Maintenance is Scary!

All4Norma
All4Norma Posts: 25 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
I am now in maintenance mode and trying to figure out my new calorie goal. I am 28, 5'4" and 120 pounds. When I was losing I was eating about 1600 calories with eating exercise calories back. I've been slowly upping calories 100 per week to see what will work but with just an 100 calorie increase this week I gained 1.5 pounds. This may just be due to normal flunctuation in weight but it's freaking me out. I know a 100 calorie increase for matainance isn't enough but why would I gain so much in just one week with that increase. I'm not sure what to do? Should I still increase and hope for the best...it's so scary..don't wanna gain any weight back!!! Thanks for any input!

Replies

  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    I don't think one week is long enough to see a change. I'd try perhaps a whole month at that level, and then go from there.
  • youngcaseyr
    youngcaseyr Posts: 293 Member
    Give it another week and see if the weight goes back down or if you keep gaining. If it goes back down then continue eating as you were. If you keep gaining then You might need to get back to maintenance a little slower. Sometimes a little bit makes a big difference
  • simsburyjet
    simsburyjet Posts: 999 Member
    You will find in maintenace that you eat more but exercise more because you are fitter..
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
    You've got to replenish your glycogen stores before you can maintain you weight. Don't drop it back down yet. :smile:
  • PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot
    PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot Posts: 596 Member
    Agreed 1000%. I was down to my goal weight, then went to (what I thought was) maintenance and gradually put back on a few. Trying to still figure this out, but I'm actually about a month away from my first marathon, so I'm ravenous most of the time. I'd like to be as light as physically possible for the 26.2 (each pound I'm carrying 26 miles will slow me down more) so I'm despierately trying to figure this out.

    best of luck!
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    You've got to replenish your glycogen stores before you can maintain you weight. Don't drop it back down yet. :smile:

    x 2 for glycogen stores being your "problem." But not really because they're not bad.
  • allshebe
    allshebe Posts: 423 Member
    When you eat at a deficit, you use up glycogen stores and don't replenish. As you get closer to maintenance calories, you start to replenish glycogen. The max total most people can store is about 5 pounds (including water). This is why it's not uncommon to lose the first 5 pounds quite fast - you're just depleting glycogen and water. I would stay with that additional 100 calories a day for a couple of weeks and monitor weight and how your clothes fit. Your weight should stabilize. It's also possible the extra pound is just a normal "blip" - my weight can vary by several pounds throughout the day, according to my hydration level, gut fill, etc.
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,033 Member
    This same thing happened to me so I lowered my cals back down the next eeek. I ate like that for another month and have just this week increased 100 more cals again, I havent weighed yet this week, probably just staying with the same cals for another week and see ehst happens, it is diffinately scary, good luck
  • notenoughspeed
    notenoughspeed Posts: 290 Member
    I have done some self studies on my body, and when you increase cals, you will put back on some weight, but it's really just food weight in your body. Don't worry. Give it another week to see how the change affects your body.
  • crayonbreakywillow
    crayonbreakywillow Posts: 44 Member
    I think the glycogen stores is the right explanation. I switched to maintenance a little over a month ago, raising my calories by 200 to start. I gained between 2-3 pounds and bounced around that for the next couple weeks and just this past week have finally seen that come back down and I've actually lost a little now. I think my body was just adjusting to the additional calories and I fully expect to maintain at the lower weight or even continue to lose and need to bump up calories more.

    It's scary, but don't let a couple pounds initially put you off. Give it a few weeks and I'm sure you will see it go back down!
  • StrictlyPro
    StrictlyPro Posts: 72
    You've got to replenish your glycogen stores before you can maintain you weight. Don't drop it back down yet. :smile:

    and water. you should expect a few lbs gain in the first 2-3 weeks.
  • PippiNe
    PippiNe Posts: 283 Member
    This topic was explained in depth in another post a while ago. I saved it because it was so well explained. Here's the link:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/993576-why-you-gain-weight-if-you-eat-more-than-your-cut

    Read this and it will make maintenance a lot less scary :o)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I don't think one week is long enough to see a change. I'd try perhaps a whole month at that level, and then go from there.

    this ^^
  • doubglass
    doubglass Posts: 314 Member
    Log your measurements. If you work out a lot you may be just adding muscle. My rule if my weight goes up but my waist stays the same I don't worry. i've gained 10 lbs from my low but my waist is the same as it was when I hit the low.
  • All4Norma
    All4Norma Posts: 25 Member
    Thanks everyone!

Categories