gained 3lbs

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peopletalk
peopletalk Posts: 519 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
here's the story.

over the holidays, i DIDNT track, i DIDNT exercise and i ate everything i wanted. including fast food, chocolate, and lots of alcohol. i was probably eating over 2000 cals a day. or more with alcohol
i lost 4lbs over the holidays.

so i'm thinking great. a jump start to my diet/lifestyle change.
so this is the end of week 1 and i've exercised 15-30 mins on the treadmill almost every day. i cut my calories to 1700. i didn't cheat once, i added more fruits and veggies. i was always about 50cals UNDER my calorie goal.

so yesterday i did my first weekly weigh in. i gained a pound.
whatever.

i went 100cals over my goal last night and weighed myself this morning. i gained another 2lbs over night.
so i'm ALMOST back where i started. this makes no sense to me.

no i'm not getting my period for another 5 days and no, i don't think it's muscle. there's no way i'm gaining muscle already from 30 mins cardio only.

i see posts here from everyone saying "ohhh i lost 4lbs in the first and second week and it stopped!"
yeah... i can't even lose 2 lbs in the first week. i managed to gain 3 >:(


edit:
i'm 22 year old girl
205lbs (now)
i'm 5'6

my bmr is 1790
i wanna lose 60lbs
«1

Replies

  • Cassandraseagraves
    Cassandraseagraves Posts: 2 Member
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    It has a lot to do with how much water you drink. The weight you gained could just be water weight!! Don't give up! Don't let one day ruin your confidence and progress.
  • MsSmitty77
    MsSmitty77 Posts: 5
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    Agreed! It may just be water weight, don't stress it! Just continue to keep your diet healthy and continue to exercise. You will drop those 3 pounds in no time.
  • cjburke12
    cjburke12 Posts: 45 Member
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    Hang in there! It must be frustrating but you can't give up. I am going to weigh in next week and i dread it.lol You should check your scale to make sure it is correct. Does it need new batteries if its a digital?
  • fstephanie4
    fstephanie4 Posts: 196 Member
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    ^^ this. Water. I drank 10 glasses last night (without realising) and I lost two pound....won't happen every time but water seems to help me lose it more.

    I put on 3lbs overnight once because I binged the night before. Don't look at the scale if you have eaten too much the day before because it may be disheartening.


    Feel free to add me. I'm 21 and 5'6" too :)
  • Danni1585
    Danni1585 Posts: 250 Member
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    What i am learning from MFP is that you need to be in it for the long haul. Our bodies can do different things when they will. People who have stuck within their calorie intake, and taken regular exercise are the people who then get to post fabulous pics on this site. Its about making lots of the right decisions, eating less and moving more. Dont give up, hang in there. Its good you enjoyed the holidays, and good your working hard now. The scales will catch up, dont worry
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    It's water weight.. weight loss isn't linear nor should it be tracked like that. You wan to see the trend over a month or several months. Just keep eating between your BMR and TDEE and it will come off.
  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
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    HI,

    More than likely it is water retention. Restarting workouts can cause water retention in muscles as they adjust to the new activity level.

    How is your sodium intake? Salty foods cause water retention too. Need to drink a lot of water to flush it out.

    Have you taken a dump lately? What you eat and drink has weight - if you are not "regular" then you weight will fluctuate.

    You are eating less than your BMR - ideally you should be eating more than your BMR ( what you need to stay alive in a coma) and less than you TDEE( total daily energy expenditure or BMR + all your activity burn). Try taking a 20% cut from your TDEE.

    Remember you already showed that you can lose at a higher calorie intake when you lost over the holidays - no need to cut back to below your BMR.

    Check out this link - plenty of good info

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    here's the story.

    over the holidays, i DIDNT track, i DIDNT exercise and i ate everything i wanted. including fast food, chocolate, and lots of alcohol. i was probably eating over 2000 cals a day. or more with alcohol
    i lost 4lbs over the holidays.

    so i'm thinking great. a jump start to my diet/lifestyle change.
    so this is the end of week 1 and i've exercised 15-30 mins on the treadmill almost every day. i cut my calories to 1700. i didn't cheat once, i added more fruits and veggies. i was always about 50cals UNDER my calorie goal.

    so yesterday i did my first weekly weigh in. i gained a pound.
    whatever.

    i went 100cals over my goal last night and weighed myself this morning. i gained another 2lbs over night.
    so i'm ALMOST back where i started. this makes no sense to me.

    no i'm not getting my period for another 5 days and no, i don't think it's muscle. there's no way i'm gaining muscle already from 30 mins cardio only.

    i see posts here from everyone saying "ohhh i lost 4lbs in the first and second week and it stopped!"
    yeah... i can't even lose 2 lbs in the first week. i managed to gain 3 >:(


    edit:
    i'm 22 year old girl
    205lbs (now)
    i'm 5'6

    my bmr is 1790
    i wanna lose 60lbs

    Give it time...it took me 3 months to lose my first 7 lbs...and the last 4 months I have only lost like 1 lbs a month despite being under my calorie goal 90% of the time. On top of that, I started taking a supplement designed to help me lose fat...and have *gained* like 3 pounds in 10 days :sad:

    Besides, as important as the scale is, the way your clothes fit is MORE important. Because I have stuck with the gym, and I am lifting weights, I am wearing clothes that I wore when I was 25-30lbs lighter!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    You didn't gain 3 lbs of fat. You definitely didn't gain 2 lbs of fat overnight. (Also, remember 100 cals over your goal is still below your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). Keep doing what you're doing (you could probably even eat a little more) and you will see it come off again.

