How much does your weight bounce around in maintenance?

This topic contains 18 replies, has 11 voices, and was last updated by funshipfreddie 1 year, 5 months ago.

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lemonstar

9:15 am
19 Jun 18
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…and are you comfortable with that range? I’m not far off my 2nd target of 79kg (down from 90.1kg starting Jan 16th) In my profile there is a dropbox link to a screengrab of my weight loss graph – I think I have understood why it varies at certain times – maybe some of you noticed this too; if you weigh yourself last thing at night and first thing in the morning I have seen weight losses overnight – while sleeping & respiring – between 0.7 and 1.1kg – “IF” I get a good long nights sleep and that for me means going to bed early – 10pm-ish and getting up late-ish – i.e. after 8am. I sleep very little – turning in at 1-2am and getting up at 6-6.30am so 4-5.5hrs is my normal range. The 2nd factor is how late I eat – I was away on holiday for a week and put on only 0.1kg but my weight loss/gain pattern went a bit haywire after the holiday – up and down a lot – but what was happening in my life was that I was working down on my allotment until late i.e. 9-10pm (to catch up with jobs on the allotment after having been away) and eating very late so on the following mornings I was seeing an increase in my weight – my body just hadn’t had time overnight to digest my food and for the metabolic processes – i.e. respiration to expel CO2 and water vapour. Once I got back to eating earlier in the evening, getting to bed at a reasonable time i.e 10pm-12am and getting a decent nights sleep the pattern of weight loss following fasting is more consistent. I’m expecting my weight to bounce up and down over a range of about 1kg – hopefully nothing more than that but is that what you see?

I’m about ready to take my foot off the pedal and try a period of maintenance – I weigh less now than I did at 23 and I’m 56 now and me being cold on fasting days annoys my wife especially when we get into bed as she is menopausal and has all the windows open and the bedroom from my point of view is freezing. My temperature isn’t a problem that much on non-fasting days.

Any tips for making maintenance work out? I’m still going to follow a 5:2 pattern for maintenance as suggested on this site by some people but I’ll ease off on the 600 calorie limit – not sure yet what the new limit will be – maybe a 1000-1200 calories but I will make a point of eating less and eating the right type of low calorie foods on those not-quite-fasting-days.

CalifDreamer

2:18 pm
19 Jun 18
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Lemonstar, I’ve been on 5:2 Maintenance (500 calorie FDs) for almost 6 months. I bounce around 3 kg. I’m not very careful about what I eat on NFDs but usually lose it on my 2 FD. A lot of it is very likely water weight. I’m a little more careful if I see my weight creeping to the upper limit. If it goes beyond that I throw in a 3rd FD for the week, but that’s very rare. One interesting thing is that my clothing size doesn’t vary within those 3 kg. My skinny jeans always seem to fit just fine. My goal weight is 59. My weight ranges from 57.5 to 60.5 on maintenance. That works for me.

(I’m 69 and need to do better with exercise. Mostly I just walk and need to do more of that.)

fasting_me

3:19 pm
19 Jun 18
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Hi, lemonstar.
I’ve been Fasting for 5 years, Maintaining for 4 with two 600-700 cal Fast Days/week. Yes, my weight fluctuates, sometimes rather wildly! This past weekend we were staying at a hotel, so all 4 meals were off the menu. Then Father’s Day dinner — my weight went from 107.5 = 48 kg [my target] to 109.3 =49 kg by Monday morning. [I weigh in am only, before breakfast] Whew. Then we Fasted yesterday and today I’m 107.6. That’s more like it.
My TDEE = 1450 and mostly I follow that. One thing I have learned is that there are certain foods that make me gain and hold the weight: white rice and beer. If I consume those on a Slow Day, I gain a lot. [BTW, I ate neither of those over last weekend]
Times that the weight won’t budge, even after a Fast Day, I go back to counting calories to make sure I’m below my TDEE. That works.
You should join the Maintenance thread.
Cali, haven’t heard from you in a while. Glad you are still there.

lemonstar

11:38 am
20 Jun 18
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CalifDreamer – isn’t 500 on the FD’s the normal 5:2 weight loss regime – I thought in maintenance you would slacken off a bit on the fasting days? Unless you are saying you are not as controlled as you used to be on you rNFD’s and still do a proper 500 FD to make up for it – is that how you see it?

fasting_me – and you also seem to be doing the normal 5:2 weight loss regime but slackened off from 500 to 600-700 on the FD’s – is that all – I was hoping to continue to eat reasonably well every day but not have to do the 500 on the FD’s – maybe loosen off to 1000 I imagined.

