Gained 5 pounds in a week!

Okay, so I'm lost. I work my butt off every single day. I usually burn over 1,000 calories a day. This week there was one day I burned only 300. I had a cheat meal Sunday, no exercise. and not much on Monday because I was sick. But besides that, I did perfect! I ate good, worked out, have been doing normal things I've been doing to drop 7 pounds in 2 weeks. I'm 5'3, a female, weigh 135. The scale this morning said I weighed 140. WTF?!?!? So demotivating and have no idea why :( help?!?
«1

Replies

  • kittyhasclaws
    kittyhasclaws Posts: 446 Member
    If you ate out, you probably took in a lot more sodium than you normally do and you retained water.
  • mnm424
    mnm424 Posts: 259 Member
    If you ate out, you probably took in a lot more sodium than you normally do and you retained water.

    yup
  • PrincessLaundry
    PrincessLaundry Posts: 2,758 Member
    Drink lots of water and keep on track! Those days are the toughest when the rotation of the earth causes us a "heavy day." KEEEEEEEP TRACKING! =) Good luck and let us know how your next weigh in goes! You got this! x wink x
  • I haven't eaten out in forEVER. Maybe it could be that I didn't drink enough water this week?
  • Okay, so I'm lost. I work my butt off every single day. I usually burn over 1,000 calories a day. This week there was one day I burned only 300. I had a cheat meal Sunday, no exercise. and not much on Monday because I was sick. But besides that, I did perfect! I ate good, worked out, have been doing normal things I've been doing to drop 7 pounds in 2 weeks. I'm 5'3, a female, weigh 135. The scale this morning said I weighed 140. WTF?!?!? So demotivating and have no idea why :( help?!?

    in order for you to gain 5lbs in a week (7Days) .. you would have to intake 2500 additional cals over your TDEE for 7 days straight .. if you did .. impressive .. but i doubt you did ... prob, water, sodium, etc ..
  • vjrose
    vjrose Posts: 809 Member
    Push water, and think back, sodium certainly can cause quite a bit of water retention, sore muscles retain water to pad the tissue while it heals them up, "regularity" has a huge influence on weight. So there's the most common issues for sudden unexplained weight gain. It takes a lot of excess calories to actually put on a real pound, and it sounds like you've been way under for the most part so I really doubt it is anything but transitory.
  • Drink lots of water and keep on track! Those days are the toughest when the rotation of the earth causes us a "heavy day." KEEEEEEEP TRACKING! =) Good luck and let us know how your next weigh in goes! You got this! x wink x

    For sure will!
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    had a cheat meal Sunday, no exercise. and not much on Monday because I was sick. A CHEAT MEAL ???????????
    U DONt do cheat meaLS AND EVERY CALORIE HAS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR
  • kbauman09
    kbauman09 Posts: 40 Member
    I agree with everyone who said too much sodium, drink water! Keep doing the right thing and don't let the scale depress you! It is only one indicator of your fitness. Try coconut water----it is great for hydration. Keep working out and eating right and the scales will eventually show you results! Good luck!
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    1400 CALORIES OR LESS
  • Sure hope this is just water!
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    In addition to the possible sodium water weight thing, check your calendar. We womenfolk tend to have monthly cyclical weight fluctuations.
  • Push water, and think back, sodium certainly can cause quite a bit of water retention, sore muscles retain water to pad the tissue while it heals them up, "regularity" has a huge influence on weight. So there's the most common issues for sudden unexplained weight gain. It takes a lot of excess calories to actually put on a real pound, and it sounds like you've been way under for the most part so I really doubt it is anything but transitory.

    That's what I'm thinking! It just sucks
  • donyellemoniquex3
    donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
    Drink that h20
  • In addition to the possible sodium water weight thing, check your calendar. We womenfolk tend to have monthly cyclical weight fluctuations.

    Few days - a week away!! I just feel like 5 pounds is too much for that situation
  • Like pretty much everyone else said you gained a bunch of water wieght which should drop no problem if you resume you healthy eating. You probably also replenished your glycogen stores a bit to which isn't a bad thing. Yeah maybe you gained a little bit of fat but probably a very insignifigant amount.
  • tom_olech
    tom_olech Posts: 139 Member
    I gained 7 lbs the other day just in water weight last week, it was gone within 2 days and i was back to my normal weight....
  • 2horsestoride
    2horsestoride Posts: 37 Member
    had a cheat meal Sunday, no exercise. and not much on Monday because I was sick. A CHEAT MEAL ???????????
    U DONt do cheat meaLS AND EVERY CALORIE HAS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR

