How do I lose weight and keep it down?

MeaganCox136

Hi so I weight 181 pounds, and my weight tends to go way up and then back down. I don't know if it's normal or if it has something to do with my diet. Trying to kept my calories down is also really hard, all food my family gets is normally high calories.

kshama2001

MeaganCox136 wrote: »

Hi so I weight 181 pounds, and my weight tends to go way up and then back down. I don't know if it's normal or if it has something to do with my diet. Trying to kept my calories down is also really hard, all food my family gets is normally high calories.

I'd like to hear more about your family situation. It is hard for me to maintain a calorie deficit when I am surrounded by calorie dense/hyper-palatable food.

I do still eat calorie dense food like pizza, but make sure I have a large salad (VERY easy on the salad dressing!) to go with it. I bulk up other calorie dense meals with non-starchy vegetables like broccoli or green beans. I have smaller portions of the high calorie food and large portions of the low calorie food.

This way I am able to create a calorie deficit, be full, and my boyfriend gets the food he likes.

Sounds like you don't do the shopping? Would whoever does do it be willing to get more vegetables? Do you have your own money and can buy some food for yourself?

Let's explore!

sollyn23l2

What do you mean by way up and then back down? How much do you gain? How much do you lose? If it's just bouncing up and down between two different weights that are only, say, 5 or 10 pounds apart, that are always the same, then you're maintaining, and just going up and down in water weight. If you gain 30 pounds, lose 30 pounds, then regain 30 pounds, that's just you not sticking with your diet, and the only way to change that is be serious about it. Create long term changes that you're never going to stop doing. Ever. Until you die. That's the only real way to maintain weight loss.

AnnPT77

Repeating the question: What do you mean by way up and then back down?

I agree with Sollyn if what she describes is your scenario.

However, if you're just getting started on a new eating/activity routine (since I see you're new here), it's normal for the scale to jump up and down from one day to the next by up to several pounds. That's mostly because of shifts in water retention, and different amounts of waste in the digestive tract that haven't made it to the exit (toilet) yet.

If that's the scenario, don't worry: You need 4-6 weeks of scale data to know what's happening with fat gain/loss on a new routine. (Use whole menstrual periods as the test duration, if you have those.) With consistent activity and eating, fat loss - even fast fat loss - is a tiny amount per day, just a few ounces. The larger water/waste fluctuations can mask the fat changes for a surprisingly long time.

The body fat changes show up in those multi-week trends: If my weight is up and down around 135 pounds this week, say maybe 133 to 137 (not as start and end, but anywhere during the week), then in a week that's a month from now my weight is up and down from 129 to 132, I've likely lost 4-5 pounds of fat that month.

If this is the kind of scenario you're seeing, don't let it get to you. This thread (especially the article linked in the first post) would be a useful thing to read:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

Also, don't try to defeat or game your body's water/waste fluctuations. Those fluctuations are part of how a healthy body stays healthy, and our bodies know what they're doing. We shouldn't be trying to mess with that. Better: Try to understand and accept it.

Best wishes!

MargaretYakoda

You might want to try a weight tracker that shows you trends.

Some users here have found Happy Scale to be helpful.
https://happyscale.com/

MeaganCox136

So my normal weight is about 181 and when it goes up it's around 197, then it will drop back down under 180. That's why I wasn't sure if it was normal. It normal happens in a course of a week. As for my family situation, I live with my parents and both are bigger people. I am in the middle and am trying to keep it down and not up because I see there struggles and don't want that. My mom buys food because she is picky about brands and what food she eats. I do have my own money but it's hard finding the right foods when all that's around me is pizza and fries along with many other types of food. I have been trying to watch how much I eat and drink for over a month now so I just need help understanding if everything is normal and if there might be something I should change.

AnnPT77

MeaganCox136 wrote: »

So my normal weight is about 181 and when it goes up it's around 197, then it will drop back down under 180. That's why I wasn't sure if it was normal. It normal happens in a course of a week. As for my family situation, I live with my parents and both are bigger people. I am in the middle and am trying to keep it down and not up because I see there struggles and don't want that. My mom buys food because she is picky about brands and what food she eats. I do have my own money but it's hard finding the right foods when all that's around me is pizza and fries along with many other types of food. I have been trying to watch how much I eat and drink for over a month now so I just need help understanding if everything is normal and if there might be something I should change.

As a generality, if the jump from 181 to 197 is over a short time period (week-ish) without any notable change in calorie intake or activity, it's more like some kind of water weight shift, not body fat gain/loss.

Assuming you have menstrual cycles, have you noticed any correlation with particular points in your cycle? Some women add multiple pounds of water retention at a particular point(s) in their monthly cycle. Often it's right before flow starts, or around ovulation, but it varies. It's not common, but a small number of women here have reported only seeing a new low weight once a month, at a particular point in their cycle.

