So far, anyway.

I made a post a couple of weeks back about upping my calories to maintain. I was given great advice, told to only incorporate back in maybe 100 calories at a time. I started upping my calories Friday, April 13th.

Hmmmmm, maybe that was a bad day to start

Anyway, I told myself I'd wait a couple of weeks before weighing myself just to give my body time to adjust to extra calories. So exactly 2 weeks later I get on the scale this morning, in the same manner I've always weighed myself (undressed, after using the bathroom and before eating or drinking anything) and I'm 136.

Ooooooooooooops! (I was 133 two weeks ago)

So I don't know if this is possibly a normal fluctuation or I've gained 3 pounds from upping my calories.

I was wondering, did anyone else put on some initial weight when upping your calories to maintain before your body adjusted? If so, did your weight go back down to goal or did you have to back off of the calories again?

I'd appreciate any input!

Well, I obviously can't speak from experience, but I can say that 100 calories more per day for 2 weeks is only 1400 calories more than you had before. Since it takes 3500 calories to gain a pound of fat, I'd say it's highly unlikely you gained 3 real pounds in those 2 weeks with such a minor adjustment since you didn't actually eat enough more to add up to a single pound.

Before you increased your calories, were you still losing weight, or had you mostly just been maintaining at that level?

LLV, can I make a suggestion to you. Why don't you post this over in the Maintainer's formum? I think the gals over there might be able to help you a bit more.

Cause I sure as heck don't know a thing about maintaining, I'm still in the losing stages. Though I hope to be there one day eventually.

First, I'd definitely agree with asking about this in the maintainers' section - they have a lot more information about what it takes to keep off lost weight without dropping lower.

At the same time, I would caution against panicking over a 3-pound fluctuation. While weighing too often can be discouraging when you're impatient to see a loss, I would consider weighing more often (a couple times a week if not every day) - you'll be able to see more of a general "zone" where you maintain rather than a specific number. Your weight on any given day is dependent on a lot of factors, and using a once-in-2-weeks measure as an indication might skew your opinion.

An example - I'm a numbers freak so I weigh daily and record it, so that I can see my trends over time instead of using a once-a-week "weighin" to determine my progress. Here's a plot of my daily weight over the month of April:

Over time, my weight bounces around a lot but is in a generally downward trend. If I were trying to maintain, I would expect to see a similar fluctuation over 3-5 pounds - as long as things went both up AND down, I wouldn't panic too much (the same way I don't worry now about a few days up before a few more days down - it's all progress in the right direction). Unless your weight continues to rise, you're probably just on a high end of a fluctuation and things will come back down.

I was maintaining

And thank you for the comments, you're absolutely right.

Oh my gosh, you're right, that's where I should have posted this. Thank you! Maybe I can ask one of the mods to move it for me?

Yes, I totally agree

I'm not really in a panic over it, though. Like Jill said, it's probably not all fat weight. So I think I should give it some more time.

I sure hope so. The main reason I was concerned is because I've been staying at about 133 for..... jeez, forever! I haven't been OVER 135 in a loooooooong time. So when I saw the 136 I was like, hmmmmm, I wonder if this is just a normal fluc or I'm actually starting to put weight back on?

Mods? If you're reading this, would you kindly move me to the maintainers forum?

Thanks everyone!

That would have definitely freaked me out too, but I would have immediately started thinking what could have caused it:

TOM (I gain 2-3 lbs the week before my period starts - I avoid the scale during this time)
Salty meal the day before (If I eat Chiptole - even the healthy burrito bol with no cheese or sour cream - I spike 2 lbs the next day!!)

How do your clothes fit? Jeans still comfy? Belt still in the correct notch?

I definitely think it's important to look at weight over time in order to get a clearer picture (scale aberrations are common!!)

Agreed. And yes, my jeans still fit fine. I'm not sucking it up to get them zipped or anything. If THAT ever happens, I really WILL panic!

And thanks for moving me, mods

In addition to Glory's reasons, my weight will go up temporarily if I'm sore from lifting weights (swelling basically), or sometimes doing a long endurance workout (running or biking) in the heat--it takes a few days for my electrolytes to sort themselves out. Could any of these apply?

Sometimes it goes up for no reason whatsoever that I can figure out. I'm a big fan of tracking your typical variation--I weigh daily. Our weight actually changes from hour to hour, and sometimes minute to minute, as we eat, drink, sweat, etc, so we all really have a weight range. Personally, I'm more sane if I can see that. I also work out my patterns after a while, which is how I know about the exercise-induced (water) weight gain.

Anne

Hi,

Just my 2 cts.. but I would go back to weighing more frequently than once in 2 weeks. With me, the day to day variations can easily be 3 punds, depending wery much onb if I have gone to the bathroom before wiotghing, if I had salty food the day before, if i did a power class (swollen muscles ?/0 or whatever. If you weigh more often (I do daily) you get a feel for your normal fluctuation range, and you know if you should panic or not.

And if you've been 133 "for ages" ...WELLCOME to the maintainers !

rabbit

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the suggestions. So I'll do that temporarily, while I'm changing my calorie levels, I'll go ahead and weigh a little more often. Before I didn't really have to, I'd just weight once a week or once every other week or so just to make sure I was still in my range. But with upping my calories, I should keep a little closer eye on it for now until I find my balance.

No, I don't lift weights or anything, so that wouldn't apply

Ok, still 136 as of this morning, so I don't think that was just a normal fluc. So apparently I need to start dropping my calories back again.

*sigh*

I was enjoying eating a little more. And I thought that maybe upping my calories would kick things in and get my body out of the same old rut. I don't know, maybe I just need to give it a little more time to adjust. But I'm assuming if the 136 was just a normal fluctuation that my weight would have come back down by now because usually when I weigh myself and I'm up one day, I'm back down again the next.

So crud! I'll have to start Monday, though, because I promised my son I'd take him to the Chinese buffet today for lunch, hahahaha.

Linda - are you exercising at all? If you add in some exercise, esp weights, you should be able to maintain at the higher calorie level.

I'm so glad Pat got here first! I appreciate Linda very much and am sooo impressed with her weight loss but ... I really wish you'd lift some weights. Build some muscle mass to use calories for you. It don't have to be fancy. Lord knows I'm not.

I do Pilates because I like the low-impact exercising. But Susan's pushing me to lift weights now!

Hmm, ok, I have some hand weights. 6 pounds each. Would just lifting hand weights help any?

Linda- Everyone starts somewhere!

Just doing curls with them probably isn't going to do you much good. If you are totally new to using those weights for working your entire body, my suggestion would be to wander over to the Exercise Video section of the Fitness Forum and ask what everyone's favorite total body workout videos are. I don't use videos, but have heard a lot of people suggest "the Firm" series.

Yay!

Mel