Gain VS. Fluctuation

It's math. It takes 3500 calories to gain one pound of fat. If you log properly, you should be able to tell.

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mom2ava07 wrote: »

Friday morning I weighed 155, Saturday 155.8, Sunday 155.8, and today still 155.8. I know .8 pounds is nothing to get worked up about, but I haven't missed a day logging or exercising. I realize there's room for inaccuracies in calorie count, but considering this weekend I ate around 1000 calories per day (appetite just isnt there) plus exercised daily, I would find it hard to believe I underestimated enough to actually gain. Again, I know not a big deal regardless, but frustrating when I think I'm not eating enough more likely than too much. It's not near my time of the month either.

It's impossible tell without your diary being open but are you weighing all your food using a food scale? You could be overestimating how much you are eating. Also have you had a lot of sodium in the last 3 days? Or not had much water to drink? All of this could account for the number on the scale. I know I've fluctuated over 4lbs within 2 days based on water intake and sodium intake alone. Are you new to exercising? You could be retaining water from that as well.

Weigh all your food, don't just measure it. Log it accurately. Drink water, you'll lose weight. Just be patient.

It's very frustrating sometimes. I initially lost 3lbs in the first week when I started logging at the beginning of January and then the 2nd week I lost 1lb. At the beginning of the 3rd week my weight dropped another 1.5lbs so I thought I was doing great but then the scale started consistently going up, every day for over a week.

By the end of the re-gain I was heavier than when I started, but I knew that it was unlikely I had put on weight as I was eating at a deficit consistent with losing at least 1-1.5lbs per week.

It worried me at the time, but several posters told me it was probably down to an increase in carbs and water retention or an excess of sodium.

In the last few days my weight came back down to the level it was at after the initial 5.5lb loss, and now it's down another 0.5lb so I'm finally losing again.

I have to say I've never really noticed this before but the week my weight appeared to go up dramatically I did have 3 restaurant meals out very close together (with just 1 day inbetween) and I also drank 3 glasses of wine, when prior to that I had not been drinking at all except one day when I had 1 glass at the beginning of January.

If it happens again, now I know that it's not a true gain, as I know I've been logging properly and working out regularly - and to the poster who is annoyed by 'logging properly so I know', in my case I am creating a deficit of 800 calories per day so way more than enough to lose at least 1lb per week. Even if there may have been some days when eating out that calories counts were a little higher than logged, that would only have been for 1 meal and if it was out by 200-300 calories it would not make enough of a difference for me to gain.

Lol snap x

As I said before, I had the same problem for over a week, and was worried. I didn't know about the effects of sodium, an increase in carbohydrates or alcohol could have this kind of effect. During the week I appeared to rapidly gain, I ate an Indian meal first, then a Thai meal and a few days later a Japanese meal!

I was very careful with what I ate, portion sizes and how it was cooked, but the extra sodium obviously made a difference.

BFDeal wrote: »

The "I log properly so I know" thing is annoying. So you're 100% accurate with your log? How do you ever go anywhere that isn't some stupid chain restaurant? You never take a day off for your birthday? You count every bite you eat? BS.

I find this rather judgmental and aggressive. I for one don't even go to the chain restaurants you so despise for lack of money right now, don't take days off logging for holidays and log every bite I eat. And your quote above implies either a) disbelief or b) disparaging of those habits

I think the point people are trying to make is that if you log consistently, you *will* know if something changed when you look back at your logs. Annoying or not, it's a fact

Wiseandcurious wrote: »

BFDeal wrote: »

The "I log properly so I know" thing is annoying. So you're 100% accurate with your log? How do you ever go anywhere that isn't some stupid chain restaurant? You never take a day off for your birthday? You count every bite you eat? BS.

I find this rather judgmental and aggressive. I for one don't even go to the chain restaurants you so despise for lack of money right now, don't take days off logging for holidays and log every bite I eat. And your quote above implies either a) disbelief or b) disparaging of those habits

I think the point people are trying to make is that if you log consistently, you *will* know if something changed when you look back at your logs. Annoying or not, it's a fact

I make all our meals from scratch and we don't go out to eat because there is no such thing as a vegan restaurant where I live, (and I have trust issues). I log absolutely everything and I don't take days off. I'm as accurate as I can be.

mom2ava07 wrote: »

We all know that if you weigh daily you will see many fluctuations in weight. However, at what point do you call it a gain and go back and attempt to determine the cause, versus just chalking it up as a simple fluctuation?

You watch the trend over time...

Also, you would have to eat 3500 calories over your MAINTENANCE calories to gain 1 Lb of fat. So if you're not doing that then you're not putting on fat.