How to deal with a massive jump on the scale ?

woejane

Hey all,

I need some tips for how you stay motivated when you see a increase on the scale when you were expecting a loss.

I dieting and excericse for about a year and a half and went from 12 st 8 to 9 st 13. Having moved areas, started a new job and finally got a mon-fri job (I finally have a thing called weekends!!) I decided to have a break. That break has really damaged me and on Friday 4th December I weighed 10st 7 and I felt really crap for backtracking on my progress.

This past week I've done well with my calories and I've been heading to the gym about 3 times a week for the past month. This morning I weighed myself expecting to see a loss (even if it was only .2 of a pound) but I weighed in at 10st 9. I feel gutted and like loosing the weight again is impossible.
I had my period around this time last month but it's usually very irregular (sometimes I miss a period or it will be late by 2 weeks) so I couldn't say for certain that I'm about to have one which may explain increase in water)

How do you stay motivated at times like this ?

tinamarie6624

I have the same problem. I have to talk off the ledge when I get upset. I just keep telling myself that I have done all the right things and that the scale will start moving in the right direction. I also look for body signs of weight loss that are not scale based as in measurements or the way I fit into cloths. I still have a lot to lose 113 Lbs. I hope this helps! Good luck on your journey.

sllm1

Stay on track - try not to let it upset you. Drink your water and it will come back off (assuming it is water retention from hormones or sodium).

queenliz99

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

markg6668

Hi. I have the same problem. From 9/4/15 to 1/29/16 i jumped 14lbs. At that time i decided to REALLY commit. So i switched it up and followed the "eat this not that for abs" program for 5 strict weeks and shaved 10. Then managed to get shave another 7 over the next couple of months as that got me back on track. At that point I was damn near as perfect as i was going to get. That was 6/10/16. Today i'm up another 14lbs and am trying to buckle down again.

I think switching it up helps. At the end of the day the main thing is... DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!!

2011rocket3touring

Switch your focus. Let go (somewhat) of the need for progress on the scale and concentrate on building new habits. Every day your within your calorie allotment is a victory, as is every exercise session. Give yourself a few weeks or even a month to see results on the scale.

taco_inspector

I had a coach once offer some pretty sound advice:

My Old Lifting Coach wrote: »

Love yourself, or love the scale.

once I figured out which one was important to me, and which was a measurement of a collection of widely changing variables, everything was much more clear.

As folks above have (and doubtless below will) post, until you know what the scale is measuring, you can only use it as a general guide and only then when long-term trends are noted.

A single 8-oz glass of water is half a pound ... The USA's NIH talks about your bladder holding 2-cups... Expect a lot of scale fluctuation from water balance alone. If you don't stay on track and continue with your motivation, how will you ever see a long-term trend in something as fickle as a bathroom scale?

lorrpb

Your monthly cycle is likely the culprit. Surely it's due soon. Weight naturally fluctuates from day to day, so you might have just weighed in on a "up" day. That's why I weigh every morning, so I can become familiar with my trends and fluctuations. Then the scale is just a monitoring number and nothing to get overly stressed about.

Spliner1969

woejane wrote: »

Hey all,

I need some tips for how you stay motivated when you see a increase on the scale when you were expecting a loss.

I dieting and excericse for about a year and a half and went from 12 st 8 to 9 st 13. Having moved areas, started a new job and finally got a mon-fri job (I finally have a thing called weekends!!) I decided to have a break. That break has really damaged me and on Friday 4th December I weighed 10st 7 and I felt really crap for backtracking on my progress.

This past week I've done well with my calories and I've been heading to the gym about 3 times a week for the past month. This morning I weighed myself expecting to see a loss (even if it was only .2 of a pound) but I weighed in at 10st 9. I feel gutted and like loosing the weight again is impossible.
I had my period around this time last month but it's usually very irregular (sometimes I miss a period or it will be late by 2 weeks) so I couldn't say for certain that I'm about to have one which may explain increase in water)

How do you stay motivated at times like this ?

Before I began my journey here at MFP, and weight loss in general, I watched many people/friends/co-workers lose weight, re-gain it over a period of time, then have to lose it again (you can even spot them in the forums posting things like "starting again"). It seemed like an endless cycle, especially with people like me who were getting older and had desk jobs. I hate dieting because I love food. I am a decent cook, and generally do a large percentage of the cooking for my family (IE: I also love to eat that food!). So before I began I did a lot of reading and came to the conclusion that I should not diet just to lose weight. I should adopt a healthier lifestyle which would allow me to lose weight and equalize my weight permanently.

For me, that meant adopting an exercise program which was progressive in nature while I was losing the initial weight (for me that was 115 lbs), then that program needed to be sustainable for the future. There will never be an 'I'm done' moment for me. I will need to keep up the level of exercise and activity that it takes for me to eat the amount of food that makes me happy. So give some thought about the sustainable future so that this isn't a problem going forward, and your current goals. Maybe you're being too aggressive if you need a break. Instead, adjust your weight loss rate and your activity/exercise level to something sustainable and keep it there. It's ok to go over your calories from time to time, you simply make it up later, or prepare for it in advance. Whichever works for you. But bottom line is you keep up the fitness and moderation that you need to sustain your new weight. If you look at it this way then you shouldn't have a problem going forward that is as drastic as it is this time around. Reflect on what made you gain the weight, and what you stopped doing when you started your break. You can do this, just put your mind to it that you're going to change permanently, not just diet until you're done.

Hope that helps. I'm not lecturing you (or anyone). It's a lifestyle thing, not a diet thing in my opinion. At least that's the way I look at it, and it may help you with motivation to look at it that way as well.

cwolfman13

I don't put all my stock into the number on the scale...

CaladriaNapea

Your weight constantly fluctuates due to sodium, time of the month, stress, etc. That pound jump isn't an increase in fat, it's water weight of some sort. I track my weight, as it helps me to track these fluctuations, and I will quite often go up by a pound or more, stay there for a couple days, and then lose that and more. Whatever you do, don't give up, keep going and the weight absolutely will go down.

kami3006

You just need to come to terms with having a weight range and not a specific number. It will always fluctuate due to numerous reasons even when you're doing everything perfectly. Even a bad night sleep will do it. Some of us fluctuate 5-10 pounds regularly; particularly the day after strenuous exercise.

It can help to use measurements and pictures instead of just the scale.

quiksylver296

girlwithcurls2

2011rocket3touring wrote: »

Switch your focus. Let go (somewhat) of the need for progress on the scale and concentrate on building new habits. Every day your within your calorie allotment is a victory, as is every exercise session. Give yourself a few weeks or even a month to see results on the scale.

This. It's hard not to focus on the number on the scale, but work on something else and the scale will keep moving. If this is going to be a lifetime thing, you need to make habits your focus, not the scale anyway. You can do it. Hang in there.