Calorie deficit + daily exercise and I GAINED??

thefitandhappygirl
thefitandhappygirl Posts: 6
in Motivation and Support
How in the world did I GAIN a pound overnight? I've been good about eating at a calorie deficit for the last week and exercising each day. I'm honest to a fault about recording my intake (diary is open). I aim for mild intermittent fasting, the goal is at least 12 hours between last meal today to first meal tomorrow. I've been steadily losing and I understand maybe stalling or plateauing, I know that's bound to happen, but how in the world did I gain?? This is the kind of thing that leads to psychological stress which leads to cookies for breakfast out of what's-the-point frustration. (HA. Only it's not really funny.)

Any suggestions/motivation/support is welcomed!!

Replies

  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    Could you please provide us with some basic information?

    Age, height, weight, goal weight, bodyfat percentage if known, calorie goal, if you are weighing your food, how much and what type of exercise you are doing, and if you have had any changes in your diet or exercise regimen lately.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    take a poop?
  • thefitandhappygirl
    thefitandhappygirl Posts: 6
    age: 25
    height: 5'7"
    goal weight: 115-120
    I have no idea body fat % but I'm totally skinny-fat so I'm sure it's up there
    Calorie goal is 1200 (according to myfitnesspal) without exercise, when I work out I usually eat at least half those calories back.
    Exercise is logged, I try to work out an hour a day. Cardio heavy right now only because I'm trying to get into good cardiovascular shape to run a marathon later this year. I do calisthenics/weights for an hour probably twice a week instead of cardio.

    No major changes in diet/exercise (should note I'm a vegetarian though but that's not new).
  • AlishaRutledge25
    AlishaRutledge25 Posts: 18 Member
    Don't get discouraged. Remember muscle weighs more than fat. Also your weight goes up and down through out the day. I always weigh Monday mornings after using the restroom. Don't let that 1 lb get ya down!
  • thefitandhappygirl
    thefitandhappygirl Posts: 6
    I guess I should also note that I weigh in every morning after I wake up and use the restroom/before consuming any liquids or food. Seeing a consistent loss every day no matter how small was at least motivation on the tough days.
  • miss_phat_booty
    miss_phat_booty Posts: 117
    I wouldn't stress too much about a 1 lb gain, weight loss isnt linear. Also I think daily weigh-ins can be detrimental to your mental health.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    Don't get discouraged. Remember muscle weighs more than fat. Also your weight goes up and down through out the day. I always weigh Monday mornings after using the restroom. Don't let that 1 lb get ya down!

    This is very important. Your body has normal weight flucuations due to different carbohydrate and sodium intakes. Another factor that could be at play is your menstrual cycle, which also causes water retention.


    I wouldn't worry about it. :smile:
  • thefitandhappygirl
    thefitandhappygirl Posts: 6
    Ah sodium. I didn't think of that. Stupid salt. I guess I will just drink a lot of water to try and flush it out?
  • ssmaling
    ssmaling Posts: 83 Member
    Don't get discouraged. Remember muscle weighs more than fat. Also your weight goes up and down through out the day. I always weigh Monday mornings after using the restroom. Don't let that 1 lb get ya down!

    Muscle does not weigh more than fat. Muscle and fat differ in density but a pound is a pound. A pound of butter does not weigh any less than a pound of broccoli.

    Edited because I forgot to add this - Don't freak out. Your weight will fluctuate. As long as you are eating good and working out you'll get there. ;)
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    A normal daily fluctuation it can vary up to five pounds a day. If you're going to get this stressed don't weigh daily

    Also try eating some real food. A diet made up of 90% of bars is no way to live.
  • anthonye123
    anthonye123 Posts: 7 Member
    Try and weigh in every/every other day and take a weekly average, because your weight's going to fluctuate due to lots of reasons - water retention, poop timings, amount of sleep etc. So as long as you're seeing 1-2 pounds of weight loss a week things are on track.
  • RWTBR
    RWTBR Posts: 140 Member
    Overnight? So does this mean you weigh yourself every day? Your body can naturally fluctuate several pounds each day. You should not weigh yourself every day. Weigh only once a week, with all the same conditions. For example, every Monday morning after going to the bathroom and before eating anything, on the same scale, with the same clothing and shoes on (or if you weigh without anything on, the same thing each time). Don't weigh any other time except that weekly weigh-in.

    And, if you do end up reaching for those cookies, log the calories in your diary!
  • thefitandhappygirl
    thefitandhappygirl Posts: 6
    How does sleep affect it? I've never heard of this before, and I actually didn't sleep so great last night. Please educate me on this :)
  • lrob79
    lrob79 Posts: 16 Member
    Dont eat your exercise calories back, the estimates for how many calories you burned during exercise are just that, estimates, and that is probably your problem.
  • anthonye123
    anthonye123 Posts: 7 Member
    Weigh only once a week, with all the same conditions.

    Not the best thing to do imo, as you can't always be in control of all those conditions. If 2 consecutive weigh-ins were off by 2lbs then that's half a month of unclear readings and frustration/excess calorie adjustment/excess cardio as a result. Every other day and a weekly average of such would give you much more accurate, consistent results unless there's some reason you can't step on a scale every other morning.

