I look worse than before.

Justthisgirl1994

I was seeing really great results until this past Tuesday. I feel like I've gained a few lbs despite still working out every day and eating great. It's annoying because this past week has been my most healthy week diet wise. I increased my fiber by about 10g, so I'm really hoping it's water weight and not a fat gain. My calories have also increased by 100 on average, but i am still at a calorie deficit (1200). I could go back down to 1050 ish, but it's hard to meet macros with that limit. It's depressing though since it's been 4 days now and I look more bloated than before.
I started working out 3 weeks ago (4× high intensity and 1-2x light/moderate per week).

Have any of you experienced this? It's so discouraging to see that what I'm doing is not working. I'm going to make my diary public if any of you would like to give me feedback. It'd be super appreciated!

Cortneyrenee04

Well.... you say 3 weeks and now you feel bloated, so my guess is your period is close to starting? Do you *feel* like you've gained, or you *have* gained?

It's definitely not fat gain so don't worry. You have to eat 3500+ calories OVER your maintenance calories to gain weight. Don't go back to 1050. 1200 is so low as it is.

ETA: Try to look more at the month to month trends rather than day to day, or even week to week.

MinmoInk

you said you only feel like you gained, which like what was said about, doesn't mean that you have. Eating at 1050 is unrealistic to maintain. Your height also matters with a calorie deficit. Have you calculated the amount of calories you should eat to lose weight and not just MFP?

jennifer_417

You FEEL like you've gained weight, or you've actually gained pounds, according to the scale?
If you've upped your fibre, you may feel a bit bloated, but it'll pass.

pineapple_peach10

I find now that I am smaller, I get bloated and feel "bigger" very easily. Even after one bad meal I feel like I've gained 10lbs.

I find if I up my water intake the bloat usually goes away and I feel back to normal within a few days.

Justthisgirl1994

To be honest, I'm way too scared to step on the scale right now.

I was wondering if it was a pre period bloat thing too. But I've never done that before, or at least I've never noticed it before.

Yup I calculated that it should be 1200. I don't weigh that much to start with. I just went up one dress size this past year, so I want to lose 5-10 lbs.

Thank you for replying to this. It actually does make me feel supported haha. I guess I'll just continue with 1200, increase my water and wait it out.

pineapple_peach10

Yeah just drink lots of water and see what happens. Give it a few days.

Really anything can make you feel bigger or bloated. I have a bit of an upset stomach right now and I feel like I gained 5 pounds over night

I generally eat a pretty low sodium diet too so if I ever increase my salt intake I get massive water retention.