4 lbs?!

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InnerFatGirl
InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, so I stepped on the scales out of interest and it says I've put on four lbs?!?!

I have been staying within, and usually under, my calorie allowance, and have just started working out. And I'm not going under my BMR.

It is the middle of the day, and I've had breakfast. snacks and drinks today, so do you think it's that?

I will weigh myself tomorrow morning before food and after urinating, but I just feel a little anxious.
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Replies

  • StarryEyed500
    StarryEyed500 Posts: 225 Member
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    Weight fluctuates wildly during the day, so try to weigh yourself at the same time of day and have your scales in the same spot. Put the 4lb down to having eaten today and just keep within your goals.
  • Yellerie
    Yellerie Posts: 221 Member
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    Same issue here I am up 3lbs so I am curious to see the responses. My husband keeps saying it is because Im building muscle by going to the gym but I'm not sold.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    It's probably just water retention. Check your sodium intake. Drink lots of water.
  • kjensen15
    kjensen15 Posts: 398 Member
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    Agree with previous poster. If I weigh myself at the end of the day after eating 3 meals, a snack and drink a TON of water I can weigh 6-8 lbs more than I did that morning. Then the following morning I'm back down to the lower weight.
  • Agirard25
    Agirard25 Posts: 154 Member
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    I weighed myself out of curiosity last night after I ran at the gym....said I was up a half pound from last friday....weighed myself this morning and it says that I am down two and a half lbs from last friday....I'd just weigh yourself in the a.m. and everything will probably be fine--I usually try to stick to weighing in only Friday mornings....I was anxious to see last night because I didn't take off much last week and I was hoping for some optimisim....no such luck, but this morning felt great! I keep telling myself that to get to goal "Its a short trip down a long road"
  • Blanche76
    Blanche76 Posts: 89 Member
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    I've gained 2 lbs but I've using weights my husband says its I'm building muscule mass. So that could be the same issue your having too.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    If you've just started working out, your muscles are likely retaining water.

    If you usually weigh first thing in the morning before eating, then the fact that you've weighed today later on, after eating, may have made a difference.

    If you've definitely been under your calorie goal then it's extremely unlikely that you've put on 4 lbs of fat.
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
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    Thanks for all the answers guys, I feel calmer now.

    Tomorrow is my first weigh in, but I just wanted to see if I've lost anything yet, as I've lost two inches off my waist and I feel/look a bit smaller/more toned.

    I look forward to weighing in tomorrow, but am just so worried that I haven't lost anything.

    It could be the gym, but I doubt it because I just started yesterday.

    As for my sodium, it's consistantly under :)
  • huntindawg1962
    huntindawg1962 Posts: 277 Member
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    If you can take the info overload without getting discouraged - step on the scale numerous times throughout the day over several days and see what you find? You will learn a LOT about yourself and what your body does throughout the day. Don't get over excited or discouraged based on what you see as you will see very wild swings. I find that on average I lose about 2 lbs between the scale weight at night just before bed and what I see in the am when I wake up after doing my morning routine (before eating or drinking anything).

    But, even then I get a surprise on occasion and may lose nothing overnight (rare), lose only alb overnight (also rare)- and on those really far and between occasions, will lose 3 lbs overnight! But I understand these fluctuations for myself now and know what is also happening throughout the day as also being normal.
  • BOLO4Hagtha
    BOLO4Hagtha Posts: 396 Member
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    If you have recently started working out and are feeling sore, this could be your muscles storing water for repair. The best time to measure yourself is in the morning after your have gone to the bathroom. Don't look at the scale everyday, you will have different numbers all day long. Personally, my weight fluctuates about 4lbs throughout the day due to my water intake. Also take measurements - that is the best way to track progress.
  • mykahlio1
    mykahlio1 Posts: 40 Member
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    The best time to weigh is first thing in the morning after you have had a bowel movement but before you eat or shower and you should be nude . This is your true weight.
  • hanna6774
    hanna6774 Posts: 225
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    Stress is also a big inhibitor. Stressing over whether or how much weight you have lost, weighing in every day and several times a day is not the best idea. Don't be a slave to the scale! Take your measurements and recheck them in a month. If you are being honest with yourself, following a healthy meal plan and exercising, the results will show in your measurements and eventually in the scale. Track your progress by how you feel and look, not by how much you weigh. You can totally do this!
  • jdlund09
    jdlund09 Posts: 3
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    I got advice from my doctor and he said to weigh yourself in the morning but your weight will fluctualte 1-5 pounds. Especially for femailes. His advice was to weight myself once a month, the same day, same time. because your weight flucuates so much espcially females in their mentral cycle will weigh more than when they are not.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    It's just food in your system, always weigh first thing in the morning before you eat for consistency.
  • Tourney3p0
    Tourney3p0 Posts: 290 Member
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    Just wanted to comment that it's definitely not from building muscle mass. It could be due to water retention within the muscles, but not muscle mass itself.

