I need help please!!!

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kristins416
kristins416 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay--I need some help people! Last week Monday-Saturday I ate good and within my calories. I also got more exercise in last week than I have in a long time. I did go a little bit over on my calories yesterday. I stepped on the scale this morning and I have gained .4 pounds from last Monday. What am I doing wrong?? Someone--please be honest and tell me. What do I need to change?? I need help, like asap!!
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  • dupaboo
    dupaboo Posts: 174 Member
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    Tough to really say without seeing your diary. It could be water weight. I go in spurts with my losses. I can be up a little, down a little for weeks then for a few weeks I'll be down a few lbs each week. One bad day shouldn't counteract a week of good. Get back to the good and give it more time.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    0.4 lbs could easily be water weight. When you increase your activity levels, the body will hold on to a little extra water for a bit, to help your muscles recover.
  • ecanales52
    ecanales52 Posts: 74 Member
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    First of all, calm down! You are doing all the right things......sometimes the darn scale just doesn't tell you what you want. How long have you been doing this? There are always ups and downs in the weight loss journey.....you may gain a pound when you expect to lose.....and suddenly the scale drops when you think you blew it. If you are exercising more.....make sure you're drinking plenty of water! Be patient, and don't get discouraged.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    0.4 lbs could easily be water weight. When you increase your activity levels, the body will hold on to a little extra water for a bit, to help your muscles recover.

    this

    plus its 0.4lbs....
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    You're not doing anything wrong - it's been one week and your scale show less than a pound gain. It's completely normal for the body to fluctuate up and/or down by several pounds during the week - water weight, hormones, new exercise - many things affect that scale number. I'm a daily weigher (habit and the numbers don't bother me), and I can easily go up and down as much as 4 lbs in a week depending on what I've been doing.

    It's not fat gain - take a deep breath and keep pursuing your goals -e at well, exercise, drink water, get good rest. Take measurements as well as weighing yourself, because that scale doesn't always tell ya the truth. :tongue:
  • danielleb1221
    danielleb1221 Posts: 2
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    Keep drinking your water and I'm sure it will come off quickly. Make sure you're compensating your calories for the exercise you are doing so your body doesn't go into starvation mode.
  • jillianbeeee
    jillianbeeee Posts: 345 Member
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    Don't be to hard on yourself! Your doing awesome! .4 is nothing and could be MUSCLE that you are gaining from exercise. I always put a few back on during PMS, yuck. lol
  • GormanGhaste
    GormanGhaste Posts: 430 Member
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    While you can sometimes see progress within a week, you need to do something for at least a month in order to judge its effectiveness.
  • kristins416
    kristins416 Posts: 4
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    I'm not new to MFP. I've been working on this for a month or two now. Sometimes I was a little more lenient with my food--but I've tried to get a little more strict with it. I just started exercising. But I've been stuck in the 160's for what feels like forever. UGH! I know it was just a .4 pound gain--but to me it feels like 4 pounds because I've been doing everything I should really besides yesterday and I really thought I'd be down a pound or two.
  • gregjosephhaynes
    gregjosephhaynes Posts: 2
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    Eliminate sugar and grains from your diet, also referred to as south beach diet, primal diet, paleo diet, I follow this way of eating and I enjoy it. Try it for one week and I think you might.
  • simplysusan2
    simplysusan2 Posts: 3
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    If you exercised more then you may have gained muscle
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    If you exercised more then you may have gained muscle

    no
  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
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    1. first off, despite one of the comments, you did not gain muscle after one week of exercise. its extremely hard to add muscle and, unless you're lifting heavy weights and eating at a surplus, chances are you did not gain muscle.

    2. second, as many folks have said, water retention is likely the culprit. Its possible for retained water to cause your weight to fluctuate by as much as 5 pounds...and oftentimes, 2 pounds of water retention is not uncommon. don't sweat 0.4 "scale gain".

    3. if you open your diary to the public, folks can give you some advice about your food choices. but, if you stick with lean protein, healthy fats and carbs with a low glycemic index value, drink 12-16 cups of water, you'll generally do fine.
  • kristins416
    kristins416 Posts: 4
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    Thanks everyone for the advice.
  • tawannabrooks1
    tawannabrooks1 Posts: 1
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    I need advice i eat 1200 calories and i exercise my clothes are getting looser but the scales says i haven't lost any weight its been 3 weeks
  • TX_Aggie_Dad
    TX_Aggie_Dad Posts: 173
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    1. first off, despite one of the comments, you did not gain muscle after one week of exercise. its extremely hard to add muscle and, unless you're lifting heavy weights and eating at a surplus, chances are you did not gain muscle.

    2. second, as many folks have said, water retention is likely the culprit. Its possible for retained water to cause your weight to fluctuate by as much as 5 pounds...and oftentimes, 2 pounds of water retention is not uncommon. don't sweat 0.4 "scale gain".

    3. if you open your diary to the public, folks can give you some advice about your food choices. but, if you stick with lean protein, healthy fats and carbs with a low glycemic index value, drink 12-16 cups of water, you'll generally do fine.

    This. Also don't sweat anything from week to week as others have said water retention can cause some serious swings. Commit to your program for at least a month before comparing back to you starting numbers.
  • TX_Aggie_Dad
    TX_Aggie_Dad Posts: 173
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    I need advice i eat 1200 calories and i exercise my clothes are getting looser but the scales says i haven't lost any weight its been 3 weeks

    What if I told you in a year you'd be a size 6 but the "number" on the scale won't change at all. Would you take it? Why so hung up on a number that nobody else sees? You are getting leaner/smaller, isn't that the real point? The scale is just one data point and nowhere near the most important one unless you are a boxer/wrestler trying to drop down in weight class.
  • TonyStark30
    TonyStark30 Posts: 497 Member
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    Its the added exercise water retention.

    A few weeks ago I had a week off work so i thought I would try harder in the gym and I ate in my calories, did a spin class every day, some days did two gym classes, or weight, end of the week lost nothing. About 2 weeks after that, after I was working out LESS and my body had recovered and I had let go of some of the water, I look much Leaner.

    Always happens to me especially my legs, soggy with water until I recover.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
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    Eliminate sugar and grains from your diet, also referred to as south beach diet, primal diet, paleo diet, I follow this way of eating and I enjoy it. Try it for one week and I think you might.

    do this if you want...but you don't have to.

    weight loss isn't linear, your weight will bounce all over . Perfectly normal. Just look at this as a marathon, not a sprint. Keep going, keep doing what you need to do...you'll get there.
  • amammaa4
    amammaa4 Posts: 187 Member
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    I need advice i eat 1200 calories and i exercise my clothes are getting looser but the scales says i haven't lost any weight its been 3 weeks

    I don't have any answers, I have the same problem. I know everyone says the number on the scale doesn't matter as much as how you feel and inches lost. Just wanted you to know you're not alone.

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