GAINED 2 pounds :(
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zaknjakesmum
Posts: 73 Member
Ugh- I need big-time support and motivation.
After losing consistantly since I started (Nov 26), I've had a couple of plateaus, but I haven't gained back weight.
Some things I've identified after thinking:
1. I've become a little lax with tracking. I've been eyeballing amounts instead of measuring.
2. I changed from drinking water all day to drinking Crystal Light. I changed back to water today.
3. I had my IUD taken out and a new one put in. I was very stressed about this, because I thought it would hurt (and it did, a lot!) And apparently my "tissues are old". Yeah, I'm 49. "rolling eyes" It hurt and bled for a good 3 days.
4. I'm worried about covid. Here in Alberta, the news said by March (yeah, next month) all the covid cases here will be the UK variant, which is waaaay more contagious. I was in the hospital already in November with covid, it was horrible, and I don't want to do that again! I have Multiple Sclerosis, so I'm quite vulnerable
Yes, I'm overthinking it - it was S. I've lost 30 lbs, which is awesome!! But, everytime I get close to the 200 lb mark, I quit diets. I want to make this a lifestyle change, not just a diet. I stayed on my caloric goal all week, so i really believe it's emotional.
sigh...well, I'm drinking loads of water, and measuring food, and continuing with my lifestyle!
After losing consistantly since I started (Nov 26), I've had a couple of plateaus, but I haven't gained back weight.
Some things I've identified after thinking:
1. I've become a little lax with tracking. I've been eyeballing amounts instead of measuring.
2. I changed from drinking water all day to drinking Crystal Light. I changed back to water today.
3. I had my IUD taken out and a new one put in. I was very stressed about this, because I thought it would hurt (and it did, a lot!) And apparently my "tissues are old". Yeah, I'm 49. "rolling eyes" It hurt and bled for a good 3 days.
4. I'm worried about covid. Here in Alberta, the news said by March (yeah, next month) all the covid cases here will be the UK variant, which is waaaay more contagious. I was in the hospital already in November with covid, it was horrible, and I don't want to do that again! I have Multiple Sclerosis, so I'm quite vulnerable
Yes, I'm overthinking it - it was S. I've lost 30 lbs, which is awesome!! But, everytime I get close to the 200 lb mark, I quit diets. I want to make this a lifestyle change, not just a diet. I stayed on my caloric goal all week, so i really believe it's emotional.
sigh...well, I'm drinking loads of water, and measuring food, and continuing with my lifestyle!
4
Replies
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It's a not-great feeling, isn't it?
The good news: this happens to almost everyone, even when they're perfectly on plan, at some point in their weight loss.
If you think the eyeballing is relevant, now would be a good time to get back on track. But two pounds could also be explained by a lot of other things -- a difficult IUD insertion could absolutely be a factor in terms of potentially swelling, overall stress on your body, or just changing your hormonal balance (depending on the IUD).
It's good to know you have a point where you've quit in the past because that gives you the tools to watch out for it now and get support. Good luck! It sounds like you're already on top of it.
4 -
zaknjakesmum wrote: »Ugh- I need big-time support and motivation.
After losing consistantly since I started (Nov 26), I've had a couple of plateaus, but I haven't gained back weight.
Some things I've identified after thinking:
1. I've become a little lax with tracking. I've been eyeballing amounts instead of measuring.
2. I changed from drinking water all day to drinking Crystal Light. I changed back to water today.
3. I had my IUD taken out and a new one put in. I was very stressed about this, because I thought it would hurt (and it did, a lot!) And apparently my "tissues are old". Yeah, I'm 49. "rolling eyes" It hurt and bled for a good 3 days.
4. I'm worried about covid. Here in Alberta, the news said by March (yeah, next month) all the covid cases here will be the UK variant, which is waaaay more contagious. I was in the hospital already in November with covid, it was horrible, and I don't want to do that again! I have Multiple Sclerosis, so I'm quite vulnerable
Yes, I'm overthinking it - it was S. I've lost 30 lbs, which is awesome!! But, everytime I get close to the 200 lb mark, I quit diets. I want to make this a lifestyle change, not just a diet. I stayed on my caloric goal all week, so i really believe it's emotional.
sigh...well, I'm drinking loads of water, and measuring food, and continuing with my lifestyle!
First off, you have a lot to be proud of first and foremost. I know it might be harder then it sounds, but part of losing weight consistently and over time is learning not to take what the scale says to heart. So congratulations on your hard earned success thus far! WHoooo HOOOoooo!
