Very discouraged and frustrated

CracyTracy579

Hello everyone! I just wanted to get some advice and vent a little. I am a 39 year old female, 5'6", and weigh 195 as of this morning. I started MyFitnessPal two weeks ago, and have been on a 1290 calorie diet. I am moderately active due to what I do for a living. The problem I currently have is that I have gained seven pounds in the past two days! I was down to 188 on Sunday. I know I am not supposed to weigh every day but my OCD says otherwise. How in the world did I gain seven pounds in two days, and how do I re-lose it?

ctinawilson

I know its disheartening to see something like that, but if you've been true to your logging, and fairly active, it's probably only water retention. The way to avoid this shock is to weigh yourself once a week at the very most - monthly even better, that way you'll always see the general trend rather than a day to day fluctuation.

There is a (huge) school of thought on eating more to weigh less. 1,290 is pretty low, did you enter a 2lb per week loss into MFP? If so it has given you an only just healthy calorie goal, to try and speed up your loss. In my opinion a slower, more controlled loss is healthier and easier to maintain. Eating at 1,400 minimum worked for me (i'm 5'3 and petite framed and weighed 135lb when i started), and helped me lose 13lbs so far, so I can safely say after the initial fear of upping the calories, it works.

I would suggest having a good read of In Place of a Road Map (just search in the forums and you'll find it) - its an amazing source of information on healthy calorie cutting etc that will explain everything you need to know about how much you should be eating. And its really really interesting!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

Hope this helps :flowerforyou:

CracyTracy579

Thank you for your response! I know I am probably overreacting, but it was a big shock to see the same weight on the scales that was on there when I started. Water retention is probably the answer. I just didn't think it was possible to gain that much without eating incorrectly, drinking, or having a period. (I don't drink and had a hysterectomy.). I also take a diuretic. However, you are probably right. Thank you for your help, and for the link! I look forward to reading it!

LittleCulturedPearl

I know its disheartening to see something like that, but if you've been true to your logging, and fairly active, it's probably only water retention. The way to avoid this shock is to weigh yourself once a week at the very most - monthly even better, that way you'll always see the general trend rather than a day to day fluctuation.

There is a (huge) school of thought on eating more to weigh less. 1,290 is pretty low, did you enter a 2lb per week loss into MFP? If so it has given you an only just healthy calorie goal, to try and speed up your loss. In my opinion a slower, more controlled loss is healthier and easier to maintain. Eating at 1,400 minimum worked for me (i'm 5'3 and petite framed and weighed 135lb when i started), and helped me lose 13lbs so far, so I can safely say after the initial fear of upping the calories, it works.

I would suggest having a good read of In Place of a Road Map (just search in the forums and you'll find it) - its an amazing source of information on healthy calorie cutting etc that will explain everything you need to know about how much you should be eating. And its really really interesting!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

Hope this helps :flowerforyou:

I totally support this advice. If you are just beginning your weight loss/healthy living journey, you should start slow. The main thing you should focus on is portion control; identify the sources of poor choices in your diet by honest logging. Also, you are a woman: we tend to fluctuate up/down to 5 pounds every month, so it is normal. Also, try introducing more metabolism-boosting foods into your diet. Grapefruits were my thing until acquired a citrus allergy. I'm working on finding new sources now. I wish the best of luck to you! Feel free to add me!

BajaDreamin333

In my opinion, it is virtually impossible to gain 7 pounds in two days, that is equal to 24,500 calories! it is likely water. Have you changed your diet? Sometimes new foods cause water retention. So does soda, even diet. Salt is an obvious culprit as well. Whenever I travel I alway gain weight, no matter my diet. It is due to changes in environment/food/activity. Even emotions can mess with your body. And then there's the rudes of them all - age. It messes with women especially, and of course your weight is the first thing that will reflect those homonal fluctuations.

