Weight Fluctuations in Maintenance

clee1898
clee1898 Posts: 28 Member
edited December 3 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
For those maintaining weight, how much does your weight fluctuate on a daily basis?
Today I weighed 0.4 pounds heavier than yesterday.
What's normal?

Replies

  • madammags
    madammags Posts: 97 Member
    Depending on when and what I ate the day before and whether I did heavy training, I can easily fluctuate a pound or two.
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
    clee1898 wrote: »
    For those maintaining weight, how much does your weight fluctuate on a daily basis?
    Today I weighed 0.4 pounds heavier than yesterday.
    What's normal?

    I don't think there is a normal. Everyone's different. I will say for me it can be a couple pounds depending on what I ate the day before.
  • ObsidianMist
    ObsidianMist Posts: 519 Member
    generally no more than a couple pounds. since starting to maintain I've been 108 at my lightest and 111 at my heaviest. usually either 108 or 109.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,600 Member
    A couple of pounds difference between one morning weigh-in and the next isn't at all unusual, and I've seen as much as 4 pounds (gone in 2 days, so water weight).

    I've been weighing daily for so long that when it happens, I generally know why, and it doesn't bother me.

    In the last 30 days, I've seen weights from 118.2 to 125.2 - all first thing in the morning, dressed as I was born, before eating/drinking. I've been maintaining in a target range of 120 plus-or-minus-3 since late January/early February this year, with only a few isolated outlier days outside that range (on both ends of it) during that time.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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  • SandraStamps
    SandraStamps Posts: 3 Member
    It differs according to my diet and workout timing.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    you should have a maintenance goal range, not a single weight to account for fluctuations. its completely normal
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Normal for me is between a few tenths of a pound to 2lbs day to day but on odd occasions can be as much as 4lbs.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    anything from 0.5lbs-2lbs in any one day is normal for me.
  • silvilunazul
    silvilunazul Posts: 59 Member
    1 and even 2 kg from one day to the next. At the beginning I freaked out, now I've learned that one maintains a range, not a number :)
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Weekly? 1 -2 - 3 pounds (up or down). Factor weekends? With a little relaxed on food choices it can be only up 3 - 4 - 5 before its over. :(
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,687 Member
    My weight shifts up and down by about 3 kg. Maintenance, for me, is not about remaining at one specific number forever ..... it's about remaining within a range. Or right now, below a certain number.
  • JoeCWV
    JoeCWV Posts: 213 Member
    If I really load up on carbs I've gained as much as 4 pounds in a day. I weigh in every morning and even if I am under calorie goal carb loading will add the weigh. I know it will all be gone in a day or two though. I guess If I ate a lot of carbs every day it could be a problem. I have learned my body and when I see a jump of more than a pound or two over night I reflect on the prior days eating.

    .4 pounds wont even register on my scale. The one I use is a digital but only goes .5 pound increments.
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    you should have a maintenance goal range, not a single weight to account for fluctuations. its completely normal

    Bingo.

    I keep a ten pound range from 120 to 130. If I get too close to the top or bottom of the range, I adjust accordingly. Otherwise, you are going to have a bad time if you try to stick to a single pound weight or within just 1lb of that.
  • jrwms714
    jrwms714 Posts: 421 Member
    CrabNebula wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    you should have a maintenance goal range, not a single weight to account for fluctuations. its completely normal

    Bingo again. Having a single weight will drive you crazy and isn't even possible. Like most who answered here, I set myself a range. Since I am small, mine is a 2 lb. range, but my weight has occasionally gone as high as 4 lbs. over, and that is usually water weight. If you hit your "scream weight" (over your set range), assume it's water weight unless you have really been eating poorly and not working out in any way. Then adjust your calories and/or your exercise to get it off.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    I swing 5+ lbs pretty easily with carb loading/depletion for races or if I have a special occasion where I'm eating a lot (e.g. Thanksgiving).
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    My weight doesn't vary much (not even when I was in weight loss mode). Anything more than a 1# variation/day is abnornal for me.

    I attribute such anomalies to scale error or excess water/bowel weight and discount any such change by 50% in my daily weight log to make the chart look less erratic.

