Huge weight gain - getting super frustrated!

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lumiloo
lumiloo Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys.

I'm pretty new at this and am needing to lose about 50lbs. I want to go at it slow and am eating about 1600 cal's per day. I run for 30 min's about 4 times a week and try and get out for some walks whenever possible. I usually eat back most of my exercise calories.

I've been tracking on MFP for a little over 3 weeks now and was doing quite well. I lost about 9lbs total in those three weeks and was really happy with the progress. I went from 201 to 192. However, I went on a canoe trip this weekend that included about 6 to 9 hrs of heavy paddling/portaging per day (I was carrying a large backpack and a canoe during the portages). I wasn't tracking calories while on the trip, but there is absolutely no way that I ate way more calories than I burned during those 4 days. When I got back home yesterday I weighed myself and the scale was at 196.2. I was shocked. But what's even worse is that today I was at 198.6.

So, I know I ate more calories than usual during the weekend, but this just doesn't make any sense. In order to gain over 6 lbs I would have had to eat 21 000 cal's over maintenance. Right? I'd really appreciate some feedback from some of you more experienced MFPers.

I am totally discouraged now, I've had a terrible food day today, and I basically feel like this isn't working out.

Replies

  • mommy_03
    mommy_03 Posts: 54 Member
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    don't worry about that number, it could several things, your muscles might be swollen from all the physical activity which means they are retaining water, or did you eat a lot of salty food and are retaining water, is your monthly cycle due causing a small gain on the scale, just keep doing what your doing and the number will come down
  • bonjour24
    bonjour24 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    If you've been working different muscle groups, then it could be water retention in the muscles. that sounds likely to me, but i'm no expert. my suggestion is to step away from the cake and stop feeling like a failure. just drink plenty of water and get back to a healthy routine and i reckon that extra weight will fall off. Also, are your clothes tighter? if not, don't worry at all.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
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    Don't weigh every day is my first tip. Did you have more sodium than usual? Without tracking it is hard to be sure what the issue is. If you're sure you didn't go over maintenance by a huge amount it's probably water weight.
  • lady6starlight
    lady6starlight Posts: 127 Member
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    It might be PMS.

    If not, it could be that you ate a lot of salty foods on your trip. I know from experience that foods eaten on camping trips and the like tend to be high in sodium.

    Hope this helps :]

    EDIT: woops just read your profile lol
  • obbycake
    obbycake Posts: 21 Member
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    I go through the same thing every day! My best advice is to not antagonize over a little bit of weight gain.

    I actually purchased a new scale that calculates my BMI, body fat %, water weight and my weight. Sometimes, the "extra weight" that you gain isn't actually body fat, it might be muscle instead. Muscle is heavier than fat. Definitely don't be so hard on yourself (which is hard, I know!), but it very well could be muscle weight! :).
  • Jasminna
    Jasminna Posts: 24 Member
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    Don't give up!!!!
    First off it sounds like you worked ur muscles over the weekend more than the usual workout for you.
    You built up some lactic acid and muscle weighs more. :)
    Get back into eating clean and healthy and drink as much water as u can!!!!!!
    Flush ur system


    Facebook.com/revupurlife
  • lumiloo
    lumiloo Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks for all of your support! It's a new day today and I've decided to get back on track. Maybe I'll take a couple of days off the scale so that I can stop freaking out and concentrate on healthy eating. It's great to know people got each others' backs around here :)

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