Hi Gang.

Last week, at my lowest, I was 140.  Yay!  Two pounds UNDER my goal and I wanted to keep it.

This week, I am 142.8.  Ok. 0.8 above goal...not so bad.

My surgeons office told me that your body will settle on a weight and one's weight will vary within 8 lbs of that point.

All I could think was ...8 lbs!?!?!  8 lbs is a lot!!!

But I AM SCARED.  I am scared because I dont know WHEN to declare "I have gained too much!  Do something now!"

When my PCOS started to flare in my late 20s, it was easy to say "Oh that is water weight.  Oh I have been working out I am putting on muscle."  I dont want to live in that kind of denial and go through the hell of becoming obese again. Never.

I think 8 lbs is too much of a weight gain...  Towards the end, it took me like 3 weeks to lose 8 lbs.  It is just better to not put in on in the first place.

So my questions are:a) what is a reasonable day to day variance? b)  Do you have a goal weight and stay UNDER it..with the goal being "the line".

I like 140-142. I like the way clothes fit and look. I feel strong and normal.

Basically, I think I am asking. How do you handle maintaince and when is a "weight fluctuation not a weight fluctuation"?

I had colonoscopy on Monday. in 3 days prep I gained 12 lbs.  not eating. 

I lost 4 lbs .. still 8 to get rid off... 

it is water weight... but it is weight... 

when I am "skinny" I can gain up to 6 lbs of water in 1-2 days... depends on what food I ate... and how good BM I had.. 

but - my typical range is 5 lbs.. so .. when the scale show the high level - and stays there - for 2-3 days.. it is time to eat less and move more.. unless... like now, I know I deal with swelling, and water retention... but that is not a not an excuse not to follow the plan ... just the opposite... 

but I don't stress over that...

This is a great topic and something I am struggling with myself.   I am 26 months post op.  My goal was 135 and my lowest was 114.  I normally stay around 117.5.  As I am able to eat more and with the overindulgence of the holidays, I went up to 124.  I am now at 121, so I was able to lose a few pounds with diligence.  My advice is to be honest with yourself and track everything you eat and look for trends.  When I was on track and doing what I should, I didn't worry about a little weight variation, I tend to retain water, but when I knew I was off track. . . for a while, I had to be honest with myself and get it under control before it got out of hand.  I think we are THE BEST at being in denial: it's water weight, I'm stressed, it's winter, it's muscle. . . etc.  I weigh myself EVERYDAY to stay on track.  I think it's not a good idea to weigh everyday when you are losing, but I think it's an essential tool when you are in maintenance.  Just be honest, if you know you are grazing, eating lots of carbs, not drinking enough water, not eating enough protein, just know that you will gain and it will be hard to lose.  A few pounds is manageable, but 20+ means you have to buy new clothes.  Also pay attention to how your clothes fit.  My jeans started getting a little snug in the thighs, that's when I knew it was real gain and not just fluctuation. 

I gained 10 pounds of water in 2 days from dehydration.  I am over what I want to be probably 20 pounds but I know any giving day 5-8 pounds can be water.  With my activity level I am always in a state of dehydration.  The worse the dehydration the more water I will retain.  The opposite is also true.  Last summer I lost 6 pounds on a 2 hour run.

I too weigh everyday now that I am in maintenance. I want to know what my weight is and be able to adjust activity and food based on where I am. I got down to 115 at one point which was too low at 5'6.5". Now I am staying between 118 and 123. If I get above 123 I will have to eat less or move more.

I allow myself a five pound range. If I get to the top of that five pounds, I get very strict with my intake and make certain I'm not having carb creep and portion creep. I also make certain I am drinking plenty of water.

I weigh myself every day because for me scale avoidance of even one day is the way to go right off the rails. I need that number to help me stay on track.

I never tell myself an increase is water weight. It may well be, but it is simply weight in my mind.

What RosyKate said.

Don't rationalize. Maybe it's water weight. But it should be easy to get rid of, right? 

At 5 pounds I knuckle down until it's off. How fast it goes is a matter of how much I want to cut back.

Check out the Trendweight website. You can input weights manually, or it can get them from Fitbit, etc. It does a good job of extrapolating and showing future weight gain or loss. The more data points it has, the better it can predict.

Thanks for the reference to TrendWeight.  I read about it, and I am going to try it!  We have a fitbit Aria scale, and I love how it tracks things automatically for me, where I can see what is happening.  I like the idea of TrendWeight, using statistical evaluation to help you understand and manage fluctuations.  And so easy because it is automated!  At least, that is now it seems...now to really try it.

Just in case anyone else is interested, I went out and tried TrendWeight.  Soooooo simple to set up!  And a great tool to have! Thanks again Grim.

It ws really useful when I was losing. It helped remove the angst from daily or weekly fluctuations, and was pretty accurate at estimating weight longer term.