Below range action

PAV8888 wrote: »

laurenhugs23 wrote: »

Hey all you maintainers, how many days under range until you take action? Do you wait for your trend line to be below range? I'm struggling because in the past I've over shot my goal and used that as an excuse to gain weight back but that would lead to shame eating/ bingeing. I need help with a pragmatic approach.
Also I've been eating out a lot more/ endulging and still losing weight. But I'm not tracking on those days which are like 2/7. I just find that too overwhelming especially since on those days I'm with this new significant other and I don't want to have to be anal retentive in front of him this early on in our relationship. So any advice on when to take action and how to approach it would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Depending on starting points and how below range below range is (and how close to the limits of normal weight) the response could change.

But it is my belief that SMALL changes make more sense during maintenance.

So, assuming you're not approaching some lower limit where fast action would be required, I would start by adding 250 Cal a day till my trend changed.

I also use a weight trend app as opposed to a range, so this gives me a better handle, in my opinion, of what constitutes an actionable trend.

Also I would look back at my week and see whether there exist obvious justifications for a weight change: sodium reduction, lack of exercise, an injury that has improved, returning from a trip a few days ago could all justify some scale drops.

apullum wrote: »

I haven't gone below my range...above it a few times, yeah

It depends on why I'm out of range. Did my weight increase (or in your case, decrease) over just a few days? Did I do anything different regarding eating or exercise? Those things point to temporary water/waste fluctuations, especially if I know I didn't dramatically overeat (or undereat). I would not take any action in that case, since it'll resolve itself within a week or two.

If, on the other hand, your weight has been slowly creeping out of your range, that's when I'd suggest changing your approach. A more gradual change for no apparent reason suggests that it's more likely to be fat gain/loss.

In your case, the first thing I would do is start tracking regularly. It's hard to know whether to adjust or what to do if you don't have a food diary. If this new person is going to be in your life long term, they're eventually going to know about your weight management plan. I treat my maintenance plan like it's management of a medical condition, since I had multiple obesity related health problems before I lost weight. It is just something that many of us who have struggled with weight need to do in order to stay healthy. I think it is worth having a conversation about it with your new person.