Following my plan but gaining weight

flash33181
flash33181 Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone. I need a little insight here. I recently started dieting and exercising again after several years of being lazy. I used to be very physically active. In the past 3 years I have weighed as little as 140 lbs and as much as 220.

Anyway, I decided it was time to get back on the horse so to speak. I have had some success already. I lost 2 lbs my first week and 3.5 my second week.

My weigh-in day is tomorrow, but I wanted to cheat and get a heads up for how I was coming along so I weighed myself tonight and it showed a gain of 3.5 lbs.

For starters, I know it's not a "real" gain because I have been religiously following my fitness plan. I am tracking everything I eat and have been at or under my calorie goal every day. I have also been exercising daily (cardio on my stationary bike).

While I am confident I did not gain 3.5 pounds of fat (it's scientifically impossible -- I didn't eat enough calories for that to occur), I am equally confident I didn't gain 3.5 pounds of muscle.

I'm drinking plenty of water and zero or low calorie sports drink to rehydrate and replenish my electrolytes.

So I guess my question is, why would I just not continue to drop weight following the plan? It's simple math. I am burning more calories than I consume, yet the scale is going in the wrong direction this week.

I'm going to keep doing what I am doing because I know it will pay off in the long run, but can someone explain to me why my efforts are not reflecting on the scale this week? There's no logical reason that I can see.

Replies

  • kenbi
    kenbi Posts: 18
    If your plan is losing fat, ignore the scale. Continue to be healthier and never give up.
  • SweetieMelissa
    SweetieMelissa Posts: 68 Member
    Also... NEVER weight yourself at night. Not good. Your body still haven't went through the "sleep" mode (sort of speak) and it's not your true weight. Tomorrow, it should be down. If not, don't worry about it. Just keep eating right and doing what your doing. :D
  • emmalousmom1
    emmalousmom1 Posts: 121 Member
    why would you weight yourself at night??
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,258 Member
    Your body weight fluctuates daily...even hourly. Water, food....it all adds weight, especially late in the day. Just keep doing what you are doing and dont obsess over the scale. I haven't weighed myself in over a week. Its not necessary.
  • trinoc
    trinoc Posts: 73
    Are you a woman? 3.5 lbs could easily be explained by water retention/bloat in certain times of your monthly cycle.
  • thescrumisfun
    thescrumisfun Posts: 355
    It could be your body holding water from exercise. It happens. Like others have said, if you're focused on losing fat, it's best to limit scale use. :) It'll keep ya sane in the long run!
  • flash33181
    flash33181 Posts: 2
    Thanks everyone for the advice and words of encouragement. I usually weight myself on Friday mornings, so I don't typically weigh at night. This was just to get an idea for what I could expect, but I was shocked to see the number had gone up despite all the effort I am making. Hopefully when I weigh this morning it will be down like everyone says. But I am going to try and just stick to the plan and not worry about the # so much. As long as I look better and feel better, the scale can say whatever it wants to!
  • Nicola0000
    Nicola0000 Posts: 531 Member
    agree with all of the above. Never weigh in at night, weigh first thing in the morning. And yes, TOM can have a big influence

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