I'm nearing maintenance, although since I'm losing so slowly I won't be there until Summer at this rate! Ha!
I'm wondering if I should go a few pounds below goal before I "maintain". I've heard you gain a little bit before you start maintaining. Also, I was thinking of having 120 be my "Red Light Number". Meaning I would immediately start on plan if I saw that number on the scale. Do you think a five pound window is too small for this. Basically before I became pregnant with DD I was fluctuating between 135-140 and now my goal is to fluctuate between 115-120. I really only went above 140 during Christmas and whenever I was really not paying attention to what I was eating. A five pound window was pretty much it.
How far out is your red line weight from your goal? How much does your weight typically fluctuate in a give month?
my weight typically fluctuates up to 12 pounds
my range is 132 (YAY!) to 144(BOO) this change can occurr literally with just a couple of days remember the lower you go the harder to maintin. I could maintain at 140 ish forever and eat practcally how i wanted..... but staying in the 130s, ideally 135 or below... im fighting a losing battle, and the up down up down, on plan/off plan, binge/diet cycle will caus eyour fluctuations to be more wild....keep in mind that these fluctuations (within a given month) are WATER WEIGHT fluctuations, and that water weight you took off so fast the first week or two od dieting,k WILL COME BACK. it will. it is unavoidable, unless you want to live in a deficit for ever
My weight range is 5 lbs. I actually dropped under after reaching my goal. My goal was 143 and it is now my red line, but I don't panic if I see and go back to weight loss mode or anything. I just tighten up and be extra diligent and before I know it I'm in range again. I typically hover around 141.
I use my pants as my guide. As long as my pants stay comfy, I am in maintenance mode. When my pants get snug, I am in weight loss mode until my pants are comfy again. I am currently in weight loss mode.
My goal was 140....While slowly raising my calories up to maintenance level over several weeks, I somehow lost and extra 5 pounds. So now I am at 135 pounds and I like this weight. So, I also have a 5 pound window.
I generally eat 1800 calories a day and easily stay between 135-136 most of the time. If I ever see 140 again I will back down the calories just a bit.....and at 134, even though it's only a POUND lower, I think the whole pound comes from my face cuz it makes my face look way too thin LOL So when I see 134 I have a splurge day (or 2) and that usually takes care of it
You can see my signature for my maintenance range Obviously everyone's bodies are different, so the amount of daily fluctuation will vary. I have found 5lbs to be a VERY adequate range. I have literally gone months between 125-127. And that includes daily fluctuations as a result of cheat days, sodium, monthly cycle, etc. There have been a few instances where I dropped below 125, but they were mostly random days, not the trend. Unfortunately, after a bad few weeks, I'm trending at 128-130, and I'm having a heck of a time to get back down to m 125-127.
No matter what range you choose to stick with, I'm a HUGE believer in having a specific maintenance range. Write it down somewhere. I made a big bold obnoxious image on my signature so I have to look at it all the time. When I had my bad few weeks, it was seeing those ugly 130+ numbers that shook me back into reality. I was seeing the results of poor eating and knew I needed to act fast to get back on plan. Even though I'm annoyed that I'm still at the high end of my range, I'm so infinitely grateful AND proud of myself that I caught it when I did. And I owe a lot of that to having a specific red line number. If I had said "I want to maintain at 125ish to 130ish" meaning that a little bit above 130 was "ok," then where would that stop? When would I snap myself into damage control mode? Because 131 would be ok. Then 132 would be ok. 135 is still 130ish, isn't it? Not for me!
Thanks everyone! Actually the reason I asked this question is because I saw the graphic in Mkendrick's signature and I was curious about it. So did you get o 125 and then start maintaining, or did you go a bit below 125 so you could have a buffer?
Ainsleymom, I stole the idea for the graphic from another member who hangs out around the maintainer's forum. I feel bad that I can't recall her name, hopefully she'll chime in and take credit
My original goal weight was 150. Once I got close, I kept lowering it down, 5lbs at a time to 135. Once I got to 135, I started "maintaining," but that switch took a few months to figure out my maintenance calories. I'd maintain for three weeks, and then the week after my TOM, I'd drop 2-3lbs. At this point, I was around 130, so I decided I'd maintain under 130 just to have a good solid number. So that set my 5lb window up for 125-130. It took me a few more months to drift down to 125, I wasn't trying too hard, it just sort of happened. And, as I said, I stayed between 125-127 for months.
There is a distinct difference in my body, from my perspective (I doubt anybody else notices) between 125 and 130. I like 125 better. Right now, I'm teetering at the high end still, around 128-130, and I can tell. I'm still in my maintenance range, but I do like that I have a number to tell me to stay on track AND I can feel my body telling me that I want to lose a couple. Not much, just that last little bit of pudge that appears at 128+.
So I got to the top of my maintenance range, 130, and called it good. I slowly added calories back (veeery slowly, adding about 100 more/day on average for the month, reassessing, and adding a bit more). During that process of figuring out my maintenance plan, I drifted down a bit. I didn't ever experience the slight rebound gain when shifting into maintenance.
Ainsleymom - I maintain at 127-131 these days. Originally it was 121-126, but I've put on some muscle weight this year, and I added two pounds in early maintenance in breast implants. I'm still at the same size pants I was at the lower range, sometimes smaller pants even if I'm having a super slim day. I got down to 117 before I originally started maintenance, knew that was way too low. Never had a big rebound when maintenance started.
Red Line Weights and Normal Fluctuations
