What is going on?! Gained back the pound I lost!

MichMunchkin
MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've only just started the MFP experience (well, two weeks ago). Last week, I lost 1.4 pounds (yay!) But this week I gained back 1.5 (WTF?)

I'm wondering, though, if I'm still not eating enough. I find myself going under my calorie goal day after day -- sometimes by a few hundred calories. Have I completely messed up my metabolism by eating a low-calorie diet (1300) for over a year and a half?

Ugh. I need to get over this fear of eating more. I just....don't know how. Help.....
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Replies

  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
    it could be poo in your stomach, or water, or food in your belly, anything
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Ugh. I need to get over this fear of eating more. I just....don't know how. Help.....

    if you have a fear of food, you need to speak to a professional about it.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    1. You are going to fluctuate day to day, as poster above said. You have to stick with it long enough to form a trend. Just to give you an idea; my weight loss graph usually goes up and down but stays about the same for a week, then I drop about 2 lbs in 1-2 days, I will go up a lb and stay there for about a week and then have another drop and end up lower than my last drop. Very few people drop all the time and never fluxuate back up. Also look up some of the threads on water retention due to muscle recovery if you have started a new workout routine.

    2. Make sure you are logging accurately- actually measuer and weigh out your food. Get a HRM to accurately measure your calories burned. Most people struggle in the beginning because they do not log accurately or lie to themselves.

    3. You have only just begun so do not get frusterated yet. From personal exerience it takes me about 2 weeks of dieting before my body catches on to the whole idea and starts really losing. You got this, just relax a little bit :)
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I've only just started the MFP experience (well, two weeks ago). Last week, I lost 1.4 pounds (yay!) But this week I gained back 1.5 (WTF?)

    I'm wondering, though, if I'm still not eating enough. I find myself going under my calorie goal day after day -- sometimes by a few hundred calories. Have I completely messed up my metabolism by eating a low-calorie diet (1300) for over a year and a half?

    Ugh. I need to get over this fear of eating more. I just....don't know how. Help.....

    You have your calories set to 2,000 and met that yesterday. I doubt it's not that your not eating enough.
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    Weight loss is not linear and many factors may have contributed to your gain as mentioned in previous reply.

    Here are some links to help you understand how yo use MFP properly and also figure out your calorie intake...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1069278-acronyms-and-terms-for-new-mfp-members-v-6

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    This group could further help you but be sure to read the sticky's and obey the rules...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    it could be poo in your stomach, or water, or food in your belly, anything

    If the poster has poo in their stomach, they are in dire straits indeed. :sick:
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    Ugh. I need to get over this fear of eating more. I just....don't know how. Help.....

    if you have a fear of food, you need to speak to a professional about it.
    Agreed as this is a unhealthy mindset to have.
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    I've only just started the MFP experience (well, two weeks ago). Last week, I lost 1.4 pounds (yay!) But this week I gained back 1.5 (WTF?)

    I'm wondering, though, if I'm still not eating enough. I find myself going under my calorie goal day after day -- sometimes by a few hundred calories. Have I completely messed up my metabolism by eating a low-calorie diet (1300) for over a year and a half?

    Ugh. I need to get over this fear of eating more. I just....don't know how. Help.....

    You have your calories set to 2,000 and met that yesterday. I doubt it's not that your not eating enough.

    .....I don't have my calories set to 2,000. It's currently set at 1,700.
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    Ugh. I need to get over this fear of eating more. I just....don't know how. Help.....

    if you have a fear of food, you need to speak to a professional about it.

    I don't mean, like, an actual phobia or fear. I mean that after eating only 1,300 calories for a year and a half, it's hard to get into the mindset of eating more than that and still be able to lose any weight at all. Know what I mean? It's not that I'm sitting there in actual fear of eating more. :) I may have been a little dramatic.
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    Again: Sorry, I probably sounded a little melodramatic. I don't mean that I have an actual *fear* of it; it's more of a serious doubt that's set itself in my mind, after a prolonged period of eating only 1,300 calories a day (I did Weight Watchers for a year and a half.)
  • Anita_hoar12345
    Anita_hoar12345 Posts: 82
    I checked your diary to see if I can help and I think you're eating enough food you just have to be consistent and patient. Sometimes weight fluctuates try measuring yourself too I use measurements because when the scale gets stuck I can still see if I'm making my fat burn. If you were eating low calorie before now you put it up to 2000 it will take a bit for your body to adjust
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    it could be poo in your stomach, or water, or food in your belly, anything

    If the poster has poo in their stomach, they are in dire straits indeed. :sick:

    Right? *L* I know what the original commenter meant; it's just that the mental image of fecal waste in my stomach both made me laugh and cringe. *L*
  • angelamangus1
    angelamangus1 Posts: 164 Member
    it could be poo in your stomach, or water, or food in your belly, anything

    ^^^THIS^^^

    Also, it has only been 2 weeks and your body weight can fluctuate between 2-5lbs, especially for females. Give it time and do not stress over it (I know easier said then done). For me personally, I hold on to weight or gain a week or 2 before my TOM. After I am at a loss.
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    I checked your diary to see if I can help and I think you're eating enough food you just have to be consistent and patient. Sometimes weight fluctuates try measuring yourself too I use measurements because when the scale gets stuck I can still see if I'm making my fat burn. If you were eating low calorie before now you put it up to 2000 it will take a bit for your body to adjust

    Yeah, I know you (and others!) are right. I guess patience has never been my strong point ;) Thank you for the response!
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    it could be poo in your stomach, or water, or food in your belly, anything
    For me personally, I hold on to weight or gain a week or 2 before my TOM. After I am at a loss.

