Weight Fluctuations

[Susan S.]

I am confused about normal weight fluctuations while maintaining weight loss. I usually fluctuate between 140-142 lbs. I freak out whenever I go up higher than that ! (actually I have a mini melt down when I am at 142 !) My question is.....what is normal, and when is it a true weight gain? After this weeks scale drama I am not going to weigh myself every day.

Also, I am wondering about calorie consumption while trying to maintain weight loss. When I plug in my numbers (height, weight, age, and activity level) into any of the calorie calculators it says I need 2000+ calories to maintain ! I am afraid to go higher than 1700 because when I do I see a higher fluctuations ! This whole thing makes me crazy !

How do you guys handle it? Does anyone have any input? Today marks my 8th week of sucessful maintenance, and it is not getting any easier !!!!!

[Valerie]

I definitely have fluctuations. If I weigh daily, I can see a pattern like 132.5, 133.5, 133, 134... like random numbers in a 1-2 pound range all week despite what I've eaten the day before or how much I've worked out. I think it's normal for sure and in most cases, it's probably just water weight, etc and not true weight gain. Say you weigh in two days in a row and are up by a pound on the second day. Look at your calories - did you actually eat several thousand calories more than what your body needs that day? If not then it's probably not true weight gain. I've had this happen to me before, but that pound will usual disappear later on in the week. However, if you weigh in weekly and are up a pound or two from the previous week and you've been consistently eating more than you should, it's probably actual weight gain.

This is how I deal with fluctuations. If I'm up one week, I don't freak out yet. But if I'm up two weeks in a row, I might evaluate what I'm doing. Have I been slacking on exercise or been eating too much? If so, then I try to get back on track. If I know I've been eating right and exercising, maybe I'll wait and see if my weight drops the following week before jumping back into weight loss mode.

Maybe it would help to find a weight that is your limit... that point where if you hit it, you start watching your eating and exercise a lot more, or take steps to lose a pound or two. For me, I don't want to be above 135. Even 134 makes me a little nervous because it's close. Right now I'm about 132-133, so if I see 133 one week after seeing 132 the previous, I'm not going to panic unless I'm up the week after... and then maybe again after that.

Calories are tricky for me. I don't strictly count. Instead, I stick to eating healthy, whole foods as much as possible but still allow small treats daily and a splurge type meal weekly. I think with doing that, I stay within a healthy range - for my weight and activity level, 1800-2000 calories is about what I need and it's also an amount I feel comfortable eating. I know there are times when I worry that I'm going over my calories but it doesn't show up on the scale, so I'm probably where I need to be.

I think in the end you'll have to make your own rules about acceptable fluctuations and calories. Those calculators are pretty generic so if it's telling you to eat over 2000 calories to maintain but you find you're gaining at that amount, listen to your own body for sure.