Has this happened to others?

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sallyschmeling
sallyschmeling Posts: 3 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I was steadily losing weight for the first two weeks of being on the plan. I gained one pound the third week. I didn't go over my calories during the last seven days, and I exercised. Any thoughts as to why this might have happened? Am I alone in the mysterious weight gain?

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  • lorigreg
    lorigreg Posts: 61
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    All sorts of things could happen. Especially since you are a woman, hormonal changes happen and so I find that once a month I can depend on not losing weight and most likely gaining that week. Also, something you ate may have had more salt content which would raise your water level. I have also found things such as if I eat Chinese food, even if I keep within my calories, that I will can because it makes me retain water. Don't sweat over 1 week. It will go away but expect it to happen again. It is all part of the fun game of losing weight. :-)
  • jcpmoore
    jcpmoore Posts: 796 Member
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    Nope, you're not alone. This happens to many of us. Without seeing your diary it's tough to say what the culprit would be, besides the usual third week slow down. The quick loss in the first two weeks is usually largely water weight. Here are my recommendations:

    Up your water intake.
    Watch your sodium intake. You can track this on your diary by changing your food settings.
    Eat more vegetables. I tell everyone this because very few of us (including myself usually) eat enough and it does make a difference.

    But yes, it is normal for the loss to slow down or even give you a pound gain or so like this. Just keep on going.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    It's been the norm for me. I've been solidly on this journey for 8 months, and I have never lost every week, weight normally fluctuates. There are many factors that could be the reason, but why even worry about it? This is a lifestyle change, as long as you are making good choices and getting some exercise in, nothing else matters.
  • smallerman
    smallerman Posts: 25 Member
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    According to NASA, the average adult takes in 9.2 lbs of water and 2.5 lbs of food each day. You can see how small changes in your water balance can sway the scales 1 lb up or down. Women are especially prone to this during their monthly hormone cycles. If you are doing what you are supposed to, it will correct itself over time. One way to combat this is weighing daily and following your 10 day moving average weight- the curve is smoother and it doesn't swing as wildly. All this comes from a easy to understand free online book called the Hacker's Diet. Google it, I learned a few new things from it, you might too!
  • alexandra0713
    alexandra0713 Posts: 41 Member
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    I'm not sure what type of exercises you are doing, but I tend to gain weight from any and all strength training. I have to remind myself that muscle weighs more than fat.
  • bzmommy34
    bzmommy34 Posts: 229 Member
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    I did this exactly. The first few weeks I lost and then I had a week that I gained and then last week I lost again. Looking back at my diary I see that on the week I gained I wasn't nearly as diligent about eating good healthy choices, even though I stayed on plan. I'm fairly certain my gain was due to way too much sodium as I ate out more and also ate more processed foods that week.

    MFP is awesome in that it lets you track your macros so take advantage of that and over a few weeks you'll really be able to see what affects your body and what doesn't.

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