What would cause a 6lb gain in one week?

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sean23
sean23 Posts: 34 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My wife has had trouble losing weight and keeping it off. She is strict on her diet and eats right. About 2 months ago we had her metabolism tested and found out her weight loss zone, based on the test was between 1400 to 1600 daily calories. She had probably only been eating 1100 or so a day. She upped her calories to try and eat 1500 per day (she was considered as having a higher than average metabolism). She lost 2.5 lbs. right away. Then it slowed to 1 lb per week or maybe .5 per week. She was fine with that as long as it was consistent in the right direction. After a few weeks she gained 3.5 in one week doing the same things. She thought it may be her TOM because there's no way she ate enough to gain anything. It took her 4 weeks to lose those 3.5 lbs. She wrote it off as her body adjusting to eating more and balancing out. The last couple weeks she has lost slow and consistent until this morning she weighed in and had gained 6 lbs since last Friday and it really is starting to bother her. She has been eating right and exercising more. She has been eating closer to the 1400 calories the past few weeks. She ate out 3 times between Friday and Sunday, but ate sensibly. We figured maybe it was sodium but she should have flushed it out of her system by now or may be her TOM approaching, but 6 lbs is ridiculous. She weighs weekly under the same circumstances so thats not an issue.
If anyone has ideas why this is happening or if how she is gaining weight reveals something about her problem I would greatly appreciaty any help. The lady that tested her metabolism told her as long as she stays in her calorier range she will lose weight and as long as she doesn't go over her stabilization range she won't gain. Today was the heaviest she's weighed at one time for over a year. We are just frustrated trying to make some sense of it. Sorry for the long post

Replies

  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Water weight.

    I would tell her to remember that the scale is an inexact measuring tool and should be taken with a grain of salt.

    The only true way to use the scale correctly is to take a LOT of measurements over a long period of time (say a month) and compare the results and look for trends, if the trend is down, it's working, if it's static or up, then it's not working. Other than that, you probably shouldn't count on your weight always going in one direction, the body's far to complicated for that to be the case, there's always going to be measurements outside the norm.
  • Lparault
    Lparault Posts: 100
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    I have had similar problems. Have her press her forearm with her hand...does the impression go white and linger? It's fluid. Could be her muscles are holding water to repair themselves, could be her body just trying to adjust to new things. Not to be too personal but, uh, is she "dropping the kids at the pool" on a regular basis...constipation and fluid retention can make you gain weight in an eight hour period.

    If either of these is the issue, try home remedies first, laxatives, drinking more water. If that doesn't do the trick, have her see her doctor.

    I know it is frustrating, tell her to hang in there.

    One question...if she was told that she has a suped up metabolism, why is weight an issue?

    Are you sure the person who did the testing was correct? Maybe not...I know I can gain weight by looking at food, six pounds in a week would be nothing for me if I didn't watch it.

    Hope this helps.
  • Keemeri
    Keemeri Posts: 74
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    If she is exercising more, she will gain muscle which will add on a few pounds. This is a good sign. When you exercise you will retain water in the areas that are being strained. Water goes to those areas to help heal tears in the muscles. In time your body will balance out. Make sure you drink your water and fluctuate your diet at times (Get a little more than normal one day and go back down the next). As long as your exercisng this will keep your metaolbism up and running...lift weights along with cardio..rotate your days. The muscle gain is what increases your metabolism to burn fat.

    It's a frustrating process. But the weight will soon slowly come off again. Be patient.

    Good luck!

    I'm in the same boat.
  • vitabella
    vitabella Posts: 34 Member
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    It could be a number of things. it could be that her body is just taking time to lose the weight. Sometimes i will go a month without losing a pound then in a week ill drop 4 pounds. As for her gaining weight, is she bingeing that you do not know of? i know when i am under stress of dieting i tend to binge. Also eating out can quickly ruin a diet. They add all sorts of butters, oils, and seasonings full of sodium. When i order out i really stress that they do not use any butter at all, and very light oil. Is she counting every calorie? Gum, mints, and coffee can add another 200+ calories. Also what kinds of food is she eating? Is she eating just junk but under her calorie allowance? Or is she eating a diet mainly of veggies, fruits, lean meats, and grains? ( which is best) Hope this helps. I would guess its from TOM and just the fact that our bodies know more than we do, it might just need a break from weight loss.
  • loonpine2
    loonpine2 Posts: 44 Member
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    Sometimes, it not how much you eat as what you eat. Take for example. I can eat all day long, not count calories or what ever I am eating as long as it's fruits and veggies. I stay away from sugar at all cost because I know what it does to me and anything white like white bread or rice, potatoes except sweet. However, when I started the weight loss prossess, I didn't do that. I just ate what ever as long as I was under my calorie intake, I figured I'd be fine. Well, that is not the case..I too didn't lose. So, have a check at what she is eating. Does there seem to be a lot of fried foods or eating out alot? Eating out can cause you to gain weight because you do no know what is added to the food.

