4 lb gain in 6 days :(

nucgirl13

I need some help. I know weight loss isn't linear, but its driving me nuts that I may be doing something to sabotage all my efforts. I joined this site and started tracking about 7 weeks ago. After the first two weeks I joined my local gym and started working out again. It took another 2 weeks and I lost 5 lbs in 7 days. The next two weeks I lost nothing. This weekend I was really stressed out due to tests at work and hadn't seen my boyfriend for a month so when we finally got together we went out to dinner one day and ordered pizza and went out to lunch the other. I tracked everything I ate and didn't think it was too awful until I got on the scale Monday and found I was 2 lbs up. Today I has gained another 2 lbs! I'm so frustrated - I know I fell off the wagon a little but I work so hard most of the time.

Some background on me - I'm 29, 5-9, 170 lbs and 27% bf. I weight all my meals I make at home. My calculated bmr is 1573 and tdee is 2700. I target eating 1800 calories a day. My workouts are usually as follows - Monday: run/walk 50 mins and weights, Tuesday 30 mins with Personal Trainer, 30 mins elliptical, Wednesday - elliptical or treadmill and weight, Friday 60 minute body sculpt with weights class and 30 min core class, Sat boot camp. I also walk a lot at work.

If anyone has any ideas that may help, I'd really appreciate it!

rawr9187

Well I'm not sure if this is accurate for you, but it might just be the pizza. I always gain a pound or two after eating pizza due to water retention. Hopefully this is only what it is for you because everything else looks and sounds accurate to me.

beyondjupiter

I am definitely not as knowledgeable as some of the people on here but my estimate would be one of 4 things (or maybe a combination):

1) TOM is approaching.
2) You are eating waaaay too much sodium. One day alone was 4000mg and most days you are close to or over your goal of 2500mg.
3) You are not drinking enough water. (which would go hand and hand with the water retention from high sodium) You have no water logged on any days.
4) Too much processed food. Other than one day I saw a lot of processed food. Try to eat more whole foods, veggies, fruits, nuts, etc. They will have way less sodium and other junky ingredients that could be affecting your body.

Jen

SteelySunshine

If it just recently got hot where you are that will make you retain water for a while as well.

Strangelyinsane

I always gain a pound or two after eating pizza due to water retention.

^^Yup^^

and restaurant Chinese food. Takes a couple of days to leach out of me, it seems. Keep doing what your doing and watch your sodium. Over the long run you'll see the results you seek.

Warchortle

I'll one up you and say I gained 4 lbs in 3 days. I may have just decided to eat nothing but cake, pie, and ice cream for the 3 days. It's not a big deal. You can lose weight you gain. It's not like losing an arm.

mamosh81

i also gained almost 4 lbs this week but its because my TOM is coming in 2 days. Also restaurant food is usually loaded with salt so you could retain water. Just keep up the good work and it will jump off once TOM or water retention is over at least thats how it usually works for me and regulary scares my friends here because then i lose like 6-8 lbs in a week

JDBLY11

Well I'm not sure if this is accurate for you, but it might just be the pizza. I always gain a pound or two after eating pizza due to water retention. Hopefully this is only what it is for you because everything else looks and sounds accurate to me.

I do too.

DawnEH612

Before i give you my assessment of what might be happening, let me tell you i have first hand knowledge of a huge jump in number on the scale. Over this past holiday season i had tree holiday events over the course of four days. I weighed myself BEFORE the events to get a baseline reading. Mi allowed myself to indulge at the events. After the four days were over, i got on the scale totally prepared to see a gain in weight of about 3-4 pounds. I was not, however, prepared in the least to see a TEN POUND gain.. Yep, 10 pounds in 4 days. I cant even tell you how many times i got on and off that scale, moving it to different areas o the floor as if there was something wrong with the scale, lol! Rationally i KNEW that there was NO way i gained 10 pounds of fat in 4 days, i took a deep breath. i attributed it sodium and rebuilding glycogen stores. The following day i drank a lot of water, ate more protein and fresh produce and went back to my healthy routine... I got on the scale four days after the ten pound gain and guess what? I was back down, 10 pounds. It ALL came off. All of it! It taught me alot about how my body responds to indulgences and i learned not to panic or get upset.. I accepted it like a science project, if i eat "X" then "Y" will happen. Try to tune into your body so you know how it is likely to respond on these scenarios.
First, i want to say everyone's body has the potential to respond differently to different things. What works for one person may not work for another, so alot of what will work for you will be trial and error. Second, when you do try something else, try ONE change at a time and give it a converted effort of atleast 2 weeks. With that said, thou, it can take 4-6 weeks for a body to show its response to a change. Third, you are not consuming enough calories! Your caloric goal for the day is something you should strive to reach. Too many people get so excited they stayed UNDER their daily goal. That is not a good thing...that will slow your metabolism down. Eat back the calories you burn off.. If you are eating at 1800 calories a day that is already a 400 calorie deficit from your TDEE., add on top of that the calories you aren't eating back from exercise and you are now at about a 700 calorie deficit a day! BIG PROBLEM.
Fourth, cortisol is a stress hormone. If you are stressing, you are likely releasing cortisol into your body and thus holding onto the weight. Try to incorporate stress relieving activities such as hatha yoga or meditation into your workouts. Health does not stop at the number on the scale.. You are much more complex and holistic than a number on a scale. If you treat yourself as such you will get much better and longer lasting results! Good luck.

nucgirl13

Thanks for the suggestions. I have been so busy studying for work that I have not been drinking as much as I should be, especially since my sodium is usually high and its already over 100 degrees here. Hopefully it is just water retention .

I also think the cortisol might be playing a part as my stress level is so high. Good news is I passed my written exam for work this week and treated myself - to a 50 min run/walk and a workout on the bosu! I will also try upping my calories for a couple of weeks to see of that has any effect. I just started wearing a heart rate monitor (it measures a heart rate at your wrist) today it's at 2700 calories burned, yesterday was 2900.

thisismeraw

I just started wearing a heart rate monitor (it measures a heart rate at your wrist) today it's at 2700 calories burned, yesterday was 2900.

A wrist heart rate monitor is not super accurate. Normally those you have to put your finger on for it to take your heart rate. It doesn't constantly take your heart rate.

Also, unless it's a body media or fitbit heart rate monitor they are not designed to be worn all day. A regular heart rate monitor will not be accurate when worn all day as they are designed to be used when your heart rate is increased.