Start 118lbs. Two weeks of diet and exercise 119.2

moltabocca

I blame myself...and Chinese take-out. But really, it's incredibly frustrating to diet and exercise for two weeks straight, and end up only gaining weight.

I lost and gained weight the first week. I ended up where I started. During the second week, I was consistently losing .2 lbs a day. Exercising on my treadmill 40 minutes, three times a week. That was great, until I decided to eat Chinese take-out. I haven't been to a restaurant for two weeks, and I LOVE restaurants.

I weighed 117.2 yesterday morning. Now I weigh 119.2. I KNOW I didn't eat two pounds worth of food. I stayed within my calorie goals for the day.

This sucks. I'm a sad panda.

Do I have to give up all restaurant food now?

d3mon4ngel

Hi there,

I've only just started on my weight-loss journey too, but my advice would be to not weigh yourself everyday. Just pick one day a week and make that your official weigh-in day. From all that I've read, your weight can fluctuate up and down day by day, but overall you should have a downward trend. You may not see it so much if you weigh-in too often!

Don't let yourself get disheartened. We are all entitled to treat ourselves once in a while, so don't feel like you have to stop going out for meals because of one little blip, which will be smoothed out in the long run

gawj1512

I weigh the same time each week, I've had NO treats, lots of good healthy dieting and exercise and lost precisely NOTHING. I can't figure it out at all. Are you pre-men?

pixiexxgirl

For starters, pick ONE day a week to weigh yourself, otherwise your only going to get disappointed with what you see if you do daily weigh-ins.

Secondly, what your seeing MAY only be water weight, so just eat right for the next few days and drink lots of water to see the water weight go down.

And I haven't gave up restaurants, I just get something healthier then what I'd normally get or, go to a restaurant on a free day.

AlexPflug

I weigh myself every day too. I think it makes me keep myself on track if I go up. Great job on your consistent weight loss!!
My biggest guess is that you simply retained water. Chinese food is chock full of sodium, and if you were drinking water yesterday there's a good chance you are just retaining water. Stay on track today and I bet you'll see a difference tomorrow!
Good luck!

p0stdramatic

Chinese takeout=sodium=water retention.

jsjaclark

How much water are you drinking? Chinese take-out is generally high in sodium so it may be water weight. Your weight can fluxuate per day so like others said - pick one day a week and weight yourself.

Also, don't focus only on the number on the scale. Take measurements - you may not be losing weight but maybe inches.

hottottie11

Water retention. Don't fret.

MILFdoesabodyGd

do you track your sodium in your diary? I added mine to make sure I'm not going over, it can make you gain water weight literally overnight like this. Plus exercise builds muscle.

LorinaLynn

Chinese takeout=sodium=water retention.

Absolutely. I'm betting it will be gone in three days or less.

Dragonwolf

Your weight will fluctuate by as much as 2-3 pounds on a daily basis, depending on such factors as water retention, time of the month (for women), and other things.

I found weighing myself only once a week works better, since I got "can't see the forest for the trees" syndrome when I weighed every day (too focused on day-to-day changes). If you still want to weigh every day, then keep track of it and chart your progress. Try not to get hung up on the numbers themselves, but instead, look for a trend. You're going to have your ups and downs on a daily basis, but as long as the line on that graph shows an overall downward trend, then you're doing fine.

memcd911

Chinese takeout=sodium=water retention.

My thoughts exactly. Lower your sodium intake for a few days, make sure you're getting your potassium, and drink lots of water. You'll be fine.

blondebandbabe

weighing every day can make you crazy, believe me, i do it too but i have to remember that anything within the 2 lb range is just water. Also if you exercised for 2 weeks and your alraedy pretty small, you could of gained muscle, which weighs more than fat. try doing your measurements!

aippolito1

Chinese is high in sodium. When you eat an excess of sodium, you bloat/hold water. You didn't gain 2 lbs of fat. You gained 2 lbs of water. Drink a ton of water and try to stay below 2400mg of sodium (daily!) or less.

