How am I ever supposed "maintain" if....
blytheny
Posts: 63 Member
How am I ever supposed to "maintain" a weight loss if going even a bit above my daily MFP goals results in a weight gain??
I know I didn't truly gain 4 lbs overnight - I get the math, I'd have to have eaten 14,000 calories more than I expended. But seriously... I believe in allowing yourself a bit of fun now and then, which I did Fri night and Saturday. No gym time b/c of our crazy run-around schedule, so my MFP allowance was at it's basic numbers, and I burned nothing extra off.
Yesterday, I'd maintained the loss I was at, and that was great... today?? Up 4 lbs.
Like I said, I know it's not truly fat - I was only over my MFP by 250 each day. That's not even .5 lbs. But to hold on to that much water weight, just b/c I went over??
Seems crazy... and one day, I will hit my goal weight, and not have to stay at 1200 every single day of my life. What scares me is that this seems to be a normal thing for me - if I go over for more than a day, EVER, I gain a crazy amount almost overnight. (Okay, I'll re-phrase it - my body retains water or some other craziness - overnight) How will I ever hit a normal "maintenance phase" if I can't allow myself a day or two in a row now and then where I'm not being "perfect"??
Sigh.... just venting, honestly.... I know there's not just one solid answer....
I know I didn't truly gain 4 lbs overnight - I get the math, I'd have to have eaten 14,000 calories more than I expended. But seriously... I believe in allowing yourself a bit of fun now and then, which I did Fri night and Saturday. No gym time b/c of our crazy run-around schedule, so my MFP allowance was at it's basic numbers, and I burned nothing extra off.
Yesterday, I'd maintained the loss I was at, and that was great... today?? Up 4 lbs.
Like I said, I know it's not truly fat - I was only over my MFP by 250 each day. That's not even .5 lbs. But to hold on to that much water weight, just b/c I went over??
Seems crazy... and one day, I will hit my goal weight, and not have to stay at 1200 every single day of my life. What scares me is that this seems to be a normal thing for me - if I go over for more than a day, EVER, I gain a crazy amount almost overnight. (Okay, I'll re-phrase it - my body retains water or some other craziness - overnight) How will I ever hit a normal "maintenance phase" if I can't allow myself a day or two in a row now and then where I'm not being "perfect"??
Sigh.... just venting, honestly.... I know there's not just one solid answer....
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Replies
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Drinking more water might help? And like you said, it is water and it should come right back off. Stay strong!
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My thoughts exactly, drink more and keep an eye on your salt I take 0
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your weight will fluctuate from day to day, any where from five to ten pounds.
my recommendation is to stop stepping on the scale daily. weekly is good... monthly is better. go by how your clothes fit.0 -
THIS. is what exactly happens to me! It's so frustrating, but i'm glad i'm not alone. Trying to maintain is always a struggle, I usually eat healthy 90% during the week and leave the weekends for my 'treat' days where I do not hold back from eating chocolate and junk food.. I know i'm not eating that many calories to put on weight during the weekends either but I always seem to fluctuate a kilo more and it will stay like that for so long.. I just don't even understand it haha. Lately i've been weighing myself daily to see my daily fluctuations instead of weekly ones and I do notice my weight did go back down to normal but it only stayed that way for a couple days and then went back up to a higher number, even if I was eating healthy all week. It has to do something with water retention because I don't know how else I could fluctuate so much.0
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I maintain a weight range between 120-125, therefore if I go up in weight, I'm still within my "range". If I go above it, I know to watch myself a bit more.0
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I am facing same situation. In fact, I posted a topic on Yo Yo Weight lost
I am going to try to reach 65 kg by Sept and keep it on till December for Christmas0 -
I've been using TrendWeight.com (free site) which keeps an average weight for you and projects whether you're trending up or down over time. It takes almost all of the stress out of false high and low weights.0
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it take some time to figure out the right level of calories when you start to maintain.
for me, it took me a year and a half to gradually inch my way up from 1200 or whatever I was using at the time to lose, and to my current maintaining level. I think that's the safest way to do it--go up a little, wait a few weeks, then a little more, etc....finding that number that works for maintenance is probably the hardest thing at the beginning.