I think all your points are very good ones. Item 1 is important as you get close to your goal, perhaps calories are seeping in as your portions are secretly growing on you? Or perhaps it's water weight associated with the change in hormones associated with the new IUD.
Have you calculated your Basal metabolic rate and calorie requirements lately? Are you eating sufficiently below that number. (which can't be known for sure unless you double check item 1.
How often do you jump on the scale? A lot of people put way to much emotion/elation/dread into what it says. I would never recommend daily weighing.
Either way your doing amazing...
0 -
Poobah1972 wrote: »zaknjakesmum wrote: »Ugh- I need big-time support and motivation.
After losing consistantly since I started (Nov 26), I've had a couple of plateaus, but I haven't gained back weight.
Some things I've identified after thinking:
1. I've become a little lax with tracking. I've been eyeballing amounts instead of measuring.
2. I changed from drinking water all day to drinking Crystal Light. I changed back to water today.
3. I had my IUD taken out and a new one put in. I was very stressed about this, because I thought it would hurt (and it did, a lot!) And apparently my "tissues are old". Yeah, I'm 49. "rolling eyes" It hurt and bled for a good 3 days.
4. I'm worried about covid. Here in Alberta, the news said by March (yeah, next month) all the covid cases here will be the UK variant, which is waaaay more contagious. I was in the hospital already in November with covid, it was horrible, and I don't want to do that again! I have Multiple Sclerosis, so I'm quite vulnerable
Yes, I'm overthinking it - it was S. I've lost 30 lbs, which is awesome!! But, everytime I get close to the 200 lb mark, I quit diets. I want to make this a lifestyle change, not just a diet. I stayed on my caloric goal all week, so i really believe it's emotional.
sigh...well, I'm drinking loads of water, and measuring food, and continuing with my lifestyle!
First off, you have a lot to be proud of first and foremost. I know it might be harder then it sounds, but part of losing weight consistently and over time is learning not to take what the scale says to heart. So congratulations on your hard earned success thus far! WHoooo HOOOoooo!
I think all your points are very good ones. Item 1 is important as you get close to your goal, perhaps calories are seeping in as your portions are secretly growing on you? Or perhaps it's water weight associated with the change in hormones associated with the new IUD.
Have you calculated your Basal metabolic rate and calorie requirements lately? Are you eating sufficiently below that number. (which can't be known for sure unless you double check item 1.
How often do you jump on the scale? A lot of people put way to much emotion/elation/dread into what it says. I would never recommend daily weighing.
Either way your doing amazing...
Just a quick note, you don't have to eat below your BMR to lose weight. BMR will only be a factor for people who are very, very sedentary, as it is the number of calories you'd burn just lying in bed all day. For most of us, our NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis, AKA the number of calories you burn each day with your lifestyle not counting intentional exercise) or TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, AKA the number of calories you burn each day with your lifestyle including intentional exercise) will be the best way to determine a deficit.
MFP uses NEAT, so if someone gets their calorie goal from MFP and updates it every few pounds, it should take care of the calculations for them.3 -
Congrats on your loss. Just real quick: there were no PLATEAUS. If you did anything other than stay on track consistently for 6 weeks with eating, exercise, rest, etc., then it's not a plateau. You were just not consistent during that time. Why? Who knows? For some SUCCESS may mean you have to keep it up and when some get to goal they may be afraid to keep it up. So subconciously they sabotage when they get close. I've seen that happen many times. Sometimes talking to a professional about it might uncover it. Worth a shot.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
1 -
Is the new IUD the same kind as your old one? If you went from a non-hormonal one to one with hormones, you could retain some extra water from that. If not, Jane mentioned a bunch of factors that can cause you to retain water.
I will mention two more - emotional stress and monthly cycle. I "gained" 3 pounds last time I ovulated and held on to it for 5-7 days.
Stress of various kinds can increase cortisol, which can lead to water retention. You sound stressed, so here's a virtual hug:
5 -
zaknjakesmum wrote: »Ugh- I need big-time support and motivation.
After losing consistantly since I started (Nov 26), I've had a couple of plateaus, but I haven't gained back weight.
Some things I've identified after thinking:
1. I've become a little lax with tracking. I've been eyeballing amounts instead of measuring.
2. I changed from drinking water all day to drinking Crystal Light. I changed back to water today.
3. I had my IUD taken out and a new one put in. I was very stressed about this, because I thought it would hurt (and it did, a lot!) And apparently my "tissues are old". Yeah, I'm 49. "rolling eyes" It hurt and bled for a good 3 days.
