How can this be!?!?!

erinlibke
erinlibke Posts: 144 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So my husband has been fluctuating around 173-174 for the past two weeks. He is 5'8 and on about 1800 cals/day. He has been busting his *kitten* in the gym doing 9-10 miles on the eliptical and has put in over 70 miles in two weeks (not including today). He is quite strict sticking to his daily calorie goals but yesterday we went out for dinner. We split crab cakes and bread basket, he had steak and shrimp with half a double baked potato and we split a dessert. This morning he was up 3lbs! How is that even possible?!!? He is so frustrated and ready to quit. I don't know what to tell him? Any suggestions?

Replies

  • imjenjen00
    imjenjen00 Posts: 75
    Water retention from the food you ate last night. Drink lots of water, get back on track today, it'll even out.
  • Arkhos
    Arkhos Posts: 290 Member
    Never weigh yourself right after a big meal or change food (like eating more carbs or salt!) It is natural for your body to fluctuate by several pounds a day. Weigh yourself every 2-4 weeks. I bet if he weighs himself in 2-3 days it will drop. I have gone up 6-8 lbs then dropped it + some in less than a week - of course I'm a bigger guy, but it's true for everyone. My trainer is a bodybuilder and if she eats carbs on 1 day she can gain 8 lbs - it is temporary weight.

    Don't worry, and Don't Quit! He is doing great!!
  • ChangingAmanda
    ChangingAmanda Posts: 486 Member
    He's up today most likely from water retention and the food still in his system. He may want to check out this post http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 to check if he's at the right calorie goal. 1800 cals for someone doing that much exercise seems low.
  • akilahleemarie
    akilahleemarie Posts: 80 Member
    since 3500 calories equals 1 pound...did he consume an extra 10,500 calories to gain 3 pounds of fat? :) trust me is the sodium retention...if he is back on his normal routine for 24-48 hours..all will be back to normal :) some people are very sensitive to sodium...I am one of them..and since i am..i totally avoid high soidum foods so I can watch my progress on the scale
  • Naomi_84
    Naomi_84 Posts: 197 Member
    Tell him to keep up the amazing work and get his *kitten* on here and immerse himself in all the great advice! I'd tell him not to weight himself too often and definitely not after a meal out. And also with all the activity he's doing, is he netting enough calories at the end of each day? It may be that after a while on the same plan his metabolism has matched his diet/exercise levels and he needs to kick his metabolism back into shape by increasing his calories a little to let his body know its ok to lose more, hes not starving.
  • erinlibke
    erinlibke Posts: 144 Member
    Thanks, these are all things I've been trying to tell him but he is stubborn and disappointed lol
  • sofielein
    sofielein Posts: 539 Member
    I thought 173 was pretty good for a 5"8' man.. does he need to lose weight?
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    LOL! It took my Hubs a while to get it too. He kept weighing himself at night, after dinner, with clothes on, and wondered why he was up. I think it finally sunk in though - I haven't seen him do that in a while.

    FYI, water is heavier than we realize. One gallon weighs about 8 pounds! And there is no way you can gain actual weight that quickly as someone else pointed out. Any time you eat at a restaurant, you'll have water weight for at least 2 days but up to a week. Make sure he drinks plenty of water for the next couple days to even things out.
  • wildfirediva
    wildfirediva Posts: 212
    Step away from the scale!!


    It appears that he may not be taking in enough calories to sustain his activity. As someone mentioned 1800 appears to be quite low.
  • erinlibke
    erinlibke Posts: 144 Member
    And also with all the activity he's doing, is he netting enough calories at the end of each day? It may be that after a while on the same plan his metabolism has matched his diet/exercise levels and he needs to kick his metabolism back into shape by increasing his calories a little to let his body know its ok to lose more, hes not starving.

    I agree, but today he said he is going to spend 1 hour and a half on the eliptical then the bike and I know he will not up his caloric intake. I just think he is sabotaging his metabolism but he seems to think he can punish his body into dropping the pounds
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    And also with all the activity he's doing, is he netting enough calories at the end of each day? It may be that after a while on the same plan his metabolism has matched his diet/exercise levels and he needs to kick his metabolism back into shape by increasing his calories a little to let his body know its ok to lose more, hes not starving.

    I agree, but today he said he is going to spend 1 hour and a half on the eliptical then the bike and I know he will not up his caloric intake. I just think he is sabotaging his metabolism but he seems to think he can punish his body into dropping the pounds

    It's fluid and glycogen retention not fat gain. He didn't eat 10500 calories over maintenance did he?
  • ModoVincere
    ModoVincere Posts: 530 Member
    I thought 173 was pretty good for a 5"8' man.. does he need to lose weight?
    bless you!
  • jrmartinezb
    jrmartinezb Posts: 147 Member
    Weight fluctuates naturally from day to day. Sodium, glycogen, stress, temperature, undigested food; they all cause this.

    For instance, here's my weight for the last 15days

    02/01/2013 156.4
    02/02/2013 157.1
    02/03/2013 157.1
    02/04/2013 159.1
    02/05/2013 159.5
    02/06/2013 157.3
    02/07/2013 157.5
    02/08/2013 156.4
    02/09/2013 156.6
    02/10/2013 157.5
    02/11/2013 158.8
    02/12/2013 157.5
    02/13/2013 156.4
    02/14/2013 155.3
    02/15/2013 155.1

    I'f he's been losing consistently before, patience would be my only advice

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