Just started maintenance and gained straight away
Kdp2015
Posts: 519 Member
Hey, I'm 2lbs up over the w/end which I'm fairly sure is water weight as I've eaten a lot more than normal (without 'going') and I've been to the gym both days so I'm a bit sore. On maintenance at what point do you act in gains, normally my water weight goes after a few days but if it doesn't do I need to look at fewer calories? How long has it taken you all to get the balance right?
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I have no personal experience, but I have read in the MFP forum article "In Place of a Roadmap", that your glycogen stores are replenished when you go back to maintenance calories and you can expect to gain about 5 lbs. Due to this, some people like to continue to lose to 5 lbs below their "goal weight" and then, when the glycogen stores are replenished, they will be at the weight they want to be, and will find it easier to maintain.
I will see if I can find the article and post it for you.7 -
Erm, slightly terrified at the though of putting on (and keeping on) that much...are you sure??0
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Can't see anything there about glycogen or magically gaining 5lbs when you hit maintenance?0
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hmm. oh dear, it must have been another article then. I'll find it!0
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this has similar information but is not the forum post that I'm thinking of, none-the-less it should be helpful to a degree
http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/0 -
Yep, it's normal. It's just your body replenishing your glycogen stores, which get depleted when you maintain a calorie deficit. Many people choose to overshoot their goal weight by 3-5 lbs, so that when the bounceback happens, it'll be their goal weight.6
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I think I see what happened. The original article was updated in 2013. I have a printed copy of what it originally said because it had a lot of information that helped mentally, rather than just assisted with the main points of setting up your weight loss plan. Since it's been updated, it's far more to the point but some of the mental support it offered is now gone. That's my best guess, that it was on the original forum post and that post can no longer be found.0
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Eaten more than normal - that food is inside you and has weight.
A bit sore - inflammation attracts water which has weight.
No don't react to short term changes by restricting calories. That becomes a vicious circle of anxiety.
You absolutely must expect your weight to change from day to day and accept that.
You may or may not get the glycogen replenishment bounce back, it's not universal and it's not one set number. I never do as I make sure I'm not glycogen depleted in the first place.
Set yourself a happy weight range to allow for perfectly natural day to day and monthly hormonal fluctuations and don't attempt to micro manage your weight or that will drive you mad.
You might have to rethink about how you use your bathroom scales if it's causing you stress.
If I remember correctly after my initial weight loss it took 3 months to get my maintenance calories nailed down and it was higher than my estimates originally indicated - there can be a subconscious down regulation of your activity when you are in a deficit.
Did you jump straight to estimated maintenance level or just start walking up your calories?
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Because I wasn't expecting to gain on maintenance, at what point do you start thinking it's not just water and need to reduce a bit?0
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Eaten more than normal - that food is inside you and has weight.
A bit sore - inflammation attracts water which has weight.
No don't react to short term changes by restricting calories. That becomes a vicious circle of anxiety.
You absolutely must expect your weight to change from day to day and accept that.
You may or may not get the glycogen replenishment bounce back, it's not universal and it's not one set number. I never do as I make sure I'm not glycogen depleted in the first place.
Set yourself a happy weight range to allow for perfectly natural day to day and monthly hormonal fluctuations and don't attempt to micro manage your weight or that will drive you mad.
You might have to rethink about how you use your bathroom scales if it's causing you stress.
If I remember correctly after my initial weight loss it took 3 months to get my maintenance calories nailed down and it was higher than my estimates originally indicated - there can be a subconscious down regulation of your activity when you are in a deficit.
Did you jump straight to estimated maintenance level or just start walking up your calories?
Thank you that makes a lot of sense. I went straight up but I've only gone from 1600 to about 1900 (I think maintenance for me should be around 2000)0 -
Having said that I was quiet often losing more than 1lb a week on 1600 so I'm not even sure 2000 is enough0
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No I appreciate that, I'm just not sure a what point I would be gaining fat - I guess it's a lot of trial and error??0
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No I appreciate that, I'm just not sure a what point I would be gaining fat - I guess it's a lot of trial and error??
At the point when you are consistently over-eating your maintenance level for a prolonged period of time.
Not days - unless you are going for 1000 calorie blow outs!
The same maths that works to lose fat also applies to gain fat.
Rough rule of thumb - losing 1lb/week @1600 cals means maintenance could be c. 2100.
So how much FAT (not water or anything else!) would you expect to have gained eating at what is still a small deficit?