I promise though--it does happen--you will be able to eat over 1200 eventually.
Also, I find cutting back on the weighing helps minimize stress. You are going to be up in calories some days and down the next--it's really helpful to know that and not worry yourself each day when sometimes you eat a little more. At the end of the week if your calories are on track, you should be too.
Good luck to you!0 -
your weight will fluctuate from day to day, any where from five to ten pounds.
my recommendation is to stop stepping on the scale daily. weekly is good... monthly is better. go by how your clothes fit.
While I agree that weighing daily can be very frustrating, as your weight can certainly fluctuate from day to day, especially if you have consumed alcohol and higher carbs/higher sodium foods. I would avoid the scale after your indulgent weekends if they really frustrate you to the point of wanting to give up altogether.
But while you are still losing, only weighing once a month can be quite dangerous. You can gain an awful lot of weight in a month, and not just water weight.
For me personally, I weigh every day. I know that my weight will go up and down, and mostly what causes those ups and downs. If I have over indulged one or two days, then I know the scale will be up, and that is motivation for me to get right back on track and get the weight off before it moves in for good.
I went on vacation for a week in the middle of June and came back 5 pounds heavier. Six weeks later and I am still trying to get the last pound off! At almost 50, it doesn't drop as fast for me as it used to.
OP- if you have frequent nights of indulging, then you might want to figure them into your weekly calorie allowance, otherwise, you will just keep undoing all the progress you have made for the week.
As for maintenance- my plan is to get to 3-5 pounds below my actual goal weight, then start slowly adding in calories, knowing that I will gain a few pounds when I increase my cals. If I increase slowly, then I shouldn't continue to gain once my body gets the normal glycogen stores back, and the few extra lbs will be a cushion.
I also know that even at maintenance, I will still have to count calories and stay within my maintenance goal, I will just be able to eat a little more. If I go back to mindless eating, I will most certainly gain my weight back, and I am not about to do that. I have worked too hard over the past year to get to where I am!0 -
You also may be eating more than you realize on those 'off' days. Really look honestly at what you are consuming. Add that number to the calories that you normally burn when you go to the gym, since you didn't work out as usual, and you will see a much greater calorie increase than you realize. Not enough to gain 4 lbs of fat, but maybe 1-2 lbs, and the rest water.0
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your weight will fluctuate from day to day, any where from five to ten pounds.
my recommendation is to stop stepping on the scale daily. weekly is good... monthly is better. go by how your clothes fit.
But while you are still losing, only weighing once a month can be quite dangerous. You can gain an awful lot of weight in a month, and not just water weight.
not if you are acurate about logging your foods, and exercising regularly, getting plenty of rest, and drinking lots of fluids.
i was weighing in daily and driving myself batty. it wasn't healthy. sometimes multiple times a day. yes, guys can do this too.
so i stopped. i started weighing myself once a week. and then monthly. now i rarely step on the scale, and i feel great.
the scale can in essence, be blinders. they can stop you from looking at the big picture that is weight loss and fitness. does it really matter if you are plus or minus five pounds, as long as your pants still fit?0 -
your weight will fluctuate from day to day, any where from five to ten pounds.
my recommendation is to stop stepping on the scale daily. weekly is good... monthly is better. go by how your clothes fit.
But while you are still losing, only weighing once a month can be quite dangerous. You can gain an awful lot of weight in a month, and not just water weight.
not if you are acurate about logging your foods, and exercising regularly, getting plenty of rest, and drinking lots of fluids.
i was weighing in daily and driving myself batty. it wasn't healthy. sometimes multiple times a day. yes, guys can do this too.
so i stopped. i started weighing myself once a week. and then monthly. now i rarely step on the scale, and i feel great.
the scale can in essence, be blinders. they can stop you from looking at the big picture that is weight loss and fitness. does it really matter if you are plus or minus five pounds, as long as your pants still fit?
