WTF?!

mustnothrowcantelopes
mustnothrowcantelopes Posts: 116 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
After working out three times this week, I stepped on the scale today and somehow , managed to gain a pound. I guess even if I work out, I'm not allowed to go over my calories , ever, not even once. I guess the fact that I went over by 275 and one 159 one time makes a big difference, but I expected to maintain my weight if anything, not gain. I'm so depressed , I don't even want to eat anything today. I just want to punish myself a million times for ever having been that bad. Yes, sometimes, being on this program makes me feel awful about myself and afraid that if I gain a pound , the weight will just keep going up from that point , no matter what I do, even though I know that's not true. I'm not even going to bother to record it. Nope. It doesn't exist to me. It doesn't deserve to be recorded. It can go *fig* itself! When you're in the 200's or even the high 100's those 1-3 lbs can feel like a big deal, as I imagine even if you're a normal weight, but somehow to me it seems like more.

Replies

  • jrusso28
    jrusso28 Posts: 249 Member
    It's water weight that you are seeing.
    When you work out your muscles need to recover and they hold onto water.
    (That is my non technical explanation)

    Your actually allowed to go over your calories by the amount your burning in exercise.

    Keep your chin up and keep at it.
    In a few weeks you'll be amazed at your progress.
  • daniellescsu
    daniellescsu Posts: 101 Member
    I feel your pain! I have been eating 1200 calories daily and working at 5 times a week and some days the scale says I gained weight and others it says it is the same as when I started. Makes me want to give up. Why kill myself trying to eat healthy and light when I can eat WHATEVER I want and weigh the same!
  • ehedges31
    ehedges31 Posts: 72
    Don't forget- muscle weighs more than fat! :) stay motivated. and I agree that its more than likely water weight as well.
  • Lynn1315
    Lynn1315 Posts: 26 Member
    I think your freaking out too soon... did you have a lot of sodium yesterday.. Everyone's weight fluxuates by a few pounds throughout the day. Drink lots of water today, and then try weighing in again in a few days or wait another week. You cannot let yourself get stressed out over 1 pound. Also, have you measured recently?

    Daniellescsu, are you eating some of your exercise calories back? Remember you have to eat at least 1200 calories a day. there are great threads on this, here is one that I like: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing

    Good luck.. don't be too hard on yourself.

    Lynn
  • spacecase76
    spacecase76 Posts: 673 Member
    Drink (yes, even more) water. Previous poster was right about your muscles holding water. Also, don't forget to take 'before' pictures, and take measurements. I have noticed that when I lose pounds, I don't necessarily lose inches that week, and vice versa. Keep faith, you CAN do this! GL!
  • staceydewey
    staceydewey Posts: 18
    Do not beat yourself up - I only weigh myself every 2 weeks - because for as much as I need to lose the weight - I am working harder on making a better life - which includes working out - I have never ever ever worked out in my life - I now go to the gym 6 days a week - I take every Sunday off - and on Sunday if I want to have a something bad - I have it - if I don't I don't - the rest of the week I watch everything that goes into my mouth - I go to the gym - I push and work hard - I give myself a daily reward by completing my food diary and inputting my exercise - I get to see the numbers - and I feel as though I am successful because I have worked it - DRINK YOUR WATER -

    Your body will begin to change you will lose the pounds - but more importantly you are making lifestyle changes that will prolong your life - and make it more worth living!

    Don't beat yourself up and DO NOT GIVE UP!!! Forget the scale - it is not what is important -

