Can Eating too Little Make the Scale Go Up?

Terytha

I know starvation mode isn't a thing, I'm not asking that.

What I wanna know is if its possible that eating less means I'm holding on to more water or something else that would cause a bigger scale number?

I cut my calories a bit more (1500 to 1350 ish) in advance of Christmas and because of a plateau but the only drop I've seen came after I overate for a weekend. I've basically lost less than a pound since the end of October with it bouncing back up.

Should I go back up to 1500 or should I just wait it out?

LeannJeffers

My scale finally started moving down this week after I started eating 200 more calories than i normally do. I don't know if it's coincidence or not? I'd like to hear what others say to. My scale has been stuck at the same weight since September!!

NovusDies

If it increases your mental and/or physical stress then the answer is yes. The concerning part is not the uptick on the scale as much as how else that stress may impact you.

Take a look at my recent experience with calorie cutting:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10762903/how-i-went-from-sustainable-to-unsustainable/p1

PAV8888

Yes if you compensatorily reduce your conscious and unconscious energy expenditure activity by more than the food restriction. Plus all the usual water weight fluctuation reasons. And more along the lines of not go down as opposed to go up.

Terytha

NovusDies wrote: »

If it increases your mental and/or physical stress then the answer is yes. The concerning part is not the uptick on the scale as much as how else that stress may impact you.

Take a look at my recent experience with calorie cutting:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10762903/how-i-went-from-sustainable-to-unsustainable/p1

Thank you, that was informative. I think I know my problem now.

And work stress is probably the rest of the problem. I have to do this audit and I feel physically ill about how unprepared I am for it. -_-

kshama2001

Yes, increased stress can increase cortisol which can lead to water retention.

This isn't right on point for you, but might be useful:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dietary-restraint-and-cortisol-levels-research-review.html/

...a group of women who scored higher on dietary restraint scores showed elevated baseline cortisol levels. By itself this might not be problematic, but as often as not, these types of dieters are drawn to extreme approaches to dieting.

They throw in a lot of intense exercise, try to cut calories very hard (and this often backfires if disinhibition is high; when these folks break they break) and cortisol levels go through the roof. That often causes cortisol mediated water retention (there are other mechanisms for this, mind you, leptin actually inhibits cortisol release and as it drops on a diet, cortisol levels go up further). Weight and fat loss appear to have stopped or at least slowed significantly. This is compounded even further in female dieters due to the vagaries of their menstrual cycle where water balance is changing enormously week to week anyhow.

And invariably, this type of psychology responds to the stall by going even harder. They attempt to cut calories harder, they start doing more activity. The cycle continues and gets worse. Harder dieting means more cortisol means more water retention means more dieting. Which backfires (other problems come in the long-term with this approach but you’ll have to wait for the book to read about that).

When what they should do is take a day or two off (even one day off from training, at least in men, lets cortisol drop significantly). Raise calories, especially from carbohydrates. This helps cortisol to drop. More than that they need to find a way to freaking chill out. Meditation, yoga, get a massage... Get in the bath, candles, a little Enya, a glass of wine, have some you-time but please just chill.

psychod787

You gals have a lot more going on with fluid retention than us guys do. I will agree with @kshama and @pav888 that tmo, stress, ect.. playvm a roll with y'all. 1300 cals? Is that enough for you. Maybe consider a break for the holidays. I know I am not the nicest guy, bit 1300 cals concerns me.

psychod787

Also wanted to add, @pav888 is a proponent of maintenance breaks. While I have not seen much evidence for physical or hormonal "recharge", I am beginning to think that they can be great for a mental break.

ElizabethKalmbach

It is also worth noting that *even good stress* registers as stress to your body. I am a *champion water retainer* and I have tracked enough to know that I will retain a lot of water whether I am fighting a horrific virus outbreak among 200 production servers with protected financial data at work or exploring Disney World and walking 20k wonder-filled steps per day. My body's reaction is pretty much the same to both scenarios, even though my brain is having an *entirely different experience* in each.

lynn_glenmont

In addition to increased water retention from stress, another possibility is that solid waste may not be passing through your body as quickly.