    So tell her to stick with fresh fruit, veggies, fish and chicken and she will lost the weight..
  • loonpine2
    loonpine2 Posts: 44 Member
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    Oh yeah also if she works out muscle weights more than fat.. so she may have lost fat but gained muscle
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Oh yeah also if she works out muscle weights more than fat.. so she may have lost fat but gained muscle

    2 things, 1) it takes most people more than a month to start building new muscle when starting a new routine with new exercise types.
    And 2) it's generally not possible to gain true muscle mass while in a caloric deficit. You can increase muscle efficiency and that can lead to water weight gain, but you really don't gain muscle mass while in caloric deficit.
  • sean23
    sean23 Posts: 34 Member
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    Thanks for all the inquiries. She eats very healthy (salad, a lot of grilled chicken breast, fruits and vegetables, nothing fried), the only time we usually eat out is one or two meals on the weekend. Then, she doesn't eat too poorly. She started working out a little more the past few weeks. I was wondering if maybe the 1400 or 1500 may not still be enough for her metabolism and when she does eat out, it still stores it as fat? I would think the sodium would be flushed out of her system from 5 days ago, she does drink a lot of water. Also, she does videos using 3 lb dumbells. Surely she wouldn't be gaining too much muscle weight or that surely wouldn't affect her body too much would it? Well again thanks for all the advice. We'll keep on plugging at it and hope to solve her weight loss mysteries.
  • sean23
    sean23 Posts: 34 Member
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    SH Boss,
    I want to make sure I understand what you are saying. Are you saying maybe she still has a calorie defecit and the working out is just causing her to retain water? If so should she up her calories and by how much. If I interpeted that wrong, could you please clarify. I am a fireman and sometimes don't pick up on things too well. Thanks again for the posts!
  • lculian
    lculian Posts: 313 Member
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    :happy: It sounds like her body needs at least 1400-1600 calories on a regular non-exercise day. She probably saw an increase in weight loss when she increased her calories, because her body felt like it was safe to burn those calories. If she has started exercising and is still only taking in 1400 calories she has put herself right back into starvation mode. If her body needs fuel in order to lose and become healthy that is what we have to do. Make sure she is putting her exercise time in the MFP log and eatting her exercise calories. It really does work. I wasn't sure at first but when I started adding those calories consistently I saw two great rewards 6 lbs in 30 days and 4" off my wasit!!
    BTW I use 3-5 lb hand weights for some of my cardio routines, they will not cause you to bulk up. You have to take in an immense amount of protein and an increased amount of calories to build bulk muscle.
    My dr. also told me on days that I work out I need to increase my protein intake to 90grams! Hope this helps. Tell her to eat up
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    SH Boss,
    I want to make sure I understand what you are saying. Are you saying maybe she still has a calorie defecit and the working out is just causing her to retain water? If so should she up her calories and by how much. If I interpeted that wrong, could you please clarify. I am a fireman and sometimes don't pick up on things too well. Thanks again for the posts!

    not saying she should or shouldn't up her calories, I was just trying to correct another poster's message. I wouldn't want to speculate on whether she's eating enough, not without knowing a lot more about her. I think that could be a possibility for stalled weight loss, but not for a 6 lb gain. The ONLY thing that can cause you to gain 6 lbs in that short of a time span is binge eating (and I mean REAL binge eating, like 5000 calories a day and no exercise, for 1 lb per day) or water/waste build up. I know it's a touchy subject for some, but you could ask her about her BM's, if they are frequent (once or twice a day), solid, and they sink, then they are normal, but if they are irregular, loose, or they float then there is something wrong. The reason why I mention it is it could mean there is a backup there, which can explain sudden weight gain. I guess a 3rd issue could be medical (thyroid, sickness...etc), but that's generally pretty rare.
  • sean23
    sean23 Posts: 34 Member
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    Thanks again. I know it isn't binging or medical, she went to the doctor and had thyroid and everything checked. I will ask since she has had a problem going to the bathroom before. Hopefully the extra sodium from eating out three times last week and if she isn't going is maybe causing the weight gain. Could that add up to 6lbs? Time will tell. Thanks to everyone that is writing. This site has been really helpful in helping educate us on weight loss. Sometimes its not always as simple as calories burned > calories taken in = weight loss. Its a reality my wife was eating healthy food adding up to 1000 calories a day and actually was gaining weight. I learned a lot on here and am still trying to understand things. Thanks again
  • sassyg
    sassyg Posts: 393
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    but if they are irregular, loose, or they float then there is something wrong.

