Why did I jump up a pound?

bethbournias

This may sound silly, but I'm concerned.... I have been under my calorie goal every day for the past 10 days that I have been on MFP. I have lost 4 pounds. I have been exercising twice a day (at least 2 hours of cardio and some light weights the past few days). I got on the scale this morning and I was up a pound. I make the mistake, I guess, of getting on the scale every morning to check my weight. What could be happening?

recoiljpr

How long do you have? It could be tons of things. It could be you at a few 100 miligrams more sodium the day before and it's water weight. It could be you haven't had a bowel movement in a while and it's waiting to exit, etc.

Think of it this way, a 1 lb variation on a 150 lb person is under a 1% variation which is nothing. And it's reasons because of normal fluctuation that it's not good to weigh every day. A normal, healthy body in a weightloss pattern CAN shift up and down a few lbs constantly.

Don't sweat it. What you are looking for is the overall trend from week to week, month to month, etc.

ElizabethRoad

I find it hard to believe that you get on the scale every day and this is the first time you've seen a minor fluctuation.

Yanicka1

Water, Salt, inflammation, poop

Not significant

MizSaz

Judging by your user name, you're female- where are you in your cycle?

Also, this is the exact reason I don't weigh myself every day. Getting headwrecked over a pound is totally demotivational.

riverkit

Keep in mind that muscle weighs 3x as much as fat.

bethbournias

It really is the first time. I know that I have a problem of wanting to see results and I know that it can be demotivational to get on the scale every day. How often is best for checking weight?

katweeks63

Do you take vitamins? If you take magnesium daily you will go to the bathroom more, thus expelling your waste, not retaining it.

Tricialew32

Hard to tell with your diary private.
I go up or down 1 or 2 lbs all week but usually see a drop eventually. I often notice a rise after a high sodium day. strangely my weight drop seems to happen after a rest day...you never know.

don't sweat it unless you keep gaining.

TheVimFuego

It really is the first time. I know that I have a problem of wanting to see results and I know that it can be demotivational to get on the scale every day. How often is best for checking weight?

Once a year.

Check the belt daily though ;]

Bob314159

I find it hard to believe that you get on the scale every day and this is the first time you've seen a minor fluctuation.

For sure, I can vary 5 pounds in a day easy. On Sunday I weighed 7 pounds more than Friday, today I'm less than last Friday,

If I go for a walk I can lose 2 pounds, if I go to a party I can gain 4 pounds. But its all fake and temporary.

Keep weighing yourself every day, do not worry about day to day changes, but if it stays for a week, then worry

p0pr0cksnc0ke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evKOibP6_Yw

auroranflash

Water, Salt, inflammation, poop

Not significant

The scale is your friend as long as you are objective and take it with a grain of salt. If I weigh in the evening, it can be up to 6lbs heavier than my morning weight. One time I had an 8lb fluctuation between my nighttime weight and my morning weight. At times like this, I just laugh and say "Oh scale, you so silly."

CountryBoy65

The alignment of the moon and the sun in different positions relative to the earth. Same thing that causes spring tides and neap tides. Its just a pound. Get over it.

bethbournias

Thanks for that! I'll get some!

bethbournias

Thats funny!! But, I get the message from everyone. I just felt really bad when I saw it, because I've seen a gradual loss, granted many days have been stagnant, but that was ok. The rise just concerned me. I know that I need to be eating more calories as well, but its hard for me to get my head around the fact that I need to keep eating those calories to lose.

Cliffslosinit

Get on toilet, scoot a deuce, flush, pound gone.:flowerforyou:

Hellbent_Heidi

When you do weight/strength training, your muscles retain water to 'repair' themselves. Never stress out over a minor gain when you're incorporating weights into your routine. It will be gone again soon!

LindaCWy

Must be the tide or the moon or something.

It's not fat, promise,

HauteP1nk

One pound is nothing. I fluctuate 2-3lbs in a day! Water weight can be anywhere from 1-6 pounds...so don't freak out because of one single pound...lol

McKayMachina

Keep in mind that muscle weighs 3x as much as fat.

No. No. And no.

