Gained 7 pounds in a couple days... Can't lose it?

totaldebmove
totaldebmove Posts: 10 Member
edited December 18 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been stepping it up at the gym, intensely working out for about 2 hours every day. About 3 weeks ago, I gained literally 4 pounds over night. Over the next couple of days, that amount climbed to a total of 7 pounds. Around that time frame, here are the things that changed (aside from strenuous workouts):
- I ordered some BCAA supplements and started taking those
- PMS
- Started to eat more calories since I was told that I was eating too little (used to eat 1500 on workout days... now I eat about 1800 on workout days)

Now, I know most of you will say that this is water weight (I've read multiple threads on water retention). However, I've never retained water for more than a couple days--so 3 weeks is a bit extreme. I've been limiting my sodium intake as well, to about 1000mg-1500mg/day. I'm drinking A TON of water (at least 80 oz on workout days), but it seems like it's not all coming out! I know that there are some who say that your muscles retain water while they repair... but do they retain 7 pounds? I am 5'4" and normally 122 pounds... 7 pounds of water retention is a lot, when you look at it proportionally. I do have to admit that I've been bad about rest days and not giving my muscles ample time to repair, but today is the 2nd consecutive day where I have not worked out in hopes that my muscles repair and the fluid leaves... but so far, no luck. I am still 129.

I have not been this heavy since freshman year of college when I binge drank/ate all the time. My body feels heavy and my muscles are not as defined, and there is a layer of squish around my midsection which has not been the case in a really long time. I've read about the "whoosh" effect but I don't recall gaining a ton of weight as being a part of it...

This is very very discouraging :( Any ideas on the sudden weight gain that I can't seem to lose?

Replies

  • michikade
    michikade Posts: 313 Member
    Unless you were over maintenance by 24,500 calories and have been at maintenance ever since, it isn't extra fat.

    It could be a combination of things - like some water retention in conjunction with PMS and/or the BCAAs -- I can't speak much to the supplements and assume they're from a reputable source but they could be causing some retention (after all, glycogen stores in muscles bind with water), as well as your body readjusting to the things you've changed recently.
  • totaldebmove
    totaldebmove Posts: 10 Member
    What bothers me is how long I've kept the extra weight! I'm so anxious that it won't go away since it's already been 3 weeks...
  • JoshD8705
    JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
    It's happen to me for 2 weeks at around 7-8lbs. I over ate by a large amount (500 over maintenance) suddenly the next day it started dropping drastically.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    When is your period due?
  • totaldebmove
    totaldebmove Posts: 10 Member
    Hm... That is really interesting. I've heard about people on diets "shocking" their bodies like that. If the weight is still here next weekend, I'm going to try that.
  • totaldebmove
    totaldebmove Posts: 10 Member
    I take birth control so according to my pack it should be in a little over a week.
  • totaldebmove
    totaldebmove Posts: 10 Member
    So update... I have now gained 10 pounds. I am so bloated and my measurements have gone UP. This is a nightmare and ridiculous!!!! I want to cry right now and go back to my old habits of eating relatively healthy and never working out.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Stress, from diet, intense frequent exercise, food sensitivities/allergies, you anxious about weight, can elevate cortisol in your system.

    Spikes from exercise is beneficial, elevated from stress is not.

    That has been shown to actually cause up to 20 lbs of water retention.

    Talk about stress then.

    So better calm down a bunch of stuff. I'm betting since you are equating massive exercise with weight loss, you are likely also not eating correctly for your level of exercise - even more stress.

    So unless you want weight loss, hopefully just fat loss, to be a real struggle and fight against your body - calm down.

    Back off the exercise, it's actually counter-productive unless trained for that much, eat at smaller deficit or at maintenance for a week, and again - calm down.
  • jennaiii
    jennaiii Posts: 5
    OP, sometimes our bodies do crazy crap. It is not possible, unless you sat eating ten chocolate cakes, that you put on that weight in fat.
    I can put on around 9/10 lbs in bloating weight in the week leading up to my period. And increasing your exercise frequenxe or intensity dramatically can also lead to your body hogging water.

    Chill. Make sure you're drinking enough (it seems counterproductive but it will help), make sure you're eating well and keep calm! Stressing won't help at all. Stick to some swimming or walking, get plenty of rest and it will drop again. I assure you it is NOT fat.
  • sophilyn
    sophilyn Posts: 24 Member
    Sorry, but I have to ask... Did you get your "friend" yet? It has been a week, I think. :blushing:
  • stephe1987
    stephe1987 Posts: 406 Member
    It's probably water weight. I don't think gaining that much weight that quickly is possible. You'd have to eat/drink a lot of extra calories, and you didn't.

    Make sure you weigh/measure your food, log everything. Food, drinks, little handfuls of snacks. Eat back around half of your exercise calories (people often underestimate calories eaten and overestimate calories burned). If you are active normally then you don't need to log exercise because that counts as part of your activity level and MFP will give you more calories based on that. If you choose a low activity level then you can log all exercise because MFP isn't counting exercise into how many calories you should be eating.

    Make sure you take off 1-2 days each week to rest so your muscles can recover and to minimize your chances of retaining water.

