This is what maintenance looks like

The_Enginerd

And this is the reason why maintenance and your goal weight should always be a range, not a number. These are my weigh-ins for the past month and a half, including a 5.8 lb swing in 3 days. All of these weigh-ins were taken first thing in the morning the day after lifting so they would be consistent as possible. If I included weight changes that happen during the day after eating, this would be closer to a 10 lb range.

mspianomistress

Interesting!

ttcbelieve

Goal weight should be specific. Goals have to be specific and not a range. Maintenance however should definitely be a range. Weightgraphers helps with a trend

SezxyStef

That is what your maitenance looks like...mine doesn't.

I weight once in the morning...but only record Friday.

I don't weigh more than once a day there is no point in measuring fluctuations that have no bearing on the task at hand.

My maitenance is a steady slow decrease down on a graph...if I were to graph everyday it would be wwwwwwww that...I might be up half a pound or even a pound one day but it's gone the next...and it continues through the week and sometimes on Friday it was the same as last friday other Fridays I am down 1/4 to 1/2 lb.

My goal weight was 155...I hit it...my range for maitenance is 150-158...

williams969

Of course, not everyone's maintenance will look like that, but I can just about guarantee MINE will :laugh:

I love data, so I weigh myself daily, throughout the day (I only log 1st morning weigh-in on my Libra App, and "official" weigh-in is on Monday morn). My weight loss chart looks like a downhill, twisty, bumpy roller coaster. I'm sure my maintenance will be a horizontal, but equally bumpy road. No worries, though, that's how my body works, always has.

bitsinator

Thanks for sharing. Although we're all different, I find everyone's data helpful for perspective, so I'll share mine too.

Here's my weekly weigh-in chart for the past year (about when I hit goal) and a close-up of the past 6 months (when maintenance started to become truly challenging.) My goal weight was to get under 140 (my "healthy" BMI threshold), and my maintenance seems to have settled around 130 +/- 5lbs. For perspective, I'm 5'4" / 41yo / female / SW 188.

kwantlen2051

I don't think its possible to have the same exact weight everyday. it'll fluctuate a few lbs up or down depending on your salt and water intake, type of food eaten the previous day. If activity level and consumption level as are not too far off, number on the scale shouldn't be too far off either.

SezxyStef

I don't think its possible to have the same exact weight everyday. it'll fluctuate a few lbs up or down depending on your salt and water intake, type of food eaten the previous day. If activity level and consumption level as are not too far off, number on the scale shouldn't be too far off either.

it actually is...I can weigh the same for days on end and if I do flucuate it's maybe 1/4-1/2lb and that is typically after I lift weights...

I don't think I have gone higher than 1lb in flucuations and that is pushing.

__freckles__

I don't think its possible to have the same exact weight everyday. it'll fluctuate a few lbs up or down depending on your salt and water intake, type of food eaten the previous day. If activity level and consumption level as are not too far off, number on the scale shouldn't be too far off either.

it actually is...I can weigh the same for days on end and if I do flucuate it's maybe 1/4-1/2lb and that is typically after I lift weights...

I don't think I have gone higher than 1lb in flucuations and that is pushing.

Even during TOM? Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirl, I want your scale.

SezxyStef

I don't think its possible to have the same exact weight everyday. it'll fluctuate a few lbs up or down depending on your salt and water intake, type of food eaten the previous day. If activity level and consumption level as are not too far off, number on the scale shouldn't be too far off either.

it actually is...I can weigh the same for days on end and if I do flucuate it's maybe 1/4-1/2lb and that is typically after I lift weights...

I don't think I have gone higher than 1lb in flucuations and that is pushing.

Even during TOM? Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirl, I want your scale.

I don't have a period usually...my birth control totally stops it...last time I had one I went up that 1 pound...then dropped 2 afterwards...

DopeItUp

I don't think its possible to have the same exact weight everyday. it'll fluctuate a few lbs up or down depending on your salt and water intake, type of food eaten the previous day. If activity level and consumption level as are not too far off, number on the scale shouldn't be too far off either.

it actually is...I can weigh the same for days on end and if I do flucuate it's maybe 1/4-1/2lb and that is typically after I lift weights...

I don't think I have gone higher than 1lb in flucuations and that is pushing.

Your scale is broken.

sparacka

That is what your maitenance looks like...mine doesn't.

I weight once in the morning...but only record Friday.

I don't weigh more than once a day there is no point in measuring fluctuations that have no bearing on the task at hand.

My maitenance is a steady slow decrease down on a graph...if I were to graph everyday it would be wwwwwwww that...I might be up half a pound or even a pound one day but it's gone the next...and it continues through the week and sometimes on Friday it was the same as last friday other Fridays I am down 1/4 to 1/2 lb.

My goal weight was 155...I hit it...my range for maitenance is 150-158...

Um, if your "maintenance" is a steady, slow decrease, then I think that you are still in a deficit & still losing weight. Thus, not in maintenance.

OP, thank you for sharing your graph. It made me feel better about potential fluctuations in weight (should I ever reach maintenance!) and made me consider determining what range would make me most comfortable.

SezxyStef

I don't think its possible to have the same exact weight everyday. it'll fluctuate a few lbs up or down depending on your salt and water intake, type of food eaten the previous day. If activity level and consumption level as are not too far off, number on the scale shouldn't be too far off either.

it actually is...I can weigh the same for days on end and if I do flucuate it's maybe 1/4-1/2lb and that is typically after I lift weights...

I don't think I have gone higher than 1lb in flucuations and that is pushing.

Your scale is broken.

No it's not. it's the same on two different scales and my sister weighs on it and it matches her scale...

People don't have to have big ups and downs from day to day...

