So mad. Ready to give up, read me, and give advice!

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Okay, for some reason I cannot seem to lose weight. I track all my food, eat a high protein diet and have been lowering carbs. I have been working out an hour 4-5 times a week. Doing 30DS, elliptical, biking or walking. I finally budged a couple pounds, I started at 245, then got to 225. I am 5'7. I used to be able to drop weight much easier before I had kids.
Now, why I am SO upset...this past Thursday and Friday my mom and sister and I went out of town over night. I didn't eat perfect, but I didn't eat horrible, either...and we did LOTS of walking while we were gone. When I got home, I got on the scale, and have gained 8 pounds!!!!!! 8 pounds in TWO FRIGGIN' days?!? That doesn't even seem possible. Could it be from too much salt? I walked a ton while there, this doesn't seem possible. I was in tears last night over it. I feel like I am working mt a** off for nothing.
Help me. Any advice???

Thanks!
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Replies

  • niki87lewis
    niki87lewis Posts: 147 Member
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    Most probably sodium, has happened to me before, and test I really wanted to take a hammer to the scale! Drink lots of water and give it a few days
  • gabegrammy
    gabegrammy Posts: 147 Member
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    Not looking at the scale, how does you clothes fit? sometimes we lose the weight and gain muscle. so clothes feel a little lose.
  • BrotherBill913
    BrotherBill913 Posts: 661 Member
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    Most times when you eat out it is loaded with sodium. The walking was great, but it's still what you put in that counts most. Plus did you stick to water or did you have any wasteful calories that you drank???
  • LoriIone
    LoriIone Posts: 88 Member
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    I did have some water, but not my 8 cups per day, I have diet soda and coffee mostly.
  • Hazel2005
    Hazel2005 Posts: 175 Member
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    You said you didn't eat perfect but did you log it? In addition to lots of sodium, without measuring and knowing the content of the foods you were eating, it is soooo easy to take in more calories than you think. Also, I know when I started exercising, I seemed to retain fluid for the first little while. I'm trying to brace myself for that as I am not doing much exercise just yet. Don't give up, just log, measure and move - you got this!
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
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    Those are going to dehydrate you, plus the sodium in diet soda will help you retain water. Stop drinking it all day and have one or two colas and only coffee in the morning. Drink your water. The more water you drink the more your body will shed it. If you dont drink enough water....then your bodies gonna hold onto it like its the end of the world.

    Watch, drink 12 cups of water today....pee clear ALL DAY, take ONE DAY with no cola and only ONE cup of coffee......lemmie know what you weigh tomorrow.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
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    It seems the more weight I lose, the more sensitive my body gets to salt. Don't know why, only that it's happening. Sugar also leaves me way, way more bloated than it used to. Extra bloat means extra numbers on the scale, even if it is only temporary.
  • BeckyS32
    BeckyS32 Posts: 66 Member
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    When I see a weird weight gain, I always just remind myself that there is NO way that I ate enough calories to have gained. I am sure that even if you didn't eat perfect, you didn't eat enough to gain 8 lbs. listen to everyone else, drink water and don't let the number on the scale get you down. Hang in there!
  • mj1209
    mj1209 Posts: 6
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    Hey!! You don't say how old you are but if you are in your 40's it could be perimenopause. Also, when is the last time you had bloodwork and a checkup from your doc? I gained 9 pounds over Christmas 2 years ago after following a healthy eating plan then came to find out that I am hypothyroid!!! My metabolism was nil! Energy nada Some depression,. Vit D was very low. Now that I am regulated I am losing slow but sure with 5/6 days a week workouts ( walking and bike, nothing fancy) and calorie control. 37 lbs since last year. Good luck!! I am sooooo on your side!!!
    Marla
  • jojo37696
    jojo37696 Posts: 93 Member
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    Welcome to my world. Frustrating isn't it.
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,606 Member
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    CHILL DEAR AND BE KIND TO YOURSELF. YOU'VE LOST 20LB AND THAT'S FANTASTIC. TAKE IT SLOW AND KEEP GOING. THINK HOW MUCH HEALTHIER YOU ARE... THINK OF NSV'S..I'M SURE YOU'RE BETTER OFF THAN YOU WERE. THERE REALLY ISN'T A DEADLINE...
  • lynn14
    lynn14 Posts: 116
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    Don't give up...Don't give the scale that much power. I too have had the same experience.