4. I'm worried about covid. Here in Alberta, the news said by March (yeah, next month) all the covid cases here will be the UK variant, which is waaaay more contagious. I was in the hospital already in November with covid, it was horrible, and I don't want to do that again! I have Multiple Sclerosis, so I'm quite vulnerable
Yes, I'm overthinking it - it was S. I've lost 30 lbs, which is awesome!! But, everytime I get close to the 200 lb mark, I quit diets. I want to make this a lifestyle change, not just a diet. I stayed on my caloric goal all week, so i really believe it's emotional.
sigh...well, I'm drinking loads of water, and measuring food, and continuing with my lifestyle!
As others have said, you're doing great. Hang in there!
Your #1 item could limit fat loss, sure. If you'd been losing at a decent clip, like a pound a week, it would take an average daily overage of 500 calories to cause a stall, and even more than that (a total of 7000 calories cumulatively above maintenance calories) to gain 2 pounds.
A handy rule of thumb is that - absence a massively high day of overeating, truly massive - a big overnight (or close) scale jump isn't fat, it's water retention or temporary digestive contents on their way to becoming waste. Fat gain, without major overage, tends to be a creeping-on sort of thing, over time, usually over many days to weeks.
Crystal Light is not going to cause fat gain. Things can be labeled as zero calorie in the US if the calories are less than 5 per serving, but it would take 700 times 5 calories to gain a pound.
All the other things on your list are notorious for increasing water retention: Healing ties up water weight, inflammation is related and ties up water weight, and just because the universe can be a cruel, cruel b-word sometimes, stress (physical or psychological) can increase water weight. Even the physical stress of losing weight for a long time can cause water retention: How unfair is that, AmIRite?
Here's what I'd suggest:
If you're still healing/recovering from the IUD episode, maybe even go to (estimated) maintenance calories for a week or two, focusing on good well-rounded nutrition, and let your body heal. Yes, that will cause a scary scale jump, but it will stabilize. Most importantly, that will prioritize healing, but it can also help break through any water weight gain from dieting stress (if you've lost 30 pounds in around 10 weeks, that's extremely fast weight loss, unless you're well over 300 pounds - even then, a high stressor).
Take some explicit steps to reduce or counter the (understandable) stress in your life. Get good nutrition. Get good sleep. Maybe do things that you find relaxing or soothing. (Things that work as stress reduction for some people include mild exercise, fresh air/sunshine, meditation (can be non-religious, like the Relaxation Response ** and there are even apps for it these days), yoga/stretching, warm bubble bath (aromatherapy? Epsom salts?), prayer for those who have a faith practice, journaling, coloring, listening to calm music, and more.)
I hear what you're saying about giving up at a certain point. Don't do that. (Sounds simple . . . 😆!) One way to succeed can be to take whatever steps you can to make the process *easier*. That means not cutting foods you enjoy totally out of your life, maybe losing at a little slower rate (which can actually get a person to goal faster in real life by wiping out the "oops" or "give up" episodes), not adopting fatiguing/punitive exercise routines, and the like. You can make this work, and there'll be a huge payoff when you do (as well as some great stuff along the way****).
Like I said: Hang in there.
** https://www.integrativetouch.org/blog-n/2016/10/20/how-to-elicit-the-relaxation-response
**** If you haven't, check out this very motivational thread: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1275030/whats-your-most-recent-nsv#latest (NSV = non-scale victory, good stuff that happens from health/fitness improvements that isn't measured by the scale.)4 -
Thank you everyone for your kind words!
It was reassuring to be aware this is water weight, not fat per se.
I am completely an "everyday weigher"! I know that's bad!!
Because of my MS, I am not able to do a lot physically. I have an 'under the desk' bike that I can sit down for pedalling. In the spring / summer I can take the dogs out while holding my husband's arm. I would like to do more, but after 22 years with MS, it's taken away a lot of abilities. But - it is what it is. I hate when people say that lol
But thank you for listening!!
Jennifer
234 / 206.6 / 1405 -
zaknjakesmum wrote: »Thank you everyone for your kind words!
It was reassuring to be aware this is water weight, not fat per se.
I am completely an "everyday weigher"! I know that's bad!!
Because of my MS, I am not able to do a lot physically. I have an 'under the desk' bike that I can sit down for pedalling. In the spring / summer I can take the dogs out while holding my husband's arm. I would like to do more, but after 22 years with MS, it's taken away a lot of abilities. But - it is what it is. I hate when people say that lol
But thank you for listening!!
Jennifer
234 / 206.6 / 140
Glad you've been reassured. But, I would like to add that being an every day weigher is not a bad thing, how you use it or interpret it is.
If you are the kind that is going to get anxious about every little upswing, then it is and you need to make sure you do what works for you.
