I am currently going through a weight maintenance period, and subsequently plan to gain weight. My plan was to maintain ~160 pounds for a month, and then put myself in a small surplus. A few weeks ago, due to inconsistent caloric intake, I’m down to ~155.
So, since I wanted to maintain ~160, and have been ~5 pounds below that for a 2 or so weeks (currently 1 month into my maintenance period) during my maintenance period, should I “restart” my maintenance period (starting when I dropped down to 155)?
In sum, for an individual weighing 160 and wanting to maintain that weight for a month, what would the standard error be (+/- x pounds) during this phase to not preferentially restore fat mass while gaining weight?
If you don’t mind, a follow up question. Given that 1% idea, and given that my bodyweight has changed quite a bit since I started the maintenance phase (160->~155), should I try to maintain ~155 +/- 1% for a month?
Yea, I think this is getting to a point where we’re micromanaging it a bit. During your maintenance phase, your energy intake was insufficient to maintain your weight over an unknown period of time. That said, the amount of weight lost is relatively small and I don’t think it matters what you do one way or another with respect to long-term results. If you want to start slowly gaining weight now, that’s fine. If you want to prolong the maintenance period, albeit with a higher than previous intake, that’s fine too.