You know the answer already - trust the maths not your emotions.5 -
Cool, thank you0
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I hadn't heard of this glycogen storage before. But I'm wondering if I've not necessarily over-ate but my random weight gain was caused more from me backing away from a low carb diet into a more normal amount of carbs. Because my measurements are almost the same but the scale says I've gained 5 pounds. Hmm, Something to consider0
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I transitioned from about 1730ish in deficit to 2000-2100 in maintenance overnight (vs. gradually, which is what many people suggest), and basically instantly gained 3 on the scale. Not fat, just food in my system, water etc. It threw me for a loop because I'd had a "ceiling" GW in my mind, and suddenly, I was 2 lbs over it. I've been stuck here since, and truth be told, I'm not thrilled about it. I would rather be below that ceiling #, while in maintenance. Because when I splurge above maintenance, I am suddenly spending a few days 5 lbs over that ceiling.
I should have dieted down another 3 lbs before entering maintenance, or transitioned more slowly.0 -
Besides the scale, you can use measurements and they way your clothes fit to help you decide if you are out of your maintenance range. Your weight on the scale can go up or down 2-3 lbs daily, but it doesn't necessarily mean much, just depends on hydration and how much food is still in you. Don't be afraid. You know how to get it back off again if it does start to creep up, and it's fun to eat more when it slips down.1
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Hey, I'm 2lbs up over the w/end which I'm fairly sure is water weight as I've eaten a lot more than normal (without 'going') and I've been to the gym both days so I'm a bit sore. On maintenance at what point do you act in gains, normally my water weight goes after a few days but if it doesn't do I need to look at fewer calories? How long has it taken you all to get the balance right?
glycogen replenishment as well as increased waste in your system. I stopped cutting at 178...my average weight after going to maintenance is 182...it's no biggie because I don't care about the actual number and I know that the weight isn't fat. Don't scale obsess.3 -
So first week of maintenance now over, I've managed ave 1925 a day and I'm 0.4 down on my lowest weight from the end of last week. Weight has been quite up and down over this week so I will wait and see what happens next week and maybe the one after before I change my calories
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How often are you weighing, and do you use a trend app/site such as Trendweight?
What I've been doing while maintaining is continuing to hop on the scale just about every day (lately it's been every other or so) and log the weight in Fitbit to forward on to Trendweight. I then check Trendweight on Fridays to see what it has to say. If it says I'm gaining weight, I'll look back at my food diary and see if I ate out more often and/or had high sodium days. If I've consistently been over sodium, I don't worry about it.
I would give yourself a good 4 weeks of consistent calorie intake. Then, compare your weight to 4 weeks ago and see where you are.
~Lyssa5 -
Thanks I haven't tried trend weight but will give it a look 0
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Can't seem to find trend weight (am in uk) anyone know of another I can sync to mfp or fitbit (don't really to manually put in history)?0
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Thanks I haven't tried trend weight but will give it a look
Trend weight requires a Fitbit account (you can create one for free even if you don't have a Fitbit), or you can use a phone app like Libra or Happy Scale to show you the same info.
This is what my graph looks like for the last 6 months. The shaded green area is a range around the goal weight I gave trendweight. The big number to the right of the graph is my weight according to the trend. Red line is trend line and the gray is individual weights.
~Lyssa
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Can't seem to find trend weight (am in uk) anyone know of another I can sync to mfp or fitbit (don't really to manually put in history)?
It's a website - https://trendweight.com/dashboard/
There isn't an app for it that I'm aware of, but the site should work fine.
~Lyssa0 -
Ok thanks0
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Hey, I'm 2lbs up over the w/end which I'm fairly sure is water weight as I've eaten a lot more than normal (without 'going') and I've been to the gym both days so I'm a bit sore. On maintenance at what point do you act in gains, normally my water weight goes after a few days but if it doesn't do I need to look at fewer calories? How long has it taken you all to get the balance right?
First of all congratulations on reaching the maintenance stage.
Maintenance is actually more tricky than loosing. At least it has been for me. It will take you a while to find that balance. I have gone up and down as much as 10 pounds either way trying to find that balance. You will never be completely balanced. Just weigh yourself once a week and adjust accordingly. Great work!4 -
Thank you, I've lost another pound this week - I can't believe I need another 500 cals a day so will try and add 100 or 200 a week and cope with the extra loss. I'm still 14lbs from being underweight so that shouldn't be an unhealthy loss. Just not sure I can manage nearly 2,500 cals a day!2
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