First three weeks of low calorie- already hit a plateau? (Water weight?)

anewell28

This is my third week of low calorie. For some back ground I'm a college athlete trying to lose some belly fat that I gained over the spring and rebuild some muscle/strength that I lost as well. I'm 5'4" and I reached 158-160 pounds after the spring and that is my unhappy weight. I wanted to get down to the 150-153 range.
I was very strict on my diet the first two weeks, I ate around 5,000 calories under my energy output for each week. I hit 152.2 last week and felt great.
This week however, I haven't been as strict and ate some foods that I didn't know the exact nutritional info. I logged it as best as I could and even estimated over on somethings to be sure.
My activity this week has been good, I've burned roughly 2300-2500 calories a day and have eaten at a deficit of about 500-700 each day besides on Tuesday.

This morning I weighed over 154 pounds. It made me unhappy because it seems like it's a constant fight. I can tell my stomach is slightly flatter than before but I'm still unsatisfied with what I see. I'm happy about my strength right now which is nice, but would like to see the scale move in the right direction.

So my questions are:

Could this be water weight that I'm seeing on the scale?

How much water weight (if any) do you gain around your period or is that a myth?

How much does strength training the day before affect the scale the next morning?

Thabks!

Nbaker0909

It could definitely be water weight related to your TOM. It could also be water retention from strength training. I know the feeling of wanting to stay an exact weight (getting married in 3 weeks so I have dress fitting anxiety) BUT I also know our bodies don't do that so I've given myself a 5 pound range I try to stay in...that being said I'm dealing with water weight right now too. I gain anywhere from 3-5 pounds with TOM

gamerbabe14

Normal fluctuations...I doubt you ate enough calories to gain 2lbs of fat overnight. Drink more water, especially as an athlete, you may be a little dehydrated from your workout.

gamerbabe14

Strength training can cause your body to hold onto water due to a new exercise or a higher weight you're lifting. So if you did a new routine yesterday, that could contribute. If you have an iPhone, I suggest using Happy Scale to monitor your weight fluctuations. You'll see that although you went up today, the trend is still down.

mazdauk

With the exception of your estimated foods, are you accurately weighing and measuring your foods? And how are you calculating your calorie burn from excercise? (fitbit can over-estimate by up to 40%. Although people say MFP is not accurate I've never had a problem using their calculations). Have you checked your physical measurements with a tape measure?

anewell28

mazdauk wrote: »

With the exception of your estimated foods, are you accurately weighing and measuring your foods? And how are you calculating your calorie burn from excercise? (fitbit can over-estimate by up to 40%. Although people say MFP is not accurate I've never had a problem using their calculations). Have you checked your physical measurements with a tape measure?

I don't have a food scale yet, (gonna buy one once I get back to school) so I've been using measuring cups. I know it's not as good as weighing foods, but I've been strict about measuring everything.
I use a Fitbit Alta for tracking exercise, do you have a better suggestion? Is the Fitbit Charge HR 2 worth it or is there a different better brand of activity tracker?

Thanks for the help!

anewell28

ndevoy1 wrote: »

It could definitely be water weight related to your TOM. It could also be water retention from strength training. I know the feeling of wanting to stay an exact weight (getting married in 3 weeks so I have dress fitting anxiety) BUT I also know our bodies don't do that so I've given myself a 5 pound range I try to stay in...that being said I'm dealing with water weight right now too. I gain anywhere from 3-5 pounds with TOM

Congrats on the upcoming wedding! I've noticed that I will gain some weight before my TOM but I don't exactly the number. Just another thing to account for haha thanks for the help!