Gaining on 1230?!

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BeGrandLike
BeGrandLike Posts: 184 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all. So I know that there may be a perfectly good explanation for this- and if so, PLEASE tell me! I'm only on my second week of measuring everything I eat and working to lose weight. Things were going really well the first week, I lost about a pound. But this week it seems to be going into reverse?! I'm still being very careful about measuring my calories- I'm not eating anything processed and every single ingredient I use is getting weighed and put into MFP, so I can't see how I could be going over my allowance.

So I decided to weigh myself every morning for the first few weeks, just to get the data on how this is working for me. Things were looking good, until the past three mornings! The loss stalled three mornings ago. I didn't weigh myself yesterday, but today I just got off the scales and I'm 100g up?! What's going on?!

The way I'm doing things: as I'm 5'3" and overall sedentary, my basic allowance is 1230. I do an hour of yoga every day- MFP gives me about 180 cals for that but I cut it down to 130. I also tend to get out and about walking the dog or doing errands in town most days, but I don't bother counting that. So most days I end up with a total basic-plus-exercise allowance of about 1360 calories. I'm a little bit under that almost every day, sometimes over by ten or twenty calories.

Anyone have any ideas about why I've stalled and gained this week? I'm only in my second week and I don't want to get discouraged so quickly! And as my allowances are close to 1200 anyway, I would feel really hesitant about reducing my intake any further. The only thing I can think of is that I started taking some psyllium husk capsules (2000mg) before meals this week cause I was having a lot of trouble with feeling really hungry and I read that they can help with that. Could that be causing this? Or could it be something else?
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Replies

  • falso_mar
    falso_mar Posts: 1 Member
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    Same thing happening to me.. No explanation though...
  • DetroitDarin
    DetroitDarin Posts: 955 Member
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    Suggested calories are generalized. Based on 'averages' . Statistically the average almost never happens.

    Drink LOTS of water. Lower sodium. And skip to once-a-week weigh in. Try measuring your body vs weighing your body. As an example, your yoga might be generating muscle. The extra heft wont show on your scale but the fat-loss is the important part. Make sense?

    I've lost about 11.5lbs in seven weeks. But my pants are REALLY loose, my shirts are tighter - around my arms because I've been weight training. So I'm losing fat and building muscle - so my scale thinks "wtf? aren't you supposed to be lighter??" :)

  • BeGrandLike
    BeGrandLike Posts: 184 Member
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    I guess when it comes to doing a weigh-in only once a week, I worry that if I'm eating way more or less than I need to be to lose at a sensible rate I won't know for ages? I guess I'd hate to have spent a week or a fortnight putting all the work into measuring and tracking (and saying no to the delicious pastries that people seem to keep bringing to the house.. yes, I have said no to every croissant 'cause I already had my food plan made and no way am I gonna miss out on a great big filling plate of salad, say, for the sake of a few bites of buttery pastry deliciousness..) and then realise that I've been doing it wrong all along. This is hard enough, you know?

    I'll try getting myself a measuring tape and see if that gives a more optimistic picture, though. Is that another thing to do once a week, or would it be alright to do it daily?
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited September 2016
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    100g as in .2 pounds? This is water fluctuations on the scale. It is not been quite two weeks yet?. To be considered in a stall, it needs to be 3 - 4 weeks. And even then if all the conditions are met with 100% accuracy as what you stated in your OP, weight loss has not stopped it has slowed down.

    If you really want to start using your scale daily to see you weight trends, start using a weight trending app like Happy Scale, weightgrapher, libra, etc.

    There are things like, carb intake, sodium, hormones, muscle repair, getting enough rest, food in gut/waste not eliminated, hydration or lack there of..that's gonna show on the scale in some form or another.

    Do not ever lower calories, because the scale is not moving. eating even less will compound this further. The only time you lower calories is at each 9 - 10 pounds loss.
  • elayna14
    elayna14 Posts: 10 Member
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    I don't think weighing every morning is a good idea. weight usually fluctuates. I would say weigh on the same day every week, at the same time, wearing the same clothes. that works for me.
    and sometimes, the scales don't tell us everything, so I would make a point of using a tape measure.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    Daily weigher here too to track the trends. Last week I was 2lbs+ over my lowest weight for 5 days, TOM ended, had a couple rest days from exercises and whoosh, 3lbs dropped off and I've been trending down around that new low since.

    Very few people lose weight in a linear fashion (weekly weigh ins would be pointless for me, they'd tell me nothing, I don't lose every 7 days, I don't think I have ever had two Mondays in a row track downwards from each other for example).

    Use other metrics to track progress, photos, tape measure, clothing, fitness goals. And be patient. Two weeks isn't enough time to tell anything about anything.
  • BeGrandLike
    BeGrandLike Posts: 184 Member
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    Hehe, thank you all so much for the reassurance!

    This is my first time ever trying to lose weight systematically- basically over the last couple years my weight crept up to a stone and a bit overweight (about 16 pounds) cause of a combo of illness and a more sedentary life- think going from a teacher who plays roller derby in her spare time to someone with a desk job and no derby! Add to that that cooking is one of my favourite things to do, and... well, you see where this is going.

    The other week I got on a scales and was like eeeeeeeep! I was recommended MFP by a friend who'd found it worked really well for her. But having never done this before, I've hardly any idea about what's normal and what to expect.