On the other hand, I'm an every day weigher and it helps keep me calm. I weigh every day and enter it into an app that tracks it, I have become familiar with my fluctations, how long "plateaus" can last, etc. For example, last week I had a day where between my period and a sodium heavy day, my weight went up a couple lbs overnight. If that day was my once a week weigh-in, it could have been very discouraging. But I could see what my weight was the day before and in the days after and know it was just a blip. And, I know about every 2-3 months I will hit a period where I don't lose weight for 2-3 weeks, then it just drops off. When I hit those, I can look at my graph, see when that has happened in the past, and be reassured this is probably what will happen again.
It isn't inherently good or bad, it's all just in what you do and how you react to the information it gives you.
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Absolutely nothing wrong with being an “every day weigher.” As long as you can mentally handle the fluctuations, go for it.
Read the article in this thread...
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations2 -
MercuryForce wrote: »Glad you've been reassured. But, I would like to add that being an every day weigher is not a bad thing, how you use it or interpret it is.
If you are the kind that is going to get anxious about every little upswing, then it is and you need to make sure you do what works for you.
On the other hand, I'm an every day weigher and it helps keep me calm. I weigh every day and enter it into an app that tracks it, I have become familiar with my fluctations, how long "plateaus" can last, etc. For example, last week I had a day where between my period and a sodium heavy day, my weight went up a couple lbs overnight. If that day was my once a week weigh-in, it could have been very discouraging. But I could see what my weight was the day before and in the days after and know it was just a blip. And, I know about every 2-3 months I will hit a period where I don't lose weight for 2-3 weeks, then it just drops off. When I hit those, I can look at my graph, see when that has happened in the past, and be reassured this is probably what will happen again.
It isn't inherently good or bad, it's all just in what you do and how you react to the information it gives you.
I agree with you. I haven't been on this tracker long enough to be able to see reoccuring trends, etc. By the end of Feb, it will be better to look at the graphs.
Jennifer
234 / 206.6 / 140
1 -
zaknjakesmum wrote: »Thank you everyone for your kind words!
It was reassuring to be aware this is water weight, not fat per se.
I am completely an "everyday weigher"! I know that's bad!!
Because of my MS, I am not able to do a lot physically. I have an 'under the desk' bike that I can sit down for pedalling. In the spring / summer I can take the dogs out while holding my husband's arm. I would like to do more, but after 22 years with MS, it's taken away a lot of abilities. But - it is what it is. I hate when people say that lol
But thank you for listening!!
Jennifer
234 / 206.6 / 140
I'm not an everyday weigher myself, but there's nothing inherently bad about weighing every day. For some people, it can even be helpful. To me, the important issue would be whether doing so helps you understand weight fluctuations are normal and not necessarily related to what you ate that day or the day before, or whether doing so leads you to (or reinforces a preexisting tendency to) overreact to weight fluctuations.0 -
zaknjakesmum wrote: »MercuryForce wrote: »Glad you've been reassured. But, I would like to add that being an every day weigher is not a bad thing, how you use it or interpret it is.
If you are the kind that is going to get anxious about every little upswing, then it is and you need to make sure you do what works for you.
On the other hand, I'm an every day weigher and it helps keep me calm. I weigh every day and enter it into an app that tracks it, I have become familiar with my fluctations, how long "plateaus" can last, etc. For example, last week I had a day where between my period and a sodium heavy day, my weight went up a couple lbs overnight. If that day was my once a week weigh-in, it could have been very discouraging. But I could see what my weight was the day before and in the days after and know it was just a blip. And, I know about every 2-3 months I will hit a period where I don't lose weight for 2-3 weeks, then it just drops off. When I hit those, I can look at my graph, see when that has happened in the past, and be reassured this is probably what will happen again.
It isn't inherently good or bad, it's all just in what you do and how you react to the information it gives you.
I agree with you. I haven't been on this tracker long enough to be able to see reoccuring trends, etc. By the end of Feb, it will be better to look at the graphs.
Jennifer
234 / 206.6 / 140
Some of us use a separate app to track weight trends. They use statistics to kind of "smooth out" the random hills and valleys in daily (or whatever frequency) weigh-ins, by doing a moving average of some type, and then estimate a weight trend into the future if current practices continue. It's not a magic crystal ball (can be wrong), but it can be a useful tool. It goes beyond what the MFP graphs and projections will give you.
Some common ones are Happy Scale (for Apple devices), Libra (for Android devices), Trendweight (for which you need a free Fitbit account, but you don't need to buy a Fitbit device), Weightgrapher, and probably there are others.
I weigh daily, put the results into Libra on my Android phone.2
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