Creeping Pounds: How Hard is it to Maintain?

[BellaHMB]

Good morning,

I have noticed that over the past 3 or so weeks that my weekly weigh ins are creeping higher. Not by much, but just a little. So I wonder if anyone else has this happen, and at what point do you step in and make changes? And if it's just a few pounds, do you go back to induction? or?

Also how many of you find this to be an ongoing issue?

Thanks!
Bella

[homestretch]

Thanks for the post Bella because I am in the same boat and need to find a good answer!

[Bluqq]

I have been maintaining for almost 2 years
once I hit a 5 pound gain I start to diet
I will do induction if I have started to eat garbage and need to break the cravings
Usually I just lower my carbs and that will do it

[Loretta V]

I have been maintaining now for 7 years. The highest I have gone over is 4 pounds. I know that it is just plain overeating even if they are legal foods. I just pare back and sometimes I make changes in my foods. It is not real easy but it is worth the extra effort on my part to stay close to my goal weight. I just feel better mentally.

[BellaHMB]

Thanks everyone! For the past 2 days I have cut out nuts, ezekial bread, oatmeal.
I wasn't eating all of those every day but they were my extras even if they are "legal".
I also cut down on snacks and am keeping my carbs to 15 total per day.

Bella

[FitnessWanabee]

Also up the exercise a bit if you want to cut the weight creeping. Then keep adjusting as necessary. Nice problem to have.

[Ailuros]

I find that there will be long stretches when, without trying, my weight will just drift down a bit, then other times when, without doing anything much differently, it will drift up a bit. I'm not recording every detail of food and exercise, so there could be small changes that I'm not conscious of. The problem is that any time my weight goes down, I reset my goal to be the new low, then get stressed by not being able to stay there .

[Alison Jean 71]

Originally Posted by Ailuros

I find that there will be long stretches when, without trying, my weight will just drift down a bit, then other times when, without doing anything much differently, it will drift up a bit. I'm not recording every detail of food and exercise, so there could be small changes that I'm not conscious of. The problem is that any time my weight goes down, I reset my goal to be the new low, then get stressed by not being able to stay there .

I could have written this. Christmas Week I was at an all time low without trying. For the past few weeks I have been up 2-3 lbs. I know it is a small amount but it really makes me irritated. I am watching every morsel I put into my mouth.

[BellaHMB]

Yes me too regarding Xmas! I was stressed and didn't eat much and got to 131, the lowest in my adult life! Then over the course of a few weeks I went back to 135/136 which is my usual. I was there for a bit, then started edging up some, now Im edging down again.
Go figure! I hate going back to induction! But I know it's necessary. I think I fall into too much snacking on legal foods.

Bella

[homestretch]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I think that part of my issue is that when I seen the weight go up a bit I began to panic and really restrict too much which in turn resulted in overeating. I know this is something that I will deal with forever but wouldn't it be nice to just stay the exact same weight on the scale all of the time?

[BellaHMB]

Yes, the fear is that I will regain as I have done before. But in the past I never was strict about what I ate post diet, and seemed to "sortof" be doing lowcarb all the time but never very carefully. I especially started having low carb foods like muffins which I am sure were full of carbs! And when I hit 49 I also started drinking wine at night which put weight on me. Now I am sans alcohol and much happier both in terms of weight and in terms of feeling good about myself.

Bella

[magnamater]

Good discussion.

I think those of you that put on the brakes in a 4-5 lb. up range have the right idea, but the reality is that many do not do so. . .I know my scales have crept up, again.

Yes, I am doing something.

But the old habits rear their ugly heads at times for me. As of course they probably do for many. . .after all, I gained the weight by out of control eating. . .and it is easy to do the same. . .even with LC food. . .legal as it were.

So I continue to fight the good fight with my waistband a bit tight.

[steady]

I make a "correction" as soon as I have any sort of specific food craving (e.g. nuts), eat a trigger food (sugar), or eat out of control (not satisfied from food). For me, the weight gain is a sign I waited too long to react because I didn't listen to my body. Again, every meal is an opportunity to learn what foods and portions work for me. I try to eliminate troublesome foods right away and go back to basics the next few meals until everything is back to homeostasis.

[Loretta V]

wouldn't it be nice to just stay the exact same weight on the scale all of the time.

I have done that, Homestretch. It was eerie. I would weight the same every week. I was not happy with that either. I wanted to be lower.

[Prairieprof]

Originally Posted by Ailuros

The problem is that any time my weight goes down, I reset my goal to be the new low, then get stressed by not being able to stay there .

