I gained 4 pounds this week....

Options
2456

Replies

  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
    Options
    It has taken me a looooooong time, but I've finally learned that the scale is dumb. It doesn't know the difference between fat, muscle, water, and waste. Plus keep in mind it takes 3500 additional calories to gain a pound, and I know you didn't consume 14,000 extra cals - so don't worry about what the scale says. Keep doing what you're doing! :flowerforyou:
  • jonesygetshealthy
    jonesygetshealthy Posts: 66 Member
    Options
    Well, unless you ate 14k surplus calories, I can almost (nearly) assure you that it is some combo of water retention and muscle mass :)
    Sounds like you did a lot of workouts, so your muscles are probably holding onto water during repair, and the repair itself leads to newer muscle mass (and muscle does weigh a bit!)
    You can retain water even if you didn't overload on sodium :)
    You know the drill, keep calm and drink water! :)
  • kelseyhere
    kelseyhere Posts: 1,123 Member
    Options
    Step away from the scale, repeat step away from the scale!! The scale is evil and is not your friend. Don't rely on it to track your progress, especially in early stages. Get a measuring tape and go by that instead. When I started a new program after three weeks my weight stayed the same, but I lost 6 1/2 inches. Don't trust the scale, the number is not what's important. What is important is you are confident with you how your body looks and that you feel healthy.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
    Options
    Your weight is going to fluctuate from time to time. Are you taking measurements? My weight has gone up but my measurements have gone down. Don't sweat the small stuff.
  • Springer007
    Springer007 Posts: 84 Member
    Options
    This is why I am a fan of weighing daily. Twice even. (morning and night) I know people say thats too much but you need to see the fluctuations in order not to freek out. IF you only weigh once a week you could catch your self when you are at a bad time. It hurts because you have waited all week for that weigh in and now its totally discouraging.
    Dont get discouraged, from what I have seen, is IF my weight goes up one day, and I did not break the rules (calories) then I am due for a larger drop than normal next time I weigh. I dont know what your calorie goal is but if you stick to that 1250 a day and dont go over unless you earn it with excersice, then it WILL eventually come around. It has to, its basic science. Hang in there. Weigh in more often.
  • Joeyje3
    Joeyje3 Posts: 58 Member
    Options
    Is there a full moon or something, I gained 2lbs. this week also. Been within ranges also. Hopefully it will get better. The only difference, I noticed on my end is the weather's been extremely "hot" (lower 90's) and humid. Which isn't exactly the normal for here. :smile:
  • Whitney0919
    Whitney0919 Posts: 23 Member
    Options
    I'm up 5 lbs this week! I freaked out at first, but I've been doing the 30 DS plus lots of extra cardio and had a few really high sodium meals (and some alcohol) over the weekend.... I chalk it up to water weight. Don't let it stress you out too much, cause stress can cause weight gain too!!
  • TArnold2012
    TArnold2012 Posts: 929 Member
    Options
    Are you keeping your potassium and sodium close to the same numbers so that you don't bloat?
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
    Options
    *I do want to say that I am allowed 1,950 calories per day but I usually keep it down at 1,200-1,400.

    Why?

    Why was my first thought too!
  • monicasuze
    monicasuze Posts: 37
    Options
    Maybe it's all water weight.
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
    Options
    I had a pretty good week a while back. Weighed in on Friday, went out of town (not great on calorie goals but extra active), got drunk, came home, up 4 lbs on Monday. Uggh.
  • willot0722
    willot0722 Posts: 51 Member
    Options
    Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    What??
  • gc_tweety
    gc_tweety Posts: 205 Member
    Options
    I gained three o.O , as long as its not a trend I would say continue with what you are doing as long as its healthy.
  • mandylooo
    mandylooo Posts: 456 Member
    Options
    If you have been exercising it could be muscle increase and not fat.

    No, it couldn't. For several reasons.

    Assuming her diary is being correctly filled out, she's undereating by hundreds and sometimes thousands of calories a day. It is literally impossible to gain weight from either fat or muscle if you are on a calorie deficit. You can lose fat and you can gain muscle, but you cannot have a net gain between the two.

    To the original poster. There are many days where you burn more calories from exercise alone than you eat. Do you really think this is a good idea? (Hint: No. It is a terrible idea and you are causing severe damage to your body). Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    I agree, but would add that some of those calorie burns look massive - OP how are you calculating those?
  • annahiven
    annahiven Posts: 185
    Options
    Measure, measure, measure!

    I've not lost weight in about a month but I am losing inches. Promise you that you will see differences if you measure.
  • willot0722
    willot0722 Posts: 51 Member
    Options
    I eat so few calories because I find it very hard to eat close to 1900 calories without going over on carbs. My doctor told me as long as I eat when I am hungry my body will not go into starvation mode. Could you guys elaborate on how I am doing severe damage to my body?
  • AbbsyBabbsy
    AbbsyBabbsy Posts: 184 Member
    Options
    I looked at your diary. Not only are you eating under your calorie goal, but many days you burned more through exercise than you ate. Independent of the trouble you're having with the scale, this is a bad idea. In fact, along with water retention, it might be causing the trouble on the scale. Eat more. And I say this as a low-calorie dieter and believer. You are too active for how much you are eating. If you're uneasy about eating back exercise calories, at least start by meeting your daily goal of 1900. Give it a week and see how it goes.

    ETA: I don't think you are doing severe damage to yourself. But it's common sense that you don't exercise off every calorie you eat.
  • willot0722
    willot0722 Posts: 51 Member
    Options
    If you have been exercising it could be muscle increase and not fat.

    No, it couldn't. For several reasons.

    Assuming her diary is being correctly filled out, she's undereating by hundreds and sometimes thousands of calories a day. It is literally impossible to gain weight from either fat or muscle if you are on a calorie deficit. You can lose fat and you can gain muscle, but you cannot have a net gain between the two.

    To the original poster. There are many days where you burn more calories from exercise alone than you eat. Do you really think this is a good idea? (Hint: No. It is a terrible idea and you are causing severe damage to your body). Read the stickies at the top and start eating.

    I agree, but would add that some of those calorie burns look massive - OP how are you calculating those?


    Some of them are calculated on cardio machines- I enter my weight and age and it adds them up for me. Then I do crossfit workouts which I log as circuit training- and I always log 20 minutes less than what I actually do because I think MFP overestimates calories burned during circuit training. My workouts have been very intense lately- my gym owner picks them out. They last almost 2 hours and with my weight, I do think the calories burned are near accurate.
  • cyn4him
    cyn4him Posts: 83 Member
    Options
    I would not worry too much about it. I can fluctuate 4 pounds in one day. LOL. This is the main reason I weight daily (each morning when I wake and not again). This way I can see a trend and not get as discouraged as if maybe I weighed on a "high" day. My trend is still losing... Even if I weighed in at 1.7 pounds more this morning that yesterday morning. And I know I didn't eat 7000 calories yesterday. LOL.
  • Racaronga
    Racaronga Posts: 32
    Options
    I'm interested in the response to this. I've been reading up about eating more and would like to hear others views/experiences....

Categories