Unwanted weight gain - Help!

lururu

Hi,
I have been using MFP for 40 days now and I lost 16lbs but over the past two days I have put on 2 1/2lbs and I have no idea how it happened?
I have a calorie goal of 1400 a day which I find easy to stick to, I try and do as much exercise as possible (yesterday I burned through about 600 cals) which is difficult as I have osteo arthritis in my leg joints. I average about 300 calories a day in exercise if I am feeling sore and then try and make up for that when I am feeling a bit better.
And yet over the past two days those 2 1/2lbs have appeared on my scales and I just can't work out how they got there? My weight loss also seems a lot slower than my daily MFP predictions? I am fanatical about tracking everything I eat and even slightly over estimate portions etc just to be on the safe side.
I am so worried about this gain and really confused, has anyone got any suggestions or similar experiences? I am going out of my mind here

Thanks x

Apazman

The body will retain water in certain conditions, one condition is when the system is being shocked by too few calories a day. You will retain up to 9 percent of your total body weight in water until the body finally releases it. This can usually take few days to a week to happen, but it will all drop suddenly. Not to worry and maintain your regime. NICE WORK!

richx83

There are so many things in your body that affect weight that it is not an accurate way of measuring really. Also how often do you weigh yourself? Over 40 days I would only have weighed myself a maximum of 6 times (once per week) so the small natural fluctuations up and down will not show up on my weekly weigh-ins.

Rich

shakybabe

If you did 600 cals and you usually do 300 and you have osteoarthritis it maybe your body has stored water to repair muscles. I'm having that problem now so having a week doing by diet only as I have injuries and can't do my usual routine.

Try having a rest day or two with a couple of long lie-ins instead (your body will heal itself during your sleep more than daytime when you're moving about) and see if you drop the water after muscles have healed, keep drinking loads of plain water to flush your system as it's healing and it should come back off again in a few days.

lururu

If you did 600 cals and you usually do 300 and you have osteoarthritis it maybe your body has stored water to repair muscles. I'm having that problem now so having a week doing by diet only as I have injuries and can't do my usual routine.

Try having a rest day or two with a couple of long lie-ins instead (your body will heal itself during your sleep more than daytime when you're moving about) and see if you drop the water after muscles have healed, keep drinking loads of plain water to flush your system as it's healing and it should come back off again in a few days.

Thank you for the advice, it has made me feel so much better Unfortunately I have a one year old and a three year old who have no concept of the term 'lie in', maybe if I'm nice to Daddy he will let me have a few over the weekend :P

I am kinda doing this diet on my own, or I thought I was until I saw all your helpful replies. My doctor just said 'eat less and do more exercise' but I have had no help tailored towards my special circumstances and so things that work for able bodied people don't always or can't always work for me. But you guys have really helped me and I am certain that I'm not on my own now, I am in it together with all of you

Thank you so much! xx

lururu

There are so many things in your body that affect weight that it is not an accurate way of measuring really. Also how often do you weigh yourself? Over 40 days I would only have weighed myself a maximum of 6 times (once per week) so the small natural fluctuations up and down will not show up on my weekly weigh-ins.

Rich

Weighing yourself every day is such a hard habit to break but I will do my best :P Thank you! x

lururu

The body will retain water in certain conditions, one condition is when the system is being shocked by too few calories a day. You will retain up to 9 percent of your total body weight in water until the body finally releases it. This can usually take few days to a week to happen, but it will all drop suddenly. Not to worry and maintain your regime. NICE WORK!

That is really useful information, I wish I had known that before I got so upset this morning. And thank you for your encouragement, it means a lot!

Thanks x

lacewitch

Hi,
I have been using MFP for 40 days now and I lost 16lbs but over the past two days I have put on 2 1/2lbs and I have no idea how it happened?
I have a calorie goal of 1400 a day which I find easy to stick to, I try and do as much exercise as possible (yesterday I burned through about 600 cals) which is difficult as I have osteo arthritis in my leg joints. I average about 300 calories a day in exercise if I am feeling sore and then try and make up for that when I am feeling a bit better.
And yet over the past two days those 2 1/2lbs have appeared on my scales and I just can't work out how they got there? My weight loss also seems a lot slower than my daily MFP predictions? I am fanatical about tracking everything I eat and even slightly over estimate portions etc just to be on the safe side.
I am so worried about this gain and really confused, has anyone got any suggestions or similar experiences? I am going out of my mind here

Thanks x

remember the body is not a machine so no matter how a computer predicts steady weight loss it does't work like that sometimes the body stores more (winter, starved to much (not that i'm suggesting your doing this) or a host of reasons. weight loss can plateau in cycles as the body accustoms it self to exercise and becomes more efficient at it so the calorie burn is less. Try new exercise or kick it up a gear. Or it could simply been that your body has had a muscle building phase rather than a weight loss phase. but this is better in the long run

water retention can cause weight gain if your not drinking enough

'that time of the month' can effect how thee body stores water / weight and a host of other things)

even stress can effect it

the other thing to remember is that daily your body weight can also fluctuate daily by 1-2 lb

don't sweat it unless the trend continues over months and then it might be time to talk to a doctor as if yur calorie and exercise goal is that low and you are gaining over time something could be wrong.

Good Luck!

Blackthorne99

Are you ovulating?

fnenu

I am completely the opposite when it comes to weighing myself. I record my weight once a day and weigh myself twice (yes it is often but I like having lots of data points - I'm a mathematician). The recording helps me to see patterns in my weight loss. I plotted it all on a graph and there is a very distinct pattern over 4 weeks so I have seen many retain water, release water cycles in the last year. The many data points have helped me understand my body and so when I see a weight gain when I know I haven't eaten too much, then I know it's going to be fun in about a week when the weight goes whoosh and drops by several pounds in a couple of days.

The worst weight gain I had in a day was around 4 pounds after a salty meal. I know that I didn't eat 14000 extra calories that day so the weight gain was not a 'real' weight gain.

aimeelouwhite

Wonder how you salt intake is...too much can lead to water retention...and yes as others have said where you are in your menstrual cycle - plotting on a weekly graph over a few months might show you some patterns :-)

shakybabe

Maybe you can get to bed earlier then, after you put kiddies to bed if daddy will agree to listen out for them? and squeeze 6-8 hours in that way? If you keep drinking water once your body has healed muscles it will drop the water, if you're due a monthly cycle in the next week or so, it may hold onto until after it has finished, its done that with me before too.. not shifted for over a week then suddenly I'm several pounds lighter!

I do use water pills to help me sometimes.. I usually take them on my second day when body is letting go of the water anyway (you know the day your suddenly peeing large volumes after a few days in.. lol!) and then I find I'm much lighter!

richx83

It is hard to stop weighing yourself, what i did to break the habit was keep the scales at my parents house, i visit them once a week so was the perfect way to keep control of it.

Rich