Absolutely Devastated - Unexpected Weight Gain

sarahhutcherson

Hey.

So the last time I weighed myself, around the end of April, I was at my lowest at 142 lbs. I was so excited and motivated to keep going! I continued logging and staying at my calorie goal, as well as going for some extra walks for good measure! Yes, I had 2-3 days that weren't the best, that consisted of some heavy cheating, but I would get right back on track afterwards.
I had been avoiding weighing myself because being in the 130s felt like a dream, and I was always too scared to see if I was there!
But this morning I got the courage, and was not ready for what the scale said.

155 pounds.

I immediately started balling - how could this have happened when I thought I had had one of the best months of my life diet-wise? I am devastated, heartbroken, and I just feel awful.
Even if it is water weight, one usually does not gain 13 lbs from water weight?? I even looked in the mirror and felt I looked smaller, except for a bit of extra weight on my stomach I assumed was just bloating or something, even though there should be nothing making me bloated.
I'll admit, since Thursday I have not been right on track, I've probably eaten 200-500 calories over, but that does not mean I should be up this much now? Even months ago, after binges, my weight wouldn't go up so much.

So now I feel shattered. How could this have happened? Getting out of the 150s was so tough and I was so happy when I got to the 140s. But now I'm all the way back here. Especially at the start of summer, when I wanted to have lost weight to feel more comfortable in shorts and summer clothes.

I am now closer to 160 lbs than 130.

I can't stop crying. What did I do wrong? How did I gain 13 pounds in just a month? I don't think I've ever felt so low on my weight loss journey.

lavrn03

Did u log in everyday? Did you exercise?

lavrn03

It is devastating!!!

sarahhutcherson

I logged as often as I could, the only times I didn't were if I was busy all day and got home late - but I still stayed on track on those days! And I also got a fitbit, and I have been doing lots of walking, around 15,000 steps a day! I even go to the gym sometimes and go on the treadmill.

emdeesea

Did you use the same scale weighing at the same time of day (first thing in the morning, after a pee, no clothes, etc)?

Did you eat anything salty in the last few days?

sheldonklein

13 lbs is more than can be explained by water weight or other transitory factors, so that leaves 1 answer: you were eating far more than you think. When that happens, you need to get back to measurement and logging basics. It's that simple.

Jille0

It could be something hormonal. Get checked by your doctor.

strong_curves

I agree with @sheldonklein you probably were eating way more than you realized. Were you using a food scale at all last month?

dramaqueen45

I'm so sorry. That is really disheartening to gain that much in a month. It is true that a few things could be affecting this particular weigh in such as water, TOM hormones, and/or sodium, but yeah, 13 pounds is too much to explain away with just that. Well nothing to do except to just get back on it and start logging and weighing everything you eat. You can do this.

sarahhutcherson

emdeesea wrote: »

Did you use the same scale weighing at the same time of day (first thing in the morning, after a pee, no clothes, etc)?

Did you eat anything salty in the last few days?

Yeah all the circumstances were exactly the same, and my sodium intake has been normal.

sarahhutcherson

sheldonklein wrote: »

13 lbs is more than can be explained by water weight or other transitory factors, so that leaves 1 answer: you were eating far more than you think. When that happens, you need to get back to measurement and logging basics. It's that simple.

Hmm I guess that is the tough truth. It just sucks because I thought I was so on track and to find out that the month where I was "working hard" actually set me back is hard to accept.

sarahhutcherson

strong_curves wrote: »

I agree with @sheldonklein you probably were eating way more than you realized. Were you using a food scale at all last month?

Food scale? Would that be to measure grams and that sort of thing? Unfortunately I don't have one, I just rely on cups.

emdeesea

I'd say part of it is definitely due to lack of logging properly and not weighing out your food intake, but it's hard for me to believe that ALL of that gain is due to that. I mean, 13 pounds is quite a lot in one month; that's more than 3 pounds a week.

You sure your scale doesn't need new batteries or something?

sarahhutcherson

dramaqueen45 wrote: »

I'm so sorry. That is really disheartening to gain that much in a month. It is true that a few things could be affecting this particular weigh in such as water, TOM hormones, and/or sodium, but yeah, 13 pounds is too much to explain away with just that. Well nothing to do except to just get back on it and start logging and weighing everything you eat. You can do this.

