I am working at maintaining my current weight until I'm ready to "go for it" & lose the last 10. I am wondering what weight fluctuation you allow yourself while in maintenance? My weight is pretty steady at 153-156. Any advice on the whole fluctuation thing, the pound range, how you set your limit, etc?

Oh gosh, I fluctuate A LOT. I have a "red line" and when I go over that, I know I need to start being really diligent about intake and exercise again (135 for me, 10 lbs above goal). I'd imagine there should also be a lower end to that range, but honestly I've never had to deal with that!

I don't allow for weight fluctuations they just happen . I can vary 2-3 pounds for no apparent reason.

I follow what Iris said. I try to stay within about a 10 pound range. If I see I am getting to the upper end of the 10 pound range, I reduce my calories for a week or two. Fluctuations are pretty natural so don't obsess over them day over day.

I set my range from 120-125, am thinking about moving it up to 121-126. I hang around 122-123, and my thought was that this gave me a little bit above and below that weight to play with. I can easily show two-four pounds of water weight from one day to the next, so I sometimes go over that redline but I know it is from the water. My high redline was set in so if I go above it and stay for more than two-three days, or I f I see an increase that I can't track to a concrete reason, I drop calories to come back down. I also know that as I get a little lower I tend to drop calories in the 'hey, I could lose more' mentality and I don't want to get to a point I can't maintain. I did set my high just below my original goal - I don't want to go back over that point.

Like has already been said, I fluctuate every day. I do weight every day and post it on a chart with notes to explain any dips or rises. It has been kind of interesting to watch the pattern.

Thanks, this helps me a lot. I was curious because I don't want to obsess... but at the same time don't want to lose control. Just looking for balance. Thanks!

I think everyone's a little different. Ten pounds would be way too much of a range for me, but it's obviously perfectly fine for others. Five pounds is typically as much as I might fluctuate over a normal cycle while maintaining, usually more like 3-4 pounds. I might have the oddball bigger fluctuation. But I'd be way too far gone if I used a 10 pound range.

I think it really helps to have a good idea of your pattern of fluctuation across your monthly cycle. For me at least, a 3 pound upward fluctuation on day 3 (normal) is an *entirely* different animal than 3 pound upward fluctuation at the end of my period (abnormal). Same thing with ovulation (a peak followed by a drop). If I'm high but within my "range" at a point where I'm normally at a low, that's trouble.

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