Maintaining - Help!
aphroditesmaiden
Posts: 45 Member
So I'm at a spot where I would like to maintain for a while, and I'm in tears right now because I weighed myself unofficially two days ago - I was at my goal (awesome), and this morning, after eating at my supposed maintenance for two days, I was up half a pound (awful). I'm sick and tired of eating 1500 calories when I could be eating 1800. I'm utterly distraught. Why did that happen? Please, don't give me the automatic "water weight"... I need real answers as to why after eating at MAINTENANCE, I gained half a pound in two days. I also need to know if I continue to eat at maintenance will it reverse itself or should I eat at 1500 again to lose the half pound.
I'm seriously distraught, not because of the amount, but because it symbolizes that this step isn't over yet and even though it's a lifelong journey, I want to move on to the next step!!!
I'm seriously distraught, not because of the amount, but because it symbolizes that this step isn't over yet and even though it's a lifelong journey, I want to move on to the next step!!!
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Replies
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Seriously, back away from the scale. Your body will have natural fluctuations and a 1/2 lb is nothing. You have to look at trends over a month or two.
Also, it is water weight. If you lose 1/2 lb per week at 1500, then your maintenance is 1750. If you average 1 lb per week, you maintenance is 2000 calories. Any fluctuation outside of that is normal water fluctuations. If you can't accept that it's an issue.0 -
Seriously, back away from the scale. Your body will have natural fluctuations and a 1/2 lb is nothing. You have to look at trends over a month or two.
Also, it is water weight. If you lose 1/2 lb per week at 1500, then your maintenance is 1750. If you average 1 lb per week, you maintenance is 2000 calories. Any fluctuation outside of that is normal water fluctuations. If you can't accept that it's an issue.
Although I appreciate the answer, I'm not asking for people to be confrontational. This has been one of the hardest journeys of my life, and I want to catch a break. I can't take someone judging me right now. If I had a problem I wouldn't be trying to maintain at this point. I'm from a heavy family and I hate the thought of being fat ever again. I know what happens when I get cocky, and my behaviors as of late have given me concern (impulsive eating that has been luckily regulated based on a daily calorie limit). Please don't judge me until you understand EXACTLY what I've gone through. This is why I was afraid of posting. I wanted support in my upset, not someone telling me how to feel.0 -
Why don't you decide that you will weigh yourself perhaps once a week and go by the weekly trend rather than daily? Realistically 3500 cals= 1 pound. Have you eaten that over your maintenence cals? I come from a large family myself and its a constant battle for someone who feels like food is an addiction and all I can think about is my next meal(that's me anyway). I know you are scared of being 'fat' again but you are being so hard on yourself about it. i'm eating at 1500 just now and my maintenence cals are around 1900, thats exercising 3 times a week also. I think when i'm at goal, which is only around half a stone away, then I will gradually add cals on, say 50 or 100 per week and do this weekly until I put between half a pound or a pound on, then reduce accordingly. No figures are exact and I think it's good to work these things out by trial and error. I've had to basically re-set my metabolism after eating so low cals for years and that's when i started losing. Most folk that weigh daily, do it just to see what the fluctuations are like and to see how certain foods affect them. I'd never rely on a figure based on two days as it would probably make me feel the way you do now. Well done on getting to where you are now. It's good that you want to keep on top of it so that you don't get back to where you started but don't let it control or define you.
Edited to say: You said you have been 'cocky". I know myself when i'm like this I eat a curry or something else 'bad''; which will likely account for the flactuation on the scale.0 -
Look at what you have been eating. It could be that you had more sodium or similar in the last few days. These thing affect weight as they make your body hold on to water and the like.
Plus if you have jumped up 300 calories per day then your body is initially going to wonder what's happening if its been eating at 1500 for some time!0 -
Seriously, back away from the scale. Your body will have natural fluctuations and a 1/2 lb is nothing. You have to look at trends over a month or two.
Also, it is water weight. If you lose 1/2 lb per week at 1500, then your maintenance is 1750. If you average 1 lb per week, you maintenance is 2000 calories. Any fluctuation outside of that is normal water fluctuations. If you can't accept that it's an issue.
Although I appreciate the answer, I'm not asking for people to be confrontational. This has been one of the hardest journeys of my life, and I want to catch a break. I can't take someone judging me right now. If I had a problem I wouldn't be trying to maintain at this point. I'm from a heavy family and I hate the thought of being fat ever again. I know what happens when I get cocky, and my behaviors as of late have given me concern (impulsive eating that has been luckily regulated based on a daily calorie limit). Please don't judge me until you understand EXACTLY what I've gone through. This is why I was afraid of posting. I wanted support in my upset, not someone telling me how to feel.
I am not trying to be cocky or confrontational. I am sorry if you got upset with the first sentence but the truth is, it takes so many calories to gain new fat as I noted. And no one is judging you at any point in this post... I know I am not.