Thanks for the support. I think it's just been a matter of underestimating my consumption. I will definitely be more precise.

errollmaclean

Need to know the basics.
1. Do you use a food scale?
2. Do you eat back excersize calories?
3. Food scale?

I'm not sure why some people have such a problem with getting on the scale. It's just an extra piece of information. Your weight naturally fluctuates. Imagine if you weighed yourself a couple weeks ago, you may have gained, but that information would've let you course correct before gaining more.

The good news is that it's probably an innacurate weight. Weigh yourself in the morning over the next couple days to see if that is indeed your weight. Even if it is, you've gained some valuable information. This is a journey, we've all made mistakes and had setbacks, but success is totally possible!

You need to have accurate logging. Eat back excersize calories with caution as estimations can be high. Weigh yourself often, both to learn your fluctuations and take the stigma and emotion away from it. It let's you know if you're doing everthing correctly. Unless you have a medical condition it's as simple as calories in/calories out, it's just a matter of getting that sorted out

editorgrrl

sarahhutcherson wrote: »

I logged as often as I could, the only times I didn't were if I was busy all day and got home late - but I still stayed on track on those days! And I also got a fitbit, and I have been doing lots of walking, around 15,000 steps a day! I even go to the gym sometimes and go on the treadmill.

Your Fitbit burn is your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the number of calories necessary to maintain your current weight. If you eat at a reasonable deficit from that, you will lose weight.

Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

Set your goal to .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Log non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) either in Fitbit (that's what I do) or in MFP. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your step burn during that time. Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal & follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments.

You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

DancingMoosie

How are your clothes fitting? If they aren't tighter, you may need new batteries or a new scale. You should also look into a food scale, they are usually $20 or less, well worth it if you keep gaining while logging using cups to measure.

strong_curves

sarahhutcherson wrote: »

strong_curves wrote: »

I agree with @sheldonklein you probably were eating way more than you realized. Were you using a food scale at all last month?

Food scale? Would that be to measure grams and that sort of thing? Unfortunately I don't have one, I just rely on cups.

Yes, a food scale that measures grams. Unfortunately cups aren't that accurate. There's a video floating around here on MFP that explains why. If I find it, I'll post it for you.

Sondraly

Invest in a food scale. They are reasonable. They are in ounces and grams. Also, look for some long handle measuring spoons. they are so nice to use. My thoughts are, we spent all that money on foods that made us fat, we should invest in supplies to help us be healthy. Get dry measuring cups, as well as fluid measuring cups. We are worth it.

CSARdiver

Weight fluctuates greatly throughout the day (like a sine wave), so you may be reviewing a lower trough and highest peak of your water weight fluctuations.

13lbs may seem like a lot in such a short time, but if you've admittedly slacked on logging then focus on that and get back on track. This is a marathon, not a sprint, so spin positive and focus on other gains your seeing from exercise - stamina, tone, strength, etc.

You got this!

strong_curves

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

succotashswashbuckler

Was it the exact same scale in the same location at the same time of day? I find it almost impossible to believe a person could truly gain 13 pounds in a month without knowing that they were doing so (eating out every day, clothes feeling tighter, dropped normal exercise, e.g.)

Do you have a reason for not weighing more frequently? If you can take the emotion out of it, daily weighing is really helpful for being able to determine trends and how your body reacts to certain foods, sodium, exercise, etc.

sarahhutcherson

emdeesea wrote: »

I'd say part of it is definitely due to lack of logging properly and not weighing out your food intake, but it's hard for me to believe that ALL of that gain is due to that. I mean, 13 pounds is quite a lot in one month; that's more than 3 pounds a week.

You sure your scale doesn't need new batteries or something?

I actually changed the batteries before using it this morning!

sarahhutcherson

errollm wrote: »

Need to know the basics.
1. Do you use a food scale?
2. Do you eat back excersize calories?
3. Food scale?

I'm not sure why some people have such a problem with getting on the scale. It's just an extra piece of information. Your weight naturally fluctuates. Imagine if you weighed yourself a couple weeks ago, you may have gained, but that information would've let you course correct before gaining more.