Please stop noobing up the forums.

:grumble:

McKayMachina

Also, OP, get some perspective.

It's fine. It will go away. Relax and stop micromanaging.

Good job on sticking with it!

BrianSharpe

Keep in mind that muscle weighs 3x as much as fat.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: (it was a joke wasn't it? If it wasn't, for the record, muscles is about 20% denser than fat not 3 x)

To the OP, don't weigh yourself every day. Just for fun I weighed myself the morning of a 40km hard bike ride and the morning after and had "gained" 5lbs after recording what was close to a 1,000 calorie deficit the day of the ride (500 more than normal as I didn't eat back all of my exercise calories) which was just about what I expected as my muscles would have been retaining water.

freckledrats

I find if I eat mostly the same foods and am sticking solidly to my diet plan, that I don't see much variation weighing daily, but the second I introduce a new drink, food, a few extra calories than normal, it's all over the board for a few days.

A pound doesn't mean squat. Could be anything. What you're doing is obviously working so stick to it and the phantom poop pound will come and go.

recoiljpr

Keep in mind that muscle weighs 3x as much as fat.

No, a pound is a pound is a pound regardless of its content. Now, 1 pound of muscle takes up less VOLUME then a pound of fat.

gemmalouise85

This may sound silly, but I'm concerned.... I have been under my calorie goal every day for the past 10 days that I have been on MFP. I have lost 4 pounds. I have been exercising twice a day (at least 2 hours of cardio and some light weights the past few days). I got on the scale this morning and I was up a pound. I make the mistake, I guess, of getting on the scale every morning to check my weight. What could be happening?

Weight same time once a week, hide scales inbetween, i used weigh myself everyday. in the friday i weighed, sunday had sneaky look and looked like i gained 2lb by the friday i had lost 2lb from my original weigh in 7 days on...

AlsDonkBoxSquat

before or after you took a poo?

recoiljpr

Keep in mind that muscle weighs 3x as much as fat.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: (it was a joke wasn't it?)

To the OP, don't weigh yourself every day. Just for fun I weighed myself the morning of a 40km hard bike ride and the morning after and had "gained" 5lbs after recording what was close to a 1,000 calorie deficit the day of the ride (500 more than normal as I didn't eat back all of my exercise calories) which was just about what I expected as my muscles would have been retaining water.

Seconded. On the weekends when I workout really hard and spend all day doing yardwork and sweating I am usually running a total 1,000 - 2,000 calorie deficit. For the next few days, I will gain between 5 - 6 lbs of water weight after replacing the lost water. But then a few days later, it all comes off and I end up weighing less. So relax, as long as your eating right and keeping up with your exercise, it will come off!

iwannatri

I have boobs & a brain, so I always subtract 5lbs when I weigh....LOL

kao708

Keep in mind that muscle weighs 3x as much as fat.

I cannot agree with this and I hate when people say muscle weighs more than fat. 1 lb of fat still weighs the same as 1 lb of muscle. Same as feathers, rocks, etc, etc. It's the amount of space that each takes up that is the difference. 1 lb of muscle looks better than 1 lb of fat but the actual weight on the scale is still 1 lb.

Sorry, I digress but that annoys me when people say that.

MinnieInMaine

OP, wanted to make one more point since I didn't see this mentioned...(sorry if I missed it)

Not sure if you're new at exercise or have started doing something different lately, it was hard to tell from your post. While, from what I understand, it's pretty much impossible to gain muscle while on a calorie deficit, your muscles may be swollen because of an introduction/increase in activity. Think of it like when you sprain your ankle - the injury causes fluid retention/swelling in that area, right? Well, the same thing happens when you use your muscles in new/different ways. Small tears are made and this causes the muscle fibers to retain water as part of the healing process. The swelling's not very noticable visibly but the extra fluid may show as a gain on the scale.

Pretty much any increase, if not related to calories, is related to water retention in some way shape or form. Or waste, as some have mentioned.

Put it this way, this past weekend, I was completely inactive and lost a pound. Once I got back to the gym, I was up a pound. It's also TOM for me though so could be that too - damn hormones!