    Sorry to threadjack...

    floating, - do you mean formed but floating, or loose and floating?
  • nutritionma
    nutritionma Posts: 1
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    she should see a nutritionist. a medical doctor.
  • Nich0le
    Nich0le Posts: 2,906 Member
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    Thanks again. I know it isn't binging or medical, she went to the doctor and had thyroid and everything checked. I will ask since she has had a problem going to the bathroom before. Hopefully the extra sodium from eating out three times last week and if she isn't going is maybe causing the weight gain. Could that add up to 6lbs? Time will tell. Thanks to everyone that is writing. This site has been really helpful in helping educate us on weight loss. Sometimes its not always as simple as calories burned > calories taken in = weight loss. Its a reality my wife was eating healthy food adding up to 1000 calories a day and actually was gaining weight. I learned a lot on here and am still trying to understand things. Thanks again

    I'm with Shboss on the muscle thing, we use that as an excuse for gaining.
    TOM can add quite a few pounds from one or two up to 10+ depending on your diet and exercise during that time.
    You mentioned that you guys went out to eat 3x last week and quite honestly that could be the key to this mysterious sudden weight gain along with TOM it's like a ticking time bomb.
    Restaurants are notoriously bad at calculating true calorie count since there is more than one method, salt and sugar are almost always added to fast food and main dishes in restaurants. Salads are almost always the worst choice on the menu because of their size, added toppings and the amount of dressing used, even when put on the side. Not to mention any sodas, cocktails or other beverages that may have been consumed it is quite easy to eat a days worth of calories in one sitting at any given restaurant. Most restaurant "healthy selections" are a whopping 700 or more calories.

    My advice, eat at home as much as possible, when you do go out try to limit it to once a week and look at the menus online and make your dinner choice BEFORE going out. Once you are out the smells and atmosphere are likely to sabotage your plan of healthy eating. Also, split meals, that is not only cost effective but weight friendly. My family of four split two meals on most occasions because none of us can finish a complete restaurant meal on our own.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Thanks again. I know it isn't binging or medical, she went to the doctor and had thyroid and everything checked. I will ask since she has had a problem going to the bathroom before. Hopefully the extra sodium from eating out three times last week and if she isn't going is maybe causing the weight gain. Could that add up to 6lbs? Time will tell. Thanks to everyone that is writing. This site has been really helpful in helping educate us on weight loss. Sometimes its not always as simple as calories burned > calories taken in = weight loss. Its a reality my wife was eating healthy food adding up to 1000 calories a day and actually was gaining weight. I learned a lot on here and am still trying to understand things. Thanks again

    absolutely. You could easilly retain 6 lbs of water weight.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    but if they are irregular, loose, or they float then there is something wrong.

    Sorry to threadjack...

    floating, - do you mean formed but floating, or loose and floating?

    well, loose and floating would probably be diarrhea so... I mean fully formed but floating, which can indicate too much fat. It can mean not enough fiber (or veggies) in the diet.
  • ThumperWabbt
    ThumperWabbt Posts: 82 Member
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    working out is just causing her to retain water?

    A new exercise routine can absolutely cause the muscles to retain water, and it's not water easily shed (now should one try, really...) as the muscles grow they kind of suck the water in and hold onto it for a while...helps with healing and growth, but will eventually subside.

    I'm going through the same thing right now; I seriously upped my exercise, and suddenly I'm 5 pounds heavier. But that will correct itself in a week or so, nothing to worry about.

    If she continues to gain, is not eating more than 1600 calories a day, and is reasonably active, she should consult her doctor to make sure nothing else is going on.
  • sassyg
    sassyg Posts: 393
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    Hmmm, I definitely don't get too much fat... Fibre I guess could be better, usually only get 15-20g a day

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