Struggling with maintenance

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chocolatecroissant
chocolatecroissant Posts: 155 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I reached a weight I was reasonably happy with and moved onto maintenance calories. Since then (about 3-4 weeks ago) I've been gaining a couple of pounds, reducing calories, losing a couple of pounds, back to maintenance calories, gaining a couple of pounds... My other half tells me it's natural weight fluctuation and I've also added more strength training into the mix (thought not loads). But I wondered whether other people had experienced this problem too. Advice welcomed. Thanks.

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  • lil_pulp
    lil_pulp Posts: 701 Member
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    How often are you weighing yourself?
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    Go by tape measure more than the scales especially if doing weights.
  • chocolatecroissant
    chocolatecroissant Posts: 155 Member
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    I weigh myself the same time every week. The trouble with tape measures for a klutz like is that I get very inconsistent measurements as it depends where I measure and trying to get the same place every time proves difficult. Good point though. Interestingly when I go up in weight my body fat goes down and muscle goes up, and vice versa when I decrease in weight!
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    I've been maintaining for a year now(going on my second) and I fluctuate between 147-155 depending on what I've ate, what time of the month it is, etc.

    My suggestion is to stay off the scale, and go by how you look in the mirror. I know that my weight will never be a perfect 147 all the time, so why drive myself crazy trying to keep it that way?
  • HOLLEE85
    HOLLEE85 Posts: 89
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    Maybe introduce higher calories a little bit at a time? So that your body is used to getting extra calories etc. Instead of it being all at once. Just a thought
  • angel101netta
    angel101netta Posts: 152 Member
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    I really need to know this too?
  • dorothytd
    dorothytd Posts: 1,138 Member
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    I would be curious to know how often you weigh as well. I'm in maintenance, and I weigh 6 days a week. My weight fluctuates 2-3 pounds during the week and I can almost predict it due to my eating, TOM, etc. When I first started maintenance, it was harder because I didn't track as carefully. I'm just one of those people who needs to keep a close eye on what I eat because extras will sneak in, and they add up.

    I would decide on an exercise routine and stick to it until you get your numbers in control. Then you can work on changing it up as you see fit. But having some consistency should help you figure out what works.

    Good luck!!!
  • pelleld
    pelleld Posts: 363 Member
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    Maintenance is harder than losing I think. I've been in maintenance for over a year and know that my weight will fluctuate. I try to keep myself within a range and if I go above that, and stay there for a while, I log the gain and reduce calories till its gone. I try not to worry about daily fluctuations, they are totally normal.

    Also, I recently started adding more weights to my workout and it has made a huge difference in my clothes. Even though I am 2 pounds over my low weight clothes fit better now than they did then. Its hard to shift the focus from the scale but I think that's what we all need to do once we hit maintenane. That doesn't mean totally ignoring the scale, it just means looking for other ways to measure success.

    Maintenance is HARD!
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    Despite the fact I haven't been 'being good' at all over the last few weeks, I've managed to maintain. Eating whole cheese cakes, chips, pizza, pastries etc.
    I suspect it's thanks to doing 3 sessions a week of heavy lifting. I'm just doing 'the big three' now (squat, bench press and dead lift), but my figures have been going up while my weight hasn't.
    Do want to lose some of the weight I put on in December, but nice to see I might have a chance of keeping it off if I keep up the lifting and don't go quite so crazy!
  • chocolatecroissant
    chocolatecroissant Posts: 155 Member
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    Great advice here - thanks. I only weigh once a week and fight the temptation to do so more often! But maybe even that is too frequent? I particularly like the idea of gradually increasing calories. I think I'm particularly sensitive to variations as I didn't have much to lose at the start so a small increase disproportionately scares me!

    I plan to start a new exercise programme to focus on muscle gain when my life is a bit more settled in a few weeks so appreciate that this will lead to more variation - but hopefully in the right direction - ie better fitting clothes even if the scales weigh heavier!
  • lambchoplewis
    lambchoplewis Posts: 797
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    Maintenance is harder to me than losing. I used to say NO to everything which I find easier than having a little of some things. I do my food diary daily and weigh myself daily. I also can gain or lose 2-3 lbs depending on water weight. I bought a bunch of new clothes and want to continue to fit into them. I also need any tips for this phase of life as it is a life long journey from now on.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
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    It's also possible that your maintenance calories are a little off. Don't just go by a calculator or even a BodyMedia or Fitbit. Your body will tell you what your maintenance calories really are. You have to experiment. I agree that gradual increase is better. Try to go about halfway for a couple of weeks and see what happens? I reached my goal in July, but I kept losing even tho I was eating at what I considered to be maintenance. Finally got the hang of it in October. And obviously as your workouts change, so will your maintenance calories. How often you weigh is really up to you. I am impressed by those who can put the scale away. I'm not there yet. But I do know that my weight fluctuates, so I don't freak out until it's a sustained gain (like I had over the holidays when my son was home and we ate out a lot more).

    And I agree that maintenance is hard. That's why I'm still logging. I've lost weight before only to regain it when I quit being vigilant. Trying not to make that mistake again.

    Good luck, and feel free to add me if you are looking for others in maintenance.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    My plan, before life got the better of me was to basically up my calories a bit at a time and keep an eye on the scales until I worked out a figure.

    Ideally using my motoactv, so that I had a good idea of calories burnt; so I could work out that if I ate, say at 120 calories over what my motoactv said I burnt in a day, my weight would stay constant.

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