4 pound gain after cheat day? Confused and discouraged!

I started exercising and being really strict with my diet(calorie counting) this week. I walked/jogged 3 days in a row. The first day I lost 2 pounds. After the 2nd day, I gained .4 pounds. I figured muscle or water weight fluctuation, etc. No big deal. After the 3rd day of walking it was a family member's birthday so I had a "cheat day" to eat pizza and cookie cake. At the end of the day I ate 2100 calories but the next day I gained 4 pounds! Yesterday I counted calories again, I did okay, and still I'm gaining weight.
I do not understand what's going on exactly! I've been stuck at the 215 area for weeks. I'll drop down to 211, then shoot back up to 215-217 right after. Even after exercising, being strict on calories, it happened! Seemingly all over 1 cheat day. I feel like I will have to be strict the rest of my life. I mean sure I ate 2100 calories, but it's not really a cheat day if I'm still eating 1500, and it was a special occasion, so whats the deal here?

FIrst off, Id like to take the time to point out that none of the answers given have come along side any credentials. And it sounds like most people dont really understand whats going on. Let me start by introducing myself. 14 year fitness veteran, played sports my whole life, I am NASM CPT and NFPT CPT certified. Have been a trainer for 6 years, and am now training bodybuilders and female fitness and strength competitors. I typically dont respond to forum posts, but with the info given, Id like to offer you some help to really get you going.

The very first issue I see with what is going on, is you are taking in FAR to few calories. Given your weight, its fair to say you have, for a while at least, consumed upwards of 3000 cals per day (really, really easy to do if the foods not right). To effectively cut your calorie intake in half is nothing short of starvation. You may lose some weight, but this is not sustainable over the long haul (i.e. your lifetime). My bikini competitors, who weigh anywhere from 118-132lbs consume between 1800-2100 cals depending on their body type. While they do well in competition, Ive yet to get one to win. Im saying this to give you a rough idea of where you should be at. I would recommend starting at about 2200 CLEAN cals and start working down from there as you continue dropping weight. 2200 clean cals is going to be A LOT of eating, and will definitely keep you feeling full all day (number 1 cause of program failure).

The next thing that is going to be crucial, especially in the first 6-9 months of your transformation, is going to be to STAY OFF THE SCALE!!! Unless you have been lifting weights for several years, and have a significant amount of muscle mass, any exercise and proper eating is going to lead to muscle gain. 1lb of muscle takes up about 20% the space as 1lb of fat. So in the beginnning as your body is building muscle and dropping fat, you WILL go up in weight. its inevitable. Muscle is built faster than fat is lost, in the beginning. after about 6 months, you will be in full fat burning mode, and at that point, by all means, weigh yourself daily! until then, keep it to once a week, AT MOST! Whats more important is how you look. as the fat comes off, you will start to notice it. Look at yourself fresh out of the shower, EVERY SINGLE day! There is no better gauge in the beginning than how you look.

Now, to the root of this post... the "cheat day." I should first say this. you should never give yourself and entire day to cheat. you WILL, without fail, ruin the ENTIRE WEEKS worth of hard work. Give yourself a cheat MEAL. One. Not two or three, not dinner AND dessert. One. I know at parties its hard, and for a birthday, maybe a slice or two of pizza and a small piece of cake is ok. any more than that, and..well, youll be asking what happened. Now, short of knowing just how much you ate, Im going to venture to say, you most likely ate more than 2100 cals if you had pizza and cake, AND still ate your regular meals prior to that. That also doesnt include and soft drinks or anything other than water, black coffee or unsweetened tea. the calories really do add up quick.

Now what you are experiencing is DEFINITELY NOT legitimate weight gain.. one lb of fat equals 3500 cals. 4lbs in one day would be impossible, literally. What you have to remember is that that pizza and cake both have crappy calories, no fiber, and lots of preservatives. What this all adds up to is it moving REALLY slowly through your digestive tract. Along the way it retains water, and backs up and other foods you ate after it. You most likely are noticed the weight of the food in your digestive tract, coupled with a LOT of water retention from the very high amount of carbs, and refined sugars, plus the amount of salt in both. Give it a couple days, maybe go sweat in the sauna at your local gym for 15 mins, and drink a gallon of water a day—yes, a gallon a day—to flush the toxins and and sodium out of your system. Then, my next recommendation, is to go to your local gym and get a membership, if you already havent, and then go befriend a female trainer. Yes, a trainer. While MFP is great, and the internet is great, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like having someone who is already in good shape, who has an understanding of how to make these types of changes, and have them pass that knowledge on to you. When I was a kid, I didnt just start lifting, I had someone teach me. Then I went to school for it, to learn even more from people who know what theyre doing. Its like making clothes. You sure can find a lot of info on sewing online, but to actually learn it, takes a teacher. If you cant afford what the gym charges, let me know, and I can either point in the direction of someone who can help you, or help you myself via an video conferencing program i have. Its up to you.

Either way, dont sweat your one cheat day too much, get back on the horse and ride! And I wish you the best of luck on your journey!

I started exercising and being really strict with my diet(calorie counting) this week. I walked/jogged 3 days in a row. The first day I lost 2 pounds. After the 2nd day, I gained .4 pounds. I figured muscle or water weight fluctuation, etc. No big deal. After the 3rd day of walking it was a family member's birthday so I had a "cheat day" to eat pizza and cookie cake. At the end of the day I ate 2100 calories but the next day I gained 4 pounds! Yesterday I counted calories again, I did okay, and still I'm gaining weight.
I do not understand what's going on exactly! I've been stuck at the 215 area for weeks. I'll drop down to 211, then shoot back up to 215-217 right after. Even after exercising, being strict on calories, it happened! Seemingly all over 1 cheat day. I feel like I will have to be strict the rest of my life. I mean sure I ate 2100 calories, but it's not really a cheat day if I'm still eating 1500, and it was a special occasion, so whats the deal here?

I started exercising and being really strict with my diet(calorie counting) this week. I walked/jogged 3 days in a row. The first day I lost 2 pounds. After the 2nd day, I gained .4 pounds. I figured muscle or water weight fluctuation, etc. No big deal. After the 3rd day of walking it was a family member's birthday so I had a "cheat day" to eat pizza and cookie cake. At the end of the day I ate 2100 calories but the next day I gained 4 pounds! Yesterday I counted calories again, I did okay, and still I'm gaining weight.
I do not understand what's going on exactly! I've been stuck at the 215 area for weeks. I'll drop down to 211, then shoot back up to 215-217 right after. Even after exercising, being strict on calories, it happened! Seemingly all over 1 cheat day. I feel like I will have to be strict the rest of my life. I mean sure I ate 2100 calories, but it's not really a cheat day if I'm still eating 1500, and it was a special occasion, so whats the deal here?

If you're going to weigh yourself every day (as I do too) you need to relax about the daily ups and downs! Your weight can vary by a number of pounds from day to day. Water retention due to sodium or time of the month, constipation, all sorts of factors can make your weight go up and down unpredictably. I get that you've been stuck yoyoing up and down for some weeks. That happens, keep eating sensibly and you will lose weight.

Now, to the root of this post... the "cheat day." I should first say this. you should never give yourself and entire day to cheat. you WILL, without fail, ruin the ENTIRE WEEKS worth of hard work.

size102b wrote: »

Chest days I think should be once a month as you can undo a whole weeks good work in one day
Tbh in on week 9 I've had no chest day & wont until I've lost 40lbs just I lose so slow