Coping with unexpected weight gain.

IrRevd
IrRevd Posts: 38 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi

This is the first time I have been serious about exercise and diet. I've been doing more than I have ever been doing in my life over the past five weeks and it say me lose just over 4kg in the first month but then all of a sudden I weighed myself and found I had put on .6kg out of the blue.

I am trying so hard not to lose motivation and not give up but it is a struggle. How do others cope with this sort of thing?

Replies

  • Dano74
    Dano74 Posts: 503 Member
    Slamming into a mental brick wall when seeing fluctuations is a normal reaction but one that needs to be put in perspective: going off the rails at a .6 fluctuation is a short term view when a long view will better serve you. Numbers on a scale are difficult to dismiss as it's the easy measuring stick.... but if you can, avoid putting your hopes, dreams and motivation on a few numbers. The fact is, you're doing more than you have ever been doing in your life. IE- YOU ARE WINNING.

    Stay consistent. Trust the process. And most importantly, this is a roller coaster that takes time, adjustment and patience.
  • IrRevd
    IrRevd Posts: 38 Member
    ItsyBitsy246 wrote: »
    j3c6xmwr282d.png

    Weight goes up and down. It's just the nature of the beast. Here's my daily weight chart... roller coaster. It's the trend that matters.

    This really helped me. Thanks. I would have had a meltdown at some of your spikes bit I see what you mean. You are on a continual downward trend.
  • Krislynell
    Krislynell Posts: 38 Member
    ItsyBitsy246 wrote: »
    j3c6xmwr282d.png

    Weight goes up and down. It's just the nature of the beast. Here's my daily weight chart... roller coaster. It's the trend that matters.

    Thank you for posting this. I agree with OP. It's so hard when you see the scale go up or not change. It's a relief to see that weight loss is not linear.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    If you are eating healthy and exercising you are on the path to fitness.. who cares what the scale says! Keep on your path.. and i might suggest not weighing yourself. I'm 68 days into my fitness plan and I haven't weighed yet.

    I do belive in weighing weekly when at goal so it doesn't creep back on.. but weighing while trying to lose can discourage and lead to quitting. Many on here preach CICO always works! It is science. nah.not really. The body loses when it is ready..and sometimes it takes weeks of sticking to it..then whoosh.. a loss.

    Please continue on.. time is your friend.

  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    IrRevd wrote: »
    Hi

    This is the first time I have been serious about exercise and diet. I've been doing more than I have ever been doing in my life over the past five weeks and it say me lose just over 4kg in the first month but then all of a sudden I weighed myself and found I had put on .6kg out of the blue.

    I am trying so hard not to lose motivation and not give up but it is a struggle. How do others cope with this sort of thing?

    Normal fluctuation, and it will happen over and over.

    Don't give up, keep up! :)
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Echoing what everyone else has said! Keep going, you're doing very well so far. This is a perfectly normal thing.

    Some things to know that can cause this sort of thing:
    • An increase in sodium consumption
    • An increase in carbohydrate consumption
    • An increase in exercise frequency or intensity
    • A new exercise routine
    • More retained body waste

    All of these are temporary, and not causes of fat gain. It's nothing to worry about!

    Keep going!
  • z4oslo
    z4oslo Posts: 229 Member
    If you weigh weekly, you wont get those spikes either. (weight in kg)

    3m.png

  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Weekly weighing doesn't necessarily prevent spikes. When you get down to the very end of a large loss, weight might only come off once a month. You can weigh weekly and see a spike due to a hard workout the day before your weigh-in day, for example.

    Whatever pattern of weighing you choose, weight fluctuates during weight loss. If the spikes bother you, there are trending apps out there which smooth out the fluctuations. It's helpful to know the reasons these things happen. It's also helpful to know that CICO still rules the day. If you didn't consume enough excess calories over maintenance to cause the corresponding scale increase, it's not fat gain. It's either "water weight" or retained waste.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    edited October 2016
    @z4oslo The chart Itsybitsy246 posted was a different type of chart, is all. That other graph (yours) is just upside down (in comparison.) If you flipped that chart over, you'd have the same blips. It's just a different style of graph. And, yours is daily? So not sure what you mean.
  • z4oslo
    z4oslo Posts: 229 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    @z4oslo The chart Itsybitsy246 posted was a different type of chart, is all. That other graph (yours) is just upside down (in comparison.) If you flipped that chart over, you'd have the same blips. It's just a different style of graph. And, yours is daily? So not sure what you mean.

    Its weekly.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    @z4oslo The chart Itsybitsy246 posted was a different type of chart, is all. That other graph (yours) is just upside down (in comparison.) If you flipped that chart over, you'd have the same blips. It's just a different style of graph. And, yours is daily? So not sure what you mean.

    I think the black dots are actual weigh-ins and the grey dots are what they estimate they would have weighed on the other days (by assuming linear loss from weigh-in to weigh-in).

    Weekly wouldn't work for me though. Hit a bad day from TOM and I'd be demoralized. I'd rather see the ups and downs of a daily weight and learn to recognize when I retain water and when I go "whoosh!"
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    That happened to me recently- a month straight of steady weight loss, fat % decreasing, and muscle actually increasing... then I suddenly put on 2 pounds! It was mostly water but a little fat too... taking me a few days to lose it. Came out of nowhere too, I was eating correctly and exercising!! It's very disheartening but those spikey graphs really help!

    Also remember if you are exercising more than in the past you could be gaining muscle, which is a GOOD thing. Try to find a way to measure body fat percentage, not just weight. You want the fat to go away but muscle to stay or increase, for best final results of health & physique.

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