I dont umnderstand my scales and a calorie question...

Ranchetta
Ranchetta Posts: 48 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know I probably shouldn't but I weigh every morning just to see what my body is doing. Yesterday I weighed 127 and today I weighed 130. Is it because I had spaghetti for supper? Maybe pasta is a no-no? My boyfriend says is might be that I'm gaining muscle and that could be the weight fluxuation.

I'm sore for working out yesterday, wondering if I should find a lighter exercise to do today.

I was looking at where you go after you met your target weight and how many calories you can eat... I'm "allowed" 1200 calories now but to maintain I'm allowed 1580, will I start to gain the weight back?

Thanks
Sarah

Replies

  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    how tall are you? what you probably experienced is only water weight. either from what you ate or from the exercise you did since you are sore... when you work your muscles and are sore they retain water to repair them. I did Rin 30 yesterday and about 3 hrs of weeding the garden and when i stepped on the scale today i was .8 heavier... i know it's just water retention.. my maintenance is around the same as yours... i'm 5 ft 2 inches. and i know once i hit my goal i will slowly upp my calories to that over time and see what happens. i think if you do it right and slow you body will get used to the extra calories slowly and will not gain..
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If you are sore from working out most likely your muscles are retaining water to protect them and aid in recovery. On top of that peoples weight can fluctuate 3-5 lbs within the same day, this can be due to water retention, undigested food in your system, etc.

    If would not be muscle gain it takes weeks or even months to put on 3lbs of muscle and in a caloric deficit is even less likely.

    You will only gain weight eating more than maintenance caloires, unless it is water weight that can come due to working out, how much you drink, how much you sweat, the amount of glycogen stores etc.
  • gat4400
    gat4400 Posts: 8 Member
    The same thing happened to me, I was 132 yesterday and today I was 133 :( not sure how to grasp that either.
  • gavintri
    gavintri Posts: 70 Member
    Thanks for posting this
  • agataarchangel
    agataarchangel Posts: 292 Member
    Weighing yourself everyday is a big mistake. How much water you drink just before weighing, how water-dense your breakfast was (or dinner the night before), where you are in your cycle, sodium in your food that day or the one before, and whether you went to the bathroom before weighing or not ALL have an effect on your weight. Best is to weigh yourself once a week, same time, right after waking up to get the best "broad" or general view of what is happening with your body, as you say you want to do.......
  • BruteSquad
    BruteSquad Posts: 373 Member
    Your body will fluctuate daily based on water. If you want to know more about it check out this post:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/UponThisRock/view/flushing-the-sodium-237431

    Short story... if you are working out, you retain water as the muscle heals. That is why once a week at the same time is the MAX you should weigh yourself. Also the amount of food still in your system, and being a woman, any number of other things may be part of it. Water, btw, weighs 8 lbs a gallon.

    Currently, to lose weight, you are eating at a deficit. That is below maintenance calories, so you can lose weight, once you reach the weight, you will eat the maintenance calories to ...yes.... maintain the weight. But you will still see fluctuations by a few pounds.

    edit to correct fat finger spelling
  • AthenaErr
    AthenaErr Posts: 278 Member
    Your weight fluctuates, day to day and over the course of a day, its about how much water etc you have in you. Go for a poop and guess what you'll weigh less, but you havent lost weight! If you are sore from a work out then lactic acid in your muscles and increased water in the muscles as they repair will mean you are a bit heavier, you probably look better tho.

    So its not really a weight gain. If you are going to weigh daily you need to get your head into realising its actually about averages rather than worry about natural fluctuations like this. Altho of course its annoying when youve been doing really well and the scale goes up!
  • SwimKitty
    SwimKitty Posts: 122 Member
    The more glycogen your body stores, the more water your body will retain. So, if you eat a lot of carbs (and not burn them off), the more water you will retain with them, causing big weight fluctuations. I can fluctuate more than 5 pounds DAILY - so weighing myself daily is a big no-no for me, as it causes too much frustration.

    If you want more in depth information on glycogen and water/weight balance, there's good info here:

    http://www.justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    Have you pooped out the spaghetti yet?

    :laugh:
  • GCPgirl
    GCPgirl Posts: 208 Member
    It is best to weigh yourself once a week tops and at the same time. You will have fluctuations between days, times of day and even different locations.
    I weigh less if the scale is on the bathroom rug than if I pull the rug aside and put the scale on the bare floor! (I love that rug! LOL)

    I stick to every Friday morning after I go to the bathroom and before I go in the shower. Any more will drive me nuts.
  • AthenaErr
    AthenaErr Posts: 278 Member
    Have you pooped out the spaghetti yet?

    :laugh:
  • Ranchetta
    Ranchetta Posts: 48 Member
    It is best to weigh yourself once a week tops and at the same time. You will have fluctuations between days, times of day and even different locations.
    I weigh less if the scale is on the bathroom rug than if I pull the rug aside and put the scale on the bare floor! (I love that rug! LOL)

    I stick to every Friday morning after I go to the bathroom and before I go in the shower. Any more will drive me nuts.

    That's great Gotta love rugs!!!!

    Thanks everyone for the help understanding. I'm not even going into pooping anything lol
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Totally agree that it's likely water retention in your muscles from your workout. That will release as your body adjusts.

    As far as your calories are concerned, it might be good to start increasing your daily allowance slowly since you're so close to goal. Try adding 100 calories a day every week or two until you're close to maintenance. You'll still be in a calorie deficit so you should still lose weight. Your loss might slow but a gradual increase is better than trying to adjust all at once when you get to goal and risk a temporary gain that might frustrate you.

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