In the end, this is all simple math. But you have to be able to accept the fact that there will be natural body weight fluctuations. It's quite easy to fluctuate 5-10 lbs in a given day. You also have to understand that when you workout your store additional water to repair muscles. Additionally, if you eat a ton of carbs (carb loading) on one day, your body will store additional glycogen which means more water weight. This is why I suggest stepping away from the scale. Maybe you should measure inches and look at photos instead of a scale as it's a point of contention. Additionally, you should try to get pas the association with weighing more = more fat. You easily gain new muscle and have a leaner and tighter body as noted below. These are all simple facts. It can be difficult, as other forum members, when you automatically state that we can NOT tell you it's water wight. That means you are mentally not prepared to accept any answer that you don't already have in your head. Thence my poke at humor... I guess i should have added a smiley.
Best of luck to you. I would suggest understanding the variables in weight loss to ease the tension a bit.
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/0 -
Thank you everyone for your responses. I appreciate the support. I do understand that it probably is water weight, when I said "Don't tell me it's water weight" I was frantic and could have worded it better. I meant more like, besides the obvious, what else could it be. And I apologize for the defensive nature of my response to psulemon. I was very sensitive at the time, and very much in a "What's that supposed to mean?!" mood. Food is difficult for me because it is an addiction that you cannot quit because it is necessary for survival. I was really just concerned and wondering if my going straight to maintenance could cause me to put weight on that I wouldn't be able to lose. Which, realistically, shouldn't happen if I make healthy choices. Again, thanks for the information everyone! Any additional info is always appreciated.0
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Here's the thing... if you're going to weigh yourself every day (or as often as it sounds like you do) you must take the readings with a grain of salt, because realistically, things just happen to change over night with your body. We are part of Nature, and Nature adjusts itself to many factors.
A realistic weigh in is 1-2 weeks, if you want to see actual differences. On the first month, I had weighed anytime I wanted, BUT I did not consider the weight I was until exactly 1 month later, to which I lost 5lbs. Not bad for starting out... 4 exercise routines, and a lot of binges
Mind you, one of those days I actually weighed in 3 pounds OVER my starting weight to begin with!!!!! So.. I started at 187lbs, and during a scaling session, it read as 190... I about freaked!!! but I had to give it time. Another time, I weighed 181lbs. One month after the first weigh in though, I weighed 182lb, this is the official weight I went by.
So I suggest for you to do the same. Weigh as often as you like, but do not consider the scale very accurate until 1 month later.0 -
Thank you everyone for your responses. I appreciate the support. I do understand that it probably is water weight, when I said "Don't tell me it's water weight" I was frantic and could have worded it better. I meant more like, besides the obvious, what else could it be. And I apologize for the defensive nature of my response to psulemon. I was very sensitive at the time, and very much in a "What's that supposed to mean?!" mood. Food is difficult for me because it is an addiction that you cannot quit because it is necessary for survival. I was really just concerned and wondering if my going straight to maintenance could cause me to put weight on that I wouldn't be able to lose. Which, realistically, shouldn't happen if I make healthy choices. Again, thanks for the information everyone! Any additional info is always appreciated.
I understand where you are coming from...I had the same issue happen to me 9 months ago when I went onto maintenance. I was eating 1200 net calories a day (net...means that I would eat my exercise calories burned in my daily plan so I would net each day to 1200 calories.) It was the hardest journey of my life....but I stuck with it....using MFP and an exercise routine, I reached my goals and was satisfied to enter the 'maintenance phase'....so I recalculated and changed my profile settings. I listed myself as lightly active (I exercise daily) and said I wanted to maintain. So MFP said I could have 1600 calories a day....and that is again net...so if I exercise and burn 300 calories, then I could in theory eat 1900 calories to net to the 1600 calories I'm allowed to maintain.....I tried this and within the first week, I too felt the scale creeping up. I have always done a daily weigh in. I consider that if I have a half pound fluctuation, it is a result of my sodium intake and water retention, but I felt like this fluctuation was different....so I decided to experiment. I went back into MFP profile settings and changed my lifestyle to SEDENTARY and manually adjusted my calories to my basal metabolic rate...so that meant I could have 1400 calories a day. Within 2 weeks, I was back down to my goal. I have stuck to this plan and for the past 8 months have not had much fluctuation other than an occasional water retention for varying sodium and female reasons. I always within a couple days see my happy goal number back on the scale. So you may think UGH...1400 calories suck....yes it does if I don't exercise, but I exercise daily, so I really get 1400 plus my burned calories. So on a day where I do circuit training, cut the grass, and do some time on my elliptical, I can usually manage to have 2000 calories....and I rarely eat that much. This is what worked for me...I just eat the minimum BMR calories plus what I burn off and I am maintaining just great. I do NOT have a functioning thyroid, so my metabolism is not that of a normal person...this is not an easy journey so I understand your concerns. Continue to make your healthy choices, make room for some treats in your diet so you feel like this can be fun, and stay active. It will all work out!0 -