    Good luck!
  • tinkerdust66
    tinkerdust66 Posts: 2
    I feel your pain, however if your working out that much and lifting weights your gaining muscle mass and since muscle weighs more than fat you will see a increase in weight, but give it time and you will see the weight start coming off. Try drinking more water at least 8 glasses a day and that will help flush out exess body water. I am a nutrition educator and I still have a hard time keeping my weight in check we are not all perfect, I do try and practice what I preach but it is hard when you have a eating disorder and want so much to be thin. Just keep pluggin along you will make it.
  • aimee0515
    aimee0515 Posts: 67
    You have either retained water or gained a pound of muscle (which is a good thing). Try keeping track of measurements instead of going by the scale so much. I explained it to my clients in the past like this...picture how many feathers it would take to make a pound. Now picture how much gold or silver it would take to make a pound. Fat and muscle is the same. A pound of fat is much LARGER that a pound of muscle. Therefore, your body may become more compact but you may not necessarily see a big loss on the scale. DON'T LOWER YOUR CALORIES below the recommendation. This is very counterproductive. Your body will hold on to every ounce of fat because it will think you are starving it. Try eating small meals every three hours.
  • sweetCJ
    sweetCJ Posts: 144
    Don't give up. I know exactly how you feel. The fist week I started on MFP I had lost 5 lbs and I was so happy, then the next week (and I've been eating right all week, no junk food, no chocolate, never went over my calories) I gained 11 lbs, yes 11 not 1... 11 lbs. Good thing my Wii remote was attached to me, 'cause my TV would've eaten it. I was SO mad and did not understand why that had happened. So I turned arround and ate 3 mini cupcakes. Why should I suffer for 1 week with no "good" food and take on 11 lbs? Since then I reajusted my sodium and now it's seems that I am loosing 0.5 to 1 lb per week. Oh, and I'm 272 lbs...so I need to lose 100 lbs to get a healthy weight. I don't do any gym exercise, I only walk at night. Maybe you've gained muscle and lost fat, but the scale would not tell you, you need to measure yourself.
  • Mickvond
    Mickvond Posts: 7
    muscle does not weigh more then fat 1 lb = 1 lb no matter what it is. I wouldnt beat myself up over it all. just eat under your calories and keep working out. Everyones weight fluctuates up and down a little and there is more then just water, Can even just be as simple as going to the bathroom before you weigh. The point is NEVER GIVE UP bad days are the fuel to make us strive farther. Keep up the good work and dont be too down. Enjoy your easter :)
  • aimee0515
    aimee0515 Posts: 67
    muscle does not weigh more then fat 1 lb = 1 lb no matter what it is. I wouldnt beat myself up over it all. just eat under your calories and keep working out. Everyones weight fluctuates up and down a little and there is more then just water, Can even just be as simple as going to the bathroom before you weigh. The point is NEVER GIVE UP bad days are the fuel to make us strive farther. Keep up the good work and dont be too down. Enjoy your easter :)

    Yes 1lb=1lb. But muscle is more compact that fat. Fat takes up much more space than muscle. If you have 2 women that both weigh 150 pounds at the same height and 1 is 18% body fat while the other one is 30% body fat, the one that is 18% body fat will be SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than the latter. You can't just go by the scale.
  • ilsie99
    ilsie99 Posts: 259
    muscle does not weigh more then fat 1 lb = 1 lb no matter what it is. I wouldnt beat myself up over it all. just eat under your calories and keep working out. Everyones weight fluctuates up and down a little and there is more then just water, Can even just be as simple as going to the bathroom before you weigh. The point is NEVER GIVE UP bad days are the fuel to make us strive farther. Keep up the good work and dont be too down. Enjoy your easter :)

    I think what they were trying to say is that muscle is more dense than fat.
  • misskimlilac
    misskimlilac Posts: 306 Member
    muscle does not weigh more then fat 1 lb = 1 lb no matter what it is. I wouldnt beat myself up over it all. just eat under your calories and keep working out. Everyones weight fluctuates up and down a little and there is more then just water, Can even just be as simple as going to the bathroom before you weigh. The point is NEVER GIVE UP bad days are the fuel to make us strive farther. Keep up the good work and dont be too down. Enjoy your easter :)

    I think what they were trying to say is that muscle is more dense than fat.

    Check this out, I went to a health fair yesterday and was blown away by a similiar exahibition.

    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XTxBF8JInhc/S3WGwqyRFOI/AAAAAAAAADY/f1FQ7sEaYp8/s400/fat-v-muscle.jpg&imgrefurl=http://seductivedesign.blogspot.com/&h=233&w=391&sz=18&tbnid=N_wmX6_gzd1ynM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=123&prev=/search?q=what+does+5+lbs+of+fat+look+like&tbm=isch&tbo=u&zoom=1&q=what+does+5+lbs+of+fat+look+like&hl=en&usg=__AgYu-_hTdxJtps7Gte7Uhh6YyXA=&sa=X&ei=wkq0TbiNJJT2swOXnKztCw&ved=0CCEQ9QEwAw
  • Toridactyl
    Toridactyl Posts: 19 Member
    Always remember that MFP already calculates your calorie deficit. So, don't try to go under your already cut calories. You really DO need to eat your exercise. You have to nourish your body - not punish your body. I think you'll ultimately see better results in overall health if you not only exercise, but eat.

