buckle down and get more serious again because I have let things slip. It seems like such an obvious thing but for some reason maintenance scares the crap out of me because I have failed at it before.

When I was using clothing size as a metric, it was easy to say to myself when my pants were tight things like 'they just came out of the wash'. Plus, clothes do tend to stretch and fit your body when you wear them so you could have gained weight and yet they still fit. I didn't want to be addicted to the scale but I think it is a valuable tool now..more than ever.

One other thing. I am almost 50 yrs old and have lifted weights for almost 30 years. I will not be attributing any weight gain to 'muscle weighing more than fat'. LOL That topic alone sends people into a rage. The reality is I do not think I will be adding muscle to my frame, I just do not want to lose my solid frame and size anytime soon.


I am very good at losing and gaining weight, its the staying the same that seems to bewilder me.

ryanwood935

Ultimately I guess you just have to know what happened the first two times that caused you to gain it back, and make sure you don't let that happen. I see you counted calories to get to your current weight, maybe you should continue that at maintenance if you don't already? If you got depressed and that's when you gained it back, make sure you look for those signs, and address it promptly.

Though if you are very good at gaining and losing weight as you say, maybe as a lifter you should consider bulking and cutting to keep you around your current weight. Don't bulk for an entire year, but maybe 12 weeks at 1/2 pound, then cut the weight back off. This way you are always monitoring your progress, and you can set goals on the high and low end of your weight so you know when to start another cut/bulk.

DancingMoosie

I think its a good idea, especially if you are keeping up with your workouts. I basically do the same thing:)

riffraff2112

I do tend to bulk up during the winter when I hit the weights harder unfortunately that also has been an excuse for me to eat too much. I think I'll just keep an eye on calories and scale and make sure I don't let things slip. I really don't want to screw up all my hard work

alereck

That is what I do, three pounds is my limit then I take a very close look to why I am increasing and usually decrease calorie intake a bit. Having said that I do weight myself daily and have for a while so I know my weight flunctuation is minimal but yours might be higher.

Good luck!

nxd10

I think it's a good idea. I stayed the same clothing size for 20 pounds of weight gain because I have a thin waist and I'm tall enough it spreads over my whole body. My natural range is 3 pounds, so if I go above that I redouble my logging and measuring efforts.

I assume you will continue to log? That really helps.

riffraff2112

Definitely continuing to log, made that mistake a few times in the past and it will not happen again. For some reason whenever I think I have finally figured out this weight control thing, I fall back into old habits and one year later, I have lost all the progress I made.

NinjaJinja

I think it's a good idea. This is basically my plan once I (ever) reach maintenance. I don't want to have to count calories forever and ever and ever, and every time I've slipped up for a few months I actually keep the weight off fairly well. But, I know it can creep back on, so my entire maintenance plan will basically be periodic monitoring of my weight. If it reaches 5 lbs above my target weight, I'll go back on the diet to get it back down. Then go off it. Rinse. Repeat.

tombetlej

Riff, I'm getting close to being in the same boat as you.
I've had no real problem losing weight in the past, but it's never been durable.

I'm getting close to my 'goal' weight now, still have some fat to lose and would like more muscle.

Switching to maintenance has me pretty anxious, though.

I like the idea of a threshold or alarm weight

icrushit

I'm already giving thought to maintenance, so I can be well prepared for it when I reach my target weight. What I'm leaning towards right now, is the idea of weighing or measuring body fat daily when I reach maintenance, so I can nip any weight gain in the bud as soon as it happens. I'm not sure I will log once I lose weight, but will definitely aim to equip myself with the right tools with which I can adjust my weight should I need to increase or decrease it.

The other thing I think will be very good for me once I lose the weight I wish to, will be to set myself new goals, probably fitness goals, like run a 5k/ 10k/ marathon, get my body fat to a certain level, increase my strength/ muscle, etc. I think I would definitely gain weight if I didn't, as I think I need to see why maintaining my weight is a good thing, and to remain engaged with my bodyweight and fitness.

No matter how things go, I think habit shall play a very important part in my success, be it weight loss or weight maintenance. I think this is the single most important factor for me, and find once I am in a good groove, it is easy to be swept along by it, almost effortlessly sometimes, and will definitely be seeking to build good habits for maintenance, just as I have for weight loss

rsclause

I have decided for now that my proper weight is 175 lbs. I go from 172 to 175 and above 175 is considered the danger zone.