Please read - please help - at wits end

fattymcfatterson2121 · May 2015

Hi all

I had a couple of weeks off MFP due to an exam, gained a couple of pounds - could have been worse.

Got back on it this week and hit it hard - lots of meal prep and bought a bike so I could cycle to the gym.

All this week I stuck to 1700 cals, did 5 gym sessions (crossfit) and cycled >40km.

Good right? Weighed myself this morning hoping to see a result. Zilch!!! Not 1lb. Not 0.5lb. Could cry.

Please help me, I feel really disappointed. I'm 5ft8, 181lbs and my diary is open.

I did get my TOM this week but it's pretty much over - from my internet research you only really carry water weight from it the week before and you drop back to normal when it starts. Sorry if TMI- just trying to cover everything!

Alatariel75 · May 2015

Are those workouts more hardcore than usual? Muscles retain fluid for repairs, so if you were working out harder than normal or are sore, fluid retention is likely.

Whitezombiegirl · May 2015

I'd guess it was a combination of TOM and stress. Give it another couple of weeks- and try to unwind, really, it will help.

fattymcfatterson2121 · May 2015

I really do hope it is fluid retention. Trying really hard to keep going

awesomejdad · May 2015

stop worrying about your weight so much or you will go crazy. Losing weight is not a linier process. Here is what you need to do. put your scale on a shelf or in your closet. Eat really well and continue to exercise. Weigh yourself less. Maybe one time a week or so, perhaps even ounce a month, and do not get worked up about it. Keep doing what you need to do and just stay on course. The results will come if you keep doing the work.

Note: For many people weighing often helps them stay on course. However these people don't let natural weight fluctuations deter them. If you were about to cry then I really believe it would be helpful to you to weigh less and just focus on the work you need to do to be successful.

fattymcfatterson2121 · May 2015

Although I only weigh once a week I do agree with what you are saying.

callsitlikeiseeit · May 2015

awesomejdad wrote: »

stop worrying about your weight so much or you will go crazy. Losing weight is not a linier process. Here is what you need to do. put your scale on a shelf or in your closet. Eat really well and continue to exercise. Weigh yourself less. Maybe one time a week or so, perhaps even ounce a month, and do not get worked up about it. Keep doing what you need to do and just stay on course. The results will come if you keep doing the work.

^^ all of that. weight loss is not linear. you could be retaining water, could be TOM, could be water retention from new exercise.

If seeing fluctuations bothers you (depending on my mood it bothers me LOL), weigh less often. I usually weigh once a week.

SkinnyWannabeGal · May 2015

I know the feeling.

Sometimes I eat really well and exercise and do everything right and then a week later, the scale says I GAINED a pound. Then I'll weigh myself a few days later and the scale says I lost 3 pounds. Then when I weigh myself every day, I sometimes stay the same weight for 5 days in a row and then the 6th day I lose a pound and the 7th I gain back 2 and on the 8th I lose 1 more and then for the next few days I stay at that same weight and so on. Like, WTH??

It can be SO frustrating to see the scale numbers fluctuating like crazy or not going down, but hang in there.

It takes time, sometimes a lot of time to see results.

I like instant gratification so this weight loss thing is hard for me. But what I've learned is that if you keep at it and don't quit, you will start to lose the weight if you're eating at a healthy deficit. It will happen. You can do this

ltkasmala · May 2015

I agree with the "weighing in" part. Use a measuring tape instead. You may have gained a small amount of muscle mass which weighs more than fat. So potentially you've "slimmed" down a bit but still weigh the same. Are your clothes fitting the same? Loser? Tighter? That is my guide. I don't care what the scale says normally.... Right now some pants/skirts fit tighter than they did a year ago so I know I've gained something but according to the scale, my weight is still about the same (I usually flux about 2 pounds either side of 150, which is where I am at right now). I just need to be more aware of how much I snack, which is difficult at the moment due to job related stress! Snacks kill me because sometimes I don't realize how often I do it!

Don't worry about it too much! You'll get to your goal!

kikichewie · May 2015

Well, lesson learned, right? I took several days off last month for a camping trip and I still haven't managed to get below the weight I was the day we left! I learned I need to log everything, even if I have other things going on. And stick with it. One week with eating right and exercising without results? So what? Keep going. You have to. It will all work out in the end if you're being honest and accurate with your logging, and you stick to a deficit.