This can be true as well. I guess we just have to figure out what works for each of us. I weigh every day, but only record losses. For me personally, if I don't watch it at least once a week, I will slide back into complacency very easily. But that is my lack of discipline, I suppose. Been working on that for years! I also get distracted by every day life stuff, and my health will take a back seat. And most of my pants have some stretch to them, so a 5-10 pound gain doesn't show up right away. Guys jeans are less forgiving.0 -
So glad to read the original post. That is me precisely.
Will come back to thread and keep reading ideas.0 -
Wow.... this is why I love this site... thanks for all the feedback!! Nice to know I'm not alone in being frustrated and/or driving myself crazy!!
To the posters re: water intake.... you are exactly right... I usually drink 3-4 24oz bottles/day.... these past two days? Barely one. So I am definitely WAY low.
And yes - there was alcohol involved, so I know that is a huge factor, too. I've rarely been consuming any, b/c of how badly it affects any kind of healthy eating (notice I did NOT say dieting....
) and so when we went out Fri, I enjoyed a few at a favorite pub, without really batting an eye. Definitely batted that eye this morning, tho!!
Thanks for the encouragement - I by no means want to give up, and it did propel me to kick my own *kitten* a bit running this morning - but it's nice to know I can be annoyed/frustrated and vent on here, and walk away feeling better b/c of it! 0 -
Yesterday, I'd maintained the loss I was at, and that was great... today?? Up 4 lbs.
Like I said, I know it's not truly fat - I was only over my MFP by 250 each day. That's not even .5 lbs. But to hold on to that much water weight, just b/c I went over??
Seems crazy... and one day, I will hit my goal weight, and not have to stay at 1200 every single day of my life. What scares me is that this seems to be a normal thing for me - if I go over for more than a day, EVER, I gain a crazy amount almost overnight. (Okay, I'll re-phrase it - my body retains water or some other craziness - overnight) How will I ever hit a normal "maintenance phase" if I can't allow myself a day or two in a row now and then where I'm not being "perfect"??
Sigh.... just venting, honestly.... I know there's not just one solid answer....
Same thing happens to me, over and over again.................................makes me crazy. I am not weighing much anymore, because I just can't take the let-down. I know that I'm doing fine..........but SEEING those numbers is so depressing
I've been on this journey for two years...................can't let it get to me too much!!!! 0 -
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not if you are acurate about logging your foods, and exercising regularly, getting plenty of rest, and drinking lots of fluids.
i was weighing in daily and driving myself batty. it wasn't healthy. sometimes multiple times a day. yes, guys can do this too.
so i stopped. i started weighing myself once a week. and then monthly. now i rarely step on the scale, and i feel great.
the scale can in essence, be blinders. they can stop you from looking at the big picture that is weight loss and fitness. does it really matter if you are plus or minus five pounds, as long as your pants still fit?
[/quote]
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totally agree w/this. I stopped weighing myself altogether and haven't (aside from a few Drs.. visits where I had no choice), for the past year and a half. It was driving me nuts in maintenance and causing me to obsess way too much. Having small size clothing and nothing to fall back on is a fantastic indicator of needing to stay on track 0 -
This is not weight. This is water. You had a weekend of fun and that's awesome! But probably a weekend of processed, high sodium foods. Water goes in, water goes out. Try drinking 2 extra glasses of water each day and focus on healthy filling foods. This extra water will be flushed out in a day or two.0
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When you stop eating at a high deficit, your glycogen stores will fill and there is a lot of water in the solution. They act as a buffer between what you consume and what you burn. They don't stay full while there is anything more than a small deficit.0
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My thoughts exactly, drink more and keep an eye on your salt I take
ditto...
and ditto on the "stop weighing as often/it is normal for weight to fluctuate a few pounds daily/etc"
and it may have been mentioned, but I didn't read all comments- but add some strength training to your workout if you don't already.0
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