I'm so frustrated!!

losergirl78

Today I am frustrated, I weighed myself even though tomorrow is my official weigh-in because I was so excited to see a change, especially since I'd been good all week. It changed alright, the scale said I gained 5 punds. I couldn't beleive it, I weighed myself a second time just to be sure!!

I worked out 5 times last week and I ate all my calories, but not my exercise calories. What is going on??

daj150

Well, without knowing all of the details of your workouts or seeing what you were eating, there could be a grocery list of reasons. If there was any sort of strength involved in your workouts, you might have been replacing fat with muscle. Muscle weighs a lot. You may have been under your calories, but maybe your diet was high in sodium, which would cause your body to retain extra water. Maybe you were not drinking enough fluids, and your body retained additional fluids. Maybe your calories goal is too low and your body is in starvation mode and trying to store up what it can. Maybe that time of the month is knocking, These are just a few possibilities. I can't make any conclusions without knowing all of the details. I had a similar situation where I was losing weight and doing well, but exercising 4 times a week, with hard strength training, and I went up 2 lbs.

On weeks like this where you are not seeing weight improvements or you see a decline, focus on other aspects of your body. My gut hasn't really changed, but my waste line seems to be shrinking by the minute. Focusing on the small things can really help.

Sharonbed4d

I read about a lot of people not eating their exercise calories. Everyone is different but you need at least 1200 calories per day or your body will just hold onto the calories. I would suggest that you eat most of your exercise calories, MFP adds them back in for a reason. Just make sure you are accurately counting how many calories you burn. I wear a HRM to get the most accurate count.
Don't get discouraged, the scale can change several lbs each day. I try to only weigh myself once a week but if I had a lot of sodium the day prior, my weight seems to increase because of water retention. Good luck:)

gnastro

It can be so many things you are retaining fluids, did you have a meal that had more than 15% sodium? If you dont have regular bowel movements. If you are near that TOM. Ignore the scale keep doing what you are doing. I do eat some of my exercise calories. Good Luck it is a long journey.



Gina

andreahanlon

I have a few ideas:

1. working out so much could result in your muscles retaining water which could show up as a gain on the scale (http://www.ehow.com/facts_5579501_do-retain-water-after-exercise_.html)
2. other foods, like high sodium foods, can also contribute to water retention
3. time of day you are weighing in -- my morning weight and my evening weight sometimes differ by 5 pounds.

Keep going!! Losing weight is about consistently healthy behaviors over time. Don't let this trip you up.

dirkfour4

I agree with all the posts. Remember: this is for you! And it requires your attention It's a life long change that we do day to day. My wife and I go through the same thing you do. She gets all down because she went up 3 pounds and a couple days later she's down 2 pounds again.

Sounds like you're doing everything that you can and over a period of time you WILL see a change....persistence and patience!

Best Wishes to you!

championnfl

This is why the scale is not your friend! Its self demoralizing. Weigh yourself twice a month..... Go by clothes,buy a slack that is 2 inches to small,put on a hanger and try them on once a week!
You lose all over the body,this will give you motivation to keep on pushing to your goal.
Losing weight is 90% mental...10% physical----have the right mind set ,makes losing easier Can you do it? yes you can!:bigsmile:

doglanta

I agree this is really frustrating. Everybody goes through these periods where your body fights back and tries to hold onto all the weight it can. I have lost 30 pounds since the first week of July but the weight loss has been anything but smooth. Every 8 days or so my body mounts a counter-attack and decides to not only stop losing weight for a couple of days but actually put some back on. I do nothing different, keep working out and keep to my same eating plan, but after about a week of losing I go through 2-3 days of gaining. It's really like two steps forward and then one back. I am averaging .3 pounds a day weight loss so my efforts are definitely working but it is not a smooth and steady decline. I will paste a picture of a typical 30 day weight loss results below and you will see what I mean. I used to get frustrated by this but now I just deal with it and know that after a couple of days the weight loss resumes. I also have had a couple of 1-2 week periods where I just don't lose anything. You just have to work through these because your body can't keep it up forever. Sooner or later the facts of consuming fewer calories than your body requires will take over and the weight will start coming off again.

You have already lost 9 pounds which is great. Don't let the temporary lack of results get you down; remember it is temporary as long as you keep working!

Good luck,
Ken

Down-Up-Down-Up-Down-Up...but still heading in the DOWN direction!!!

losergirl78

My work-out schedule is Monday and Wends 1 hour of high impact aerobics, Tuesday and Thurs a mix of Yoga and Pilates for an hour, and Sat and Sun I use the equipment at the gym for at least an hour ... bike, treadmill, eliptical or weights.

I drink nothing but water, however some days I have high sodium days. A couple weeks ago I was diagnosed with diabetes and so I've cut out most carbs and any other sugar I could think of. This week I did have some fruit (banana's and grapes). Tomorrow I am going to measure myself too, hopefully that number has gone down.

vkpmusic

Then DEFINITELY don't worry about it. Your body has just been diagnosed with diabetes, which means you have thrown it a major curve ball by eating what you supposed to. Just eat the way the drs tell you, get regular exercise, ignore the scale (as hard as that is). By all means weigh yourself and record if you want to, but I guarantee if you adhere strictly to diabetic guideline you will drop weight! Do watch the sodium though, as diabetics can be more at risk for other issues like high blood pressure.

rml_16

Did you eat a lot of sodium?