Weight

How many pounds up or down do you experience weekly in maintance? When do you change your calorie amount!

Replies

  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    I think it depends on your "base" weight. There will be higher deviations at a higher weight.
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  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,148 Member
    Your weight will fluctuate in maintenance just like it did when you were losing. You should set a range, not just one number. My range is 5 pounds. If you go over or under your range then you would want to adjust. But not if you only go over or under one day. I would not adjust for a 1.6 pound difference. That is a typical fluctuation. It also helps to use a trending app such as Happy scale or Libra or a trending site like Trendweight.com.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    cnjg420 wrote: »
    What if you put on 1.6 pounds in a week should I adjust

    Do you mean adjust to lose? You could. Or you could just see make sure that there are calories left over in your daily log.

    True 1.6 lbs would require you to have eaten 5,600 calories over maintenance. It's most likely water weight and/or that time of the month. Maybe you ate something that had a lot of sodium and you're holding on to water.

    And I stand by my above comment. Someone who is 100 pounds and gains two pound has gone up 2%. Someone who is maintaining at 180 and goes up 2% would have gained 3.6 pounds, and it would have had the same effect. That small of a deviation could easily be caused by increased exercise, increased sodium consumption, water retention, and hormonal changes.

    You need to figure out what range you're comfortable with. Many maintainers look at weekly totals instead of daily, to allow for more flexible eating patterns.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I'm usually up or down 0-3 Lbs from an average of 182...so 179-185 usually...it can be more if I fly or have a super carby day or a high sodium day.

    I weigh in usually 3x per week...I'm not going to change anything day to day because you don't put on a few pounds of fat overnight...'cuz math. I watch the trend over time. Right now I'm sitting at around 187 which is actual weight gain over the last 2-3 months or so...I know this because I can look at the overall trend and average over the last few months and see that it was slowly trending up. It's about 5 Lbs from my maintenance average, so I've just started cutting again...so we're looking at about a 2-3 months period before I determined that I need to cut back a little bit again.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    cnjg420 wrote: »
    What if you put on 1.6 pounds in a week should I adjust

    No...if you're weighing weekly then that's easily a normal fluctuation...if you're weighing daily, you really can't compare one number this week to the same day last week...you need to look at all of the data and you need to watch the trend long term.

    Also, do the math...
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,148 Member
    cnjg420 wrote: »
    I know the daily fluctuations but wasn’t sure what a normal weekly fluctuation is

    It varies by person. I use a maintenance range that's +/- 3 pounds (outside it right now, though ;) ). But I occasionally see a 5 pound jump from one morning to the next, maybe even a little more. Assuming I didn't eat 17,500 calories over maintenance, I don't worry about it.

    Different things work for different people, but one reason I weigh every morning is that it helps me understand what causes my weight fluctuations, and over time predict how long they'll probably last.
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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,148 Member
    cnjg420 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    cnjg420 wrote: »
    I know the daily fluctuations but wasn’t sure what a normal weekly fluctuation is

    It varies by person. I use a maintenance range that's +/- 3 pounds (outside it right now, though ;) ). But I occasionally see a 5 pound jump from one morning to the next, maybe even a little more. Assuming I didn't eat 17,500 calories over maintenance, I don't worry about it.

    Different things work for different people, but one reason I weigh every morning is that it helps me understand what causes my weight fluctuations, and over time predict how long they'll probably last.

    So a - or + 3-5 pounds a week is a normal fluctuations

    It varies by person. Up to +/- 3-5 lbs daily fluctuation is normal for me. Weekly could be much more, but I don't track that way.

    Looking at Libra (my weight trending app) my widest recent weekly swing looks more like 8-ish pounds.

    Advice from granny: If you didn't massively eat past maintenance in the last week, it's going to be important to find a way to relax about fluctuations. For most non-binge-y people, regain is going to look more like slow, gradual upward creep, not like a big sudden jump.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,740 Member
    I only weigh myself about once a week. I make sure not to weigh after a restaurant meal (high sodium) or a hard workout. Even so, there is some fluctuation. I actually lost more weight than intended, because it took a while to get my actual calorie needs figured out, so I feel like I have some leeway if I gain a bit. I've stayed within 3 pounds for the past six months.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    When I am truly maintaining, my weight has tended to not vary more than 1-2 Ibs in either direction, often with months of exactly the same weight from week to week. Daily, I would not know as I only weigh weekly.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    cnjg420 wrote: »
    I weigh weekly the 1.6 is a week gain

    i wouldn't do anything after 1 week... i would wait and see what the scale said next week.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    My goal is 225. expected Fluctuation will be +3/-7 meaning +/-5 from 223/222
  • _AshLynn
    _AshLynn Posts: 134 Member
    I weigh in the morning every day and I fluctuate about 2 lbs. I know they say it is better to weigh once a week or every other week for a more accurate reading since daily fluctuations can be extreme sometimes depending upon what is going on. Try not to feel too much pressure from the few lbs. Sometimes it does get to my head though :/
  • Brendalea69
    Brendalea69 Posts: 3,863 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    cnjg420 wrote: »
    I know the daily fluctuations but wasn’t sure what a normal weekly fluctuation is

    It varies by person. I use a maintenance range that's +/- 3 pounds (outside it right now, though ;) ). But I occasionally see a 5 pound jump from one morning to the next, maybe even a little more. Assuming I didn't eat 17,500 calories over maintenance, I don't worry about it.

    Different things work for different people, but one reason I weigh every morning is that it helps me understand what causes my weight fluctuations, and over time predict how long they'll probably last.

    Same here :)
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  • Brendalea69
    Brendalea69 Posts: 3,863 Member
    I've stayed within 3 pounds for 5 months and I don't count calories :)
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    I fluctuate by up to 2lbs in any given week.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    cnjg420 wrote: »
    I’m asking about weekly fluctuations not daily

    how much has your weight changed since you started this thread?
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Mine fluctuates 3-4 lbs throughout the week I think. I adjust calories based on how my clothes feel more than what the scale says.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    My daily weight can range 5-7 lbs depending on how and what I'm eating and when I weigh, these numbers are just for amusement/education.

    Weekly range is normally 2-3 lbs based on first thing weigh after waking up and voiding, that's the number that gets logged.

    Yes, I know that seems contradictory, but I'm trying to illustrate how variations in weigh in timing can affect weight range.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    cnjg420 wrote: »
    I’m asking about weekly fluctuations not daily

    It's important to understand both.
  • BeccaLoves2lift
    BeccaLoves2lift Posts: 375 Member
    My weight fluctuates within a three pound range throughout the month. I recommend using a weight tending app like Libra. It will track your weight for your despite fluctuations. You'll be better able to see your trend with this app whether you're going up, down, or staying in maintenance.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    Plug into a weight trending app and see what it tells you. Especially in maintenance it's important to focus on the trend over time as opposed to a particular number at any given time.