Jerrypeoples · May 2015

question for you. did you put the weight on overnight that led you to workout and eat healthier? I am going to guess no you didnt. so do not worry if it doesnt come off over night to. stick to your goals. one weeks time isnt enough of a span to determine how to tweak your diet/workouts. id say go in 4 week increments and figure out what you need to do to adjust accordingly.

ndj1979 · May 2015

it has only been a week and as others have pointed out weight loss is not linear…

do you use a food scale to weigh all solid foods?

LiveLoveRunFar · May 2015

SkinnyWannabeGal wrote: »

I know the feeling.

Sometimes I eat really well and exercise and do everything right and then a week later, the scale says I GAINED a pound. Then I'll weigh myself a few days later and the scale says I lost 3 pounds. Then when I weigh myself every day, I sometimes stay the same weight for 5 days in a row and then the 6th day I lose a pound and the 7th I gain back 2 and on the 8th I lose 1 more and then for the next few days I stay at that same weight and so on. Like, WTH??

I like instant gratification so this weight loss thing is hard for me. But what I've learned is that if you keep at it and don't quit, you will start to lose the weight if you're eating at a healthy deficit. It will happen. You can do this

Exactly, same here. If you are doing it right, trust yourself not the scale. The scale will get the idea eventually.

Sarasmaintaining · May 2015

I'm a daily weigher but I only really look at the difference between my first weigh in of the month, and the last weigh in of the month. Like others have said-weight loss is not always linear and things like tom, stress, exercise, sodium/water retention etc can skew the results of the scale. I had several times during my active weight loss phase where I didn't lose or even had a bounce, when things 'should' have been going in the opposite direction, only to have a large whoosh several days later where I dropped like 3-4 pounds at once.

Sounds like you're doing a great job-keep at it and you will be successful

lemurcat12 · May 2015

One week won't mean anything, although I know that's disappointing. Try to keep up with what you are doing--it's good regardless, right?--and have a little patience.

As others have said, getting back to or upping the exercise commonly causes water retention. I never lose weight the week I start something new or up the intensity but it pays off eventually. (I commonly lose weight during an off or deload week, but that doesn't mean being less active overall would be a good idea for me.)

Also, how TOM affects you varies woman to woman. If you watch consistently for a while you will figure out what your pattern is. I lose better (or seem to, because of water fluctuations) two weeks every month and worse the other two.

LavenderLeaves · May 2015

Pretty much just going to echo what the others have said, and weigh yourself less if you need to. Work out to feel better and be more fit - try to stop seeing it as an ends to a means to losing weight, because that's a really good way to make you utterly hate it. Take your measurements this week, and start doing it every 2-3 weeks. Do not weigh yourself more than every 2 weeks. Weight loss is EXTREMELY fickle, and I've found that I have gone down with the measuring tape during a week the scale was not moving. Putting that sort of importance on the scale is incredibly defeating and can end up making you go "What's the point?"

Then I remember that this is something I'm doing for better health and a long-term end result, and something I fully intend on doing for the rest of my life. The scale doesn't tell me when I hit fitness milestones or when I'm able to learn how to stop eating when I'm full. I was letting the scale dictate my mood on some days and letting it briefly make me wonder if it's all worth it - which is exactly when I decided I needed to definitely only weigh at most, every 2 weeks.

If you do everything right, the weight WILL come off. You do not need to starve yourself, you do not need to exercise 15 hours a week. If you are not someone who can objectively see daily, or even weekly fluctuations without doubting your entire effort, weigh yourself less. "Only" once a week is not only once a week if the result is going to be the only thing you gauge your weight loss on, because sometimes it may not move at all that week. Do it less, and focus on the victories you do you make.

andrea218 · May 2015

Be gentle with yourself. The scale can be your enemy. If you know you are doing the right things, your body will respond...not always when you want it to (like when you step on the scale), but it will. Have faith in your goal and each positive effort. Don't beat yourself up. You are doing great!

princesscupcake15 · May 2015

your profile says you've lost 32lbs? why are you beating yourself up over one week? you've done so well and come so far, one week will not matter. stop being concerned about a number on a scale.