    As for sleep, and this is an awful source that I hate using http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/lack-of-sleep-weight-gain
  • susanevenden
    susanevenden Posts: 16
    A bathroom scale is not scientifically calibrated and is also made with inexpensive parts. It's accuracy isn't the best. My weight often fluctuates on my scale and sometimes even after a very hard, long workout with lots of sweating and no water intake (bad, I know) my weight has gone up.

    Don't fret and be careful not to be overly analytical. Watch the trends, use the scale as a guide, not a god.
  • ruthejp13
    ruthejp13 Posts: 213 Member
    I weigh myself every morning. On morning I woke up unusually early, weighed myself and then went back to bed. Two hours later I got up again and lost 2 pounds in 2 hours. A good night's sleep is vital to weight loss.

    A day or two before my period my weight goes up and by the end it's back down.
  • anthonye123
    anthonye123 Posts: 7 Member


    A day or two before my period

    aaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm outta here
  • thefitandhappygirl
    thefitandhappygirl Posts: 6
    Don't fret and be careful not to be overly analytical. Watch the trends, use the scale as a guide, not a god.

    You are right. Thank you. I only gained this weight back in February and I'm so anxious to get back to where I was so I can go back to work that I probably am being super type A about getting rid of it ASAP.
  • RWTBR
    RWTBR Posts: 140 Member
    IDK about that. Weighing once a week usually gives you a pretty accurate picture of how you're doing. One really doesn't need to weigh more often than that, it just makes people neurotic about the number. People need to just do what they're supposed to, stop freaking out, and let it happen.
    Weigh only once a week, with all the same conditions.

    Not the best thing to do imo, as you can't always be in control of all those conditions. If 2 consecutive weigh-ins were off by 2lbs then that's half a month of unclear readings and frustration/excess calorie adjustment/excess cardio as a result. Every other day and a weekly average of such would give you much more accurate, consistent results unless there's some reason you can't step on a scale every other morning.

    As for sleep, and this is an awful source that I hate using http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/lack-of-sleep-weight-gain
  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
    I wouldn't stress about 1 lb. Weight fluctuates throughout the day. My weight fluctuates by a lb every day. I 'gain' and 'lose' a lb in just a matter of hours. It's normal for weight to do that. Especially if you're nearing your time of month, haven't used the bathroom, just showered, just ate, or depending on sodium intake.
  • eslcity
    eslcity Posts: 323 Member
    Don't get discouraged. Remember muscle weighs more than fat. Also your weight goes up and down through out the day. I always weigh Monday mornings after using the restroom. Don't let that 1 lb get ya down!

    Muscle does not weigh more than fat. Muscle and fat differ in density but a pound is a pound. A pound of butter does not weigh any less than a pound of broccoli.

    Edited because I forgot to add this - Don't freak out. Your weight will fluctuate. As long as you are eating good and working out you'll get there. ;)

    When I saw... someone said muscle weights more then fat... I was wondering just how long someone would jump on that... it makes me want to scream every time I see someone correct someone else for saying it... most and I'm saying MOST people are smart enough to know a pound of lead weights the same as a pound of marshmellows....
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    I guess I should also note that I weigh in every morning after I wake up and use the restroom/before consuming any liquids or food. Seeing a consistent loss every day no matter how small was at least motivation on the tough days.

    Every day the typical person takes in 13 pounds of oxygen, water, and food, on average, and excretes about the same amount in liquid and solid wastes and carbon dioxide. (If you're losing weight, you'll excrete more than you take in; if gaining weight, vice-versa.) However, those are averages. Daily fluctuation can be as much as 5 lb. due to water retention, the amount of fiber, constipation, etc.

    Even someone losing 2 lb./week will lose, on average, only 4.57 oz. each day. That's an order of magnitude less than your daily oxygen, water, and solid waste fluctuation. If your weight has dropped every day up until now, that's very rare.

    Here's a typical month (August 2013) in my daily weight log (using the Hacker's Diet Online site by John Walker):

    HackDiet.png

    Note that the daily weights (blue diamonds) go up and down. But the trend (the red line) is almost always going down. That month there were only 3 days out of 31 when my weight was above the trend line - a clear sign that I was losing weight. But if I looked only at daily weights, I might have had a meltdown after seeing my weight go up every day from the 20th to the 24th.

    If you're going to weigh yourself daily--which I recommend, by the way--you should do two things:

    (1) Read the chapters on "The Rubber Bag" and "Signal and Noise" in The Hacker's Diet (free online at http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/).

    (2) Use a spreadsheet, Walker's site, or TrendWeight.com to calculate an exponentially smoothed weighted average, and use that to assess how well your weight loss is going.
  • cadaver0usb0nes
    cadaver0usb0nes Posts: 151 Member
    Did you gain a lb in one day? If so then that probably is just normal fluctuations and not actual WEIGHT GAIN. You shouldn't weigh every day, only once a week or less.
  • astartig
    astartig Posts: 549 Member
    I've not read the whole thread, I'm sure someone has already said this but i'll say it again..

    a pound overnight is waterweight. nothing to fret over.
  • KeyOfJ
    KeyOfJ Posts: 9
    The first time I starting trying to loose weight I lost 43 lbs, but gained 23 lbs in muscle. Since you are already leaner than most, maybe it was just an increase in muscle.

    I look forward to the day when there is only a 1 lb difference in a day.

    Do not fret over it.

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