    And yeah, a lb is a lb, but a lb of muscle is way more desirable than a lb of fat and previous posts were correct - the scale doesn't really differentiate.

    Are you fitting better in your clothes? Can you start walking up the stairs without wanting to give up halfway through? Measure your success in something tangible. Something you can see or touch. Stay on track and reward yourself for the things you do right. You didn't gain 270+lbs overnight and you aren't going to lose it all at once, either.

    Keep your head up and your eyes on the prize - feeling better about yourself. Your health and self-worth aren't measured in numbers... it's measured in how often you smile, sing, laugh.... (Wearing your favorite new jeans?)

    Good luck!
  • VixFit2011
    VixFit2011 Posts: 663 Member
    I read somewhere once that when fat leaves water goes in to fill the empty space and rest will help eliminate the water you're holding.
  • shmoejo
    shmoejo Posts: 37
    i think people need to step away from the evil scale sometimes and just measure :)
  • TS65
    TS65 Posts: 1,024 Member
    muscle does not weigh more then fat 1 lb = 1 lb no matter what it is. I wouldnt beat myself up over it all. just eat under your calories and keep working out. Everyones weight fluctuates up and down a little and there is more then just water, Can even just be as simple as going to the bathroom before you weigh. The point is NEVER GIVE UP bad days are the fuel to make us strive farther. Keep up the good work and dont be too down. Enjoy your easter :)

    I think what they were trying to say is that muscle is more dense than fat.

    Check this out, I went to a health fair yesterday and was blown away by a similiar exahibition.

    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XTxBF8JInhc/S3WGwqyRFOI/AAAAAAAAADY/f1FQ7sEaYp8/s400/fat-v-muscle.jpg&imgrefurl=http://seductivedesign.blogspot.com/&h=233&w=391&sz=18&tbnid=N_wmX6_gzd1ynM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=123&prev=/search?q=what+does+5+lbs+of+fat+look+like&tbm=isch&tbo=u&zoom=1&q=what+does+5+lbs+of+fat+look+like&hl=en&usg=__AgYu-_hTdxJtps7Gte7Uhh6YyXA=&sa=X&ei=wkq0TbiNJJT2swOXnKztCw&ved=0CCEQ9QEwAw

    Wow, that's a GREAT visual!
  • aimee0515
    aimee0515 Posts: 67
    muscle does not weigh more then fat 1 lb = 1 lb no matter what it is. I wouldnt beat myself up over it all. just eat under your calories and keep working out. Everyones weight fluctuates up and down a little and there is more then just water, Can even just be as simple as going to the bathroom before you weigh. The point is NEVER GIVE UP bad days are the fuel to make us strive farther. Keep up the good work and dont be too down. Enjoy your easter :)

    I think what they were trying to say is that muscle is more dense than fat.

    Check this out, I went to a health fair yesterday and was blown away by a similiar exahibition.

    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XTxBF8JInhc/S3WGwqyRFOI/AAAAAAAAADY/f1FQ7sEaYp8/s400/fat-v-muscle.jpg&imgrefurl=http://seductivedesign.blogspot.com/&h=233&w=391&sz=18&tbnid=N_wmX6_gzd1ynM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=123&prev=/search?q=what+does+5+lbs+of+fat+look+like&tbm=isch&tbo=u&zoom=1&q=what+does+5+lbs+of+fat+look+like&hl=en&usg=__AgYu-_hTdxJtps7Gte7Uhh6YyXA=&sa=X&ei=wkq0TbiNJJT2swOXnKztCw&ved=0CCEQ9QEwAw

    Very nice picture.
  • ocsurfmama
    ocsurfmama Posts: 127
    This gets mentioned a lot but have you taken your body measurements?? I take my body measurements every three weeks and weigh myself on the scale once a week. There was a week where the scale went up 2 lbs but I had lost 6 inches overall on my body measurements. A week later those additional 2 lbs were gone plus 1 more lb down.

    Muscle IS more compact!! Also, if you eat below your calories your body will actually start storing fat because it's going to go into survival mode and store fat.

