Please explain this to me. So frustrated!!!!!!

Ok, so last week I ate very well, limiting my calories to 1400 a day roughly. I worked out m-f doing weights and cardio, and went for a 3 mile run on Sunday morning. I also kept my carbs around 50-75g a day depending on the day. I was doing fabulous so on Satuday night I had a few drinks. I even had these worked in my caloric budget. I got on the scale Monday morning and found out I weighed 6lbs MORE than I did Sat. morning!:noway: :explode: :grumble:

My husband on the other hand can drink margaritas every night and eat junk all the time. He went for ONE bike ride the entire week and lost 3lbs! I don't get it and I'm extremely frustrated. I feel like I'm STUCK at losing weight. I have another 30lbs to lose and whenever I lose weight it comes right back from just a few drinks even if I budget for them in my calories. Why is this? How can my husband eat crap and drink margaritas and still lose??? What am I doing wrong? I'm going to go and do my workout now. I'm not giving up but can someone explain to me why I can still cut my calories and gain weight from just a few drinks? The drinks are diet coke and jack, nothing with tons of sugar. Any advice would help greatly. I am still up 4lbs as of today. Thanks guys and have a great day!

Lisa
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Replies

  • TommysMum15
    TommysMum15 Posts: 18 Member
    I highly doubt you've put 6lb of fat on in one week if you've been counting calories and exercising. Its more likely to be water retention. What is your sodium intake like? I too, am struggling to shift excess weight at the moment but I have just started a lifting programme so I'm putting it down to my muscles storing excess water - will review it in a month!
  • Widadita
    Widadita Posts: 176 Member
    Are you on your period?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    first of all, it doesnt matter what your husband does or doesnt do... that has NO baring on your weight loss at all.. get over it!

    second, its probably just water retention, keep doing what you're doing!

    you might also want to take pictures for progress, the scales arent much use when you're doing strength/resistance training
  • zojo78
    zojo78 Posts: 29 Member
    I am the same every Monday I'm up - but by Wednesday it's gone again (providing I'm sticking to it!). It's not real weight. My husband also seems to be able to eat what he wants all week and not work out and still lose after just one workout. He then has the cheek to moan that he's not losing if he's only lost 1lb - whilst I'm there doing 6 workouts a week and being hungry every day and maybe lose half a pound!! I wanna pound him into the ground when he does that - it really annoys me! Blokes just seem to lose it easier than us girlies! One of those unfair facts of life I'm afraid!! Try not to get discouraged - as long as you're doing everything right you'll get there in the end!! If you've lost a lot already, maybe your body is just adjusting to its new weight before it will let you lose any more? :-)
  • Agreed - take pictures. Also, take measurements! These are more definitive than pounds on a scale - you're losing fat but gaining muscle which weighs more. Not be too hard on yourself!
  • battybecks
    battybecks Posts: 147 Member
    I always put on several pounds at the beginning/middle of my period - it's water retention and goes away again at the end of the period. Drinking lots of water helps that too (sounds nonsensical but there ya go).

    Also - men on average do seem to lose quicker. They have more muscle mass I guess. Don't compare, but just grit your teeth and keep going!

    If you're feeling hungry a lot, make sure you're not starving yourself- if your body thinks there's a famine it'll hold on to its reserves

    Good luck!
    x
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    it is either water retention...or you are overestimating your calories, or combination of both...

    Do you own food scale, weigh/measure everything? If the answer is no, then you need to start.

    To put on six pounds you would of had to have over eaten by 21000 calories....
  • loulou_1979
    loulou_1979 Posts: 22 Member
    Oh I so could have written this post today! I've woken up almost 2lbs heavier this morning. Last weighed myself on Saturday and I was 134lbs, today 135.8lbs! I don't understand! (FYI, not my time of the month!)

    I'm on the same calorie goal as you, this is my food/exercise for the past week:

    Eaten Exercise Net
    Monday 1788 537 1251
    Tuesday 1331 0 1331
    Wednesday 1308 368 940
    Thursday 1534 282 1252
    Friday 1318 0 1318
    Saturday 1654 267 1387
    Sunday 1705 433 1272
    Monday 1764 691 1073

    I don't know if I should be eating more/less, exercising more/less! It's so confusing!

    Please feel free to add me so we can figure this out together!

    Oh, and my husband's progress is just like your hubby's too! Really proud of all he's managed to lose, but its damn frustrating!
  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
    /sigh - Why do women care about scales so much?
  • Gee_24
    Gee_24 Posts: 359 Member
    Aw I know this one!