    If this continues for more than a few weeks then I would suggest taking a maintenance week. Let your body adjust and the weight should come off. After the week's over, go back to normal. If it continues for another month past that, I think either you're eating more than you say or you need to see a doctor for a possible medical condition.
  • htrombleyl
    htrombleyl Posts: 63 Member
    You could just be having a reaction to your food. I know if I have too many carbs that I can bloat and show a ten pound difference. Plus if your working out muscle weighs more than fat. You could just be gaining muscle weight. Or a combination of both.
  • fat2fitdancody
    fat2fitdancody Posts: 259 Member
    Do you track your fiber? I was eating so much veg it affected my digestion, my weight kept going up despite eating at a deficit.
  • totaldebmove
    totaldebmove Posts: 10 Member
    Stress, from diet, intense frequent exercise, food sensitivities/allergies, you anxious about weight, can elevate cortisol in your system.

    Spikes from exercise is beneficial, elevated from stress is not.

    That has been shown to actually cause up to 20 lbs of water retention.

    Talk about stress then.

    So better calm down a bunch of stuff. I'm betting since you are equating massive exercise with weight loss, you are likely also not eating correctly for your level of exercise - even more stress.

    So unless you want weight loss, hopefully just fat loss, to be a real struggle and fight against your body - calm down.

    Back off the exercise, it's actually counter-productive unless trained for that much, eat at smaller deficit or at maintenance for a week, and again - calm down.

    Thank you for bringing stress up! Now that you mention it, I have been really really stressed with my summer internship lately. My last day is on Wednesday and then I will have 4 days before classes start in the fall... I'm thinking about just taking some "me" time.
  • totaldebmove
    totaldebmove Posts: 10 Member
    Do you track your fiber? I was eating so much veg it affected my digestion, my weight kept going up despite eating at a deficit.

    I was actually starting to suspect that... I used to never really eat grains of any kind but recently started getting into cereal/oatmeal (the healthy ones of course). I was checking my fiber intake and I go WAY OVER now that I eat those (like 3x as much as I should be getting). I always thought that fiber would make you regular, but everything in moderation I guess?

    I wonder if this is a common problem.
  • matthawthorneisamyth
    matthawthorneisamyth Posts: 196 Member
    Can I see your food log?
  • totaldebmove
    totaldebmove Posts: 10 Member
    Sorry, but I have to ask... Did you get your "friend" yet? It has been a week, I think. :blushing:

    I just got off of my active pills two days ago so it shouldn't be here until Monday-ish. I can't wait for it to come and go so period bloat will go away too!!
  • mackenzieo2003
    mackenzieo2003 Posts: 5 Member
    I know that this original post was from a long time ago but I am currently having the same issue and I would like to know how you fixed the problem caused I gained 3 pounds and it has been two weeks and I still can lose it. I go to the gym 5-6 times a week and eat healthy so I want to know what you did to help the issus
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    mackenzieo2003 wrote: »
    I know that this original post was from a long time ago but I am currently having the same issue and I would like to know how you fixed the problem caused I gained 3 pounds and it has been two weeks and I still can lose it. I go to the gym 5-6 times a week and eat healthy so I want to know what you did to help the issus

    Start your own thread...
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    mackenzieo2003 wrote: »
    I know that this original post was from a long time ago but I am currently having the same issue and I would like to know how you fixed the problem caused I gained 3 pounds and it has been two weeks and I still can lose it. I go to the gym 5-6 times a week and eat healthy so I want to know what you did to help the issus

    Eat healthy is vague. How are you tracking your calories? You might also need to double check entries you're using here, they're all user entered and may be outdated or incorrect.
  • mackenzieo2003
    mackenzieo2003 Posts: 5 Member
    I use the app to track my calories and I never go over. I usually eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, and proteins throughout the day. Additionally I use the scanner on the app to input the correct information for that product into my daily food log.
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    mackenzieo2003 wrote: »
    I use the app to track my calories and I never go over. I usually eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, and proteins throughout the day. Additionally I use the scanner on the app to input the correct information for that product into my daily food log.

    Okay but are you weighing what you're eating? Packaged foods can be more than what's on the label.
  • mackenzieo2003
    mackenzieo2003 Posts: 5 Member
    yes I weigh/measure all of my food
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    mackenzieo2003 wrote: »
    yes I weigh/measure all of my food

    Okay well if you're weighing accurately and using correct entries the only other things that might do it is either you need more time, or the exercise you're doing (especially if it's new) is causing water retention for muscle repair.
  • mackenzieo2003
    mackenzieo2003 Posts: 5 Member
    Ok thank you but what should I do in order to fix that
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    mackenzieo2003 wrote: »
    Ok thank you but what should I do in order to fix that

    Well if the working out is new, maybe scale back a bit. Water retention for muscle repair takes time to even out, and if your body is setting up for a 'whoosh' then again, takes time. It's usually advised to give yourself about 4-5 weeks when starting to track your food and/or starting new exercise routine to get an idea of how it's going. It's not unheard of to go a few weeks with nothing and then have it fall off. If after a month those three pounds still haven't moved there still may be a logging error. Or if you're eating exercise calories back, that may be doing it.
  • mackenzieo2003
    mackenzieo2003 Posts: 5 Member
    I have been using the my fitness pal app and working out 5-6 times a week then a rest day since about October and I have been logging my foods as accurately I can. I use the scale or measuring cups to measure out the serving sizes
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