I know it's illogical but please tell me I did not put on all the weight back?

capriqueen

I had the flu twice this past month. I have been trying to lose weight mostly through diet and was 253lbs as of Jan 30th. I developed the flu the second time on Feb 1, the next day I weighed in at 248lbs. Over the course of the week I fluctuated between 245-246lbs. Until this Sunday (Feb 9th) I could barely eat anything and keep it down. On Monday, I ordered takeout as I was craving it-- threw up everything. Monday and Tuesday I weighed 247-248 lbs.

Yesterday and today I finally ate above 1500 calories. I ate some takeout today again-- now I weigh 251.6 lbs. Was the weight I lost from the flu purely water weight and this is the way it's coming back? I feel paranoid. I hate myself for having takeout but it's only because I wanted to treat myself a little bit. I did not eat all of it-- half a wet burrito, some chips and a chile relleno.

csplatt

you were dehydrated and had no food in your system (stomach, intestines). that’s why your weight got so low. not the same as fat loss and gain.

PAV8888

You have a weight level and not a specific EXACT number for your weight.
Why?
Because your weight consists of a whole bunch of moving components only one of which is the quantity of your fat reserves.
If you've "puked" all your insides... at some point of time you will have insides again.
So worrying how many lbs of insides you lost or gained is not really relevant.
If you went from sodium free to sodium full the change is not fat.
If you went from depleting your glycogen stores because you didn't eat / didn't eat carbs and lost 5lbs and then ate again / ate carbs (as the case may be) and you re-gained the 5lbs... again that wasn't a change in fat levels.

You probably lost some fat.
You probably saw the scale move much more than the fat you lost.

If nothing else, assuming you also do some degree of exercise or activity, by being inactive you may have even lost a lb or two of water retained for muscle repairs... which you will then regain.

QUICK SCALE MOVEMENTS ARE NOT FAT LEVEL RELATED.

Assume you ate nothing. And didn't move. You will lose fat. because the energy has to come from somewhere and you've eaten nothing. But by not moving you probably spent calories close to your RMR level as opposed to the extra calories even sedentary or lightly active people spent. So the better part of TWO DAYS for 1lb of change in fat level. While eating or drinking NOTHING. Obviously not recommended. And obviously not the only thing you see when the scale moves 2lbs in a day!

Please use a weight trend app and think of your weight as something that evolves over several weeks. If the overall trend is down... you're in a deficit!

Now. What's with this **kitten** about hating yourself and all that jazz? SERIOUSLY. You will spend the rest of your life hating yourself? If you want to lose weight and keep it off it is time to think of long term strategies.

I don't know, that treating myself to food would be my #1 consciously chosen reward strategy while in a deficit TBH. Because in a deficit you're probably better off choosing food that is satiating as opposed to ultra tasty. BUT, by the same token, I am not going to pretend that I don't eat food solely because I LIKE it. I did so while losing. I've done so even more often while maintaining. And yes, doing so doesn't make my life any easier. And can lead to (systematic and long term) regain if not careful. But by NOT doing so I would have been making my life harder in actual fact, so there's that too to consider.

But, if you're counting calories and hope to know whether you've eaten 1500 Cal or 2000 Cal, half a wet burrito and some chips has no real meaning when it comes to logging your calories.

300g of beef burrito and 126g of chips may be closer to having a meaning. Still not 100% accurate since you don't know the exact ingredients and cooking methods. But a lot closer than "half" and "some". Same applies to condiments, especially higher calorie ones.

You can make better decisions when you actually can see in your log where your calories are coming from. Then you can evaluate and choose which treats are worth it to you and which ones are not.

Maybe you will choose burritos and chips. Maybe fish and chips. Maybe a hamburger and fries. To me that matters less than being able to consciously make choices and trade offs.

So take out by itself is not your enemy. Sure. It won't make controlling your weight any easier. But long term it is a choice that you can and SHOULD accommodate if you feel like doing so. Without hating or second guessing yourself beyond evaluating whether it was worth it to you, or whether something else would have been a better choice to make--for the next time.

totameafox

I know it's hard to not be disappointed by the numbers on the scale. I gained 1.4lbs from week 4 to week 5. I also know that I did not eat enough calories to gain 1.4 pounds in a week. I did have two days that were not under my complete control where I might have gone over my tdee by a little but in no way did I go crazy.

The next day my weight dropped 0.6lbs. 4 days in to this week and i've dropped 1.8lbs. This tells me that it was likely as describe above... fluids and food processing.

But what I really want to add is that while you are sick, weight loss should be the last thing on your mind. Focus on being well enough to feel better. Keeping food and fluids inside you are more important than stepping on a scale.

Also, the past is the past. You can't do anything about yesterday. Was I unhappy about the scale going up? Yes. How long did I spend being upset over it... maybe about a minute. I can't fix yesterday, I can only affect the present. So pull yourself up and make this moment count.