Help! I'm gaining weight!

mocklin
mocklin Posts: 33 Member
edited September 28 in Motivation and Support
Hi all,

I just made my food diary public. I had been doing well. Losing SLOW but steady. This week was my birthday so i had a few days that were less than perfect, but NOTHING that i think would make a 3lb gain. I'm feeling very discouraged as I have soooo much weight to lose and now I've begun to gain. I've been exercising 7 days a week. Hiking whenever the weather is nice enough. I just don't get it. Yes, my clothes are a little looser but nothing major. I'm trying to up my water intake as I'm not great about that. Could i be gaining that much muscle from all my hiking?

thanks,
gail

Replies

  • jlanz10
    jlanz10 Posts: 58 Member
    If you had a few bad days, it could just be water weight...Stick with it, it will come off...
  • cpratt55
    cpratt55 Posts: 17 Member
    I am going through the exact same thing. I finally lost today, but it has been such a struggle. I was doing everything right, but to no avail. I also have trouble with the water intake. I am going to try to do better on that as well. I have been very frustrated with this whole thing this past couple weeks. But then, I had to stop and think.......I am in a much better place weight wise and health wise than I was 3 months ago. We need to just keep moving forward and realize we have done so much already and that we should be proud!! We'll get there :)
  • determined3138
    determined3138 Posts: 43
    Take your measurements! It'll keep you motivated when you're at a stall.
  • mamaredhead
    mamaredhead Posts: 112
    if your measurements are fine and you know you are doing okay (nobody is doing perfect all the time, that's normal!!!) -- then you might be right with the muscle-theory. maybe partly muscles partly gaining weight back -- but exercising seven days a week is a LOT, so i guess you do NOT AT ALL have to worry.

    just keep on going. hey, you're a hiker -- you KNOW that you have to go up and down and around to finally get where you wanted ;-))))
  • TiDinzeo
    TiDinzeo Posts: 309
    If you're still losing inches then it's likely that you're gaining muscle.
  • jbucci1186
    jbucci1186 Posts: 440 Member
    I know exactly how you feel! From my own experience, I would say it's most likely water weight. I have had many breakdowns due to gaining up to 7 lbs in less than a day, and I just have to remember to tell myself that I would have to eat 3500cal PLUS my daily deficit to gain even ONE pound in a day (and I think it's even more complicated than that). If you have a day or two where you're eating more sodium than normal, that can cause you to retain water as well. Chances are, if you just hide your scale for the next day or two, you'll be back down! :) (that's what I do)

    Hope that helped!
  • fraiseroja
    fraiseroja Posts: 215 Member
    You probably gained water weight from eating the not so good foods. I'm guessing that they were probably high in sodium which made you retain water. I am bad with water too...like drinking maybe 1-2 glasses a day. This week, I decided I would make myself drink more water and hit that 8 glass mark. After two days of doing that, I lost 1 pound. Now, that pound was water weight, so I figure that's where your weight is coming from. Try it out as an experiment and see.
  • maureendonahue
    maureendonahue Posts: 468 Member
    I'm struggling with this too. I knew this week would be tough, but I've been making much better choices yet nothing was happening on the scale. Then I realized something was happening. The treadmill (my favorite form of exercise right now) kept making me work harder to get to and stay at my target heart rate. Two weeks ago, I was at a 0 incline, going 2.0mph and was toast at the end of the hour. Now it's at 2.5 mph, and the incline varies during the workout, so that it is going up to 1.5 for about 15 min. before coming back down, then back up again. While I'm still tired at the end, I can now at least still function.

    So look for improvements elsewhere for now. Are your hikes a little easier? Do you have a little more energy than you did before?

    This is going to take time (for both of us!) We can do it!!!
  • sweetiepie31612
    sweetiepie31612 Posts: 240 Member
    I'd start by tracking your sodium. I started tracking mine and realized that even though I was under on my calories I was almost always over on my sodium. Now, when I see the red in the sodium line I know to drink TONS of water the next day to flush everything out. Maybe seeing some red will help you with your water intake and help you refrain from those types of foods.
  • DianaPowerUp
    DianaPowerUp Posts: 518 Member
    For serious weight-trainers (bodybuilders), the best they can hope for is to gain about 2 lbs/muscle in a month. That is, a month of HEAVY lifting, and eating tons of calories to build the muscle. So, one hike is not going to give you 3 lbs of muscle, sorry! It's water weight from eating some stuff that wasn't so good for you. But it'll come off almost as quickly as it came on, as long as you don't indulge again!
  • peachlow
    peachlow Posts: 91
    I read all the other comments & they have given you some great advice...
    Remember your body will hit several plateau phases where the # on the scale will not go down....
    As long as you continue to exercise, drink water appropriately, & eat a healthy diet then your fine..don't get stuck with scale watching...measure your inches.....

    Also change your exercise routine about every 4-6 weeks...the body will stop responding to certain exercises....almost like an immunity response....

    Good luck & keep up the great work...

    Have a super blessed Saturday
  • jennyfoxx
    jennyfoxx Posts: 22 Member
    Hang in there!!! Stick with this journey and the weight will come off..Don't kill yourself working out and remember to keep it FUN otherwise you will get bored..KEEP up the water intake and this will also help get the 3lbs off..Remember that this journey is a healthy change and it will not happen over night..

    Two weeks ago I found myself straying from my usual healthy eating and knew I was probably going to be in trouble once I hit the scale again... I climbed back on the scale Monday morning (my usual weigh day) and realized the break was not worth it because I had gained 7lbs in a week but by Friday of the same week I had lost all 7 that I had gained plus I lost one more pound - go figure!! Still wondering how I could actually gain that much in one week but happy I lost it the next week..

    Remember to keep it fun and stress free and you will be sure to stay motivated and the pounds will continue to come off..Watching your sodium intake in your food diary might help too..

    You are doing great!! Don't be too hard on yourself!!
  • NubyGloom
    NubyGloom Posts: 49
    ok so iam just gunna repeat some things already said and add a little more to the picture.
    First: messurements are good to take
    2nd: could be water weight.
    3rd: your training 7 days a week! muscle weights more then fat
    4th: if ant flow is near you will have any where 3-5lbs added.

    I was training really hard, doing muscle building stuff for a few months. I ate great maybe a cheat day once a month. My start weight was 170. I messure myself first, i lost about a total of 21 inches all over... but i went on to the scale and I looked at it and was like what the heck!! I was so mad! I was 173lbs! Thats when I started to look things up and I actuly dont really weight my self any more... maybe once a month or very two. [and the weight started coming off. Some one explaine to me its like building a house, you have to build the fundation, and that is what was happening in my case. know that its built all the fat will begin to burn off and ill start to lose weight. and still gain muscle.]

    How I keep myself motivated is: I set up work out challenge for the month and work hard to complete that, and set up some nutrtion challenges for that month. and work towards that. and in the long run, the benifts are coming. It didnt take me one day to abuse my body... It took me years, glad it only take a few years to get back on the right road! ^^ Good luck! and always push forwards! each step is working towards a better you! never forget that!

    Oh yes! you need rest days! or your body will become stressed! and then your body because stress goes into a survial mod where it will start to store fat. no big worries on that just make sure you give it muscle group at less 48hrs rest a week.
    Iam not sure what your training is! but sounds like your working hard ^^
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