I second the response that says to go by inches. I am at maintenance and find that my weight bounces around in a 2 lb range typically. I also recently got taken off of a diuretic for BP, and my weight went up by 4 lbs and stayed there for a bit. The ruler kept me sane because when I measured myself the inches were very stable - and are still getting better as I continue to work out, even though my weight is maintaining.0
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Have you considered having a goal range rather than a goal weight? It seems like it would be easier to live within a 5 lb range than to stick with 1 weight. It would also help account for fluctuations.0
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I felt the same way, so I actually still keep my activity level at sedentary and keep my goals at losing .2 kg per week. This allows me to splurge once a week with 3 chocolate digestive biscuits or have that extra glass of wine, but keeps my weight at the same level. I tried doing the switching my profile to maintenance and ended up gaining weight too, so I switched it back down. I looked into it and though I am no scientist, some articles said that if you have had a problem with your weight, even just a few pounds, that you actually have to always still eat below a maintenance level of calories. They also say that once you reach your goal weight, it takes about a year for your body to get used to it. Despite the fact you reach your goals, it is sort of a lifelong thing of eating well that you'll just have to keep at, but I find that I prefer being slim and feeling good about my health and the way I look than eating crap food all the time. I hope this helps. This is my experience with it and does not necessarily reflect everyone's experience with it. So just stay calm, drink a bit of water and switch your calories down if you need to.0
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It took me three months to find my maintenance sweet spot and the scale was all over the place during that time! At the end of it though, I actually was down an additional 10lbs, under my goal weight, and have been maintaining that for over a month now Also, like someone else said-have a maintenance range. Most chose a 3-5lb range. 0
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I suggest you weigh yourself every morning for a week, or even longer. A lot of people will say step away from the scale but what worked for me was removing his definitive power. I weighed 0.2 pound more today than yesterday. Two days ago I weighed .4 less. It makes such little difference in the long run and the only way for me to see that was to see it every day. I ate ringolos (heavenly) before bed last night, and I can only assume that the sodium there led to water weight retention. This time last year I'd be near tears over that 0.2 lb failure. Maybe a spreadsheet of your trends would help?0
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maybe you didn't poo?
Be realistic and don't jump to conclusions about these things. Realistically there is a f*** load of stuff your body is doing, it couldn't care less about what you feel about half a pound. THAT IS A GLASS OF WATER I mean seriously.0 -
Pretty much what everyone else has said - water weight fluctuations. The human body is not going to weigh the exact same every single day. You have to accept that now or you'll drive yourself bonkers for the rest of your life.0
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When I went on maintenance, I didn't weigh for at least a month. I was actually down a little. I have only weighed 3 times since Christmas; I judge my weight by how by clothes feel. Try to take a deep breath and relax; you can do this.0
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From my experience, there is no such thing as putting weight on that you won't be able to lose. With these type of daily fluctuations, I try to have an attitude of "easy come, easy go!". If you find that you are trending upward, and suspect that its water weight .... drink plenty of fluids, eat plenty of fruits and veggies and cut back on any foods that cause you to retain water ... if the weight doesn't drop back off in a week or so, then you can think about re-evaluating. Keep breathing, you can do this!!
As many have suggested, I would consider backing away from the scale. I know its easier said than done, it is for me! But particularly if you are ready to go into maintenance mode - I would consider weighing in once weekly .... maybe even only once a month. If the number on the scale can send you into such a panic, I think it would be much better for you if you had a little separation!
I know another poster suggested weighing in daily - this may work for you too but only if you are able to take the number with a grain of salt rather than getting emotional. Since I am typically a failure at staying away from the scale, I do tend to step on every morning, but I typically only log my weight once a week - the other weigh ins are just casual check ins. You have to find what works for you!0 -
Thank you everyone for your responses. I appreciate the support. I do understand that it probably is water weight, when I said "Don't tell me it's water weight" I was frantic and could have worded it better. I meant more like, besides the obvious, what else could it be. And I apologize for the defensive nature of my response to psulemon. I was very sensitive at the time, and very much in a "What's that supposed to mean?!" mood. Food is difficult for me because it is an addiction that you cannot quit because it is necessary for survival. I was really just concerned and wondering if my going straight to maintenance could cause me to put weight on that I wouldn't be able to lose. Which, realistically, shouldn't happen if I make healthy choices. Again, thanks for the information everyone! Any additional info is always appreciated.
No big deal. I understand irrational fears kick in occasionally. Just keep up the good work and dont stress over a few pounds. When its 10 or more than you need to recommit.
Setting other goals is really helpful though.0 -
I'm getting close to maintenance so it is helpful to read others experiences. Thanks.
I downloaded a free phone app called happy scales a while ago. It takes the fluctuations out of logged weights and gives you the trend. It's another bit of data that I find helpful but then I am a real numbers type of person
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