    Don't stress out over scale fluctuations. You retain water when you eat more carbs, or when you eat more sodium, or when you start a new exercise programme, or when you increase exercise intensity, or when your hormones decide you should. You also gain more scale weight depending on how much food/waste is in your system. Embrace the fluctuations! :flowerforyou:
  • peopletalk
    peopletalk Posts: 519 Member
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    thanks everyone for the quick replies. it's just frustrating.
    i'm gonna keep trying. i really wanna succeed this time.
  • queenhiphop
    queenhiphop Posts: 286 Member
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    You will succeed. If you've been tracking your calories properly and exercising well then it is IMPOSSIBLE that you put on real weight. It will be water weight, salt retention, PMS (period due in 5 days means this is v likely) etc etc etc but it is not real weight I.e fat. Hang in there xx
  • MsAbandy
    MsAbandy Posts: 2 Member
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    I am using myfitnesspal for tracking. I started the Shred Diet that was on Dr. Oz and I am extremely suprised at the results. I've been fighting the battle to loose these last 20 lbs and the scale is actually moving down in just the first week. Check it out at Dr. Ozcom.:smile:
  • Sujit8383
    Sujit8383 Posts: 726 Member
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    Two probable reasons:
    1) High salt intake..........
    2) Hormonal changes due to Periods.........
  • 2bmeagain12
    2bmeagain12 Posts: 284 Member
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    Keep your water up; somewhere between 64oz (minimum) and 100oz (1/2 body weight x 1 ounce). The scale can be your worst enemy and your best tool. Many will tell you not to weigh yourself every day, as the body will fluctuate for various reasons. Personally, I am fascinated by what goes on and have to weigh in daily. With that said, I began tracking my weight on Woman Log (an iphone app), for those daily variations (you can also track your TOM). And I only log on MFP when it drops below what I have recorded here. I'm just beginning to notice patterns of when I go up, and when I go down around certain events, etc.
    Hang in there! You will win the battle!
  • pj2401
    pj2401 Posts: 5
    Options
    I always step on my scale 3 or 4 times when I weigh myself and my weight always fluctuates by a couple of lbs. I don't know why, but it never occurred to me to change the batteries. Thanks for the tip! :wink:
  • 30Purple
    30Purple Posts: 252 Member
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    I gained too. I know I didn't eat that much above my BMR, so it's gotta be at least some water weight. I tried to stay pretty active over the holidays too.
  • thesebeautifulbones
    thesebeautifulbones Posts: 8
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    could it be that you were eating around 2000 calories over the holidays so your body had to work harder to burn those extra calories it wasn't used to getting, and now you've dropped back down it's holding on to food which it normally wouldn't? maybe set yourself a day where you eat around 2000 and then keep it around 1700 the rest of the week. just keeps your body and metabolism guessing and going!
  • RonnieLodge
    RonnieLodge Posts: 665 Member
    Options
    here's the story.

    no i'm not getting my period for another 5 days and no, i don't think it's muscle. there's no way i'm gaining muscle already from 30 mins cardio only.

    I find that the week (or two) before my period is due, I put on between 2-6pounds /1-3kg. I put it down to the hormonal fluctuations that are in action causing PMT - fluid retention along with the tender chesticles, acne, wanting to eat EVERYTHING and feeling bloated. Fun times! :/
  • shlevon
    shlevon Posts: 30 Member
    Options
    here's the story.

    over the holidays, i DIDNT track, i DIDNT exercise and i ate everything i wanted. including fast food, chocolate, and lots of alcohol. i was probably eating over 2000 cals a day. or more with alcohol
    i lost 4lbs over the holidays.

    so i'm thinking great. a jump start to my diet/lifestyle change.
    so this is the end of week 1 and i've exercised 15-30 mins on the treadmill almost every day. i cut my calories to 1700. i didn't cheat once, i added more fruits and veggies. i was always about 50cals UNDER my calorie goal.

    so yesterday i did my first weekly weigh in. i gained a pound.
    whatever.

    i went 100cals over my goal last night and weighed myself this morning. i gained another 2lbs over night.
    so i'm ALMOST back where i started. this makes no sense to me.

    no i'm not getting my period for another 5 days and no, i don't think it's muscle. there's no way i'm gaining muscle already from 30 mins cardio only.

    i see posts here from everyone saying "ohhh i lost 4lbs in the first and second week and it stopped!"
    yeah... i can't even lose 2 lbs in the first week. i managed to gain 3 >:(


    edit:
    i'm 22 year old girl
    205lbs (now)
    i'm 5'6

    my bmr is 1790
    i wanna lose 60lbs

    What you're seeing is almost certainly fluctuations in water weight. Changes in diet and exercise habits can definitely cause some shifts in fluid balance due to a variety of hormonal reasons. Seriously, don't worry about it, and start tracking weight once your weight seems to have "stabilized" after this adjustment period (say a week or two).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
    Options
    gaining or losing 2 Lbs over night is water, plain and simple. One pound of actual fat is 3,500 calories...so you would have to go over your maintenance TDEE by 7,000 calories in a single day to put on 2 Lbs of actual fat. To put it in perspective...my maintenance TDEE is right around 2,500 calories. To gain 2 Lbs over night I would have to consume 9,500 calories in one day...I promise you I'd never get that far...I'd be puking my guts out before I came even close to that.

    It's water...it's pretty much impossible to gain or lose even a pound over night.

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