Eating past my allotted calories = weight gain?

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fearlessly
fearlessly Posts: 51 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I have been eating at 1,300 calories / day for the last two weeks, and have so far lost just under ten pounds. Today, though, I had a larger-than-I-anticipated dinner, and my weight jumped up .4 pounds from where it was this morning. Even though I ate at around 2,000 calories today, I know that to maintain my weight, I should be eating closer to 3,000 calories - so I'm wondering why this would make me gain weight. Or am I just being paranoid? I feel like the first time I tried dieting, this sort of thing would always make me nervous, so I've been TRYING to only weigh myself two-three times a week, but I just get anxious sometimes. Will everything be better in the morning, or should I expect to gain a little bit of weight if I have splurges here and there and eat north of my desired calorie intake (even if it's still under my weight-maintaining calorie level)?

Replies

  • inskydiamonds
    inskydiamonds Posts: 2,519 Member
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    You're always going to weigh more at night than you are in the morning. Your stomach has stuff in it when you weigh later in the day than if you weigh prior to to eating.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    Weight varies from day to day, and throughout the day due to food weight, water weight, and other factors. One day won't "ruin your diet" - unless it turns into a more than very occasional thing.

    Here's a great thread on why not to depend too much on weighing and pay attention to other measures of success. Good luck to you!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/160943-why-the-scale-lies
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
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    Agree with what insky said.

    Also, 1300 a day is way to low for an adult male. Your body can't take running that huge a deficit for that long. Your body should be operating at 500-1000 calorie deficit for optimal weight loss. So 2000 a day would be a much better goal for you than 1300.
  • whittrusty
    whittrusty Posts: 533 Member
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    First of all, don't weigh yourself more than once a day. Some say to only weigh once a week, but if you're ok with seeing a gain on the scale every once in a while, I (personally) like to weigh in every day to keep me on track.

    Your weight can fluctuate up to 5 lbs in a single day, so weighing yourself more than once in the morning is just asking for trouble.

    Unless you've eaten over your maintenance calories significantly, any weight gain you see on the scale is likely water weight until proven otherwise. If you don't have your food journal set to watch your sodium intake, you should. Try to stay below 2500 or even 2000 if you can manage. If you go over on your sodium one day, you should expect to see a gain on the scale the next day.

    When you eat too much sodium, your body holds on to more water than usual, thus causing you to "gain weight".

    Honestly, the biggest piece of advice I can give you is to just use the scale as a tool. It's not the be-all-end-all of your journey and you shouldn't worry about every fluctuation up or down. As long as the general trend on the scale is going down OR your measurements are going down, that's all that matters.

    Hope this helps! Good luck!
  • Valorin
    Valorin Posts: 21
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    I have learned over my time on this site that the scale is the Devil. I personally suggest only weighing yourself one day a week simply because then you can gauge how you did that week. As the other people said, you weigh more in the evening, and you weigh a different weight every day.

    Hey, you've lost ten pounds already and that is admirable, so keep it up and just brush off the small stuff. When losing weight you can't let the fluff stuff get to you.
  • fearlessly
    fearlessly Posts: 51 Member
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    Thanks everyone, it's reassuring to know that I'm just being paranoid!! Haha, back to weighing in a few times a week. :)
  • CallejaFairey
    CallejaFairey Posts: 391 Member
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    i wouldn't worry about it. gotta remember fod has weight to it, the supper i made last night made my mom go up 1 lb after eating it. it was all food weight and nothing more.

    i would also recommend just weighing yourself once a week, on the same day around the same time. it's too easy to become scale obsessed, and then exactly as you are describing happens. i know it's hard to wait, i sometimes sneak a weigh-on before my preset day, but the only one i pay attention to is the one on my real weigh day.
  • MR11
    MR11 Posts: 6 Member
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    You are doing a great job so keep up the good work. :smile: I know it is easy to become (for lack of a better word) a slave to the scale. I,myself am trying not to get wrapped up in weighing everyday but it can be hard and sometimes I find myself on multiple times a day and then when the increase is there, I panic. So, the best advice I can give if you want to stay away from the scale is just let your clothes be your guide. That will allow you to feel if you are getting uncomfortable in them. But, I certainly wouldn't worry about an increase at night because it is better to weigh first thing in the morning when your stomach is relatively empty. Weight will definitely fluctuate during the day. Also, I agree with the post about increasing your calorie intake. You definitely need more than what you are taking in.....men suck like that......:wink::happy:

    Enjoy your weekend....

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