Up 5 lbs this week. What the heck???

jltotaro
jltotaro Posts: 23
in Health and Weight Loss
So, last week I was sick and in bed the entire week. I hardly ate or drank anything. So, of course I lost about 5 pounds. Now, this week I'm better & back in the game. Exercised every day and ate my calorie goal, most days. I did go over one day by 500 calories or so. But I'm up 5 pounds! I realize last week's weight loss was probably mostly water weight, but why did it all come roaring back onto my body???

It's extremely frustrating and pretty disheartening to boot.

Replies

  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    You were probably dehydrated while you were sick, and now that you've recovered, you're putting some of that water weight back on.

    Also, you started exercising again after a week off, so your muscles are probably retaining fluid to repair themselves.
  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
    You were probably dehydrated while you were sick, and now that you've recovered, you're putting some of that water weight back on.

    Also, you started exercising again after a week off, so your muscles are probably retaining fluid to repair themselves.

    ^Agreed

    Try not to worry too much. If you continue gaining weight over a 4-6 week period the it will be time to reassess.

    Weight loss is not linear progress.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    While you were sick, you probably lost a lot of water weight because you weren't eating as much. The more you eat, especially carbs, the more water your body has to retain to metabolize that food. When you became well and started eating, you started retaining water again because your body needs it to metabolize the food.

    I can easily fluctuate 2-5 Lbs daily depending.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    I guess being sick is not an effective long term weight loss plan
  • BearHugger78
    BearHugger78 Posts: 28
    I was 3.6 lbs heavier when I woke up this morning than I was at then exact same time yesterday. So much for "You didn't put it on overnight." :wink:

    You can't let a day or a week or even a month (depending on how fast you think you should be losing) get to you. I ate a packet of oatmeal with some walnuts, drank some milk and orange juice, a bottle of water, and I'm now 2 lbs heavier than I was half an hour ago. That's now 5.6 lbs in 25 hours. The next time I take a piss I will lose a whole pound in 30 seconds.

    You think about these things too much and they will drive you crazy. If you are confident that you have the right approach, there's no need to step on the scale except for validation. And as been pointed out, you won't even get it on any given day. Stop worrying about the scale if short term gains are gong to negatively affect you and just do your thing. That approach has worked well for a lot of people here.
  • tatd_820
    tatd_820 Posts: 573 Member
    Could also have something to do with your cycle. Is that coming? If not, I would def say it's because you were lacking fluids when sick. Stick with it. Do not get discouraged!
  • 366to266
    366to266 Posts: 473 Member
    You think about these things too much and they will drive you crazy. If you are confident that you have the right approach, there's no need to step on the scale except for validation. And as been pointed out, you won't even get it on any given day. Stop worrying about the scale if short term gains are gong to negatively affect you and just do your thing. That approach has worked well for a lot of people here.

    ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ THIS ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
  • jltotaro
    jltotaro Posts: 23
    It most definitely could be cycle related. And I guess I do obsess a little too much. But I was so excited to be nearing the next "decade" and now I'm not near that number anymore. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and try to stay away from the scale for awhile. :(

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