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Bit discouraged by slight unexpected gain.

Bella77007
Bella77007 Posts: 78 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,
I have done this before but fell off the wagon and started again mid Janurary, I am a 38 year old female,5ft 1 and in mid January I weighed 171lbs.

Currently I weight 151lbs so have lost 20lbs which I am very please about,I have stuck to my calorie goals and been gradually increasing my activity levels although I am at my own admission extremely unfit so it is a very slow induction.

Anyway last week I weighed and was 150lbs but this mornng I weighed and have gained a pound,I know it's only a pound but since I have been doing everything right it was really dissapointing.

The only thing I can think of is that over the weekend I was very unwell,I only managed to eat a few hundred calories for a couple of days because I had a shocking fever and no appetite and perhaps being back on the 1200 for a few days has caused a gain, I don't know,it's got me down a bit.

I could understand going a week and not seeing a loss,I know it can happen sometimes but to see a gain doesn't seem right,has this happened to anyone else and is it even normal?

Replies

  • PurpleTina
    PurpleTina Posts: 390 Member
    Firstly, well done on such a great start! I would imagine that having been poorly, your body is just trying to recover; don't worry too much; stick with the healthy eating and you will start to lose again. As a woman, hormones can play a part too, remember.

    Best favour I did myself was to start weighing once a month, and no more. Really hard to stay off the scales initially, but now each time I weigh myself I have lost, and I don't get caught up in the week to week fluctuations.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Water weight fluctuation - you don't have a set weight, you have a weight range so any fluctuation of a few pounds can be quite simply down to that

    Water weight can change due to increased sodium, hormones, change-up in exercise .. being sick I bet you have some kind of dehydration going on which quite simply makes your water weight increase

    drink more - weigh again in a few days - it's fine

    (PS Weight loss not linear)
  • Bella77007
    Bella77007 Posts: 78 Member
    Thank you both for the replies, I hadn't even considered being unwell causing dehydration which is silly of me since it should have been obvious really, I will carry on upping my water intake and see what the scales say next week.

    There is still so much I need to get used to and understand,this is the longest I have ever stuck with it but this time I am determined, I don't want this to be a diet, I want it to be a whole new approach and way of life.

    I was ridiculous at first and would weigh myself every couple of days thinking I might see a change but soon realized if I did it was nothing meaningful and that leaving it longer gave a much better idea and saved me the stress of fluctuations, I would love to be able to weigh once a month since it makes sense for so many reasons,maybe I will eventually reach that point but at the moment I do it weekly.

    Thanks again :)
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    If that 1 pound gain stays (that is, you're up on the scale every day for a week or so and it doesn't go away) then maybe it's cause for concern. Personally I would then double check my logging, make sure I was accurate and that I was at or a little under my calorie goal, etc. If it's that time of the month, my body does all kinds of weird things and it hangs on to weight for a while so I just keep on doing my thing till that comes and goes.

    But really and truly...I wouldn't worry about it. I weigh myself every day so I can see those ups and downs (and I was trying to see if a particular day generally is the day my weight changes). Once I'm done losing and shooting to maintain within a certain range, I'll probably pop on the scale once a week to see how I'm doing.

    Log it, keep an eye on it, and only get concerned if another 4 or 5 pounds "magically" appear like that.

    You've done really well so far! :)

    ~Lyssa
  • DaneanP
    DaneanP Posts: 433 Member
    Sounds like temporary water retention while your body comes back after being sick. Hydrate, stick to your plan, rest a bit more than usual. Weigh yourself next week and chances are you'll be right back where you were, or down.
  • Bella77007
    Bella77007 Posts: 78 Member
    Thank you again,I caved and weighed this morning and the pound is not gone,a quarter of it is but not all of it so I am still hydrating and just thinking 'on with the plan' really.

    I did intend to leave it a week but it got the better of me,if it hasn't gone by next week I will need to start thinking about where I might be going wrong.

    MFP gives me 1200 calories per day and I usually come in at about 1100-1150,I do log carefully but also suspect that having lost 20lbs fairly easily it may be a case of needing to push my activity up,I know I need to do that at some point for my health anyway.

    I am still not feeling 100% well yet and am far from anywhere near fit but I am trying to just do at least 30 minutes per day on 'just dance',I know it's no subsitute for a real good run but I am just trying to build myself up a bit,I have lots of walking planned too.

    So on with the water which I needed more of anyway and on with the plan :)
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