The three to five pound flux.
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Nickvipperman
Posts: 25 Member
So far I’m finding it possible to stay right around 178 (my goal weight). However I’m finding it is also pretty easy for me to shoot up to 182. Right now I’m pretty happy at 176. I find that when I don’t eat desserts (at all) I do much better.
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Maintenance is a range - 3-5lbs sounds fine.
You look great!
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I got freaky about it at first and sometimes still do, but the math and physics work - it takes roughly 3500 calories of excess consumption to gain a pound, but going over 500 one day might cause me to have a couple of pounds extra in my gut the next day between the food and the liquid that "keeps it company" on its journey. Then eating 500 under TDEE over the next day or two and timing with the exit of that extra food eaten can make it drop a pound or two under where I was. The reality is that this is just pitch and roll but sea level is still sea level...12
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You are never one weight.
We are always a weight range12 -
Fluctuations are perfectly normal, for a variety of reasons. Great read about it here: http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/2
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LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »Maintenance is a range - 3-5lbs sounds fine.
You look great!
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I guess..you don't eat dessert1
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Sounds like your maintenance range is 176-182. That's a reasonable range for normal weight fluctuations. We all have a maintenance range, and how large or small your range is will vary depending on your body, eating habits, and how closely you want to continue monitoring your calories in maintenance. I still keep a detailed log and I normally don't experience large water weight fluctuations, so I usually stay within a small maintenance range of about 2-3 pounds. Others prefer to have a larger range. There's nothing wrong with any of those approaches, as long as you have a plan for what to do if your weight stays outside your maintenance range.6
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Yes the thing to do is decide what range you will be happy with and then only change your maitenance calories if you go beyond this for more than a week or so.
For example my goal weight is 62 - I allow myself between 60.5 and 63.5. Have kept within that for several years.2 -
A prime example of how much water fluctuations can affect your weight - Yesterday after a heavy night of drinking (free bar, black tie thing for work) I weighed 225lbs - down pretty much to dehydration and this morning after eating pizza and chocolate yesterday but staying within my maintenance intake of calories, 232.8lbs.
It's the trend over time that matters, not the day to day weight.2 -
3-5 lbs. for your size sounds good to me. As for not eating dessert, in maintenance, you should be able to do that, but once in a while or a much smaller dessert than you are used to. I am satisfied with a bite or two when I used to eat the whole piece of whatever it was. But if dessert is your trigger, like potato chips are mine, better to stay away from it until you are settled in maintenance and you feel you can return to it occasionally and with a restraint that comes easily. I find that I just can't get near a bag of potato chips, but, if occasionally, I give in to them, then I move on and make sure that I am not going to eat them for a long while afterwards. Also remember, that there is some research that says eating things that convert to sugar in your body or are sugar when you eat them sets off a kind of addictive response. It usually takes 3 days of no sugar at all to get rid of those cravings then. Knowing this helped me a good deal as I moved through maintenance (now is my 4th year).10
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3-5 lbs. for your size sounds good to me. As for not eating dessert, in maintenance, you should be able to do that, but once in a while or a much smaller dessert than you are used to. I am satisfied with a bite or two when I used to eat the whole piece of whatever it was. But if dessert is your trigger, like potato chips are mine, better to stay away from it until you are settled in maintenance and you feel you can return to it occasionally and with a restraint that comes easily. I find that I just can't get near a bag of potato chips, but, if occasionally, I give in to them, then I move on and make sure that I am not going to eat them for a long while afterwards. Also remember, that there is some research that says eating things that convert to sugar in your body or are sugar when you eat them sets off a kind of addictive response. It usually takes 3 days of no sugar at all to get rid of those cravings then. Knowing this helped me a good deal as I moved through maintenance (now is my 4th year).
Many people eat dessert regularly, as in every day, not only while maintaining, but while losing as well.
Can you post the research that suggests that eating foods that convert to sugar in your body sets off an addictive response? Last time I checked, all carbohydrates break down into sugar in the body, and I'm pretty sure that the roasted brussel sprouts I had for dinner last night have not set off an addictive response that I need to wait out for three days.14 -
I am a regular dessert eater. Not every single day but at least 50% of the time.
No more cravings when I eat dessert (or any other sugar containing items) than when I don't
Sure, we are all individuals and this might be a craving trigger for you, so your strategy is a good one for you - but I don't know of any research that supports it and real life shows me it doesn't apply to everyone.4 -
Any and every gram of carbohydrate you eat ultimately is converted to sugar in your body - so I guess everybody but strict carnivores are screwed, by that line of reasoning. Sounds like some BS that was made up by some crackpot like Fung or Taubes.Also remember, that there is some research that says eating things that convert to sugar in your body or are sugar when you eat them sets off a kind of addictive response. It usually takes 3 days of no sugar at all to get rid of those cravings then. Knowing this helped me a good deal as I moved through maintenance (now is my 4th year).
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For me it's not desert, per se, it's any carb. I eat too many - one lousy piece of cake - and gain 3-4 pounds the next day. It's obviously water. But it looks lousy anyway.
You, on the hand, look like you've been working hard! Nice job.2 -
@WinoGelato Here is only one article about sugar addiction and detox. Dr. Lustig is well respected, and he is one among many. I do find that, for me, taking 3 days off of sugary anything does alleviate the cravings. You can do a search for "Sugar and Addiction" and find many things related. Also, 60 minutes did a segment on it a while ago. https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/09/health/sugar-detox-food-drayer/index.html Brussel sprouts are one of carbs, yes, but not the same as refined and processed carbs/sugar. I thought that this was what we were discussing more than the simple/complex ones that are healthy.9
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No Dr Lustig isn't well respected!8
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Sugar is not a toxin, so an article on sugar detox has a credibility problem before you get past the headline.7
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I've been in maintenance for over 5 years, here is what my weight generally looks like
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Any and every gram of carbohydrate you eat ultimately is converted to sugar in your body - so I guess everybody but strict carnivores are screwed, by that line of reasoning. Sounds like some BS that was made up by some crackpot like Fung or Taubes.Also remember, that there is some research that says eating things that convert to sugar in your body or are sugar when you eat them sets off a kind of addictive response. It usually takes 3 days of no sugar at all to get rid of those cravings then. Knowing this helped me a good deal as I moved through maintenance (now is my 4th year).
Bingo!
You called it4 -
@WinoGelato Here is only one article about sugar addiction and detox. Dr. Lustig is well respected, and he is one among many. I do find that, for me, taking 3 days off of sugary anything does alleviate the cravings. You can do a search for "Sugar and Addiction" and find many things related. Also, 60 minutes did a segment on it a while ago. https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/09/health/sugar-detox-food-drayer/index.html Brussel sprouts are one of carbs, yes, but not the same as refined and processed carbs/sugar. I thought that this was what we were discussing more than the simple/complex ones that are healthy.
@jrwms714
I have the same experience - as do all of my biological family - with sugar. I’ve tested it over & over, and if I limit refined sugar, fruit juices, etc. my cravings disappear. Vegetables, fruits seem fine but I eat them with proteins and fats - and I suspect fiber is playing a part in regulating my blood sugar.
For those of you who don’t experience, I am SO happy for you - and envious! But I’m glad I figured it out for me.3
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