Help with scale numbers

jbmackey5

Ill cut to the point- 37 male, 5'11- 162 lbs now- Around 10-11% BF, use to be a fat 220lbs and got down to 148 at my lowest(i looked sick).

Started a lean bulk 18 months ago to get to an eventual 175/180lbs. im currently doing around 3000 calories a day and have been around 161-163lbs for a few months now.

im very OCD and dont trust myself with a scale, so ive been weighing myself in the morning and my wife has been writing down the number. i started doing this 3 weeks ago and i asked her today what my weight was when you average out the weeks M-S.

I was shocked when she told me that im up 2 lbs from last week and 1 lb from 2 weeks ago because ive actually only eaten 2800 the last two weeks because of travel and work. ive worked out every day.


Its so frustrating to hear that i gained 2 lbs in one week when i actually ate 200 less calories a day during that period. How could that be? now im freaking out that i have to cut now to get under 2800, when in reality i was excited to thinking i was going to get to up my calories to 3100 or 3200 to continue to bulk.

Any guidance is appreciated

Muscleflex79

weight fluctuates - you don't have an exact weight that you are going to be every single day - 2 lbs is well within regular fluctuations.

jbmackey5

Any advice on increasing my calories without freaking out thay I’m going to balloon back to 220? I was 161 back in the summer so I’ve gone 2-3 up on my bulk in 8 months

Muscleflex79

I'm confused - if you are trying to 180lbs wouldn't an increase of a couple pounds be a good thing? gaining only 2-3 lbs in 8 months of a bulk doesn't sound like much of a bulk.

jjpptt2

I'm confused too... what exactly are you trying to accomplish?

jbmackey5

Yes, trying to bulk. I was freaking out because I was expecting my weight to have to gone down over 3 weeks when I was only hitting 2800 calories vs my normal 3000, yet I actually went up 2 lbs. now I’m scared to increase from 3000 since I gained 2 lbs in 3 weeks on 2800. FYI I only weigh myself 3/4 days a week and take averages. No weekends. Lol

jjpptt2

You said you traveled for work... did that mean your diet changed, even if your total cals didn't? Maybe more sodium from restaurant foods? I did your workouts change? Either of those things could easily lead to increased water retention. If you were eating more restaurant/take-out/convenience foods than usual due to the travel, you're calories logged could be off, too... so perhaps 2800 wasn't actually 2800.


On a related note, if you're that nervy about numbers, it may be worth paying attention to rolling averages rather than specific numbers. I have an excel spreadsheet that does this for me because I'm an excel guy, but you can do it with other tools too. The point is to watch your 7-day rolling averages of total cals, macros, sodium, and weight. It can help take the edge off spikes and correlate trends a bit.

jbmackey5

Yes one week I gained two lbs I did eat out a lot. Pretty sure I didn’t go over my calories but pretty sure it was sodium and I also drank more diet soda and coffee. For two days I only had one BM vs my normal 2 a day.

L1zardQueen

Ah poop weight! I get that too while on a trip.

jjpptt2

jbmackey5 wrote: »

Yes one week I gained two lbs I did eat out a lot. Pretty sure I didn’t go over my calories but pretty sure it was sodium and I also drank more diet soda and coffee. For two days I only had one BM vs my normal 2 a day.

That would explain it... at least it would for me.

Tacklewasher

Get a weight trending app and pay attention to the trend and not the daily numbers. Happy scale for iOs, Libra for Android or trendweight.com for web.

Learn that your weight goes up and down daily but pay focus on the trend.

TavistockToad

2 weeks of data isn't enough to identify a trend...

kkimpel

Tacklewasher wrote: »

Get a weight trending app and pay attention to the trend and not the daily numbers. Happy scale for iOs, Libra for Android or trendweight.com for web.

Learn that your weight goes up and down daily but pay focus on the trend.

I totally agree that trends matter. As my desk mate used to like to say, "I can crap 2lbs" Look at overall averages and highest/lowest over a longer period of time.

jbmackey5

So my weight stayed around 2 lbs for 8 months and I’m trying to get to 175/180.

How many calories should I go up to ensure I’m not getting fat?

My strength has stalled as well

jjpptt2

Because you're so nervy about numbers, I'd increase cals but only slightly... probably start at a 10% increase. You've been at 3000 cals, right? So up it to 3300 or so. But just be aware... you will put on a little fat. A small surplus should help keep the fat to a minimum, but it will happen.

But ultimately, you should know what you need to do. You say you're OCD about this stuff... then look at your numbers and do what they tell you to do.

jbmackey5

Ok good deal. Thanks. Maybe I’ll start small at a 150 or 200 calorie surplus.

Thanks again. Just freaks me out to increase but I have to look at the long term goal