    This does not affect the trend (I use a 7 day moving average) and accuracy is confirmed w/a subsequent measurement at or below the adjusted weight the following day.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Make peace with your scale. A weight range in maintenance is essential. You can if you want to graph like above using an app or a website like weightgrapher.com

    After reading everyone's post from today, you can see that we all fluctuate and being female this add another factor on the scale. Trending your weight using your scale rather than using the scale to laugh at you daily because of what you ate or drank or did not eat or drink the day before will make you a happier maintainer. Also not factoring in exercise, female hormones, undigested food/waste not eliminated (sorry TMI) will drive a person a bit insane and this is true loosing or maintaining.
  • Alienique
    Alienique Posts: 122 Member
    Day-to-day: about 0.5 lbs.
    Week-to-week: about 2 lbs.

    I try to keep my meals pretty consistent in terms of calories and the allotment of nutrients, so at the end of the day I'm within ~100 calories of my calorie goal and no more than 10% higher/lower than my goal macro proportions (50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein).
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    edited August 2016
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    Weighing first thing in the morning, nekked, and after using the bathroom, usually results in a less than 2 lb fluctuation day to day.

    Throughout the day, from that "empty" morning weight to after dinner, I can see a 6 lb swing in the same day.

    The graph is average morning weights for each month (from May 2011 to Aug 2016). I seem to be actually gaining right now rather than maintaining, but that is fine because I'm seeing some nice gains on my lifts also. Oh, and the neat little spike was a pregnancy.
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
    I typically have had a 3-5 pound fluctuation I have been comfortable with. I remember experimenting one time to see how much weight I "lost" after going to the tinkletorium first thing in the morning. I "lost" over a pound just peeing! That is why I will weigh on the same time and day - once a week on Friday morning at the gym after the potty and before I drink my protein shake.
  • bfanny
    bfanny Posts: 440 Member
    For me official weigh day is on Friday my goal is 135 so anything between 133-137 is fine, on Mondays I could very well be close to 140 but I don't panic unless it stays high by WI day, if it does? Weight loss mode ASAP (unless is Tom or high carb/cal the day before)
  • foen_i
    foen_i Posts: 27 Member
    It essential for me to have strict weighing schedule to see my trends before I lose too much weight. Still I fluctuate about 2pds up and down.
    Currently I am 4pds down which means slight bulking time again. :)
    I can only add my voice to those who came before me: find your goal range. Not your goal weight.

    Especially when I do heavy cardio training, I see extremely large fluctuations. I attribute it to inaccuracys measuring how many calories actually got burned and need to be eaten back
  • Return2Fit
    Return2Fit Posts: 226 Member
    For me, there is no solid, in stone weight "maintenance".
    I am either gaining or losing.
    I held steady my weight at various times in this journey, but it was always a fluctuating variable 5 pounds either way.
    Good Enough!
    And I can tell whether the number on the scale is bloat or creeping weight regain.
    I also take body measurements, so the scale is not my only tool to track progress...or regression...
  • ericatoday
    ericatoday Posts: 454 Member
    The average is 1-3lbs in rither direction
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
    You have to realize there are so many factors that affect your weight during the day your body weight can fluctuate anywhere from 2 to 4 pounds and as a woman it could be greater for you.

    I have access to scales at work and out of curiosity and as part of the learning process I weigh myself a couple times during the day. I don't do it every day depending on my mood I'll do it once or twice a week and I couldn't wait anywhere from 2 to 4 pounds more during the day depending on when I had my meal my bathroom needs excetera excetera excetera.

    Don't get fixated on the scales I weigh myself twice a week Monday morning and Friday morning. Monday morning I don't take it seriously because of the weekend but Friday is the real number for me that's the one I'm more concerned about
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
    I "gained" 6 lbs in a week . It's impossible unless I've literally had an excess of 21,000 calories. I know it's partly PMS and partly from me getting into new muscle strengthening exercises (muscle water retention)
  • lauraemily84
    lauraemily84 Posts: 140 Member
    clee1898 wrote: »
    For those maintaining weight, how much does your weight fluctuate on a daily basis?
    Today I weighed 0.4 pounds heavier than yesterday.
    What's normal?

    I'm not sure what normal fluctuations are either, I seem to go up and down a few pounds I think that's why often people set there maint to a range I think mine is 121-123 lbhopefully no more or I know I'm gaining! I'm not very good at sticking to my maint cal goal though and often go over so have some days were I'm under to compensate still not sure on exact cal goal either to maintain x
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