Why Is The Scale Going Up????

StaceyKeller71

I have been on this better eating plan since October 24th. I am religiously tracking everything I put into my body. Last Sunday I had lost 9 pounds and was thrilled! I had one treat meal on Monday. I have been eating between 1000 and 1200 calories a day. Most days I come in just over 1000. Yesterday I came in at 1150. I have cut out soda completely but usually have one 0 calorie Kirkland's Vita Rain per day. I also drink at least 10 glasses of water a day.

I got on the scale yesterday and was up 1/2 a pound! So disappointing! I got on today and I've gained another pound! How is that even possible when I track everything I put in my mouth and sticking so closely to this plan?

I exercise but I have been more lax this week. I did spend 2 hours vigorously cleaning a rental house yesterday and am sore today because of it.

I just don't get it. This happened to me the last time I went on a diet but I though it was because I wasn't counting my calories. I was following belly fat cure and I know that I was eating a lot more calories than I am now.

Anyone else gone through this so early in the game? Anyone know why this might be happening?

ETA: The scale said 192 on Wednesday (nothing lost, nothing gained), 192.5 on Thursday, and 193.5 today! =(

BeautyFromPain

You're not eating enough?

tippytoes01

Be careful on your sodium intake. I did weight watchers before, stayed under my points limit, but indulged in sushi the night before a weigh in and it said I gained 6 pounds. I just had to laugh. Don't worry about it. Remember to limit your salt intake and it will come back off. Plus, if you are working out, you may bulk up a little and gained a pound or so, but eventually your stronger muscles will burn off the fat faster and you'll start losing a lot quicker Keep up the good work!

Hellbent_Heidi

Give it time...you already lost a lot up front, and your body is probably just adjusting to that change. Its HIGHLY unlikely you really gained 1 1/2 lbs ...more likely its just water. Just keep doing what you're doing and the results WILL return.

maceycarey

You're not eating enough?

agree

your body is not getting enough calories so every thing that you eat is being stored as fat because your body thinks its being starved
eat more fruits and veggies

Motivationrequired

I have the same problem mine say 5lbs UP as I did a sneaky weigh in and had gone to gym every night this week and religiously had my water and stuck to calls...now 'trying' high preotein.....don't weigh yourself everyday everyone told me which I thinks right but sooooooooooo hard to do

abbbigayl

Are you eating a lot of salt? You could just be retaining water.

SueGeer

MFP advocates that the minimum you should eat is 1200 cals. Try eating a bit more....weird, but it helps

Sue x

MissMaryMac33

Here we go again....

If it says you need 1200 you need 1200 --- not 1000 and not even less than that if you're exercising and not eating those either.
1200 is the lowest it will ever tell and often people get that number because they just chose to lose 2lbs a week even when they only have 20 lbs to go and they should be at 1/2 lb a week.

Since you probably don't have over 75 lbs to lose, did you set your goals correctly?
I would choose 1lb a week or at most 1.5 and see what you get. It's probably more than 1200 but I don't know how tall you are etc.

asyouseefit

Don't freak out about 1/2 pound or you'll lose your sanity. 1/2 pound is one cup of water... A pee!

ArnonsaeJ

You are def not eating enough! Your body needs MINIMUM 1200 calories a day to get the essentials, and when you're working out you NEED to eat back your exercise calories.

Uerzer

Give it time...you already lost a lot up front, and your body is probably just adjusting to that change. Its HIGHLY unlikely you really gained 1 1/2 lbs ...more likely its just water. Just keep doing what you're doing and the results WILL return.

That!

Normal fluctuations, scale errors,etc

Just weight yourself before eating anythin in the morning, always at the same time, with the same clothes... and dont worry about those numbers if you are eating 1200 kcal

Feel free to add me as a friend if you have any questions :flowerforyou:

marthafox1

More often than not - and unless you have been medically advised otherwise - you should be aiming for nearer the 1200 mark not the 1000 cals per day.

That said, you need to take into consideration, your hormone cycle, your salt intake, whether you weighed everything or guestimated it's weight, what exercise you did the day before you weighed (and when and what you were wearing) and you really must consider the fact that the previous week you lost a whopping 9lb!

