Was annoyed. Now frustrated and a little confused.

graysmom2005

I posted a few days ago about seeing a whole 3 pound weight gain after a Quarterly where I worked out for 4 1/2 hours. I also had Thai food that night. I thought that surely it was weight from water repair to my muscles and sodium. Well, it's now Wednesday. I thought it was safe enough to hop on and see if that weight was gone. Still THERE. I went from 153.6 to 156.8. Pretty big jump. I've been doing the "Olivia method" and trying to keep a 1000 calorie deficit from my maintenance and it got me down to the 153. The water weight should be gone by now, right???

kykykenna

Im bumping this one. I am stuck in the same 3-4lb weight range and cant move it.

fitaliciag

1000 calorie deficit doesn't work for long. you need about 500 a day deficit to keep burning fat.

graysmom2005

It was 1000 from my maintenance, not my goal if that makes a difference. My cals are at 1855 plus exercise calories (which are a lot for me..usually around 1000 a day) so that still has me eating a lot. If it was 1000 from a weight loss goal I think it would be different?

EMc4452

not necessarily...it depends on how much sodium and exercise youve been doing the past few days. Everyone is different. I would at least give it a week before you freak out.

davidpm

You should have more reference numbers besides weight on a scale. take your measurement and track your body fat %.

Unless you went 10,500 calories over maintenance, you didn't gain fat. Your other reference numbers will show you that.

EMc4452

You should have more reference numbers besides weight on a scale. take your measurement and track your body fat %.

Unless you went 10,500 calories over maintenance, you didn't gain fat. Your other reference numbers will show you that.

This is a good point. My weight fluctuates a LOT from water retention. In order to mentally be able to deal with this...I keep a spreadsheet where I enter my daily calories in and out and track my weight strictly based on the 3500 calories principle. I then compare "actual" weight with "theoretical" weight. That may be overboard for some people...but it keeps me sane about where my weight really is.

4theking

This is why a lot of people recommend weighing once a week. No reason to get frustrated so soon.

ahamm002

3-4 pounds is normal weight fluctuation. Remember that a pound of fat is 3500 calories. So as one other poster already mentioned, it's kind of unlikely that you actually gained 3 pounds of fat in one day. There are other reasons for gaining water weight besides exercise and salty food. For example, medications and hormonal fluctuations can also affect how much water you retain.

This is one reason to weigh yourself everyday when trying to lose weight. Because weight fluctuates so much, it's nice to have many data points. If you only weigh yourself once a week, it's hard to gauge true progress because of how much weight can fluctuate.

sbeisel1

This is why a lot of people recommend weighing once a week. No reason to get frustrated so soon.

good advice.

I know with my diet and excercise that my weight really cant go up, so if it does I review my salt/msg/sulfitates/nitrite intake for the past few days and take measurements on my weigh in days for comparison, I can usually atribute a gain to water retention or muscle gain. If you are a women, there are 1-2 weeks of natural water retention thanks to our TOM. However drink more water, avoid fake sugars substitutes and take calcium to help releive bloating from water weight and mood swings, women need more calcium then men especially if taking a hormone birth control. peppermint tea and cucumber helps too. it can take 3-5 days to recover from salt induced water gain.

Like 4theking said, no need to get frustrated just undestand what has happend and move on.

PS I am a salt lover so if I want to have something salty, I have my salt indulgence the day after my weigh in so I have the week to recover. I also increse my water intake by 2 extra glasses of water.

GrowOrDie

Crazy... I just posted a new blog post on the problem with counting calories... not about the calories or the deficit so much as it is about timing and macronutrents (big word for carbs, protein and fat) More posts on the subject coming soon! http://growordie.net/?p=459

getfitdiva

Yes I agree with the weighing in once a week. It can take 1-2 weeks for me to get back to my weight (before the hike in the scale). I'm still trickling down from Thanksgiving eating extravaganza. Believe me you know I feel the same frustration but this time you may have to wait a few more days of clean eating.

crazyellybean

reevaluate your diary, what's changed from when you were losing weight? Also maybe you body needs a shock day where you eat a little more than usual... or perhaps you need to change things up entirely.

lizziebeth1028

Congrats on your weight loss, you look great!!

My only question is if you are tracking your exercise calories with a Heart Rate Monitor? You have some huge calorie burns and MFP tends to over estimate exercise calories.

graysmom2005

Congrats on your weight loss, you look great!!

My only question is if you are tracking your exercise calories with a Heart Rate Monitor? You have some huge calorie burns and MFP tends to over estimate exercise calories.

Yep! I have a Polar. I'm a fitness instructor so I teach 2 sometimes 3 classes a day. If I was anyone else, I'd think the same thing. ;-)

firedragon064

This is reason why I stop weight myself often. I only step on scale once or twice every 2 weeks.

If the scale is really bother you, try to eat clean in 2 days, low sodium, no chemicals
just the basic food group, whole meal, lots of water, no late dinner before the weight in.