The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[gr8bnme]

I've been doing maintenance for about a month now and all along i've been slowly still losing. This week I weighed 119 which in and of itself is not a big deal, but like i've said in previous posts i don't want to go down any more sizes in my clothes, especially since i've spent a lot of money on the new clothes i have. so i decided to add some more food. so this weekend i decided to add rice (ok and a couple chocolate chip cookies). So i got on the scale this morning and it's up 3 (almost 4) pounds. It's seems so hard for me to find the right amount of food to just maintain. i'm either gaining or losing. Is that right? Seems like yo yo syndrome to me and is rather discouraging. Unless, that's just the way it is. Does any one know? Is it normal to fluctuate between 2 to 5 pounds? Is that maintaining?

[WillDoIt]

I think a fluctuation of 2 - 5 pounds is probably normal (5 might be a little high for someone your size). Water weight, sodium intake, etc. I think the water weight probably flucuates even more in summer with heat, humidity, and outdoor activities. I'm going up and down about 3 pounds all the time myself.

[momof2]

Gr8bnme, are you keeping your portions small? I know that I always go up when I eat more than I should (the reason I've been stuck at this same weigh for the past month and can't get to goal). Even when I eat something no so good.. like those chocolate chip cookies.. but eat small amounts of it, I can usually maintain the same weight. But it's the portions that get me going up on the scale. Also like WillDoIt said, may be a combination of other factors. Are you exercising? Could also be muscle gain. Plus your body is probably adjusting to the new calories that you are feeding it. I did read in the Quick Start that during transition you may increase in weight as you add foods, so it sounds normal to me. May just want to keep an eye on the scale for a little while longer.

I was also wondering about weight fluctuations myself and was going to IM you about your results until I saw your post. I think it's probably impossible to be the same weight every day, you know? As long as you don't see the weight continually going up, you are probably fine. I’m trying to convince myself that I'm not going to blow up because the scale went up a little, but I haven't yet done that.

Thanks for keeping us updated, I always look forward to hearing from you.

[gr8bnme]

thanks for the responses.

my problem mainly is that i'm still losing. i really don't want to. don't get me wrong, i don't want to gain either.

so generally what i've noticed is that when i eat the way the quick start guide says to eat, i still lose weight (albeit, very slowly, but i don't want to lose anymore). but when i add more stuff, i gain (not lots, but i'm afraid of gaining too much).

so what i do is eat the quick start way and when i lose i'll add food and then gain. but i just don't know if this is the right way to do stuff.

maybe it's just water weight up and down and i'm worrying too much (i haven't had a 5 pound fluctuation up or down -- just 2 or 3 pounds -- so maybe you are right and it's just normal).

[Nancy]

Yup, weight fluctuation is very normal.

All the things mentioned above are true - different foods can affect the scale, lack of sleep, water intake, etc.

I kept my calories low for many months once I reached my goal - around 1400 and I stepped up my activity level. I follow the BeSlim Philosophy - eat 6 or 7 low fat/low cal meals. It takes a while to find the balance - don't weigh every day if it makes you cwazy! Once a week is fine.

[DogMa]

I think it also depends on what you're adding. The sudden influx of carbs from rice and chocolate chip cookies (both simple, rather than complex, carbs) is going to cause some fluid retention. Remember how when people start Medifast (or Atkins, or other low-carb diets) they see a sudden weight loss and everyone says it's water? Well, when you add the carbs back in, you're going to GAIN water.

[gr8bnme]

Thanks again for the tips.

I guess i just need to calm down and find the balance. i'll probably weigh once a week again. Once i got back from vacation i became obsessed. i think i need to stay away from the scale. It always made me crazy during weight loss so it makes sense that the same would happen during maintenance. Once a week visits to the scale for me from now on .