    If you're eating fewer calories than you're consuming, you're going to lose weight. You might build muscle, but the amount of fat you burn will outweigh the amount of muscle you're building. The obvious caveat there is water weight and waste you haven't yet expelled.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    Okay, so I stepped on the scales out of interest and it says I've put on four lbs?!?!

    I have been staying within, and usually under, my calorie allowance, and have just started working out. And I'm not going under my BMR.

    It is the middle of the day, and I've had breakfast. snacks and drinks today, so do you think it's that?

    I will weigh myself tomorrow morning before food and after urinating, but I just feel a little anxious.

    Look at what you are eating and therein lies the clue.

    For instance, over 1000 calories came from snacks on Tuesday - and yet your meals were just 577 calories were the amount for your meals. How much better it would have been the other way around.

    If you can, try to limit those high-carb foods, up your protein so that it makes you feel fuller. The more carbs you take in, the more you will crave - this particularly applies to anything junk-wise.

    If you can out the junk stuff and stick in whole foods, after four days, any cravings will abate, until you no longer want them anymore.

    Are you sometimes missing meals and trying to "make-do" with food in the way of the snacks? If so, see if you can go back to proper meals, not quick fixes - that way every mealtime will have been eagerly awaited for and you will relish every mouthful.

    You can do this, you just need to rearrange a few things :)
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    I've gained 2 lbs but I've using weights my husband says its I'm building muscule mass. So that could be the same issue your having too.

    Just to clarify this. If you're on a calorie deficit you cannot build muscle mass (except in rare cases of extremely overweight individuals). Muscle gain requires a calorie surplus plus heavy lifting.

    Weight fluctuations while on a calorie deficit are usually due to 3 things:

    1) fluid retention
    2) food in system
    3) mismeasurment (i.e. you're not really on a calorie deficit because you are overestimating workout cals and underestimating food cals)
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
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    Okay, lots of replies here. Thank you all for taking the time to comment.

    I need to go to bed so I'll do a quick 'one size fits all' reply.

    1. I don't weigh myself obsessively or constantly. I know to weigh myself naked, in the morning and after going to the toilet. Tomorrow is weigh in, in fact. I was just curious :)

    2. You're right about the snacks. I an eating way healthier than before plus cooking my own meals but snacks and carbs are my weakness. Because I am cooking my own meals, the cals are low and I always have so much more calories left! And I like to snack so I end up snacking on low cal rubbish. I am modifying my diet as I go, but I am eating WAY better than I was 11 days ago.

    Erm, that's all of the replies I can think of without scrolling up. I will reply again in a day or so.
  • Michelle650
    Michelle650 Posts: 218
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    I have gained 2lbs too and I have been really conscious of what I've been eating and not eating below my bmr!
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    Options
    Okay, so I stepped on the scales out of interest and it says I've put on four lbs?!?!

    I have been staying within, and usually under, my calorie allowance, and have just started working out. And I'm not going under my BMR.

    It is the middle of the day, and I've had breakfast. snacks and drinks today, so do you think it's that?

    I will weigh myself tomorrow morning before food and after urinating, but I just feel a little anxious.

    Look at what you are eating and therein lies the clue.

    For instance, over 1000 calories came from snacks on Tuesday - and yet your meals were just 577 calories were the amount for your meals. How much better it would have been the other way around.

    If you can, try to limit those high-carb foods, up your protein so that it makes you feel fuller. The more carbs you take in, the more you will crave - this particularly applies to anything junk-wise.

    If you can out the junk stuff and stick in whole foods, after four days, any cravings will abate, until you no longer want them anymore.

    Are you sometimes missing meals and trying to "make-do" with food in the way of the snacks? If so, see if you can go back to proper meals, not quick fixes - that way every mealtime will have been eagerly awaited for and you will relish every mouthful.

    You can do this, you just need to rearrange a few things :)

    Not missing any meals, hun. So far I have been eating B, L and D pretty consistently. I just like to snack, and I always have loads of calories left to do it.

    And thanks for the vote of confidence :) I hope I can do this! Just a bit of modifying as I go along. Always willing to learn!

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