Put on weight :-( why!?

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connbenn
connbenn Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi.

I'm new to this, have being doing it for almost 2 weeks now. Last week I lost 4lb.

Tonight I did something I promised myself I wouldn't do and weighed myself mid-week (planned to do it on a Saturday). The scales were a shock as they say I've actually put on 3lb!!!

I don't understand how this can be as i've been sticking to 1200 calories a day as recommended by on here. I've also been to the gym three times this week for an hour each time doing cardio (treadmill, bikes and cross-trainer).

The only thing I can think was that last Friday I went out clubbing and drank vodka and diet coke all night. But I weighed myself on Saturday (for the first time since starting the diet) and had lost 4lb, so why have i been put on!?

Kind of makes me think I should just give and have the takeaway i'm craving, as healthy eating isn't making much difference.

Please let me know if you have any insghts or have expierenced the same thing.

Thanks,

CB

Replies

  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    Yeah, the takeaway is gonna help (note sarcasm).

    First of all, you need to understand your body weight fluctuates up to five pounds daily.
    2nd of all, if you're working out and you're not morbidly obese, you should probably be eating at least some of your exercise calories (read the threads at the top ofthe general diet and weight loss help forum) which means you're probably doing your body a major injustice by eating only 1200 calories a day.
    3rd of all, 2 weeks is hardly enough time to give a lifestyle change before you say "screw it." If you have less than 100 pounds to lose, don't go into this expecting to lose 2 pounds a week every week because you're setting yourself up for major disapointment by having expectations that are way too high.

    Keep eating healthy and exercising & you'll lose weight. Read the posts marked for "newbies" and you'll learn a lot. And most importantly, give it time to work because you're worth it.
    :flowerforyou:
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
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    Welcome to the wonderful world of losing weight, fluctuating weight, gaining water weight...stick to it. It will come off.
  • pannellkat
    pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
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    I would say the same time you weighed yourself and saw the loss...should be the same time you weighed youself all the time. IF you weighed in the a.m. when you saw your 4 lbs lost, hopefully you didn't weigh yourself before bedtime after all your meals when you saw that gain. I would give it another week before stepping on the scale again and do it first thing in the morning.
    Good luck!
  • greeneyedgirl829
    greeneyedgirl829 Posts: 335
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    Don't give up and give into temptation.

    I'm sure you've heard this before but "You didn't put on the weight overnight, it's not going to come off overnight". Some weeks there will be a drastic drop of weight, some weeks almost nothing. Also keep in mind, you might be retaining water, you might have been too "full" when you weighed yourself too.

    Keep doing what your doing and the weight will come off. Try upping your water intake to flush out the sodium that might be causing any retention...also alcohol slows your metabolism for a couple of days as well as makes you retain water. Also, when you work out do you eat at least half of your workout calories earned? This is important for the long run.

    Hope this helps! :flowerforyou:
  • jennkohler
    jennkohler Posts: 29
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    :flowerforyou: I totally get how you feel, the same thing happened to me last week. You just have to give yourself time to adjust to execising and eating differently. Stay positive, stay on track, and everything should work out. Everyday is a new day :flowerforyou:
  • breckmc
    breckmc Posts: 30
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    I used to see this a lot when I'd go out and have a few drinks. Drinking alcohol forces your body to retain water. Drink plenty of water after a night of boozing and the water retention should go away. I wouldn't get caught up in one weigh-in.
  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
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    This one is easy for me.....alcohol dehydrates me. If i drink a lot, i always wake up a few pounds lighter. Then after spending the day rehydrating, i put it all back on.
  • connbenn
    connbenn Posts: 7
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    Thanks everyone for your supportive comments. I will stick with it! And realise it won't happen overnight, was just a bit demoralising to see on the screen.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Here is the scientific explanation for what happens when people start up a diet and exercise program:

    When you first start working out and dieting, your body uses the glycogen that is stored in your muscles for fuel. (That's actually what it's there for). It takes 4 pounds of water to store 1 pound of glycogen. So, if you use up a pound of glycogen, you are going to release another 4 pounds of water for a total loss of 5 pounds. This is why people go on a diet and lose BIG amounts the first week.

    But then, if you keep working out and dieting, your body says "Hmmm, this isn't a temporary situation where it makes sense to use glycogen. This energy imbalance is long term, I better go to my long term stores (fat)" And so your body puts the glycogen back and starts burning fat instead. But when it puts back the glycogen, it also puts back the water.

    This is why people often lose a lot the first week and hardly anything (or even gain) the next week when they first go on a diet. After that, your glycogen situation tends to stabilize. Your body will still use glycogen sometimes when exercising if it needs a quick energy boost, quicker than burning fat can provide, but it's mostly burning fat. So most people don't see these wild swings due to water being released and then retained over and over.

    Also, when you eat or drink something, the impact isn't immediately felt. It takes a while for your food to fully digest. Some gets through your system in 8 hours, but some takes much longer. So anything you eat in the later part of the day may not be showing up on the scale until two days after. So, you can go out and binge on alcohol and, in the morning, the scale might even do down (because alcohol is a diuretic and you'll temporarily lose some water weight), but the day after, it goes up because the alcohol has been fully processed and the calories absorbed and also because the water comes back.
  • allyson2212
    allyson2212 Posts: 42
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    If I drink and weigh myself the day after, Ive always lost. I believe its due to dehydration, so it probably wasnt your true weight that day. I would say, in a few days on Saturday, weigh yourself first thing in the morning (as long as you havent been drinking the night before) and start from there. Dont let this "set back" set you back, if that makes any sense.
  • RedHotRunner
    RedHotRunner Posts: 850 Member
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    If I drink and weigh myself the day after, Ive always lost. I believe its due to dehydration, so it probably wasnt your true weight that day. I would say, in a few days on Saturday, weigh yourself first thing in the morning (as long as you havent been drinking the night before) and start from there. Dont let this "set back" set you back, if that makes any sense.

    This is why i always weigh myself on Monday. I'm done dehydrating and rehydrating and can get more of a true weight for myself.
  • connbenn
    connbenn Posts: 7
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    Yeh the water/dehydration thing make sense. I am a student and enjoy going out with friends so I think I will change my 'weigh-in' day to a Monday instead.

    I will definately be reducing the amount of alcohol i drink but I also don't want my social life to be impacted by cutting it out completely. Most of my friends have already being saying things like 'life's to short to diet'...but they're all skinny and i want to be healthy so my life isn't cut short.

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