My target is 79kg – I was hoping to keep my weight just under 79kg – say 78-79kg – although realistically I expect it will be more likely to bounce up to 79.9 – I just want to keep it down under 79 ideally, 80 worst case.

I am starting to think that weight is unnervingly easy to put on when you have lost a reasonable amount with 5:2 – maybe maintenance isn’t really going to be that much easier.

bigbooty

12:07 pm
20 Jun 18
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@lemonstar. Ive been in maintenance for about 3 years. I fast once per week and it is a water fast. I do this for the health benefits rather than weight control. My weight usually fluctuates from 70 to 71kg over the week.

If you treat this as a diet you will struggle to be successful. You need to develop a system that is do-able for the rest of your life. Fasting becomes easy after a while. After 6 months I found fasting to be very easy.

Good luck.

fasting_me

1:50 pm
21 Jun 18
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Lemonstar, it is about finding out what works for you. We don’t find Fasting to be difficult, in fact we look forward to Fast Day eating. If we defined ‘maintenance’ as “now I weigh what I want to weigh and I’ll just behave myself but eat normally’, then you will probably gain weight. most of us still Fast weekly so that we can have that restaurant meal or birthday cake once in a while. Don’t shy away from making this a lifestyle for life.

Pollypenny

8:23 pm
23 Jun 18
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Hi, I maintain on 16:8 every day, with a 3lb wriggle room. I’m below my bottom line at mo as OH has had return to strict FDs, so I can’t really eat much differently. I do manage to sneak a Solero almost daily, though.

Began 5:2 in April 2016, hit target in September so maintaining since. I find both my appetite and tastes have changed so much. I couldn’t eat a slice of cake now.

Pol.

lemonstar

5:17 pm
3 Nov 18
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My strategy of doing a 5:2 fasting day if I’m at or over my target of 79kg seems to be working. Actually, sometimes if I’m just under and feel up to it I also do it just to keep the habit up. Some of the eating habits I adopted on my 5:2 fasting days – eating a boiled egg, an apple, carrots and celery – are things I do a couple of times a week except I can indulge in more mayo with the egg and plenty of houmous with the carrots & celery. I also eat a baked cod & veg dish (y+r pepper, courgette, red onion, small tomatoes, black olives, herbs) as part of our regular cycle of meals. I’ve been maintaining my target now for about 4 months and not finding it too difficult at all. My chart is linked in my profile. hth

Pollypenny

12:17 pm
5 Nov 18
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Lemonstar, sounds as if it works for you, so keep it up. You know what to do if you have indulged – cut back eith a FD or two. We’ve been away and at the Wales v Scotland rugby match, so I’m at top wriggle room, OH over – a definite FD, with Mimi’s pumpkin soup today.

fasting_me

3:05 pm
21 Nov 18
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lemonstar, sounds as if you have found what works for you and that’s what it’s all about.

Pollypenny

7:31 pm
21 Nov 18
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I’d been at the top of my wriggle room too often and even a pound over. However, a few days of discipline has brought me back. We’re away this weekend, so I know it’ll be difficult. Planning some fast days for next week.

That said, I don’t see me over-eating, as my appetite has reduced so much. It’s no availability of the right food, I suppose.

gibbygabby

7:48 pm
3 Aug 19
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Hi Friends. I achieved goals in 2015 and maintained just fine until… I broke an ankle (Nov., 2017). As I healed (two months, flat on my back w/ right leg elevated), I was disciplined with my diet and ate to heal strongly. Meaning, I didn’t start eating crap food or eating out of boredom. Once healed, mobile and back at living life fully, (June, 2018), I began gaining and it won’t stop! I stick to 5:2, I exercise 2-3 days a week (high intensity but low impact) and can’t figure this out. I’ve now got a big gut, loads of flab on my thighs and arms and am baffled. I am a healthy eater: I’ve never consumed alcohol. I stopped buying breads, potatoes, rice, noodles, etc., DECADES ago (eat them when out to dinner, which is so seldom that I can’t imagine that’s a problem). I do like and buy chocolate but that’s a few bites a few times a week (not daily and never a whole bar). I love fruit but tend to only eat it in the summer when the farm-sourced fruits are available at my grocery store. I generally eat animal, vegetable and fish. Even at breakfast (plate of grilled veggies w/ fried egg on top). My vice? Cheese. Loooooove it and can easily eat half a (small) wheel of brie without blinking. The cheese binge is once a week. In case this helps, I’m almost 60 and menopause happened a long, long time ago. Hubby suggested some sort of physiological “aftermath” from the break but it’s been a year since full recovery. Waaah!