One thing you could consider would be to get an estimate of your current weight-maintenance calories, and log your eating/exercise as consistently, completely, and accurately as practical. If you see a sudden scale increase, but you haven't recently cumulatively eaten around that number of pounds times 3500 calories (or moved that much less), it isn't likely that the scale jump is fat gain. It's probably a shift in water retention.

Multiple pound shifts in water retention from one day to the next are normal. Probably shifts from one day to the next of 2-5 pounds are quite common. Water shifts of as much as you're talking about (181 to 197) would be statistically unusual, but not necessarily abnormal (in the sense of being a health problem). People vary quite a lot.

If you're concerned, and especially if you see other symptoms, you might want to discuss the situation with your doctor. Some people can have larger shifts than others, so if you feel fine otherwise, there's IMO no reason to panic about this.

PAV8888

Please note that I am not a health professional; just an MFP user these past few years.

If there is no typo I am reading a 17lb variation over the course of a single week. And I am also understanding that weight changes of similar magnitude have occurred more than one time and again during a time period of a few days.

A major FIRST check would be the status of your scale:

is it positioned on HARD unyielding level ground? Have you changed the battery? Are the scale "feet" clean of fuzz and/or debris? Is the scale on carpet? Does it get moved between uses?

Are you "weight swings" measured under similar conditions? i.e. First thing in the morning wearing no or very few clothes that are extremely similar between measurements, after using the washroom, before eating or drinking anything?

Beyond that, for me, the issue is not that you gain and lose a significant amount of weight, this happens to a lot of people, but the absolute value of the weight change you are discussing.

I am aware that women (often) have weight swings associated with their menstrual cycle. But as far as I am aware these are typically in the 1.1lb range and sometimes go up to the 5lbs-ish range. 17lbs is
quite a way up from that.

Of course there is the issue of regularity/constipation. People might "go" less frequently and this could create a significant weight change. But again I think that such swings even coinciding with a menstrual phase would still only amount to a fraction of the 17lbs you are discussing.

Based on your descriptions you are not eating low carb so the water weight swing associated with glycogen changes doesn't apply. Do you fast for large amounts of time? If you do, this might fall under the taking your weight measurements under similar conditions category so that you are comparing similar to similar as food has weight while getting processed through our body

Beyond that: Do you notice any noticeable swelling of your lower feel? Feeling bloated/swollen anywhere else? If yes, or if a reasonably believable explanation for such a large swing cannot be found, I would encourage you to visit a doctor to discuss and rule out any health issues.

kshama2001

MeaganCox136 wrote: »

So my normal weight is about 181 and when it goes up it's around 197, then it will drop back down under 180. That's why I wasn't sure if it was normal. It normal happens in a course of a week. As for my family situation, I live with my parents and both are bigger people. I am in the middle and am trying to keep it down and not up because I see there struggles and don't want that. My mom buys food because she is picky about brands and what food she eats. I do have my own money but it's hard finding the right foods when all that's around me is pizza and fries along with many other types of food. I have been trying to watch how much I eat and drink for over a month now so I just need help understanding if everything is normal and if there might be something I should change.

Yeah, it's not normal to have 17+ pound swings over the course of the week on multiple weeks. Like Pav, I'm thinking something about your weighing methodology is causing this. Are you weighing more than once per day? If so, that is contributing - only weigh at the same time of day under the same conditions.

I'm also wondering if your scale is on a flat, stable surface.

kshama2001

MeaganCox136 wrote: »

So my normal weight is about 181 and when it goes up it's around 197, then it will drop back down under 180. That's why I wasn't sure if it was normal. It normal happens in a course of a week. As for my family situation, I live with my parents and both are bigger people. I am in the middle and am trying to keep it down and not up because I see there struggles and don't want that. My mom buys food because she is picky about brands and what food she eats. I do have my own money but it's hard finding the right foods when all that's around me is pizza and fries along with many other types of food. I have been trying to watch how much I eat and drink for over a month now so I just need help understanding if everything is normal and if there might be something I should change.

Would your mother be willing to buy fruits and vegetables when she shops? Tell her you are aiming to make your plate look more like this: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/



I eat a lot of frozen and canned fruit. It's cheaper, convenient, and doesn't spoil. I also buy fruit with long storage times like apples and oranges.

For dessert, I'm more satisfied with a 60 calorie fruit bowl than @ 300 calories of baked goods. I'll also skip dessert and add fruit to my meal - I added 4 oz of mandarin oranges to my stir fry tonight.

I have fruit and Greek yogurt for a bed time snack, and when it gets warmer, I'll have fruit, Greek yogurt, and high fiber cereal for breakfast. (Greek yogurt has more protein.)

MeaganCox136

PAV8888 wrote: »

Please note that I am not a health professional; just an MFP user these past few years.

If there is no typo I am reading a 17lb variation over the course of a single week. And I am also understanding that weight changes of similar magnitude have occurred more than one time and again during a time period of a few days.

