Why am i gaining weight?

sjeagle30

I had the same thing happened to me yesterday but then I weighed myself this morning and the 3 lbs that the scale showed I gained in one day was gone plus one more pound. Definitely water weight no matter what people say. If you had a higher sodium day or whatever the case may be this can happen. It is not physically possible to be eating at a deficit and gain actual weight unless of course there are health or medication reasons. For me to have actually gained that 3 pounds I would have had to eat 10,500 calories over my normal amount and I have been staying under so I tried not to worry to much about it. My weight can easily go up and down 5 pounds every couple of days. Keep at it and you will see it starting to come off.

mccindy72

Must try harder. Dont believe the cosy excuses such as water weight. They dont help. Losing weight is about being tough with yourself. Prepare yourself for the worst but most likely reason - you probably arent recording properly.

Leave it to a man to say women don't gain water weight when on their period. Just ignore hormones and their effects on your body. Whatever.

Oh get a grip. You dont if this lady is on her period anymore than I do. It wasnt mentioned in the post. Otherwise, while you are at it, why not make a random assumption that the OP has a rare genetic disease too that inhibits her from losing weight?

Keep your sexist accusations to yourself as if you assume I would tell a bloke a different story. Weight loss IS about being tough with yourself. The amount of people who just blame water... it's just untrue. And so what if it was water? Isnt it best to advise in case it wasnt - the most likely scenario? Or do you have some other telepathic power to assume that it is?

Which was why I asked, and you have popped up in lots of threads saying that water weight gains don't exist, and you and all your friends don't have any of the mundane issues that everyone uses to explain away minor fluctuations in weight.

I'm glad you and all your friends have never had those problems (seriously doubting that though since you have women on your friend's list), but telling people it isn't water weight and that isn't an excuse and to just try harder isn't necessarily helpful either. It's been just a few days. The progress on the scale is not linear. Fluctuations happen. There should be an overall downward trend, and if there isn't, then yes, you need to reassess what you are doing. But if everyone were to try harder every time there was a minor fluctuation on the scale, there is a very real possibility of them ending up with a very unhealthy relationship with food, the scale, and their body.

And you need to calm down.

I tell everybody that overeating is to blame just as much as you suggest water retention is at fault. I did not say that water gains do not exist, but that such reasons are so common I become suspicious. Besides, what is wrong with advising for the worst case and more common scenario?

If we go along the narrative that water may be to blame, then at best, the person will lose a bit down the line or at worst, lose nothing or put on. If it we say that it could be calorie intake, then at worst, the person will lose as expected if true, and at best will lose slightly more if water retention was previously to blame. This will not cause a food disorder.

Ah, yes you did say that water gains do not exist, on yesterday's thread, when you claimed that you and everyone you know has lost weight without fluctuations due to water retention.

bajoyba

Must try harder. Dont believe the cosy excuses such as water weight. They dont help. Losing weight is about being tough with yourself. Prepare yourself for the worst but most likely reason - you probably arent recording properly.

Leave it to a man to say women don't gain water weight when on their period. Just ignore hormones and their effects on your body. Whatever.

Oh get a grip. You dont if this lady is on her period anymore than I do. It wasnt mentioned in the post. Otherwise, while you are at it, why not make a random assumption that the OP has a rare genetic disease too that inhibits her from losing weight?

Keep your sexist accusations to yourself as if you assume I would tell a bloke a different story. Weight loss IS about being tough with yourself. The amount of people who just blame water... it's just untrue. And so what if it was water? Isnt it best to advise in case it wasnt - the most likely scenario? Or do you have some other telepathic power to assume that it is?

Which was why I asked, and you have popped up in lots of threads saying that water weight gains don't exist, and you and all your friends don't have any of the mundane issues that everyone uses to explain away minor fluctuations in weight.

I'm glad you and all your friends have never had those problems (seriously doubting that though since you have women on your friend's list), but telling people it isn't water weight and that isn't an excuse and to just try harder isn't necessarily helpful either. It's been just a few days. The progress on the scale is not linear. Fluctuations happen. There should be an overall downward trend, and if there isn't, then yes, you need to reassess what you are doing. But if everyone were to try harder every time there was a minor fluctuation on the scale, there is a very real possibility of them ending up with a very unhealthy relationship with food, the scale, and their body.

And you need to calm down.

I tell everybody that overeating is to blame just as much as you suggest water retention is at fault. I did not say that water gains do not exist, but that such reasons are so common I become suspicious. Besides, what is wrong with advising for the worst case and more common scenario?

If we go along the narrative that water may be to blame, then at best, the person will lose a bit down the line or at worst, lose nothing or put on. If it we say that it could be calorie intake, then at worst, the person will lose as expected if true, and at best will lose slightly more if water retention was previously to blame. This will not cause a food disorder.

If a person is eating 1500 calories to lose weight, and the scale goes up 4lbs in a day, and you tell them they aren't doing well enough and they need to try harder, so they drop to 1300 calories a day and exercise more. Then in a few weeks, they see another scale gain, and realize they are still failing, so they need to try harder, so they cut calories again and add another workout.

This cycle is definitely a possibility, especially if someone is feeling demoralized and that no matter what they try, it's not working. However, if they took a step back, ignore the minor gains, then they'd realize that overall they are losing. The microcosm of each and every weigh in should not be used to determine what you are doing wrong or right.

Obviously people react differently to what the scale says, but if they are freaking out after 4 days of attempting to eat well, my guess is that they already don't have a healthy relationship with the scale and weight loss in general. It doesn't seem like telling them they are failing is the best way to approach things. They need to keep doing what they are doing for a few weeks and then reassess. Obviously everyone needs to reassess every now and then to make sure what they are doing is working. But, a small gain shouldn't trigger a knee jerk response of "try harder" or "what you're doing isn't working, fix it".

Exactly. There's no harm in telling someone that it could very likely be water weight and to give it a few days or even weeks to have a clear picture of an upward or downward trend. I weigh everyday, and I see fluctuations every day. I've put on 3 pounds in one day before, but I didn't flip out because I knew it was water weight... Because water weight is a real thing and a common occurrence. A few days later, those 3 pounds were gone, and I continued losing.

Of course the most important part of calorie counting is accuracy and consistency, but if you see a sudden spike on the scale, really, it's probably water. After weighing almost every day for a year, I know that my body can retain water for a variety of reasons, including muscle soreness from a new or tough workout, high sodium levels, consuming more carbs than I usually do, and hormone changes (which can happen throughout the month, not just when a woman is on her period). If I had changed my calorie goal or my methods every time I gained a pound on the scale, I don't know where I would be right now. Instead, I just make sure I'm accurate and consistent, and I stick to my plan. If after a few weeks there is no change or there's a trend in the wrong direction, then it's time to reevaluate.

donnat238

Keep tracking your food and exercise. That being said - I really bumped up my exercise during the Christmas break and gained 6 lbs! I was devastated, but on my next weigh in (I weigh every 2 wks) I had lost almost 9 lbs.