I haven't been maintaining long enough to have any great wisdom to offer, other than keeping a close eye on things. But I found this comment by Ailuros insightful and helpful -- I'm sure I'm doing that, and on top thinking "wow, so maybe I can go even a little lower?" It makes perfect sense that one's lowest weight will not be the average maintenance weight -- but it's hard not to be frustrated by that!

[BellaHMB]

Yes I think we are onto something regarding our lowest not being our maintaining weight.
And I don't think this is denial either! My clothes still fit well, no problem at all. So maybe this is a fluctuation and I can watch and see what happens over a few weeks or month?

Bella

[Ailuros]

Originally Posted by BellaHMB

Yes I think we are onto something regarding our lowest not being our maintaining weight.
And I don't think this is denial either! My clothes still fit well, no problem at all. So maybe this is a fluctuation and I can watch and see what happens over a few weeks or month?

Bella

I think that's the right way to go. It's just that I think we get nervous that any upward movement is the beginning of regaining everything we've lost. It doesn't have to be that. We can set a limit when we need to take tough action, and be more relaxed about changes below that. Think of it as a maintenance range rather than a single number, maybe.

This discussion has helped to clarify it for me. I started maintenance at 120. Over the next 2 1/2 years I gradually went down to 110. When I dipped below 110 (just for one reading) I felt it was going too low, and there were too many bones starting to show, so I made a conscious effort not to go down any further. Over the following couple of years I've gradually gone back up to 120 (including the effort to stop going down, lots of pre-menopausal hormones, back problems that interfere with exercise, and a very stressful time a year ago). I was feeling bad that I'd let it go up 10 lbs, but 120 is really the highest I like to get to, and 110 is the lowest, and somehow, thinking of it as 115 +/- 5 lbs feels better. I'm 117 currently.

Thanks for raising the question - obviously it's one lots of people face.

[dae_tona]

Bella,

This has been an ongoing issue with me forever! People on this board can attest to that, I am sure!

About 3 weeks ago-even though I enjoy eating a high raw foods diet-I finally resigned myself to the fact that low carb is what got the weight off & low carb is what is going to keep the weight off for me. It's the only way I've ever been able to eat in which I can maintain my weight loss without thinking too much about it-as long as I am eating the right foods for my body.

The scale creeping up for me had everything to do with me thinking I could get away with eating just a little bit more. And that little bit more wasn't the right foods for my body. And that's what would get the pounds creeping on again for me-and I usually could tell just by my jeans getting tighter. Even though I also came to the conclusion that there are some foods I should just never eat again-I started eating them again. And I had to change my thinking around-once again-that those foods will be the very foods that make the scale creep up & my jeans too tight. It seems like it's a never ending learning process, doesn't it?

I never went back to Induction when my jeans & the scale started creeping up. I just cut out the foods that I knew were being a hindrance rather than a help. And that's what got the scale moving & my jeans loose.

You could always scrutinize your menu & see if maybe there is a culprit that might be causing the creep.

The other thing I did for my body & I wished I would have done it sooner-I added coconut oil. I don't know if you do this or not but for me, It takes care of my cravings & totally suppresses my appeite so I eat less. (I give myself two months with any new supplement that is supposed to do wonders. I tried Noni Juice, Goji Juice, Raw Honey, Aloe Vera Juice, Unsweetened Cranberry Juice, etc with no results. It only took 3 days with Coconut Oil to see results). The Coconut Oil might help with the scale creep as well.

Once I finally resgined myself to the fact (once again for the upteenth time!) that low carb is what works for me, added the coconut oil & took out the wheat & high glycemic fruits-well, 14 lbs dropped off in 3 weeks. I knew wheat was a culprit but didn't realize that the fruit would be a culprit as well.

So maybe there is also a culprit in your menu that you don't quite see just yet.

And I finally decided to be a little more opened minded when it comes to dairy products. I HATE milk, cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, etc. but I don't mind yogurt so I have finally decided to add that back in as that helped me get the weight off, too.

Dyan

[BellaHMB]

Thanks for all your thoughts and ideas!

The only thing different in my diet recently is that I started making revolution rolls. So I am thinking that maybe eating 2-3 of them per day plus something ON them is what added the calories and a little carb. So Im not making any more and we shall see....My weight is going back down now since Friday's weigh in so that's good, but Id like to see what the culprit is. And it was my dh who said what about those rolls you are eating??

Bella

[homestretch]

Originally Posted by Loretta V

I have done that, Homestretch. It was eerie. I would weight the same every week. I was not happy with that either. I wanted to be lower.

Me either Loretta! When I was staying the same every week, I would step on the scale and think that I needed to lose. Lord help us!