A major FIRST check would be the status of your scale:

is it positioned on HARD unyielding level ground? Have you changed the battery? Are the scale "feet" clean of fuzz and/or debris? Is the scale on carpet? Does it get moved between uses?

Are you "weight swings" measured under similar conditions? i.e. First thing in the morning wearing no or very few clothes that are extremely similar between measurements, after using the washroom, before eating or drinking anything?

Beyond that, for me, the issue is not that you gain and lose a significant amount of weight, this happens to a lot of people, but the absolute value of the weight change you are discussing.

I am aware that women (often) have weight swings associated with their menstrual cycle. But as far as I am aware these are typically in the 1.1lb range and sometimes go up to the 5lbs-ish range. 17lbs is
quite a way up from that.

Of course there is the issue of regularity/constipation. People might "go" less frequently and this could create a significant weight change. But again I think that such swings even coinciding with a menstrual phase would still only amount to a fraction of the 17lbs you are discussing.

Based on your descriptions you are not eating low carb so the water weight swing associated with glycogen changes doesn't apply. Do you fast for large amounts of time? If you do, this might fall under the taking your weight measurements under similar conditions category so that you are comparing similar to similar as food has weight while getting processed through our body

Beyond that: Do you notice any noticeable swelling of your lower feel? Feeling bloated/swollen anywhere else? If yes, or if a reasonably believable explanation for such a large swing cannot be found, I would encourage you to visit a doctor to discuss and rule out any health issues.

I do have something called PCOS, my doctors had said it should not effect my weight. As for the scale, it is only moved when I clean it and if there is a guest in the house which isn't often. And batteries were changed not very long ago.

PAV8888

After moving the scale I would make sure that you follow the re-calibration procedure it suggests. I would ask again if it is on a stable, flat, HARD surface (not carpet, even if low pile, not on a soft yielding surface). Does the scale bend/is it in good shape?

To make sure we are on the same wavelength here: If you were saying you have 5lbs weight swings most of us would not bat too much of an eyelid. But you are saying you are having 10% of your total weight level weight swings (17lbs out of 180lbs) -- more than once -- and in time periods of a week or so?

So 15+ lb weight swings that are way more than a few percentage points of your total weight are not common, as far as I am aware, hence I am trying to help you find an explanation.

Are these type of weight swings continuing or were they a one time event?
If you are trying to manage your weight are you finding success and is your general weight level coming down, or is it static still?

Have you talked specifically about these weight swings with a doctor. As in NOT "hey is PCOS potentially causing me to gain weight and weigh more than I would like" but along the lines of: "hey doc: I weight daily and over the past X months I've observed on Z occasions that I have had YY+ lb weight losses or ZZ+lb weight regains that took place over the course of just N days", can you help me figure out what may be causing this?

I mean if this happened a while back and it was a one time event... I would chalk it to a scale malfunction and be on the lookout. If it is something that is continuing and has happened a few times... I would continue to troubleshoot!

Aesop101

Here are my thoughts and like others I am definitely not an expert. You are in a tough situation. You pretty much have to eat what's in front of you. Here are some things you can try; avoid pasta, rice, potatoes. Focus on eating meat. Hamburger and roasts work well. No bread and sweets. You won't miss them in short order. I eat veggies but nothing starchy. I prefer greens like spinach and collard greens. The weight will drop off in short order and you won't have to starve yourself. I congratulate you for getting started so young. You'll be great!

Last thought, share your goals with your parents. They love you and will probably get on board.

mtaratoot

How old is your scale?

Is it a digital scale or analog with a dial and spring?

If it's an older scale that uses a spring, it may need to be replaced. I had one years ago that was horribly inaccurate. If I weighed myself on a balance and then weighed at home, I could adjust the zero so it would register the right weight for ME, but it still would vary a lot. It would for sure not give a correct weight for someone that was much heavier or lighter than I was.

I bought a fairly inexpensive digital scale that also had bioimpedence analysis so I could get a rough estimate of body fat% and a couple other metrics. It worked for years but eventually had some issue I don't recall and stopped functioning. I bet it lasted a decade. Or maybe I am actually still using that same one from all those years ago, because I also have another scale that only shows weight. Same manufacturer. Quite affordable. Make sure your scale is working!

Also, as @PAV8888 suggested, be sure it's on a hard flat surface and doesn't have pet fur under the feet and calibrate it if needed.

To test the scale, as I think it was @PAV8888, suggested to me a while ago, weigh yourself. Pick up something that weighs a pound or two (or more). If it's a known weight, that's a great thing. A quart of water weighs almost exactly two pounds. Weigh yourself again. The weight should be two pounds more than without the weight. You can try this with different weights and make sure it gives what you expect. Then weigh just yourself again right away. It should go back to the original weight. If not - it's the scale that's the problem.

You can also make body measurements. They change slower than weight, but they will absolutely tell you how your body size is changing. You can also buy a fairly cheap body fat caliper, but there's a little learning curve to use it correctly. There's also a learning curve for using the measuring tape, but some measurements are easier than others.