    It sounds like you had a great time, which is so necessary, and your body freaked out from being out of the "norm".
    I do think it was the colas and coffee and sodium.

    I agree with tons of water....but help your body out recovering and add some fresh squeezed lemon. I am not a lemon fan, so I squeeze an ounce (that is all you need) and chug an 8 oz and then another 8 oz and it works. I do that sometimes mid morning and then afternoon.
    Lots of water....

    You can do this and it is just a bump in the road!!! :smile:
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    Do you think you really ate 28,000 calories? Because that's what it would take to put on 8 pounds of fat. :noway:

    I know a lot of people say "one day at a time" but if you don't step back and see the big picture, that one day at a time thing (especially if you're OCD and try to micromanage/control everything to death) will drive you absolutely insane. It's like expecting to drive on the road at exactly 34.12357234524 MPH and never deviate for a microsecond even with wind, hills, and traffic, and then being like "oh no I failed, I might as well crank the wheel and slam into a tree!" :wink:

    The 8 pounds of whatever it was will fall back off at some point. The only way it won't is if you give up.
  • BethW01
    BethW01 Posts: 20 Member
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    I go through this all the time. DO NOT GIVE UP!!! I repeat DO NOT GIVE UP! If you give up all your hard work is for nothing and you would feel awful about that. I understand sodium will do this to you but I also find that during my womanly time of the month I gave a crap ton. Could be that too?!?!? Who knows. I am just throwing out a suggestion there. I also know that when I am walking around like that sometimes my legs swell from retaining water (hence the sodium).

    Don't dwell on this ( I normally would) b/c dwelling on this will not help you. Stay strong and plow through this. Girl, you go this! :)

    Stay strong.
  • djmom1984
    djmom1984 Posts: 55 Member
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    Whenever I see this (and it happens once a month!) I just double my exercise and water and wait it out. It disappears quickly. Perhaps you are eating too few carbs and your body is waiting for energy. Balance is everything. Hang in there. It IS worth it. You CAN do it.
  • comomx3
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    The same thing just happened to me. I went from 199 to 207 in about 3 days. I knew that there was no way it was weight. I drank lots of water. Kept working out. Kept eating right and yesterday I weighed 197. I have learned to Trust the Process. Be honest with your self on what you are eating. How hard you are working. Had some strength training. Trust the Process! Remember you will either live with the Pain of Discipline or the Pain of Regret. The pain of regret is horrible. Keep plugging along! I started out at 239. It's beautiful to reach below 200. I cried when the scale reached 199.
  • irjeffb
    irjeffb Posts: 274 Member
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    Make sure you're taking measurements too. I've had periods when I exercised more than my "normal" or changed up my exercise where the scale didn't move, but I lost inches off my waist.
  • verptwerp
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
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    I love eating out, but it often doesn't love me ...... even though I try to make healthy choices, there's no way I can be sure about the sodium, fats, sugars, calories, etc when someone else cooks ...... I hope for the best, but the numbers are usually disappointing ....... that being said, if I drink a lot of water, eat a lot of "plain" vegetables, and get some exercise, any increase on the scale usually disappears after a few days ..... just in time for hubby & me to eat out again :laugh:

    Don't give up ....... where will that take you ?

    NEVER GIVE UP ..... KEEP ON TRUCKIN' !
  • VictoriaWorksOut
    VictoriaWorksOut Posts: 195 Member
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    Do not give up.
    Another small change that makes big difference is not to eat your dinner late at night. Eat it so you have at least 3 hours before you go to bed.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Lots of walking = your muscles holding onto water to repair themselves = temporary weight gain

    Not eating "perfectly" (eating at restaurants?) = eating more sodium and carbs than usual = water retention (especially if you're normally low-carb and have eaten more of those) = temporary weight gain

    Even if this was a gain of 2 lbs of fat, which I seriously doubt it was, please don't let that make you give up. I lost 50+ over the last year, and there were several weeks where I gained weight. Once was where I had eaten quite a lot over my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) but all the other times, I was doing everything "right". Weight fluctuates though, it really does, and you can't let that get you down, or you'll never get to your goal.

    I don't know why you're finding it so difficult to shift the weight (although 20lbs is not "a couple"!). It might be worth looking at your calorie intake and see if you're taking in too many, or too few. It might also be worth considering a diet break for a couple of weeks: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html It's also definitely worth consulting your doctor to see if there's a medical reason.

    Don't give up though, where's that gonna get you? :flowerforyou: