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

anewell28
anewell28 Posts: 79 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
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!

Replies

  • Nbaker0909
    Nbaker0909 Posts: 102 Member
    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
    gamerbabe14 Posts: 876 Member
    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
    gamerbabe14 Posts: 876 Member
    edited August 2017
    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
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    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
    anewell28 Posts: 79 Member
    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
    anewell28 Posts: 79 Member
    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!

This discussion has been closed.