Drink the water, keep to the cals, weigh everything and do some exercise and don't stop doing it. PLUS - don't overcomplicate things. I lost nearly 3 stone eating 1400 cals a day and burning 200 in cals each day. I had a steady 2lb loss every week unless I went over my calories or under on exercise. I didn't micro analyse everything I ate - I ate what I wanted within my calorie allowance weighing once a week on a Friday as soon as I got up (after a wee) and naked.

My insane interest in nutrition and exercise has come about from being so bloody vein now that I am slim!

michelegrayson

Wow, 1100-1200 calories a day seems really low. Is that what MFP calculated for you? I think you are not eating enough and your body is starting to hold on to everything that goes in your mouth as it thinks you are lost somewhere on the plains, starving.

Good luck and don't give up! This is a journey to a strong and healthy you, and it will take time to get there...but you will get there if you stay consistent, eat the calories MFP has given you and don't starve yourself!

Magitt123

Hi
Don't get disappointed ...keep on doing what your are doing. Obviously you are retaining water. It happened to me for a couple of days and now my losing again.Suggestion drink water with lemon and a glass before each meal. Maybe change your exercise.
Continue you are doing good.Good luck.

jamie11k

If you have been under 1200 regularly, you should be getting a big alert from MFP every time you close your day out on the food page. I recommend readjusting your goals (on the my home page) to lose 1-2 pounds a week, so the weight stays off as you lose it. That will bring your daily calories up to at least 1400- and that's before any exercise! If you are ~190, 1200 cals is too low. Your body is holding onto everything it can because it is in starvation mode.

Good luck!

RBXChas

Give it time...you already lost a lot up front, and your body is probably just adjusting to that change. Its HIGHLY unlikely you really gained 1 1/2 lbs ...more likely its just water. Just keep doing what you're doing and the results WILL return.

THIS.

It's also really, really easy to get caught up in that initial weight loss. Yes, you lost 9 pounds right off the bat, which is FANTASTIC! However, it is far from sustainable, and so when you don't keep up that rate of loss it's disappointing. When you have a tiny "gain," it's even worse. Had this "gain" happened two months from now, you probably would have blown it off, which is what you should be doing now.

A few things:

1) I would eat a bit more, but definitely make it healthy foods. Like maybe add in a Greek yogurt for ~150 calories to take yourself from a little over 1000 to closer to 1200. I'm not going to get into the whole debate about whether or not you're eating your exercise calories back (I don't, admittedly), but regardless of exercise, 1000 calories might force your body into starvation mode -->no loss on the scale.

2) I'm not sure what's in the Kirkland drink you're drinking (I shop at Costco, too, but have never bought that). Sometimes low-/no-calorie drinks have hidden sodium. However, it may be totally fine - just a thought, but you can certainly look at the nutrition label and make a decision for yourself.

3) You said you've been more lax on exercise this week, which is fine - we all have those weeks - but then you said you were cleaning a rental house yesterday and are sore now. That is a HUGE indicator to me that you worked your muscles hard and that your body may be retaining water to help repair those muscles. I started Couch to 5K at the end of August, and I "gained" ~3 pounds that first week. I knew my eating was spot on, and I was drinking plenty of water, so the theory was that my body was retaining water to help repair the muscles I had been using to run. (Yes, I was sore.) I honestly don't know if there's any real science behind that - in other words, I don't know if that's 100% true - but if it is, that could certainly be a culprit.

4) Is it your time of the month? I don't typically have major changes at that time, but sometimes the scale does stick that week or sometimes even bump up a bit. Then, when I'm all done, it will go back down, but not always quickly.

Remember, it takes eating 3500 calories *over and above what your body needs to function* to gain a pound. So, did you really eat 5250 calories over and above what your body needs to function? I doubt it.

Just be patient, and it will come off. I know this is hard to hear, but you just have to get over it. I have been using MFP for over 7 months now, and I've definitely had those moments where I was SO confused as to why the scale wasn't moving and beat myself up trying to figure it out. All I had to do was keep going, and it evened itself out. Now those little bump-ups don't bother me at all. For example, yesterday I hit a really nice low of 175.8, and today I was 177. I don't really care. Honestly I only recommend daily weigh-ins for those who can easily blow off static readings/"gains." Otherwise it might be best to weigh in only once a week.

