Advice??

YES! It is totally normal to have bad, fat bloated days. I am having one today! It is okay that you weren't on 100%..... eating foods that your body is not used to (bad foods in particular) can wreck havoc on your digestive system sometimes. Thus, being bloated. Do not beat yourself up, you are doing fine! Keep going and pushing and I am willing to bet those pounds will be gone in a couple of days. Good luck! Feel free to add me!

As you said our bodies fluctuate so even if you had not eaten those foods you might still be showing a "gain" according to the scale. Now add the fact that McDonalds food has sooooo much sodium and you would most definately show a gain but again not a real gain. Just drink lots of water to flush out that sodium. I weigh daily just to learn how my body fluctuates based on a million factors but not everyone should do that. Only weigh yourself every day if you think that you won't get obsessed with the daily fluctuations. As long as you are within your calories and exercising the weight will come off. Use the way you feel and how your clothes fit to measure your success. On this journey you will have bad days, but reach out to you friends who will pull you through it. One bad day is just that, one bad day. You will have many amazing days where you feel more alive and stronger then you ever thought you could be. On those days reach out to your friends who will celebrate with you!!!

THE SCALE IS A LIAR! I know that is dramatic but it is true. Good luck to you

I doubt seriously if that had anything to do with it. It is too soon for the food to affect you besides you would have to eat a lot more than that. Was the scales kept in the same place? They don't like being moved. Do you weigh at the same time? With or without clothes? All this things can affect scales plus there is always the chance of scales being wrong. Feeling tired could be the result of changing diet or not enough calories. Keep an eye on both. Some people have like withdraw when they change their diet till their body adjust.

@wilsoje74 I don't have anything in my diary because I haven't been recording it. Sometimes it gets too meticulous for me and I get stressed out about every little calorie so I don't always record it. I have been trying to exercise at least a little everyday. I have a stationary bike that I ride. Since I was gone all day I didn't have the time to yesterday which no doubt could have contributed to my overall icky feeling today.
@traumaticthra I do always weight first thing in the morning. And try my best to plan my meals.

It's normal to fluctuate, especially when you eat differently. The McD sodium is pretty high on many items, so that will also cause water retention. It's a temporary thing so just get back to your normal routine and relax.

if you don't log your foods, there is no way for any of us to give you good solid advice. The food log may seem like a pain in the butt but it's a very valuable tool. Up a couple pounds? You can go back and see if maybe you had a high sodium day or ate more than you realized last week.

Very likely this quick gain was due to water weight, not actual weight. 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat so unless you ate WAY over your limit (which it doesn't sound like you did), it's definitely water. As someone else mentioned, McD's food, actually any prepared restaurant food, has a TON of sodium in it. If you had tracked what you ate, you would see a cheeseburger is only 300 calories. Depending on what kind of ice cream you had and how much you had, it might not be as bad as you think.

Take this however you want but I feel the need to add - you say you're trying to eat healthier - drinking Slim Fast for breakfast and lunch really isn't as healthy as you may think. Once in a while maybe as others pointed out but not all the time. There are real/whole foods you could have for the same amount of calories that would probably make you feel much better in the long run. How about some yogurt and fruit or some steel cut oats?

ETA: Eating at McD's once in a while when you're stuck in a bind is fine too, and so is having an ice cream. No need to deprive yourself of everything all the time. But maybe consider, if you know you're going to be going to the beach for the day like this, pack a nice healthy lunch and some snacks and encourage your friends to do the same, like pot luck picnic thing. Fun, right? Another idea is to have a list of options in your head and ask if you can stop at a grocery store on the way to pick up a couple things. Buy enough for everyone (if you can) or encourage them to buy their own.

I am on this rant against slimfast. I looked up the ingredients in the french vanilla. See below.

FAT FREE MILK, WATER, SUGAR, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, GUM ARABIC, CANOLA OIL, CELLULOSE GEL, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, MALTODEXTRIN, SOY LECITHIN, CELLULOSE GUM, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, CARRAGEENAN, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SUCRALOSE AND ACESULFAME POTASSIUM (NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENERS), SODIUM CITRATE, CITRIC ACID.

MAGNESIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ASCORBATE, VITAMIN E ACETATE, ZINC GLUCONATE, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, NIACINAMIDE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID, CHROMIUM CHLORIDE, BIOTIN, SODIUM MOLYBDATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE, PHYLLOQUINONE (VITAMIN K1), SODIUM SELENITE, CYANOCOBALAMIN (VITAMIN B12), CHOLECALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D3). SWEETENED WITH A NUTRITIVE SWEETENER AND NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENERS. CONTAINS MILK AND SOY.

Sugar AND sucralose? Hydrogenated soybean oil? Yuck.

OK, I'm done now.

That is normal. Eating processed foods high in sodium after eating good for a while can make you hold onto water weight. This comes off in a day or two after you get back to your meal plan. Just try to not eat like that too much and you will see results

Don't weigh yourself daily....and whenever you weigh yourself, it needs to be first thing in the morning, after you pee, and before you eat or drink anything.

Fast food and other processed foods have a lot of salt in them. So does soda. When you eat that crap, your body retains water. So, if you're going to weigh in on a daily or near daily basis, do not weigh in the day after you've eaten a bunch of sodium. It will never be pretty.

Congrats on your restart. I fell off the wagon and restarted a few weeks ago as well. However, I can tell you that while this has to be a lifestyle and you have to treat yourself every now and then, I think its super important to be as strict as possible with healthy eating for the first two months (at least). This doesn't mean you can or will or should be perfect.....but it would be beneficial to cut out fast food, fried food, and soda completely....and to limit processed foods as much as possible. Plan ahead. If you're going to the beach or other place, eat something healthy before you leave and eat something when you return. If you think you will need a snack along the way, pack something healthy. Bring some nuts, carrots, etc.

There is no reason you had to go get fast food. You got fast food because it was easier. Not to be harsh here, but let's face it....you, me, and a lot of other people are not where we want to be healthwise because we made the easier choices too many times. I was in the same boat. I know that, in order to get my good health back, I have to plan ahead and avoid making decisions just because they are easier.

Second, plan for emergencies! Stash a high protein bar and a bottle of water in your purse. This will keep you from binging on bad choices when you get that starving feeling!

What good tasting high protein bar do you recommend?? Thanks..

Well if you don't log then you have no idea how many calories you're eating. You could be gaining if you are not keeping track.