MB_Positif

Chinese takeout=sodium=water retention.

That is all. Don't stress about it. Drink tons of water today and it'll probably be flushed back out by tomorrow! On your profile you state that age is nothing but a number, so is weight! You're already very light, but I read that you have high cholesterol and some other issues maybe. Let this journey be for health, not the number, for you! I think you'll feel more successful if you see changes in your doctor visits than on the scale Hang in there!

classycouture

Chinese takeout=sodium=water retention.

Happens to me everyyy time. I retain water like a freakin camel. Right now my fingers are so swollen due to water retention, that it's uncomfortable to bend my fingers :grumble:

j77r68

Hi there,

I've only just started on my weight-loss journey too, but my advice would be to not weigh yourself everyday. Just pick one day a week and make that your official weigh-in day. From all that I've read, your weight can fluctuate up and down day by day, but overall you should have a downward trend. You may not see it so much if you weigh-in too often!

Don't let yourself get disheartened. We are all entitled to treat ourselves once in a while, so don't feel like you have to stop going out for meals because of one little blip, which will be smoothed out in the long run

your weight can fluctuate day to day but also during the day. As far as I know you are at your lightest in the morning and heaviest in the afternoon. Even taking your weight after a workout you will weigh heavier ! I weigh myself a lot BUT I do have the expectation of the fluctuations.

jarrettd

Exercise causes water retention due to muscle recovery. Sodium-rich foods cause it as well (notoriously high in most restaurant food). You can easily gain/lose 5 lbs of water in 24 hrs.

Drink plenty of water to flush out the excess sodium and help speed muscle recovery. Weigh only once per week or less, same time of day (early morning is best for most). Ignore the scale when you are pre-menstrual!

If you are logging your food accurately and consistently, and are meeting your calorie goal, you will lose weight. "Free" days are okay for some, but I can easily eat right through a week worth of deficit in a single meal, so I don't do it often.

Be patient and persistent! IT WILL HAPPEN!

SassyCalyGirl

your first sentence says it all!
Healthy choices will get you where you want to be.

mrstword

I got this off a tumblr blog and saved it on my computer when I feel like this way.......






"One of the most frustrating things I see when perusing the ‘fitspiration’ and ‘fitspo’ tags is when I read posts where girls are freaking out because they’ve gained weight and they’ve been working out so hard and they might as well give up. Trust me, I know what that’s like. My mood for the entire day was once defined by whether or not I had lost weight from the day before. It’s a tired adage - that muscle weighs more than fat, but it’s true.

Ladies - take pictures & take your measurements. The photos above were from the first day that I went to the gym and then 30 days later. I gained weight.. while it’s only 5 lbs, keep in mind that is over 5% of my starting body weight. However, you will notice that I look slightly thinner in the picture on the right. I also made measurable strength & endurance gains in the gym. There is nothing inherently evil about gaining weight, and nothing inherently good about losing weight. Listen to your body - how much energy do you have? are things that were once difficult now getting easier for you? do your clothes fit differently than they used to? Don’t let an arbitrary number on a scale define your worth. It only has that power if you let it. "

EbonyK

I wouldn't worry. I think you are pretty healthy. I would love to see 119.2 on my scale!

Sarareneephoto

this is exatly what it is!

jenlarz

Chinese usually has lots of sodium, so it could be some fluid retention

moltabocca

Wow! I almost can't believe the amount of replies here. What a show of support. Thanks to each and every one of you.

Ah, sodium and water retention! I didn't think of that. That could be it!

I'm 45 years old. My body is getting ready for the big change. I feel it. Literally. *pinches spare tire*

I understand weight is just a number. When I worked with a personal trainer (waaaaay back in the day), I always weighed in at 112lbs. He was rather amazed that I was replacing fat with muscle at the same exact rate. My body drastically changed, but my weight didn't. Technically, my ideal weight is 105lbs (4' 11" tall), but I don't care about that as long as I feel right in the clothes I want to wear.