    Oh. My. GOD. I completely forgot about that; the painters are due to arrive tomorrow! *headdesk* How could I forget about that? That's probably contributing to it in a major way!
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    While you say you do not have an actual fear of eating more and being a bit dramatic about it, you are also freaking out about less than 2 pounds. Maybe a professional isn't such a bad idea.
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    While you say you do not have an actual fear of eating more and being a bit dramatic about it, you are also freaking out about less than 2 pounds. Maybe a professional isn't such a bad idea.

    Thank you for the suggestion; however, I do not think I need professional help. If I feel I need it, then I will seek it.
  • BoogeyBrat
    BoogeyBrat Posts: 212 Member
    Eh, could be anything, I wouldn't stress it. Doubt it's actual weight. Could be something you ate, I've been known to fill up on veggies and if I go weigh myself right after it'll show a gain. Doesn't mean I gained a pound, means there is something that weighs a pound being processed, as it were. Also, TOM. I don't even bother weighing then, I KNOW I'll see 3-4 lbs that came out of no where.
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    Also, TOM. I don't even bother weighing then, I KNOW I'll see 3-4 lbs that came out of no where.

    I feel like a complete dolt now. *L* After I posted, I happened to check my phone...and it informed me that TOM is, well, now. Due to actually "arrive" tomorrow. D'oh!

    Don't mind me; apparently I'm simple. *L*
  • LillyPandme
    LillyPandme Posts: 14
    I'd lose the idea of weighing in for a while and just concentrate on your calorie goal. Go see your scale in about a month.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    it could be poo in your stomach, or water, or food in your belly, anything
    For me personally, I hold on to weight or gain a week or 2 before my TOM. After I am at a loss.

    Oh. My. GOD. I completely forgot about that; the painters are due to arrive tomorrow! *headdesk* How could I forget about that? That's probably contributing to it in a major way!

    glad thats sorted, panic over....
  • mumblemagic
    mumblemagic Posts: 1,090 Member
    it could be poo in your stomach, or water, or food in your belly, anything
    For me personally, I hold on to weight or gain a week or 2 before my TOM. After I am at a loss.

    Oh. My. GOD. I completely forgot about that; the painters are due to arrive tomorrow! *headdesk* How could I forget about that? That's probably contributing to it in a major way!

    This!

    Also, if you eat a lot of salty food you can go up a few lbs in water weight. Last week I went up 2 lbs from one day to the next cuz I ate sausages. I netted 1300 cal, not 7000 so there's no way that was proper weight! I have been drinking a bit more water and am now back down to what I was before.

    Suggestion: 1. Don't Panic, 2. Drink more water, 3. Wait until after the "refit" and weigh yourself again.
  • amanda9402
    amanda9402 Posts: 64 Member
    Folks here are right - There's a lot of natural fluctuation that only time will even out.

    I also looked at your diary and you eat a lot of processed foods that tend to be high sodium - that might also contribute to some water retention. You also have a lot of quick adds and a few blank days which might contribute. If that's because you're doing a cheat day, that's cool, but if you continue not to lose, you may want to log what you eat that day just so you can see if it might be impacting the good you're doing on the other days.

    Also - you are getting a huge number of exercise calories from walking each day and you're eating most of them back. If you continue to not lose at your expected rate, you may want to try eating back fewer of the exercise calories. I use a HR monitor when I run or do other exercises beyond what my fitbit logs, but I think it overestimates a bit, so I try to only eat back 50-75%.

    Bet of luck with your journey!
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
    I've only just started the MFP experience (well, two weeks ago). Last week, I lost 1.4 pounds (yay!) But this week I gained back 1.5 (WTF?)

    I'm wondering, though, if I'm still not eating enough. I find myself going under my calorie goal day after day -- sometimes by a few hundred calories. Have I completely messed up my metabolism by eating a low-calorie diet (1300) for over a year and a half?

    Ugh. I need to get over this fear of eating more. I just....don't know how. Help.....

    It takes time .. don't expect to see a loss for upwards of a month unless you're extremely obese
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    Folks here are right - There's a lot of natural fluctuation that only time will even out.

    I also looked at your diary and you eat a lot of processed foods that tend to be high sodium - that might also contribute to some water retention. You also have a lot of quick adds and a few blank days which might contribute. If that's because you're doing a cheat day, that's cool, but if you continue not to lose, you may want to log what you eat that day just so you can see if it might be impacting the good you're doing on the other days.

