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  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
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    I think she's probably got the picture now that the 4 lbs is nothing to worry about.

    Let's dig deeper! djwife.... why aren't you losing weight? Let's figure it out. It's not a mystery - there is ALWAYS a reason... We just need you to dig deep and be honest with yourself and tell us what's going on.

    You are slightly terrifying.

    ITA. :laugh:

    OP, it is definitely not outside the realm of possibility to fluctuate 4 pounds in one day. Don't let that bother you. As to the weight you've gained (aside from today's issue), I agree with the other posters about using a digital food scale and making sure you're eating at a deficit, but also making sure you're eating enough with your exercise. You can do it!
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
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    Do you use a heart rate monitor?
    I don,t. But hear they help with accuracy of exercise calories. Everywhere I read here says that MFP gives highly exaggerated calorie burns. Maybe log 1/2-2/3 of your workout and not the whole thing for a more accurate calorie burn?
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    I think she's probably got the picture now that the 4 lbs is nothing to worry about.

    Let's dig deeper! djwife.... why aren't you losing weight? Let's figure it out. It's not a mystery - there is ALWAYS a reason... We just need you to dig deep and be honest with yourself and tell us what's going on.

    You are slightly terrifying.

    Please private message me - I'd like to work out whatever hatred it is that you have toward me that you would follow me around on these boards and insult me in front of everyone else (speaking of terrifying). I'm very sincere in this.

    If we cannot work this out I will have to report you, sorry. Otherwise, let's talk in private. Thanks.
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    I think she's probably got the picture now that the 4 lbs is nothing to worry about.

    Let's dig deeper! djwife.... why aren't you losing weight? Let's figure it out. It's not a mystery - there is ALWAYS a reason... We just need you to dig deep and be honest with yourself and tell us what's going on.

    You are slightly terrifying.

    ITA. :laugh:
    I think she's probably got the picture now that the 4 lbs is nothing to worry about.

    Let's dig deeper! djwife.... why aren't you losing weight? Let's figure it out. It's not a mystery - there is ALWAYS a reason... We just need you to dig deep and be honest with yourself and tell us what's going on.

    You are slightly terrifying.

    Same to you. Please private message me - I'd like to work out whatever hatred it is that you have toward me that you would follow me around on these boards and insult me in front of everyone else. I'm very sincere in this.

    If we cannot work this out I will have to report you, sorry. Otherwise, let's talk in private. Thanks.
  • TheAllAmericanPagan
    TheAllAmericanPagan Posts: 3
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    I have seen my weight fluctuate by 10 pounds in a day. That's just water. I only weigh once a week because you can get a more reliable sense of a trend as long as you're consistent with your diet. If you know for a fact that you are low in your caloric deficit and still can't lose weight then I would consider resetting your metabolism by going into a surplus for a few weeks. Everyone has different genetics so you just have to figure out what works for you.
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    ^^Sorry, that was directed to "Kiera's Mom".

    Sorry to have to hijack your thread for a moment OP. It hurts that people must be so nasty (there are a couple of threads going on this, interestingly)....
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Lots of missing entries and days. Fundamentals need to be solid in order for this method to work.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    ^^Sorry, that was directed to "Kiera's Mom".

    Sorry to have to hijack your thread for a moment OP. It hurts that people must be so nasty (there are a couple of threads going on this, interestingly)....

    I was about to say, I'm pretty sure that is only the second time I have seen and responded to you.
  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
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    I think she's probably got the picture now that the 4 lbs is nothing to worry about.

    Let's dig deeper! djwife.... why aren't you losing weight? Let's figure it out. It's not a mystery - there is ALWAYS a reason... We just need you to dig deep and be honest with yourself and tell us what's going on.

    You are slightly terrifying.

    ITA. :laugh:
    I think she's probably got the picture now that the 4 lbs is nothing to worry about.

    Let's dig deeper! djwife.... why aren't you losing weight? Let's figure it out. It's not a mystery - there is ALWAYS a reason... We just need you to dig deep and be honest with yourself and tell us what's going on.

    You are slightly terrifying.

    Same to you. Please private message me - I'd like to work out whatever hatred it is that you have toward me that you would follow me around on these boards and insult me in front of everyone else. I'm very sincere in this.

    If we cannot work this out I will have to report you, sorry. Otherwise, let's talk in private. Thanks.

    Examples please? In private if you'd prefer.
  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
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    ^^Sorry, that was directed to "Kiera's Mom".

    Sorry to have to hijack your thread for a moment OP. It hurts that people must be so nasty (there are a couple of threads going on this, interestingly)....

    I was about to say, I'm pretty sure that is only the second time I have seen and responded to you.

    Same here.
  • davert123
    davert123 Posts: 1,568 Member
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    Weight goes up and down. I weight myself every morning. This works very well with me but I have dispelled the connection between my weight at negative feelings so when it goes up (which it does very regularly) or stalls for a while it doesn't bother me.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

    1lb of fat - 3500 cals by the way so you can work out roughly how much fat you have lost/put on just from the calories. The res of the fluctuation t is either food in my belly or water. .
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    I've only been inconsistent with my logging there last month or so, before that I logged religiously.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    I checked out the OP's post history to see if the stats were easy to find, and there are a couple of great threads where she got lots of details, so that's good.

    OP, follow up on the details and discussions already going on about your stall/gain. Which method did you choose, TDEE or eating back exercise? What calorie goal have you been using since those posts, etc?