    I think I'll take all of your advice to stop weighing every day, and to just focus on eating well to my calorie guidelines. And yeah, I do have a bit of a tendency to worry a lot about things, especially if they're new and not so familiar. Thanks so much everyone for the advice! <3
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    No one has addressed this issue....HOW are you measuring food? with a food scale, or cups and spoons? I agree, don't worry about daily fluctuations.
  • BeGrandLike
    BeGrandLike Posts: 184 Member
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    Colorscheme wrote: »
    No one has addressed this issue....HOW are you measuring food? with a food scale, or cups and spoons? I agree, don't worry about daily fluctuations.


    A digital food scale! I bought one specially for MFP :smile:
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    AoifeFitzy wrote: »
    Colorscheme wrote: »
    No one has addressed this issue....HOW are you measuring food? with a food scale, or cups and spoons? I agree, don't worry about daily fluctuations.


    A digital food scale! I bought one specially for MFP :smile:

    Well, if you're sure you're weighing everything, I'm inclined to say to just be patient and give it a couple of weeks. If you've started a new exercise routine, that can cause some fluctuations while your body adjusts.
  • LucyRoberts2014
    LucyRoberts2014 Posts: 1 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I also want to put in that depending on when you weigh during the day, TOM, you can be different weights based on even how you stand on the scale. I have done a test myself and weighed myself 5 times in a row without changing anything except stepping on and off the scale, and that much shift in my weight or more will possibly happen.

    Another difference can be your shoes, what you are wearing, or if you are still wet from a shower or not (just for some simple suggestions). I suggest like everyone else, that maybe weigh every week or so, but don't panic about any little shifts as lots and LOTS of factors can cause that without it being true weight gain. Just watch for the long term downward trend, not for marked daily drop.

    Good healthy weight loss I have read is like 1-1.5 pounds per week. That divided out will be the amount you're stressed about which can also be just fluctuations in weighing circumstances. I understand your personal feeling of urgency and wanting to see a change, but don't mentally kill your drive by over analyzing. It will come.
  • fleur23xx
    fleur23xx Posts: 37 Member
    edited September 2016
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    "So I decided to weigh myself every morning for the first few weeks, just to get the data on how this is working for me. Things were looking good, until the past three mornings! The loss stalled three mornings ago. I didn't weigh myself yesterday, but today I just got off the scales and I'm 100g up?! What's going on?!"

    100g? That is really nothing to get upset over, bodyweight fluctuates naturally. I have gone up a lot more than that overnight from all the sodium in restaurant foods. The worst was 5 lbs overnight, but I knew it was water weight from all the sodium because I didn't overeat. Pretty much the next day, 3 lbs dropped, then 2 the next.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    If it helps OP, I lost 3 lbs my first week and nada the second week. I'm on week 3 and I'm chugging along. If I lose, great. if I stay the same, eh whatever. I know weight loss is not linear.
  • zamphir66
    zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
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    Just to drive home the point that weight loss isn't linear, here's my last 30 days. I "weighed" more on the 29th than I did on the 11th. Also, I weighed more on the 8/8 than I did on 7/8. There are so many variables that go into your weight at any one point in time. And if you're a woman, add at least one more to the mix. You can try, but you can't control for every single one. The important thing is the long-term trend. Get at least a month of data and draw a best-fit line. Or, there are apps that will calculate what's called a moving average. These could give you peace of mind.

    f8s9esb3769u.png
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    AoifeFitzy wrote: »
    Hi all. So I know that there may be a perfectly good explanation for this- and if so, PLEASE tell me! I'm only on my second week of measuring everything I eat and working to lose weight. Things were going really well the first week, I lost about a pound. But this week it seems to be going into reverse?! I'm still being very careful about measuring my calories- I'm not eating anything processed and every single ingredient I use is getting weighed and put into MFP, so I can't see how I could be going over my allowance.

    So I decided to weigh myself every morning for the first few weeks, just to get the data on how this is working for me. Things were looking good, until the past three mornings! The loss stalled three mornings ago. I didn't weigh myself yesterday, but today I just got off the scales and I'm 100g up?! What's going on?!

    The way I'm doing things: as I'm 5'3" and overall sedentary, my basic allowance is 1230. I do an hour of yoga every day- MFP gives me about 180 cals for that but I cut it down to 130. I also tend to get out and about walking the dog or doing errands in town most days, but I don't bother counting that. So most days I end up with a total basic-plus-exercise allowance of about 1360 calories. I'm a little bit under that almost every day, sometimes over by ten or twenty calories.

    Anyone have any ideas about why I've stalled and gained this week? I'm only in my second week and I don't want to get discouraged so quickly! And as my allowances are close to 1200 anyway, I would feel really hesitant about reducing my intake any further. The only thing I can think of is that I started taking some psyllium husk capsules (2000mg) before meals this week cause I was having a lot of trouble with feeling really hungry and I read that they can help with that. Could that be causing this? Or could it be something else?

    You're on the right track. Two weeks is nothing, you are in the trial and error period right now. Weight naturally fluctuates, and wight loss is not linear.

    See the bold part above- for anything other than steady state cardio, you don't count the calorie burns because they are part of your activity level. Besides this, MFP, and most other internet apps, notoriously overestimate calorie burns.

    Give it time.

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    DetroitDarin wrote: »
    Suggested calories are generalized. Based on 'averages' . Statistically the average almost never happens.

    Drink LOTS of water. Lower sodium. And skip to once-a-week weigh in. Try measuring your body vs weighing your body. As an example, your yoga might be generating muscle. The extra heft wont show on your scale but the fat-loss is the important part. Make sense?

    I've lost about 11.5lbs in seven weeks. But my pants are REALLY loose, my shirts are tighter - around my arms because I've been weight training. So I'm losing fat and building muscle - so my scale thinks "wtf? aren't you supposed to be lighter??" :)

    Sure does not make sense. You are not going to gain muscle with that kind of deficit.

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