    Also - you are getting a huge number of exercise calories from walking each day and you're eating most of them back. If you continue to not lose at your expected rate, you may want to try eating back fewer of the exercise calories. I use a HR monitor when I run or do other exercises beyond what my fitbit logs, but I think it overestimates a bit, so I try to only eat back 50-75%.

    Bet of luck with your journey!

    You raise a few good points here. I'm starting to realize that there are quite a few high-sodium foods in my diet; I don't use a salt shaker (don't even own one) but that doesn't change the actual amount of sodium in the foods I eat. I think there needs to be a slight overhaul in the amount of sodium I'm consuming. I do drink a lot of water (although I'm famously bad at actually keeping track of how much I drink) but maybe I'm consuming too much sodium and the water I'm drinking isn't doing what it needs to keep me flushed out.

    My exercise calories....yeah, I do get a large amount of calories from walking. Mainly because, when I go out walking, I don't just go for a stroll. I mean, I'm moving at a pretty brisk pace (I can usually cover 4.5 miles in an hour; I wear a pedometer as well as an HRM when I walk, so I can track the distance I cover as well as the calories I burn.

    I'll try not eating back all of my exercise calories. I don't usually eat them ALL back anyway (I usually fall below my calorie goal by a few hundred calories) but I'll tweak a few things as I go.

    As I've mentioned a couple times in the thread....patience is not my strong suit. I guess I'm just thinking, "WTF?! It's taking me so long to lose ten pounds when I lost 65 pounds in a relatively short time!" But I guess what I'm forgetting is, when I lost those 65 pounds, I was majorly overweight...and now, hey, I'm ten pounds from my goal, so it's not going to be as quick to come off!

    .......Do you have any extra patience lying around? *L*
  • justheretocountcals
    justheretocountcals Posts: 34
    Again: Sorry, I probably sounded a little melodramatic. I don't mean that I have an actual *fear* of it; it's more of a serious doubt that's set itself in my mind, after a prolonged period of eating only 1,300 calories a day (I did Weight Watchers for a year and a half.)

    I know what you mean here. And many people will jump in and attack me for this but idc. TOO MANY PEOPLE ON THIS SITE are too quick to throw out that someone has issues or a mental illness or need to seek help. how about DUHHHHHHH!!! Besides the fitness pros helping us chunkies, most of the people here need help and support because being overweight/obese is an ISSUE. and that usually stems from FOOD ISSUES. Obviously many of us probably do need a professional, but realistically not all have the time or resources for that. Enter, MFP. We are here for help and support to our individual abilities. And support is what we should do. Posting on a topic and not at all answering the wues he/she is asking doesn't help or support the person at all. As far as gaining back that pound, every trainer or wellness coach, or fitness person Ive ever spoken to has told me, don't obsess over 1 or 2 lbs in a week. That's almost always gaining and losing water. ANd you will Im sure hear this many more times, but its helpful in the fight with the scale and numbers. But don't focus on the weight. Focus on the way your clothes fit, and measure yourself. Go get a cheap tape measure and do it that way. I promise you it is sooooo much more gratifying. Your diet and workout regime may not allow for a lot of scale change but your body could be changing. The problem so many of us have is that damn scale. We see it sit still and we tend to give up. Ive only lost about 16 lbs since july, but Ive lost 4 jeans sizes and an excess of 20 inches. :) Good luck and remember not to let that stupid scale defeat you!!!! :)
  • MichMunchkin
    MichMunchkin Posts: 94 Member
    I'd lose the idea of weighing in for a while and just concentrate on your calorie goal. Go see your scale in about a month.

    Very good idea. I'm still trying to break the dependence on the scale that Weight Watchers instilled in me. It's one of the reasons I gave up on WW -- because your only "official" sign of success is the number on the scale. I need to learn that the scale is not the only indicator of success. Most of the time, I am aware of that -- but let me step back on the scale and all awareness goes flying out the window. :)
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    Don't sweat the fluctuations - it's the overall trend you're looking for.

    521475_10151636449745200_1133158168_n.jpg
  • bekahlou75
    bekahlou75 Posts: 304 Member
    My first week I lost a pound. Then I gained it back the next week. Held onto it for 3 weeks. I drink a gallon of water a day, always under my calories and exercising. This week I weighed and I was about a 1.5 pounds lighter. I was .2 pounds more lighter today. It's frustrating but stick with it!
  • rosemary98
    rosemary98 Posts: 632
    I have charted my weight for a few months now and I realize fluctuations of the sort you speak of are normal. Yet, I still get all cranky when the scale goes up for no apparent reason.

    You are not a rock that will weigh the same everyday, we are living, breathing organisms with complex systems. We ingest, we expel, we have hormones at play. different foods have different weights and sodium content, etc... and then yes, there is the fact that scales are not perfect instruments.

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