    Don't be a prisoner of the scale. Put it away and only take it out once a week. Drink plenty of water!!! Take your body measurements...then give yourself another two weeks and see where you are at.
  • funkythreads2004
    funkythreads2004 Posts: 51 Member
    Losing 6 inches is fabulous, im not so bothered about pounds so much but seeing a shrinking waistline in inches is something to look forward to. Well done hope i do the same ;-)
  • trishlambert
    trishlambert Posts: 213 Member
    muscle does not weigh more then fat 1 lb = 1 lb no matter what it is. I wouldnt beat myself up over it all. just eat under your calories and keep working out. Everyones weight fluctuates up and down a little and there is more then just water, Can even just be as simple as going to the bathroom before you weigh. The point is NEVER GIVE UP bad days are the fuel to make us strive farther. Keep up the good work and dont be too down. Enjoy your easter :)

    The point that I haven't seen mentioned is that we don't do one or the other--lose fat OR gain muscle. We do both at the same time. If we lose a pound of fat and gain a pound of muscle by working out, the scale won't register any change. All the other stuff is useful info too...drink more water, don't reduce calorie intake...but keep in mind that the good work you are doing strengthening your body will "cancel out" some of the fat you're losing as far as the scale number. So keep up the good work!!!!
  • tryinghard2012
    tryinghard2012 Posts: 419 Member
    Water water water....I'm telling you it works! I drink a little more than a gallon a day.
  • minburke
    minburke Posts: 241 Member
    I feel your pain! I have been eating 1200 calories daily and working at 5 times a week and some days the scale says I gained weight and others it says it is the same as when I started. Makes me want to give up. Why kill myself trying to eat healthy and light when I can eat WHATEVER I want and weigh the same!

    I felt the same but then today I dropped 2lb. Just takes time for the body to balance out.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    You have to just forget the scale sometimes, and be very conscious of how what you eat affects your body. The first few weeks, you shouldn't care what happens on the scale, just get used to a new way of eating and increased activity.

    I woke up this morning "weighing" 4 pounds more than I did yesterday. It wasn't because I went over my calories by 300. It was because I had a ton of sodium, and didn't drink as much water as usual.

    I weigh in on Saturday mornings, and usually go easy on the weekends. If I'm going to go over, I'll likely do that on Saturday. It takes pretty much until Wednesday to be back to my "weigh in" weight again, just from being more lax over the weekend. And it's not real weight gain. It's just water weight. I do weigh myself every day, but I'm not flustered by normal fluctuations.
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
    Does anyone happen to know if muscle weighs more than fat?
  • minburke
    minburke Posts: 241 Member
    Does anyone happen to know if muscle weighs more than fat?

    This image was just posted to explain they way the same but muscle is more compact than fat..


    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XTxBF8JInhc/S3WGwqyRFOI/AAAAAAAAADY/f1FQ7sEaYp8/s400/fat-v-muscle.jpg&imgrefurl=http://seductivedesign.blogspot.com/&h=233&w=391&sz=18&tbnid=N_wmX6_gzd1ynM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=123&prev=/search?q=what+does+5+lbs+of+fat+look+like&tbm=isch&tbo=u&zoom=1&q=what+does+5+lbs+of+fat+look+like&hl=en&usg=__AgYu-_hTdxJtps7Gte7Uhh6YyXA=&sa=X&ei=wkq0TbiNJJT2swOXnKztCw&ved=0CCEQ9QEwAw
  • Chuckw40
    Chuckw40 Posts: 201
    muscle does not weigh more then fat 1 lb = 1 lb no matter what it is. I wouldnt beat myself up over it all. just eat under your calories and keep working out. Everyones weight fluctuates up and down a little and there is more then just water, Can even just be as simple as going to the bathroom before you weigh. The point is NEVER GIVE UP bad days are the fuel to make us strive farther. Keep up the good work and dont be too down. Enjoy your easter :)

    Muscle does weigh more than fat just like lead weighs more than aluminum.
  • minburke
    minburke Posts: 241 Member
    I think you mean the same physical amount or volume, say a cubed centimetre of muscle ways more than a cubed centimetre of fat, but 1lb is 1lb its just muscle takes up less room and is therefore more dense.
  • Chuckw40
    Chuckw40 Posts: 201
    A pound is a pound but if someone is 180lbs of lean muscle they will be much thinner than someone who is 180lbs of fat. Which is what I think most of us care about.
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