What am I doing wrong?

sjane1974
sjane1974 Posts: 12
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,

Hoping you can help this newbie! My first week tracking, I lost more than 3 lbs and was ecstatic. My second week I did nothing different, but gained back 3 pounds! That was as of my weigh in on Saturday. Since I had gone out Friday night and indulged in a few drinks and appetizers, I figured it was water weight and other people suggested the same thing. Well, stepped on the scale this morning and the number has not budged!

My daily goal is 1500 calories and most days I go well below that. Exercising more than I ever have before (about 4x a week). What is going on? I am so frustrated. The odd thing is that I was convinced I was losing...my stomach is getting flatter and my clothes are fitting a bit looser.

Thanks in advance!!

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Welcome to the world of water weight fluctuations. Track for 4-6 weeks and watch trends. Your body will fluctuate water up to 7 lbs a day. So you can't look at things on a daily or even week by week. The best thing to do is get a food scale to be accurate and track your calories every day.
  • quarkenstein
    quarkenstein Posts: 60 Member
    The above is correct, plus exercising makes your muscles retain water as they repair themselves. Make sure you're tracking accurately, as the above says, and the sodium from the weekend may take a few days to flush out! If your clothes are fitting looser, that's a great indication you're on the right track! Look at the whole picture!
  • 12bfree
    12bfree Posts: 67 Member
    Depending on your goals, you may want to consider skipping the appetizers and adult beverages for a while (if by “drinks” you mean alcohol). I personally experience a three to five pound swing when I introduce alcohol to my diet. It takes at least three days for my body to stabilize and that is only if I maintain my workout routine (run three miles followed by 45 minutes of strength training).

    So, I believe weight fluctuations are a common problem as a result of alcohol consumption.

    Also, appetizers are difficult to account for during a caloric deficit diet. Often the best method is to make a good estimate then add 100 calories.

    Good luck on your journey.
  • elizabethroyce10
    elizabethroyce10 Posts: 37 Member
    you could be going too far below in calories and your body is in starvation mode... stick closer to the goal.... and be patient....
  • sjane1974
    sjane1974 Posts: 12
    Wow, this is some great feedback - thank you! I agree that I do need to exercise some patience. It's tough when I see "lost 2 lbs," "lost 1 pound," etc. on my MFP newsfeed every day - seems like everyone is losing steadily! Anyway, I will stay the course and see what happens!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Also, I realize the first few weeks are usually big anyways due to water weight loss from being more careful with your diet. Less sodium, less carbs... that kind of stuff.
  • fejiofor
    fejiofor Posts: 373 Member
    whatever happens, remember the flatter stomach and loose fitting clothes. it means you are doing something right and keep up with the good work. its too early to complain, you are just one month in?
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Just a thought on the newsfeeds. It only shows the downward #s, not upward. My scale sycns automatically - so 2-3 days a week I get a 'Staci lost weight' post but its sometimes the same weight. Like if Sunday I'm down .5, and Monday up 1 and Tuesday down .8: the .5 and .8 'losses' would post but in reality its a net change of down .3.

    Gotta take it with a grain of salt, and look for the long term benefits.
    Wow, this is some great feedback - thank you! I agree that I do need to exercise some patience. It's tough when I see "lost 2 lbs," "lost 1 pound," etc. on my MFP newsfeed every day - seems like everyone is losing steadily! Anyway, I will stay the course and see what happens!
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  • littleancientheart
    littleancientheart Posts: 18 Member
    My weight goes up and down with my cycle. It's really annoying when you've been being really good, sticking to your calorie goal etc, and then it just jumps for a week for no reason.

    Also, if you weigh yourself the day after a strenuous workout, sometimes your weight goes up because your muscles are retaining water to help repair and grow. I haven't been weighing myself terribly regularly but when I do I try to do it once a week, first thing in the morning, on the day after my workout rest day. Right now though its just happening whenever I remember to do it, lol!
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    you could be going too far below in calories and your body is in starvation mode... stick closer to the goal....
    No, no, no. No.
  • jms1739
    jms1739 Posts: 80 Member
    Great advice from everyone. We all gain and lose for different reasons, it can be very frustrating. Keep up what you are doing, and remember muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less room. So even if the weight on the scale hasn't changed, you could be losing inches, that is why the clothes fit better. And by exercising 4X per week you are building muscle, and it will eventually burn the fat.

    Try not to compare your chapter 1 to someone's chapter 15. We are all at different stages of our journeys but we can all relate to the struggles.
  • nicailyzee
    nicailyzee Posts: 183 Member
    Everyone really did give you great advice you are doing so well and you are concerned which mean you are in a new mindset. I have the same issues especially around that time of the month so I would have to wait two weeks if the scale does not move. This happened to me two weeks ago and I lost weight after sticking the course. You are going to be fine. The NSV's (non scale victories) are important. :flowerforyou:
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    Two weeks of monitoring your weight is insufficient time to determine if you are effectively losing fat or not. Your body will fluctuate a good 5+ pounds normally from water retention and it takes consistent diet for a long period to lose enough fat to see that loss through the background noise of water-weight fluctuation. Give it 6 weeks and if your average weight (not your weight on a given day, your average weight over time) hasn't gone down then you should take a hard look at your calories in and calories out.

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