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thatgirl17
thatgirl17 Posts: 21
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there,

My allowable calorie intake per day is 1620. I am currently eating about 1500, or so, I like to leave 100 calories at the end of the day or so, just makes me feel better. However I also have been working out, for example yesterday and the day before I was on the elliptical for 90 minutes and stayed under my calorie goal each day. On Thursday I weighed in at 239 then I weighed myself Friday morning I was the same (which had me a little bummed because I felt I worked so hard the day before couldn't it even go down .2??)...anyhow oh well now this morning I weighed myself and I am 240, I WENT UP A POUND!!! Both days I was under my calorie goal and I worked my butt off on the elliptical, this coming from someone who sat on my butt 24-7 a week ago, I feel as though the weight should be coming off alot easier. I just need some help, I don't eat my excercise calories, I am scared too I feel then for sure I will gain? BUT now I wonder if thats what I am doing wrong? Maybe this is just normal fluxuation, I am addicted to weighing myself everyday, maybe I shouldn't be? I just don't know what I am doing wrong and need a little guidance how to be more successful. On a side note I started mfp on Monday weighing in at 243 and as I said this morning I weighed 240, so I have lost 3 pounds in 5 days...just makes me mad when I don't see a drop on the scale everytime! Please Help!

Replies

  • luvmygroundtrooper
    luvmygroundtrooper Posts: 17
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    Make sure you use a tape measure, too! Sometimes in the past when I thought I hit a plateau, I could see the results through taping my neck, arms, waist, and thighs, even though the scale didn't show anything. Keep your chin up! You'll see more results soon!
  • jessieleah
    jessieleah Posts: 204 Member
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    It's recommended to only record your weight once a week, and to try to weigh yourself on the same day, at the same time, in the same clothes (or naked, lol). Like.. Sunday at 8 am every week.

    Day-to-day your weight fluctuates a lot, be it from water weight, if you've recently gone to the bathroom or recently eaten. I wouldn't worry about it too much, it sounds like what you're doing will make you lose weight.
  • aysegul2
    aysegul2 Posts: 28
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    Hi,
    When I was gaining weight, it was not happening right away when my calorie intake was more than what I was spending. So I am assuming the same is true for wieght loss. It does not happen right away when your intake is less than spending. You need to be patient. Wieghing your self once a week is a better idea. When I weigh my self once a week, it helps me not to obssess on weight. I think you are doing great and you will do better, if you can be patient and stick with your plan.
  • reinventingandrea
    reinventingandrea Posts: 323
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    It's recommended to only record your weight once a week, and to try to weigh yourself on the same day, at the same time, in the same clothes (or naked, lol). Like.. Sunday at 8 am every week.

    Day-to-day your weight fluctuates a lot, be it from water weight, if you've recently gone to the bathroom or recently eaten. I wouldn't worry about it too much, it sounds like what you're doing will make you lose weight.

    I totally agree! Female's weight fluctuates a lot. A lot of it comes from water retention especially if it's our special time of the month. Don't stress it!
  • Shamrock40
    Shamrock40 Posts: 264
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    I weigh myself every day or every other day, but I don't really count my weight gain/loss until I weigh myself on Monday mornings. How many exercise calories are you not eating? With 90 minutes on the elliptical, you're probably burning a lot, and putting yourself into more of a calorie deficit than your body needs, which makes your body want to start holding onto your fats rather than burning them. What kinds of calories are you eating at night? A lot of carbs? Those are the things that tend to stick with you overnight rather than burn.
  • cddavis04
    cddavis04 Posts: 38
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    Sounds to this is just normal fluctuations. If it's stressing you out this bad I would quit weighting everyday. But that makes me a little bit of a hypocrite because I weigh myself everyday I just learned to not let the fluctuations bother me. Also my weird habit is I keep an excel file with all my daily weights and judge losses and gains by the weekly average because that smooths out the fluctuations. That is just my personal weirdness. I also measure myself the 1st of every month. Remember two pounds is normal fluctuations. Also remember it's not healthy to lose more than two pounds a week. This initial week or two is/will different because your body is adjusting to the new level of activity but your weight loss will eventually slow down to one or two pounds a week.
  • bigsal911
    bigsal911 Posts: 23
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    Yeah it sounds like you may have too big of a calorie deficit. If you workout, you need to make those calories up and be within 100 calories of your goal.
  • javamom
    javamom Posts: 309
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    If you did 90 minutes on the elliptical, you burned a ton of calories. I bet you were too far under your net calorie goal for the day. Remember, you want to be as close to your calorie goal as you can, without going under 1200. Also, sometimes it takes a couple days to see the effects of the exercise as your muscles may be holding onto water. I always see my weight loss after my rest day. Don't give up!
  • kettlewitch
    kettlewitch Posts: 277 Member
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    I'm prone to jumping on the scales too much so I moved them. They used to be right outside the bathroom door so I was passing them several times a day. Now I've put them in a tucked away corner so I'm less likely to be tempted.
  • dawny17
    dawny17 Posts: 77 Member
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    I agree, i think you should weigh yourself once a week. This way you will have some thing to look forward to, and if you have a bad day it won't affect you as much. Your body is always changing as well, remember "that time of the month" will also change effect your weight. My weight changes the week before my time.
    Here's a suggestion...you said you try to leave at least 100 calories at the end of each day. ...Why dont you pick a day and call it your " reward day ", and allow your self a treat that might take up those extra 100 caloriesfor that day. Also remember when you set up your account it calculated your allowable daily calories so that you can reach your weight goal. So if you don't leave the extra calories at the end of the day, to beat your self up.... Good Luck and remember to love yourself first, then decide to make yourself healthier! ;)3436184.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • thatgirl17
    thatgirl17 Posts: 21
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    Well the reason I have been leaving about a 100 or so is because if I wanted my weightloss to project a 2lb loss by the end of the week its about 1400 calories a day and I have it set at 1.5 right now which puts me at 1620 so If I eat about 1500 I am just in the middle of it. Also the reason I am not eating my excercise calories is because about 2 years ago I counted calories by taking my weight multiplying by 7 and thats what I ate per day as suggested by a biggest loser book. It also was very effective I lost close to 40lbs in 4 months. I had never heard anything ever about eating excercise calories before.....I have read many different discussions on here about eating your excercise calories and it just seems that there is soooo many differing opinions. I may just have to play with it and see which works best. Thanks for all the quick responses, definitely helped!
  • aprylfischer
    aprylfischer Posts: 9
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    Something I recently learned is that when you eat it shows up on the scale 2 days later not that day or the next day. So you could be seeing the results of what you ate 2 days before. But also keep in mind that you are a women, it is natural for our weight to fluctuate throughout the month. If you have been eating healthy and working out I would not be alarmed at a pound.
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
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    If you just started the whole exercise thing you may retain water for a couple weeks while your body gets used to it. Don't worry about it. As long as you stay above the 1200 net cals for health reasons you're good. You will have to do trial and error to find the "sweet spot" calorie wise for your best weight loss. I found mine between 1350 and 1400 per day net.

    Good Luck!

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