Um, if your "maintenance" is a steady, slow decrease, then I think that you are still in a deficit & still losing weight. Thus, not in maintenance

Well I hit goal weight in May and yes I have gone down since then but I am still within my range of maitenance so yes I am in maitenance...for example I stayed the same today as I was yesterday and the day before..actually I've been the same since Friday...

esp since this thread is about "having a range" for maitenance...if I hit my low end pre septemer then I tweak otherwise I am good to go.

SezxyStef

I don't think its possible to have the same exact weight everyday. it'll fluctuate a few lbs up or down depending on your salt and water intake, type of food eaten the previous day. If activity level and consumption level as are not too far off, number on the scale shouldn't be too far off either.

it actually is...I can weigh the same for days on end and if I do flucuate it's maybe 1/4-1/2lb and that is typically after I lift weights...

I don't think I have gone higher than 1lb in flucuations and that is pushing.

I'm always amazed at how little mine fluctuates also. I'm trying to be mentally prepared for a big fluctuation, but in reality, I think I'd freak out. I hardly ever fluctuate more than a pound if I weigh consistently.

Yah I always expect one as well...for example 2 weekends ago I was over by about 3k calories...(family reunion) and I expected a big jump on Monday...nope...1/2lb maybe...still expecting it actually...

but my days are pretty consistent, when I look at the food graph on my phone...it's a pretty steady line as well...and my exercise is very consistent...lift 3x a week, walking 2-4x a week..

Laura3BB

I barely fluctuate too -like, one pound or so, no more - and I weigh myself about 3 times a week.

So - not everyone fluctuates wildly.

fougamou

I wish my weight held steady. This week alone my weight has varied by 5.6 lbs. There was a three pound variation from one day to the next this week. It drives me crazy.

It is the crazy fluctuations that cause me to weigh daily, I need to look at the trend as opposed to the number on the scale that morning.

The_Enginerd

I know I haven't been in maintenance long, but I can't see that my weight would start suddenly fluctuating wildly at this point. As you can see, big fluctuations don't happen to everyone. And, yes...I did record every weight, even those that went up.

To the OP- I'm glad you posted this because I really do want to get mentally prepared in case my weight does actually go up suddenly. It helps calm the fears to realize that for most people, graphs like yours are typical. Thank you. :flowerforyou:

The funny thing is, for my first year of maintenance, I was one of those people. My weigh hardly fluctuated, ±1 lb in my weekly weigh in. I saw other people had larger swings and knew it was normal, but I did not. I know the reason for my large swings are due to my activity level. Back then, I was doing a short warm up on the elliptical followed by weight training 3 days a week. Now that I'm running regularly and doing longer distances; I have daily calorie burns ranging from 0 (rest day) to 1500 (weekly long run). I gain/lose a LOT of water/glycogen weight because of that. Preparing for my half marathon, I gained 5 lbs in one day as I filled up my glycogen stores the day before the race. And the day after, I promptly lost those 5 lbs.

The_Enginerd

My exercise is pretty consistent too. I hit maintenance on July 25th, so these charts mostly show my losses. But, I weigh and record twice a week (Tues. afternoon/Friday morning). There's only one time I went up and that was back in May for a Birthday/Anniversary Vacation trip. 4 pounds of water weight, lost within a week. I'm amazed myself. The 90-day graph shows more clearly my half-pound fluctuation since 7/25 when I went into maintenance.

Last year around Christmas time, I had several days where I ate 6000 calories a day and I averaged over 1000 calories/day over my maintenance level during that week. I LOST weight that week. Weight can be funny sometimes. I was a bit torqued about it at the time because it was during a bulk period and I was trying to gain weight.:indifferent:

rsclause

Not techie enough to post my graph but as I have been in maintenance I am almost always between 173 and 175. I weigh in when I wake daily and the scale logs it for me.

MinimalistShoeAddict

I know I haven't been in maintenance long, but I can't see that my weight would start suddenly fluctuating wildly at this point. As you can see, big fluctuations don't happen to everyone. And, yes...I did record every weight, even those that went up.

To the OP- I'm glad you posted this because I really do want to get mentally prepared in case my weight does actually go up suddenly. It helps calm the fears to realize that for most people, graphs like yours are typical. Thank you. :flowerforyou:

The funny thing is, for my first year of maintenance, I was one of those people. My weigh hardly fluctuated, ±1 lb in my weekly weigh in. I saw other people had larger swings and knew it was normal, but I did not. I know the reason for my large swings are due to my activity level. Back then, I was doing a short warm up on the elliptical followed by weight training 3 days a week. Now that I'm running regularly and doing longer distances; I have daily calorie burns ranging from 0 (rest day) to 1500 (weekly long run). I gain/lose a LOT of water/glycogen weight because of that. Preparing for my half marathon, I gained 5 lbs in one day as I filled up my glycogen stores the day before the race. And the day after, I promptly lost those 5 lbs.

I noticed this exact same pattern as my running distances increased. The only reason why my weight graph looks more stable is because I track my 7 day rolling average weight to reduce most of the variance.

csuhar

Goal weight should be specific. Goals have to be specific and not a range. Maintenance however should definitely be a range. Weightgraphers helps with a trend

Your goal is whatever your goal is. If your goal is to be 155 pounds, then your goal is a specific number. But if your goal is to keep your weight between 150 and 160 lbs, then your goal is a range, not a single, specific number.

There's nothing saying an approach to maintenance cannot be a combination of a specific goal weight AND a range. In fact, it seems many people, when gauging maintenance by their weight, are actually identifying a particular goal weight and then establishing a "buffer zone" above and below that weight, where, as long as they stay within X pounds / kilograms of their goal weight, they aren't going to change their behavior or diets.