    Really? I've certainly done cheat meals - thinking Thanksgiving, Christmas, my anniversary and birthday, just to name a few and I've lost 50 lbs since September. Since I think we are all losing weight and gaining fitness so that we can enjoy our life, a few cheat meals are part of that enjoyment. IMO it's unrealistic to say no cheat meals and sets one up for failure or just giving up.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    had a cheat meal Sunday, exercise. and not much on Monday because I was sick. A CHEAT MEAL ???????????
    U DONt do cheat meaLS AND EVERY CALORIE HAS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR

    Well, That's A Good Way To Not Last Long. And BTW, I Would Lose A Very Unhealthy Amount Of Weight On 1400/Day.
  • Your day-to-day weight is going to fluctuate for the reasons others have mentioned (sodium, period, water, muscle mass, etc.) The main thing is keep working at it and don't give up.
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
    had a cheat meal Sunday, no exercise. and not much on Monday because I was sick. A CHEAT MEAL ???????????
    U DONt do cheat meaLS AND EVERY CALORIE HAS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR

    Sad advice.

    Yes, we need to be cognizant of the food we intake.

    However, a " cheat meal" isn't necessarily eating with abandon.

    I dislike the terminology of cheat meal or cheat day.

    When I'm in a cycle of eating deficit ( I utilize periodization) , I eat deficit 6 days and at or slightly above TDEE one day a week. I am cognizant of my food, but I do eat more ...as part of my plan, my life.

    Way does this extrapolate to? 1700-1800 and 22OO-2400 on TDEEish day.

    OP : you are likely experiencing temporary gain of water/glycogen which is common when starting or changing intensity of an exercise program. You MAY also be undereating/over exercising which can be, as you may be seeing counterproductive.

    We all fluctuate and have a normal range that we weigh.

    I'd take a hard look at goals, what your daily energy expenditure and caloric needs are. you sure dont want to be working against yourself. You are likely already fairly lean and aggressive efforts to lose WEIGHT may not be your best goal. Perhaps the focus needs to be body recomposition.

    good luck and take care ,

    Jen
  • I gained 7 lbs the other day just in water weight last week, it was gone within 2 days and i was back to my normal weight....

    Good to know someone has before too! I just measured myself and it says everything on my body stayed the same, my thighs went down, but my chest went up by .5 an my abs went up by 7 inches. HAS TO BE WATER
  • I gained 7 lbs the other day just in water weight last week, it was gone within 2 days and i was back to my normal weight....

    Good to know someone has before too! I just measured myself and it says everything on my body stayed the same, my thighs went down, but my chest went up by .5 an my abs went up by 7 inches. HAS TO BE WATER
  • JacquiMayCrook
    JacquiMayCrook Posts: 308 Member
    Check in a couple of days and it will magically disappear again. As far as every calorie being accountable... we are humans, not calculators. I agree that it is great to rigidly stick to your chosen calorie maximum, but everyone is capable of an off day.

    The important thing is to get straight back on it, not allow one slip to make you give up!
  • had a cheat meal Sunday, no exercise. and not much on Monday because I was sick. A CHEAT MEAL ???????????
    U DONt do cheat meaLS AND EVERY CALORIE HAS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR

    Really? I've certainly done cheat meals - thinking Thanksgiving, Christmas, my anniversary and birthday, just to name a few and I've lost 50 lbs since September. Since I think we are all losing weight and gaining fitness so that we can enjoy our life, a few cheat meals are part of that enjoyment. IMO it's unrealistic to say no cheat meals and sets one up for failure or just giving up.

    It wasn't even much of a cheat meal. Just much more carbs then normal and more calories
  • nwg74
    nwg74 Posts: 360 Member
    It can still hang around. I went up 6 pounds in a couple of days and even after 4 weeks, I am still 1.5 pounds away from losing it. Probably down to me for two years now and my body went a bit mad.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    EVERY CALORIE HAS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR
    1400 CALORIES OR LESS

    I'd feel like I was starving on that. I have what other people call cheat meals, but I consider them just part of life. Usually it means I'm over in sodium, and gain weight for up to 6 days, but it's not enough to offset what I'm already doing.
  • Are you close to the retaining water week? If so you might need to not get on the scale until after the week is over. Generally I bounce up and then return to normal or less if I am doing all the right things.
  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
    1400 CALORIES OR LESS

    tumblr_inline_mkx3sfQMZg1qz4rgp.gif
  • zhiking
    zhiking Posts: 161 Member
    I gained 7 lbs the other day just in water weight last week, it was gone within 2 days and i was back to my normal weight....

    I gained 4 pounds when I weighed 3 weeks ago and even a week later I was very frustrated with scale but decided to not weigh my self till this week and now I'm back down again. So my advice eat healthy, and lots of water and wait at least 2 weeks to weigh yourself again. Also good to keep track of measurements.