bcjmmac

11:57 pm
3 Aug 19
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Any antibiotics that may have effected your gut biome? If so, try some fermented foods – can’t think of anything else.

Hope it self corrects

Pollypenny

9:19 am
10 Aug 19
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Gibbygabby, try a different eating pattern, anything to jolt your system. That’s the only thing I can add to the above post. Good luck, very frustrating for you.

gibbygabby

1:31 pm
10 Aug 19
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Thanks for responses and ideas 🙂 I don’t think antibiotics are the culprit because although given an Rx, it was one, 30-day course in Nov. 2017 (ankle Sx). Gut health is good/functioning. In any case, I looove sauerkraut and it’s a routine staple on my grocery list. Different eating pattern to jolt my system. Hmmmm. Okay, I’ll give that a try although not sure what to do besides 5:2. But I do something! Thanks Friends, for listening and suggesting!

Amazon

3:02 pm
10 Aug 19
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Hi there,

Have you tried counting calories for a week in order to work out exactly how much you are consuming?
It might be worth the effort, and I guess you know that TDEE decreases with age so you need less to sustain you than in 2015.

Good luck, I hope you can work it out soon.

gibbygabby

3:45 pm
28 Aug 19
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Amazon: sorry so long in responding. Coincidentally, my hubby suggested the same – count calories. So I put a writing tablet on the fridge and behold, I was jolted into reality as to how often and what I was eating. I found that the mere presence of that board worked as a reality-check (eating out of habit or “down-time”). I’ve disciplined myself into 3 meals a day (on non-reduction days) and although I’m not counting calories, I am looking at food choices and the portions. I think there was A LOT of snacking in my life. I’ve restructured my shopping (little or no cheese – my worst vice) and am making sure I’m filling up on veggies, which I love (especially grilled) with protein. As originally posted, I loooong ago removed processed foods from my routine grocery shopping (bread, pasta, chips, etc.) and hope to see a change for the better in a couple of months. It always seems to take at least two months for me to see any result. So thanks for your care and input! You were spot-on with one of the culprits.

Mr Data

2:46 pm
2 Feb 20
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7 years in. 6:1 never worked for me so I’ve stuck with 5:2 the whole time.

Date: 3/2/13, 3/2/14, 3/2/15, 3/2/16, 3/2/17, 3/2/18, 3/2/19, 2/2/20
Kg: # # 94.3, # 77.6, # 78.1, # 79.8, # 81.9, # 81.0, # 82.4, # 80.7
BMI: # 27.0, # 22.2, # 22.3, # 22.8, # 23.4, # 23.2, # 23.6, # 23.1

roll on the next 7 years.

Sparrow1974

2:34 am
26 Jun 23
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Hello and glad to have found the maintenance forum! I was doing the monthly challenge on this site in 2018 until 2021, lost 60 lbs. doing 5:2 and IF.

I’ve maintained my goal weight (136-138) until last year when I changed the nature of my work (sitting instead of running around).

It’s been almost a year now; I’ve gone up about 7 lbs. over my goal weight, and gained quite a few inches in the belly and thighs. I haven’t been doing IF at all or tracking macros. Nor have I worked out!

So I know I need to get on this site again and that being accountable and getting some comraderie in this journey is so important. I’m hoping to get back on track and it will be nice to see those lbs. and inches lost. by a month or two.

funshipfreddie

1:26 pm
26 Jun 23
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@sparrow1974 – the monthly challenges are still going on. Currently it’s June Jumpstart🔋hosted by @jaifaim. It’s never too late to join, & I’m sure there’ll be another one for July. Some of us are maintaining, & some of us are trying to get there.
I’ve been fasting on & off since 2014, but had a similar problem to you with weight gain when I retired 5 years ago. The monthly challenges keep me on the straight & narrow.
David