Keepexercising, too! Every little bit you can do is great. Rest up today, though, take some Advil, and maybe ice some of the areas where you are sore, then jump back in when you feel up to it, physically.

Good luck!

Hellbent_Heidi

Please also remember you've been at this LESS THAN 2 WEEKS! 9 lbs in that time is huge, and you should be proud of that. You aren't going to see that every two weeks...but keep up the good work and good results will continue.

Unfortunately, when the initial loss slows down, it can be harder to stay motivated, but you can totally do this!

RBXChas

More often than not - and unless you have been medically advised otherwise - you should be aiming for nearer the 1200 mark not the 1000 cals per day.

That said, you need to take into consideration, your hormone cycle, your salt intake, whether you weighed everything or guestimated it's weight, what exercise you did the day before you weighed (and when and what you were wearing) and you really must consider the fact that the previous week you lost a whopping 9lb!

Drink the water, keep to the cals, weigh everything and do some exercise and don't stop doing it. PLUS - don't overcomplicate things. I lost nearly 3 stone eating 1400 cals a day and burning 200 in cals each day. I had a steady 2lb loss every week unless I went over my calories or under on exercise. I didn't micro analyse everything I ate - I ate what I wanted within my calorie allowance weighing once a week on a Friday as soon as I got up (after a wee) and naked.

My insane interest in nutrition and exercise has come about from being so bloody vein now that I am slim!

This is also a great reply.

I have to say, though, when I can tell someone is from (I assume) the UK, I read the post in my head with a British accent. I do this when I read British novels, too. It makes things much more fun

StaceyKeller71

Here we go again....

If it says you need 1200 you need 1200 --- not 1000 and not even less than that if you're exercising and not eating those either.
1200 is the lowest it will ever tell and often people get that number because they just chose to lose 2lbs a week even when they only have 20 lbs to go and they should be at 1/2 lb a week.

Since you probably don't have over 75 lbs to lose, did you set your goals correctly?
I would choose 1lb a week or at most 1.5 and see what you get. It's probably more than 1200 but I don't know how tall you are etc.

I did set my goals correctly. I have 81 pounds to lose which is a lot of weight. I am doing low carb, low sugar and watching my salt intake. I am reaching the end of my second week and at this point, it isn't unreasonable to lose at least a pound or 2 a week. I am trying to eat 1200 calories but am also learning to listen to my body and eating when I am hungry. I am 5'0" inches tall and when I started, I weighed 201 pounds. After I lost last week, I checked to make sure I was still eating the right amount of calories.

StaceyKeller71

More often than not - and unless you have been medically advised otherwise - you should be aiming for nearer the 1200 mark not the 1000 cals per day.

That said, you need to take into consideration, your hormone cycle, your salt intake, whether you weighed everything or guestimated it's weight, what exercise you did the day before you weighed (and when and what you were wearing) and you really must consider the fact that the previous week you lost a whopping 9lb!

Drink the water, keep to the cals, weigh everything and do some exercise and don't stop doing it. PLUS - don't overcomplicate things. I lost nearly 3 stone eating 1400 cals a day and burning 200 in cals each day. I had a steady 2lb loss every week unless I went over my calories or under on exercise. I didn't micro analyse everything I ate - I ate what I wanted within my calorie allowance weighing once a week on a Friday as soon as I got up (after a wee) and naked.

My insane interest in nutrition and exercise has come about from being so bloody vein now that I am slim!

I weigh in naked at the same time in the morning after I get up and pee too. I also weigh everything that I eat with a very accurate scale. I don't guesstimate because I want to be accurate. I even double check labels to make sure that they are inline with what the food calculator on here says. I made chicken tortilla soup, entered the recipe, measured EVERYTHING, even dumped the soup out in large measuring cups so that I could see exactly how many portions there were. I've eaten that for the last two days. Maybe it's the sodium? If so, I hope that if I cut out the soup and go back to eating more salads that this weight will come off.

Thanks everyone for the replies!