Lose and gain....so frustrated!

BrittneyBroussard
BrittneyBroussard Posts: 88 Member
edited November 20 in Motivation and Support
Ok so i know not to weigh everyday....it keeps me in check sometimes though...so i was finally back to the 170s... 178 to be exact! Well sunday was a lazy day and i didn't really track BUT i didn't completely blow it...well yesterday i was 180 and today 181(yesterday i ate very good n was prob even a little under my macros!!)! Wth?!?! I swear every time i lose...even when im eating good... it will go away then will come back! What am i doing? Im so frustrated!!

Replies

  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,140 Member
    The only problem with weighing daily is if you do it expecting to be the same weight or lower every day, your weight will fluctuate naturally (and this is entirely normal) a couple of pounds each day, it can be more than that if you're retaining water due to new or increased exercise, sodium intake, alcohol intake, changes in your macro intake and hormonal changes (particularly around your period and ovulation). You also need to bear in mind that doing it at different times can also have an impact as you may have more food/waste/water in your system.

    If you are going to weigh daily - do it at around the same time, morning is probably best before you eat/drink and after you've used the bathroom, without clothes. Log it in a trend weight app such as trendweight/Libra/Happy Scale and it will help you to see past the fluctuations.
  • BrittneyBroussard
    BrittneyBroussard Posts: 88 Member
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    The only problem with weighing daily is if you do it expecting to be the same weight or lower every day, your weight will fluctuate naturally (and this is entirely normal) a couple of pounds each day, it can be more than that if you're retaining water due to new or increased exercise, sodium intake, alcohol intake, changes in your macro intake and hormonal changes (particularly around your period and ovulation). You also need to bear in mind that doing it at different times can also have an impact as you may have more food/waste/water in your system.

    If you are going to weigh daily - do it at around the same time, morning is probably best before you eat/drink and after you've used the bathroom, without clothes. Log it in a trend weight app such as trendweight/Libra/Happy Scale and it will help you to see past the fluctuations.

    Someone else mentioned alchohol...i had a few drinks saturday...then sunday i was at my low 178...could it just now be effecting me??
  • tanya10166
    tanya10166 Posts: 15 Member
    Thats a good question! I have the exact same problem. I think so, because I'm dehydrated on Sunday so alcohol ultimately causes water retention once you rehydrate? But yeah,
    after overindulging I tend to weigh less until I rehydrate. Alcohol does make you gain weight. I've logged calories and they get out of control fast.
    I hate daily weighing, but its hard to resist and totally frustrating!
  • stljam
    stljam Posts: 512 Member
    BrittneyBroussard wrote: »
    Someone else mentioned alchohol...i had a few drinks saturday...then sunday i was at my low 178...could it just now be effecting me??

    I weight a lot (think on average more than once a day). As others have said, time of day for comparison is important as is workout and consumption times (bcaas with lots of protein after lifting heavy give a higher weight for example). For me an alcohol bump shows up the 2nd day (like you are describing) but it goes away with a couple of days too.

    Simple example, last night I lifted and did a decent amount of resistance cardio (my own term-think upping bike/elliptical resistance and trying to hit a ridiculous stride per minute or mile per hour count). I also made sure to get adequate bcaa/protein the 2nd half of yesterday to aid in recovery from the work. This am I was 3lbs up in weight. I bet I will be back flat tomorrow morning with just resistance cardio tonight and lowering the bcaa/protein intake.

    I weigh so much so i could learn how my body works and reacts to better understand my weight fluctuations and to customize my plan and better track how I am doing on it.

  • BrittneyBroussard
    BrittneyBroussard Posts: 88 Member
    Thank you everyone! Im going to start watching my sodium intake closer and also up my potassium intake :) i just get so frustrated after being plateaud for so long it was exciting to see a little movement! But im not giving up! :)
  • CyclingRoadie6
    CyclingRoadie6 Posts: 59 Member
    BrittneyBroussard wrote: »
    Ok so i know not to weigh everyday....it keeps me in check sometimes though...so i was finally back to the 170s... 178 to be exact! Well sunday was a lazy day and i didn't really track BUT i didn't completely blow it...well yesterday i was 180 and today 181(yesterday i ate very good n was prob even a little under my macros!!)! Wth?!?! I swear every time i lose...even when im eating good... it will go away then will come back! What am i doing? Im so frustrated!!