Don't get discouraged - easier said than done! If you keep doing what MFP tells you to, make GOOD food choices and be as active as you can, it will come. I weight myself everyday too, so I sure understand where you're coming from. I bet the next time you get on the scale your weight will be back to where it was.

Eat your veggies, drink lots of water, and stay away from salt. And DO NOT give up - you got this if you really wnat it.

denisesole

Great advice I am on a two pound a week regimen and I get discourage when my scale goes up but now I know how to deal with it. :happy:

MommaSherryB

I weigh daily and have noticed that my weight can fluctuate 1-5 pounds...so I don't worry about it. It all works itself out.
Reasons scale can vary:
menstrual
salt/water retention
constipation

I usually weigh 3-5 pounds more while on period but within 1 week it is gone.

I try to weigh around the same time daily (preferably in morning after BM)

This way I am getting accurate readings. Weighing at different times during the day will show a lot of variance.
*By the way...a gallon of water weighs just over 8 pounds

ndj1979

this is not possible, you would have had to have eaten 25,500 additional calories in two days...

SkinnyMsFitness

Hello everyone! I just wanted to get some advice and vent a little. I am a 39 year old female, 5'6", and weigh 195 as of this morning. I started MyFitnessPal two weeks ago, and have been on a 1290 calorie diet. I am moderately active due to what I do for a living. The problem I currently have is that I have gained seven pounds in the past two days! I was down to 188 on Sunday. I know I am not supposed to weigh every day but my OCD says otherwise. How in the world did I gain seven pounds in two days, and how do I re-lose it?

The extra lbs are defo water weight - I feel really confident about that. There's a cpl reasons - A. Your body is clinging to it b/c you did just cut your cals. B. TOM is around the corner. C. You're taking in too much sodium

I don't know your particulars, but it's nearly impossible to gain that much weight overnight. Just try not to stress and sweat that *kitten* off - literally!!! I know all individuals are different, but I'm 5'7 and this is what I do:

Eat 3 meals day...try to stay at MFP's 1,200 cals/day and try not to eat back my burned cals.
Drink 12-14 glasses water daily.
Walk/mow the lawn 30-60 mins/day, 5-7 days/week.
Try to avoid all junk food, but I do still eat what I want.
I have been taking OxyElite Pro and I believe it's been helpful. I am not recommending it (liability), but I do use it.
I started taking the vitamin Biotin 2 weeks ago - promotes healthy hair, nail, skin growth and helps energy/metabolism.

By doing this, I have lost 53 lbs to-date over a total of 6 months. I do binge eat/drink a lot most weekends...I do this out of lack of willpower, but I've heard it actually kinda resets our metabolisms.

Good luck! I say experiment a little bit to see what works for you! Maybe try the TDEE method? Ppl swear by that! This is what they've referred me to: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

TheRealParisLove

Your diary is closed, but I'm guessing you had some high sodium days recently. I am up 3 pounds today and I was more than 1000mg over on my sodium yesterday. I didn't eat nearly enough to gain 3 pounds of fat in 24 hours, but I did eat a lot of sodium.

Where are you in your cycle? That seems to drastically effect weight gain. I looked at my weights over the last 6 months to see where I'm at in my cycle re: weight gain. It's a pretty good indicator of ovulation/menstruation.

Goal175lbs

Seven pounds sounds like a lot to gain out of nowhere. I know this may seem dumb but, having you been weighing at the same time of day (before meals, etc) and were you wearing the same clothing? Eating after a big dinner would be much different than weighing in after you wake up before breakfast, also Underwear and a t-shirt weigh a lot less than jeans and shoes, etc.. Make sure you weigh in at the same time of day, in the same clothing, before you eat, preferably in the morning. Also, don't weigh in everyday, its completely pointless, once a week is fine. Weighing in everyday is irrational. You set yourself up for failure because its highly unlikely you will have a massive loss in one day, so what's the point? You are more likely to see a water retention gain, or food waste gain so its only hurting you psychologically.

Determined518

Drink lots* of water. Aim for a gallon a day. It is like magic.