Gained 2lbs in 2 days?

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  • JessicaRobin67
    JessicaRobin67 Posts: 275 Member
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    It takes 3500 calories to gain a pound... you haven't done that. Weight goes up and down... many factors, water weight is many times the culprit. I would be eating 1200.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    It takes over 5000 calories to gain a pound, so unless you ate 10,000 in 2 days. Nope. It's just normal weight fluctuation.

    actually a pound of fat is around 3500 cals
  • gublercullen
    gublercullen Posts: 89
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    Thank you for the replies, although I may not want to hear it - I understand I should be eating at least the 1200 calories that MFP recommends. It's the fear of gaining any weight/not losing it quick enough that stops me from eating up to that 1200, silly, I know! But I'm under a lot of pressure at the minute to lose weight + stress of exams and feel like my appetite has literally disappeared. I will however take the advice you've all given, try and ignore the small weight fluctuations/stop weighing myself everyday and try and eat more.
  • FlannelMothman
    FlannelMothman Posts: 193 Member
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    Hi.

    Your topic is just like me, or was just like me, a few weeks ago. I ate very little, and exercised a lot, and it was very effective. I wanted to up my calories as well, and started off by upping 100 cals a week(per day - if I was at 1200 before, next week I'm at 1300, the week after 1400, until I reached something that worked for me for energy, mood, and weight loss, or until my TDEE thing is met. I don't eat exercise calories back). Initially there will be some weight gain, as you body isn't in starvation mode (it's actually a myth) but just is so used to operating at such low numbers it doesn't quite know what to do with the "surplus". This weight gain is temporary.

    I know I'm probably sounding like a hypocrite because people told me to eat my TDEE for MONTHS and I just ignored them, until I wanted to become serious about muscle gain. Now here I am telling others to do the same and it feels ... Weird, lol.
    I wish you luck in your journey and try not to get too frustrated on the trolls or the replies that tell you what to do and not really any research or anything to back it up. That stuff made me bonkers.
  • Lysander666
    Lysander666 Posts: 275 Member
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    Thank you for the replies, although I may not want to hear it - I understand I should be eating at least the 1200 calories that MFP recommends. It's the fear of gaining any weight/not losing it quick enough that stops me from eating up to that 1200, silly, I know! But I'm under a lot of pressure at the minute to lose weight + stress of exams and feel like my appetite has literally disappeared. I will however take the advice you've all given, try and ignore the small weight fluctuations/stop weighing myself everyday and try and eat more.

    Good girl. Hit that 1200 and not less.
  • lambchoplewis
    lambchoplewis Posts: 797
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    This happens all the time!! I can gain/lose 2-4 lbs in one day. I know a lot of this is water weight and if you really stick to your plan, in a few days, you will be back to your regular weight (or loss if you are losing). I have been maintaining for 8 months and if I go out, have a few glasses of wine and eat food that is probably higher in sodium, the scale shows it the next few days. I get right back on plan and voila - in a few days I am back to normal.
  • Sevio
    Sevio Posts: 181 Member
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    Stick to a healthy diet and exercise and you will lose the weight. You will be fine! Just don't panic because the scale went up. I bet tomorrow morning you wake up and weight yourself and that 2 lbs will be gone.
    My best advice to you in regards to that scale ~ is not to worry about that # so much; you should take measurements and keep track of those. Your body composition may be changing gaining muscle, etc. I think that is a better way to see your progress that "The Evil Scale". I weigh everyday but only log it once per week. I can go weeks without losing but I know things are changing by the fit of my clothes and things I see about my body changing physically in the mirror.
  • RavenMoon528
    RavenMoon528 Posts: 13
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    So how many calories is enough? I have been on here 100 days today. (Started My Actual diet Nov 16th) I Only lost about 6 lbs! I did better before i found this site when i didn't know my exactly calories. I have tried going from 1200 to 1000, 2 lbs that mth, I have taken it back up to 1200 and even added a cheat mean once a mth, still just gaining and losing the same lbs! I'm so frustrated i could cry. Plz can someone help me. I have a back injury so I cant exercise, and I am faithful to my menu that i plan each morning. I drink over a gallon of water each day. I am about to be 54 in a few weeks, am 5'5" with alot of muscle from when I was a Bodybuilder. Am I still eating too little? About ready to give up. I was at 26 lbs down which was snail slow, and only 1/3 of my goal weight. Should I be eating more? Maybe I don't know as much about this starvation mode as I thought?
  • Lysander666
    Lysander666 Posts: 275 Member
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    So how many calories is enough? I have been on here 100 days today. (Started My Actual diet Nov 16th) I Only lost about 6 lbs! I did better before i found this site when i didn't know my exactly calories. I have tried going from 1200 to 1000, 2 lbs that mth, I have taken it back up to 1200 and even added a cheat mean once a mth, still just gaining and losing the same lbs! I'm so frustrated i could cry. Plz can someone help me. I have a back injury so I cant exercise, and I am faithful to my menu that i plan each morning. I drink over a gallon of water each day. I am about to be 54 in a few weeks, am 5'5" with alot of muscle from when I was a Bodybuilder. Am I still eating too little? About ready to give up. I was at 26 lbs down which was snail slow, and only 1/3 of my goal weight. Should I be eating more? Maybe I don't know as much about this starvation mode as I thought?