I know that this is not the case with my recent 2lb increase. Unfortunately, I like weighing myself every morning. It reminds me of my fitness goals. I've tried losing weight before by weighing in once a week. It didn't work for me. I have to remind myself daily of my goals, or else I get lazy. I'm a procrastinator and this is what works for me. The down-side is days like today.

But hey, it's not really a down-side. Thanks for keeping my hopes up! I will fret not and continue onward.

*looks at scale* Oh yeah? You think you're tough? Bring it bathroom scale!

moltabocca

Yep. You were all right. Today I weighed in at 116.4. Woot!

KristinArredondo

PLEASE READ THIS!!!! I know it's long, but take the time to read it..it's great! (This is being specific with Chalean Extreme and p90x, but it is a fact for ALL WORKOUTS PERIOD.)

Why the Scale Goes Up When You Start a New Workout Plan


By Chalene Johnson

Probably the most common question I get when I release a new exercise program is, "Help! I'm gaining weight! Am I doing something wrong?" This is a common phenomenon with any new exercise program, such as Turbo Kick, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Hustle, or others! It's especially common (and temporary) with intense strength training programs like ChaLEAN Extreme or Tony Horton's P90X.

The motivation to start a new exercise program is almost always to lose weight. However, what most personal trainers know--and most at-home exercisers do not--is that a new exercise program often can cause an immediate (and temporary) increase on the scale. (Notice I didn't say weight gain! I'll explain.) This common increase in the scale is also the reason why perhaps millions of people start and then quickly quit their resolution to get fit.

The temporary weight gain explained:
When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and "unfamiliar" the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This soreness is most prevalent 24 to 48 hours after each workout. In the first few weeks of a new program, soreness is the body trying to "protect and defend" the effected or targeted tissue. Exercise physiologists refer to this as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.

This type of soreness is thought to be caused by tissue breakdown or microscopic tears in muscle tissue. When this happens, the body protects the tissue. The muscle becomes inflamed and slightly swollen due to fluid retention. This temporary retention of fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program. Keep in mind that muscle soreness is not necessarily a reflection of how hard you worked. In fact, some people feel no signs of muscle soreness, yet will experience the muscle protection mechanisms of water retention and slight swelling.

Most people are motivated enough to put up with this temporary muscle soreness. Yet, many, especially those who really need immediate weight loss to keep them motivated, become discouraged and quit!

When I worked with a group of 70 test participants during the development stages of ChaLEAN Extreme, this happened. Who was the most upset and discouraged? You guessed it... the women! I'm happy to report absolutely for every single woman (and man) in our group, the weight increase was temporary and never lasted more than two weeks before they started to see a major drop in the scale. However, these people had the advantage of working with someone who was able to explain to them why this was happening and assure them the weight would come off if they stuck to the nutrition plan and stayed true to the program.

If you follow a multi-phase exercise plan, such as ChaLEAN Extreme, keep in mind that when you start each phase, your body will be "in shock" again. Don't be surprised or discouraged if you experience a temporary gain on the scale the first week of each phase.

My own personal example of this is running 10Ks. I don't do it very often, maybe once or twice a year. Even though I run on a regular basis, when you run a race, you push much harder. It's natural for me to be insanely sore the next day. It’s also very common for me to see the scale jump 4 pounds the next day from forcing fluids post race and the resulting DOMS. Even though I know the cause of it, it's still a bummer. We're all human and hard work should mean results. Hard work equals results, but our bodies are amazing machines and they know how to protect us from hurting ourselves. Soreness forces you to give those muscles a break. Ultimately you will lose the weight and you will change your metabolism in the process.

The key is understanding that this is a normal and temporary and stick with the program!

bevskiwolf

I was hoping you would post this, honey! ^ ♥