The good news is that it's probably an innacurate weight. Weigh yourself in the morning over the next couple days to see if that is indeed your weight. Even if it is, you've gained some valuable information. This is a journey, we've all made mistakes and had setbacks, but success is totally possible!

You need to have accurate logging. Eat back excersize calories with caution as estimations can be high. Weigh yourself often, both to learn your fluctuations and take the stigma and emotion away from it. It let's you know if you're doing everthing correctly. Unless you have a medical condition it's as simple as calories in/calories out, it's just a matter of getting that sorted out

1. No
2. I eat back only a portion of what I burned

Thank you so much, I will definitely stop being afraid of the scale because when I weighed myself more often I was always on track!

sarahhutcherson

editorgrrl wrote: »

sarahhutcherson wrote: »

I logged as often as I could, the only times I didn't were if I was busy all day and got home late - but I still stayed on track on those days! And I also got a fitbit, and I have been doing lots of walking, around 15,000 steps a day! I even go to the gym sometimes and go on the treadmill.

Your Fitbit burn is your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), the number of calories necessary to maintain your current weight. If you eat at a reasonable deficit from that, you will lose weight.

Connect your accounts at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/fitbit

Enable negative calorie adjustments: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

Set your goal to .5 lb. per week for every 25 lbs. you're overweight: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

No need to log any step-based activity—your Fitbit is tracking it for you. Log non-step exercise (like swimming or biking) either in Fitbit (that's what I do) or in MFP. Exercise logged in MFP overwrites your step burn during that time. Ignore your Fitbit calorie goal & follow MFP's, eating back your adjustments.

You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

Yeah I actually synced my fitbit with MFP a while ago, and with the whole 'calorie adjustment' thing I would usually just ignore it and stick to my daily goal. I will definitely check out the specific fitbit page since I have questions.

sarahhutcherson

DancingMoosie wrote: »

How are your clothes fitting? If they aren't tighter, you may need new batteries or a new scale. You should also look into a food scale, they are usually $20 or less, well worth it if you keep gaining while logging using cups to measure.

All my clothes are big anyway since I haven't really gone shopping since losing weight! So that makes it kinda tough. I do notice my stomach seems bigger, though. But other than that everything has felt the same!

Where would I get a food scale? Walmart?

sarahhutcherson

CSARdiver wrote: »

Weight fluctuates greatly throughout the day (like a sine wave), so you may be reviewing a lower trough and highest peak of your water weight fluctuations.

13lbs may seem like a lot in such a short time, but if you've admittedly slacked on logging then focus on that and get back on track. This is a marathon, not a sprint, so spin positive and focus on other gains your seeing from exercise - stamina, tone, strength, etc.

You got this!

I sure hope that its just a fluctuation and maybe I really just gained 2-4 pounds and the extra 10 is water weight or something. Gaining 4 is much less scary than the thought of gaining 13.

sarahhutcherson

strong_curves wrote: »

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

Thanks so much! This definitely puts stuff in perspective

sarahhutcherson

succotashswashbuckler wrote: »

Was it the exact same scale in the same location at the same time of day? I find it almost impossible to believe a person could truly gain 13 pounds in a month without knowing that they were doing so (eating out every day, clothes feeling tighter, dropped normal exercise, e.g.)

Do you have a reason for not weighing more frequently? If you can take the emotion out of it, daily weighing is really helpful for being able to determine trends and how your body reacts to certain foods, sodium, exercise, etc.

Yeah everything was the same. I didn't weigh more frequently just due to fear. I thought I was doing well and was just afraid I wouldn't have lost as much as I thought. Guess I probably should have weighed myself more then I would have noticed the increase sooner!

editorgrrl

sarahhutcherson wrote: »

I thought I was doing well and was just afraid I wouldn't have lost as much as I thought. Guess I probably should have weighed myself more then I would have noticed the increase sooner!

Take measurements & progress photos, too.

bludurango2

All joking aside, are you pregnant? Some women can you gain weight quickly in the first few months of pregnancy, especially if they're eating food they're craving. If you haven't been eating excessively and you've been working out, go talk to your doctor to see what's up. The only other thing I can think of is maybe your thyroid gland is acting up. If your doctor rules out these two, go through your diary to see how many days you actually cheated and the days you didn't go to the gym and see if they are as few as you think they are. Good luck sweetie!