    To figure out what is going on, there are going to be a lot of specific --boring?-- details :) The logging has to be on-point, even if you do it with other software or what have you (I do). But it's impossible for us to be able to tell you much more than you've already been told right now, honestly. The rest takes more specific data! Sorry :)

    edit: cross posted with you, and my advice is still the same :)
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    Well geez! I AM being honest! I mean I said I didn't eat smart today! I haven't been doing the best at that, but I DO exercise at least 4 days a week. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't being honest! I mean if I was lying that wouldn't help me now would it?!! As I said, I've been struggling for several months! Eating healthy, lots of fruit, veggies. I drank a ton of water today. There are several people on these threads that are making the effort and don't understand what is going on or what else they should try. I am no different.

    I can see I have upset you and for that I'm truly sorry. I sincerely apologize.

    I may not have expressed myself well and please understand that kind tones of voices (which was where I was coming from) can be misunderstood online. So please, read what I'm about to say picturing me with a smile on my face, hearing a kind tone of voice, and as someone who truly only wants the best for you as a fellow journey-er and wants to help okay? :) And if you don't want to do that - toss this post in the trash and maybe I'll help someone else in the process. That's totally okay.

    Okay - I absolutely understand and believe that you are genuine in your concern and that you are confused which is why you're asking. I get that.

    What I'm trying to say is that because weight-loss is fundamentally a numbers game, then somewhere, somehow you are not being "honest" with yourself about either how much you are eating, or even how much you should eat - something like that. Somewhere, something is breaking down because you can't gain weight by "doing everything right".

    I need you to understand I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm asking you to look closer and see where you might be tripping yourself up. For example:

    -Did you enter your TDEE into MFP so that you know exactly how much you're supposed to eat each day?
    -Are you logging all your calories faithfully?
    -Are you eating only those calories or are you eating more?
    -Are you *really* working out four days a week or does it come more to 2-3? (I have this problem! I convince myself I workout more than I do (smile)) - not saying you do this, but if you do it could affect things.
    -Are you bingeing one day then telling yourself you'll "make up for it tomorrow"

    These are just some examples of being very, very honest with ourselves. It is NOT easy! And it's kind of scary. But when we sit down and face where we are sabatoging ourselves and then resolve it, it's extremely freeing and exciting! Hopefully this helps. Until we have more specifics about your caloric intake/output though it'll be difficult for *us* to diagnose the exact problem. Do you mind sharing that with us?
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    To answer your original question, and as other have stated, your weight fluctuates throughout the day. This is normal. It is due to fluid intake, water retention, and food waste being present in your body. This is why it is important to weigh yourself only in the morning after evacuating your bladder and bowels. Also, your weight can fluctuate day to day by several pounds due to water retention from sodium intake and menstrual cycle. This is why weekly or even monthly weigh ins are recommended.

    For the rest of it, the key to success is consistency.

    -Weigh everything that you eat. Preferably in grams as this is the smallest measurement that most digital food scales give.
    -Log everything honestly and consistently. Had a bad day? Log it anyway. At least you are keeping yourself accountable and can have a "big picture" as to what is going on with your weight.
    -Do not give 100% trust in your calorie burns. They can be overestimated by as much as 50%.
    -Patience. Weight loss takes time.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    I'll give a quick example of something that stumped me, if that might illustrate what can go on. I swore I was eating more in the spring when I was losing weight better. Well, I was. But I am an avid gardener and spent HOURS gardening each day in the spring. I only logged like 30 minutes, because I didn't feel like considering the entire burn my gardening would have.

    Well, that was great for the spring, but come later in the year and there is a difference between working in the yard for hours and really doing it for 30 minutes, lol. It actually changes my weekly calories enough to matter quite a bit!
  • djwife03
    djwife03 Posts: 333 Member
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    I have gained 10lbs in the last year. I actually did better with my weight when I ate worse! Since I have been eating better, I've gained! Someone asked for my stats. I am 39, 5'11, and weigh 168(on a good day).
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    I have gained 10lbs in the last year. I actually did better with my weight when I ate worse! Since I have been eating better, I've gained! Someone asked for my stats. I am 39, 5'11, and weigh 168(on a good day).

    Indeed, that must seem very confusing to you. Let's see if we can't untangle the mystery together!

    Okay, based on the stats you just gave us (including your workouts 4x/week) your BMR is 1528.

    We use this number to calculate the number of calories you'd need to eat each day just to maintain your weight.

    This number is: 2,368 calories.

    From here, we can figure out what's really going on. :)

    To lose 1 lb a week, you'd need to eat 1,868 cals a day.
    To lose 1.5 lbs a week, 1,618 calories a day.
    To lose 2 lbs a week, 1,368.21 a day.

    To gain weight, you'd need to be eating more than 2,368.

    So this enables you to go back and look at your diary and figure out what's wrong.

    Either you weren't aware of how much you were supposed to eat a day and have been accidentally eating more than 2,368 calories/day or you were aware but aren't logging everything honestly and thus overeating.

    Either way, the good news is that you can adjust and fix this! Pick how much you'd like to lose a week from the list above, plug that number into MFP, then go for it! Log each calorie, stick to the numbers, and watch that scale go down!

    Does this help at all?
  • Brandolin11
    Brandolin11 Posts: 492 Member
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    Oh! P.S. - to shed even more exciting light on this, imagine this - if you wanted to lose, say, 35 more lbs....

    If you lost 1 lb a week, you'd reach your goal by July 11th! Heck, you'd be so close to your goal by July 4th, I bet you could do a bikini top and cut off shorts at a 4th of July BBQ! :D

    If you lost 1.5 lbs a week, you'd reach your goal by April 18th! Hot new Spring/Easter dress, anyone?

    If you lost 2 lbs a week, you'd reach your goal no later than March 14th! You could celebrate St. Patty's Day extra hard this year!

    What do you think about *that*? :D
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    Here's a number that helps you see what's up, too:

    10 lbs in one year = 95.89 calories a day.

    That's all it takes to gain 10 lbs in one year! And that's all it takes to lose it, too, fortunately :)

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