    I haven't read everyone's responses, but my question would be towards exercise, and what are you doing in that regard. Would it be possible that you are gaining muscle mass? If you are, this could be a potential reason for gaining a few pounds. Either way, don't get discouraged by it, as we all tend to fluctuate on any given week. Keep your head up, and continue doing what you are doing. That's my 2 cents anyway.
  • BrittneyBroussard
    BrittneyBroussard Posts: 88 Member
    CyclingRoadie6 wrote: »
    BrittneyBroussard wrote: »
    Ok so i know not to weigh everyday....it keeps me in check sometimes though...so i was finally back to the 170s... 178 to be exact! Well sunday was a lazy day and i didn't really track BUT i didn't completely blow it...well yesterday i was 180 and today 181(yesterday i ate very good n was prob even a little under my macros!!)! Wth?!?! I swear every time i lose...even when im eating good... it will go away then will come back! What am i doing? Im so frustrated!!

    I haven't read everyone's responses, but my question would be towards exercise, and what are you doing in that regard. Would it be possible that you are gaining muscle mass? If you are, this could be a potential reason for gaining a few pounds. Either way, don't get discouraged by it, as we all tend to fluctuate on any given week. Keep your head up, and continue doing what you are doing. That's my 2 cents anyway.

    I do weights 5 days a week but also do 20-30mins of cardio after and then 1 day is only cardio. So i know im gaining muscle but if im eating caloric deficit i should still be losing right? :/ or am i confused? Lol
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited July 2017
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    BrittneyBroussard wrote: »
    CyclingRoadie6 wrote: »
    BrittneyBroussard wrote: »
    Ok so i know not to weigh everyday....it keeps me in check sometimes though...so i was finally back to the 170s... 178 to be exact! Well sunday was a lazy day and i didn't really track BUT i didn't completely blow it...well yesterday i was 180 and today 181(yesterday i ate very good n was prob even a little under my macros!!)! Wth?!?! I swear every time i lose...even when im eating good... it will go away then will come back! What am i doing? Im so frustrated!!

    I haven't read everyone's responses, but my question would be towards exercise, and what are you doing in that regard. Would it be possible that you are gaining muscle mass? If you are, this could be a potential reason for gaining a few pounds. Either way, don't get discouraged by it, as we all tend to fluctuate on any given week. Keep your head up, and continue doing what you are doing. That's my 2 cents anyway.

    I do weights 5 days a week but also do 20-30mins of cardio after and then 1 day is only cardio. So i know im gaining muscle but if im eating caloric deficit i should still be losing right? :/ or am i confused? Lol

    You will not be gaining muscle if you're in a significant calorie deficit, building muscle requires surplus calories. As I've already mentioned, weight loss isn't linear if you're seeing the scale move up and down it's just normal fluctuations.

    This is what daily weighing looks like over a 6 month period of mostly sticking to my calorie deficit, plenty of ups and downs, it's the overall trend that is important:

    iribn0y7tdja.jpg

    Exactly. My weight jumps around all over the place. All you need to do is trust the calories. "Eating good" means nothing, by the way. You need to be sure you are eating a number of calories that puts you in a deficit over time. Additionally, one day of "eating good" or "eating bad" means very little on its own. You evaluate results and effects over time. If you plateaued for long then something is wrong with your calories, and that's the first place you should start when troubleshooting. I "plateau" on purpose for 3-4 months every holiday season after a small deliberate gain, and I do that by holding my calories at around maintenance for that duration. That's the only way true plateaus occur.

    Personally, I don't pay attention to sodium or carbs and weigh myself every day. I know that these affect my scale weight but I don't really care. It's not real gain so why would it matter? I would rather have a high sodium meal that I like if I wanted to than ruin my food enjoyment by stressing about temporary number changes.

    m7foamrhl5s4.png
  • stljam
    stljam Posts: 512 Member
    For me, I also need and like to focus on non-scale related things like belt loops, inch measurements, strength, flexibility, physical activity performance, etc.

    For me, the scale is but only one item on my fitness scorecard. It doesn't get weighted more than the other items. I can be up two pounds but have gone down a belt loop, lost another inch of my waist, gone up 20 pounds on my bench press, and the overall scorecard shows very well. I don't give the scale a ton of control but rather just a little input.
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