    I started a whole new portion based diet plan in June. Whereas my boyfriend simply switched from Pepsi to Pepsi Max. That was it! lol Still eats sweets, and at least 3 packets of crisps daily.

    He loses 2.5 stone in 3 months, and I have made several huge changes, have a VERY active job, and only lost 1.5 stone in this time. ( I say only, I know thats a huge loss. But compared to him, well...wow )

    Its just how everyone's body works. Im really proud of both of us regardless.
  • FeelingLessChubby
    FeelingLessChubby Posts: 152 Member
    Whereas my boyfriend simply switched from Pepsi to Pepsi Max. That was it! lol

    It's like Joey when he switched from mayo to light mayo! :laugh:
  • Your weight can fluctuate quite a lot during the day, so you might have just been unlucky at the time you weighed yourself. Try to avoid weighing yourself too regularly as well. I think I read somewhere to weigh yourself around the same day and time once a week.

    Sounds like you're doing really well though, don't be discouraged.
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
    Thanks everyone. I'm sure it's water retention but still not fair. Men! They have all the luck!:grumble:
  • endoftheside
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
    If you are generally eating lower carb and your husband is not, you will have a lot more upward potential than he does if you suddenly eat a bunch or carbs or alcohol. I am not dogging low carb and I eat a lot lower carb than some, it's just something to be aware of. It is a form of water retention and once you get back into your normal eating pattern it should go back down eventually.
  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
    If you are generally eating lower carb and your husband is not, you will have a lot more upward potential than he does if you suddenly eat a bunch or carbs or alcohol. I am not dogging low carb and I eat a lot lower carb than some, it's just something to be aware of. It is a form of water retention and once you get back into your normal eating pattern it should go back down eventually.

    Thank you for this. I eat low carb but when I have a higher carb day even by 10-20 grams I gain immediately. I'd love to have more "good carbs" in my diet but I'm scared of gaining so I just stick with low carb. Very frustrating to not enjoy fruits because of gaining. :sad:
  • navyrigger46
    navyrigger46 Posts: 1,301 Member
    Alcohol makes you retain water, drink more water and get a good sweat on, you'll drop that six pounds like a hot rock. Seriously, it's no big deal.

    Rigger
  • Slinn1985
    Slinn1985 Posts: 58 Member
    I knew this would be a drinking weight topic just from the title!

    Drink water, about 3 litres+ and it will go.

    Unless you've had 3 pizza's a day for a week you wouldn't of put on 6 lbs of fat.
  • mjf0461
    mjf0461 Posts: 470 Member
    Dont compare your system to your husbands. Women and men are built differently and we work in different ways.
    The muscles used swell with fluid and healing begins, but it will show a weight gain on the scale. Don't fret sometimes it takes the body a few days to catch up with the activity and then it will show on the scale. Keep working it will show..
  • kpierce169
    kpierce169 Posts: 54 Member
    Are you having any muscle soreness from the lifting? If so, then that is your answer. It is fluid retention that occurs from the muscles trying to repair themselves. It is normal. It should happen. It is temporary. Just keep on keeping on.
  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
    If you are generally eating lower carb and your husband is not, you will have a lot more upward potential than he does if you suddenly eat a bunch or carbs or alcohol. I am not dogging low carb and I eat a lot lower carb than some, it's just something to be aware of. It is a form of water retention and once you get back into your normal eating pattern it should go back down eventually.

    Thank you for this. I eat low carb but when I have a higher carb day even by 10-20 grams I gain immediately. I'd love to have more "good carbs" in my diet but I'm scared of gaining so I just stick with low carb. Very frustrating to not enjoy fruits because of gaining. :sad:

    A higher carb day when you are on a low carb diet will always do this. Don't worry about it. You didn't put on 6lbs of fat, it's all water and glycogen stores and will be gone soon. Do yourself a favor and weight in the middle of the week instead of monday. Most people who weigh on Monday are not getting accurate numbers because most people are a little less strict during the weekend (drinking, sodium intake, etc).

    Also, carbs do not make you gain weight any more than fat or protein does. Especially foods like fruit. In fact if you are working out every day I would suggest upping your carb intake. It gives you the energy you need to actually work out successfully that much. Don't be afraid of them. Just fit them into your calorie deficit.
  • LydiaShackelford
    LydiaShackelford Posts: 93 Member
    1. You're retaining water. That's all. When you have a drink, drink two glasses of water to counter balance.