    You should be hitting 1200 minimum whatever your weight loss goals. Never lower than that or your body will start to retain weight.

    Do the Harris Benedict equation and find out how many calories your body burns a day based on your lifestyle. Then work below that to lose weight, but never below 1200.

    Look at this link, it should tell you what you need to know

    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    So how many calories is enough? I have been on here 100 days today. (Started My Actual diet Nov 16th) I Only lost about 6 lbs! I did better before i found this site when i didn't know my exactly calories. I have tried going from 1200 to 1000, 2 lbs that mth, I have taken it back up to 1200 and even added a cheat mean once a mth, still just gaining and losing the same lbs! I'm so frustrated i could cry. Plz can someone help me. I have a back injury so I cant exercise, and I am faithful to my menu that i plan each morning. I drink over a gallon of water each day. I am about to be 54 in a few weeks, am 5'5" with alot of muscle from when I was a Bodybuilder. Am I still eating too little? About ready to give up. I was at 26 lbs down which was snail slow, and only 1/3 of my goal weight. Should I be eating more? Maybe I don't know as much about this starvation mode as I thought?

    i am 5ft 5 and i lose on NET 1600.
  • Shrinking_Moody
    Shrinking_Moody Posts: 270 Member
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    Can be a number of things~ water retention, good old Aunty Flo coming to town....but I agree with everyone else you are definitely not eating enough. You may think it's working right now but in the long run; you are messing with your metabolism and that's just not healthy. Eating that low of calories is most likely going to make you feel tired, sluggish, headaches, etc.

    Go and eat something! You didn't gain weight overnight; you certainly won't be taking it off overnight. It's a permanent journey that you have to stick with and BE PATIENT!


    While everyone else is saying exactly what I'm thinking - if you don't want to hear about eating too little - here is the next option. I too weigh daily but only log my Monday numbers. Doing this for months has shown me one thing - in the several days (5 to 7) before TOM - my weight will shoot up nearly five lbs - and as soon as I start - it falls right back off - so it could be as simple as water weight/bloat. But again - the above (and what the majority of the others have posted) really nails it.
  • janettles
    janettles Posts: 69 Member
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    Regarding the question of "2lbs in 2 days?", I know of 3 things that can do that:
    (1) Eating salty foods. Salt causes temporary water retention. The water weight will be gone in a couple of days if you are able to stop the offending salty food.
    (2) An increase in the time, intensity, or frequency of exercise. To adjust to the extra exercise, your muscles will upload a bunch of glycogen, which is stored with 3 to 4 parts water. Again, this is temporary water weight.
    (3) Aunt Flo.

    Best of luck.
  • zoe871
    zoe871 Posts: 22 Member
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    .
  • zoe871
    zoe871 Posts: 22 Member
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    It takes over 5000 calories to gain a pound, so unless you ate 10,000 in 2 days. Nope. It's just normal weight fluctuation.

    actually a pound of fat is around 3500 cals
    It is but you've got your BMR using something around 1500 cals
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Thank you for the replies, although I may not want to hear it - I understand I should be eating at least the 1200 calories that MFP recommends. It's the fear of gaining any weight/not losing it quick enough that stops me from eating up to that 1200, silly, I know! But I'm under a lot of pressure at the minute to lose weight + stress of exams and feel like my appetite has literally disappeared. I will however take the advice you've all given, try and ignore the small weight fluctuations/stop weighing myself everyday and try and eat more.

    You really need to rearrange your thinking...weight loss and the words quick, quickly, fast, etc do not make good bed fellows. Safe an healthy weight loss is 1/2 - 2 Lb per week depending on how much you have to lose. The less you have to lose, the slower it should be.

    Also understanding that you should be NETTING to at least 1200...and for most people that's really still too low. This means when you exercise you should be eating exercise calories back...my rule was always at least 50% and up to 75% to account for estimation error. You need to understand that calorie goal already has a HUGE deficit from maintenance built in. Netting below that goal is really unhealthy...health is far more important than quick losses. Also, fast weight loss is largely water loss, not fat...and muscle as well...but not a whole lot of fat.
  • RavenMoon528
    RavenMoon528 Posts: 13
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    Thanks, I will look into this. Have to say it terrifies me to go over the 1200 mark, but if 1200 is too little calories for me to eat each day, I will try. Thx Again to Everyone who responded!
  • FattieBabs
    FattieBabs Posts: 542 Member
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    Best of luck RavenMoon, it is worth upping your calories as, when you do reach your ideal weight, it will give your body less of a shock when going back to a normal daily rate. Maybe try getting up to 1400 over a period of weeks and seeing how you get on? I have been losing slowly at 1 pound a week. I log my fluctuating weight in my food diary every day but only "publish" to MFP when I see a movement downwards. Sometimes that takes a few weeks or longer but I get there eventually. In the meantime, I am losing inches with consistent weight training...

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