    2. For ANYONE that says muscle weighs more than fat, I would like to re-introduce the old question, which weighs more: a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks? They weigh the same. One pound of fat weighs the same as one pound of muscle. The difference is muscle is DENSER than fat. Therefore, more muscle can fit into one part of your body than fat. For instance, say you have a 2x2 section and you fill it with fat, then you have the same 2x2 section and fill it with muscle. You can cram more muscle into the section than fat. Therefore, if you increase muscle and decrease fat, you could very well weigh a bit more.

    3. I truly think the culprit here, however, is the water retention from drinking. Water, water, more water, decrease your sodium intake when you drink, and don't be shocked when you go off plan when things change around on the scale. It really should happen. If you're diligent, 100%, and are stuck for more than a month, consider it a problem. Until then, keep working hard.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,148 Member
    1. Men do not have ovaries.

    That's your (and many others') husband's weight loss secret. :laugh:
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member

    Thank you for this. I eat low carb but when I have a higher carb day even by 10-20 grams I gain immediately. I'd love to have more "good carbs" in my diet but I'm scared of gaining so I just stick with low carb. Very frustrating to not enjoy fruits because of gaining. :sad:

    why not follow a more sustainable eating plan?
  • Snow3y
    Snow3y Posts: 1,412 Member
    Weighing yourself everyday is as useful for weight loss as eating 1000 calorie diet.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,148 Member
    2. For ANYONE that says muscle weighs more than fat, I would like to re-introduce the old question, which weighs more: a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?

    Not being argumentative because I know 1#=1#, but the feathers vs. bricks is not a great analogy because that uses different weighing systems (avoirdupois (16oz=1#) vs. Troy (12oz=1#)).
  • suzique33
    suzique33 Posts: 16 Member
    Women can flucuate around 5 lbs depending on time of month and Muscle weighs more than fat and your body retains water to repair your muscles after you workout.
    Don't weigh yourself on Mondays wait till wednesdays and do it first thing in the morning after you go to the bathroom and have no clothes on.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    Your weight is going to fluctuate wildly if you alternate between low-carb and carb binges (comparatively to your <75g days). Stick within your calorie allotment and weigh yourself only once a month if it's going to bother you to see them.

    But if you can't handle low-carb to where you feel you have to "let loose" because you're being so tight with yourself, you should maybe consider re-evaluating your method to something more sustainable.

    Why low carb? Why so low with the calories? Maybe exercise more so you can eat more carbs regularly. Carbs are good for you. They give you energy.
  • Alcohol is a sugar. Chemistry 101.
  • I had this last week for two days i drank and and drank water literally 20 or more cups a day and after 2 days my weight went down your muscle will also retain water if you are doing strenuous exercises and also excess sodium causes water retention!
    it will go down... drink drink drink up!
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    Ok, so last week I ate very well, limiting my calories to 1400 a day roughly. I worked out m-f doing weights and cardio, and went for a 3 mile run on Sunday morning. I also kept my carbs around 50-75g a day depending on the day. I was doing fabulous so on Satuday night I had a few drinks. I even had these worked in my caloric budget. I got on the scale Monday morning and found out I weighed 6lbs MORE than I did Sat. morning!:noway: :explode: :grumble:

    My husband on the other hand can drink margaritas every night and eat junk all the time. He went for ONE bike ride the entire week and lost 3lbs! I don't get it and I'm extremely frustrated. I feel like I'm STUCK at losing weight. I have another 30lbs to lose and whenever I lose weight it comes right back from just a few drinks even if I budget for them in my calories. Why is this? How can my husband eat crap and drink margaritas and still lose??? What am I doing wrong? I'm going to go and do my workout now. I'm not giving up but can someone explain to me why I can still cut my calories and gain weight from just a few drinks? The drinks are diet coke and jack, nothing with tons of sugar. Any advice would help greatly. I am still up 4lbs as of today. Thanks guys and have a great day!

    Lisa


    I’m sure others have already said it but as a female around your menstrual cycle you can gain upwards of 10lbs within a few days.

    As for the food and drinks this is typical … you need to stop comparing yourself to your husband, what works for him obviously doesn’t work for you. Everyone’s body reacts differently you need to focus on your needs. Also to put it into context for you; odds are your husband has more muscle mass, which means his metabolism would run faster than yours, he would also use more energy for simple movements then you… Hope this helps

    Brad