Undid 2 months' of weight loss within 3 days

KatrinaTTT wrote: »

I ate too much for 3 days (1900 calories, 1420 calories, 3210 calories) and my BMR is 1100 calories. Each of these days I will say I burned off 500 calories, adjusted for the inaccuracy of the machines. After that, I had gained 2.5 pounds. I have had my BMR tested, but the numbers simply don't add up to 2.5 pounds. It seems arbitrary to me.

Prior to this I had lost 6 pounds over the course of 4 months. The fact that within 3 days, I can undo 2 months of diet and exercise.....scares me.....It was not food weight since I had already done number 2 and I had waited 2 days before weighing myself.

Please tell me if you have any ideas on how to cope with the distress and is weight loss really so arbitrary that the math of 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat isn't true? Like it takes a long time to lose weight but you can really gain so much weight and the math doesn't add up?

No, you absolutely did not undo 2 months of diet and exercise in 3 days time. You are referencing your BMR - that is not the number you should be looking at. Your BMR is basically the amount of calories you would need just to stay alive with ZERO activity whatsoever. What you need to determine is your TDEE, your Total Daily Energy Expenditure - the total amount of calories you burn being alive, in your daily activity, and with your exercise added in. It takes 3,500 calories ABOVE that in order to put on 1 lb of fat. It is impossible, even with your day of 3210 calories, that you exceeded your maintenance level by 8,750 calories.

You need to be patient. Weight loss is not linear. There are many things that can impact it - water retention, stress, TOM, etc.

If you haven't already, give this a read:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

As well as the other Helpful Forum Posts at the top of each Forum section.

WinoGelato wrote: »

KatrinaTTT wrote: »

I ate too much for 3 days (1900 calories, 1420 calories, 3210 calories) and my BMR is 1100 calories. Each of these days I will say I burned off 500 calories, adjusted for the inaccuracy of the machines. After that, I had gained 2.5 pounds. I have had my BMR tested, but the numbers simply don't add up to 2.5 pounds. It seems arbitrary to me.

Prior to this I had lost 6 pounds over the course of 4 months. The fact that within 3 days, I can undo 2 months of diet and exercise.....scares me.....It was not food weight since I had already done number 2 and I had waited 2 days before weighing myself.

Please tell me if you have any ideas on how to cope with the distress and is weight loss really so arbitrary that the math of 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat isn't true? Like it takes a long time to lose weight but you can really gain so much weight and the math doesn't add up?

No, you absolutely did not undo 2 months of diet and exercise in 3 days time. You are referencing your BMR - that is not the number you should be looking at. Your BMR is basically the amount of calories you would need just to stay alive with ZERO activity whatsoever. What you need to determine is your TDEE, your Total Daily Energy Expenditure - the total amount of calories you burn being alive, in your daily activity, and with your exercise added in. It takes 3,500 calories ABOVE that in order to put on 1 lb of fat. It is impossible, even with your day of 3210 calories, that you exceeded your maintenance level by 8,750 calories.

You need to be patient. Weight loss is not linear. There are many things that can impact it - water retention, stress, TOM, etc.

If you haven't already, give this a read:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

As well as the other Helpful Forum Posts at the top of each Forum section.

Quoting because listen to this and also because best username.

fivethreeone wrote: »

WinoGelato wrote: »

KatrinaTTT wrote: »

I ate too much for 3 days (1900 calories, 1420 calories, 3210 calories) and my BMR is 1100 calories. Each of these days I will say I burned off 500 calories, adjusted for the inaccuracy of the machines. After that, I had gained 2.5 pounds. I have had my BMR tested, but the numbers simply don't add up to 2.5 pounds. It seems arbitrary to me.

Prior to this I had lost 6 pounds over the course of 4 months. The fact that within 3 days, I can undo 2 months of diet and exercise.....scares me.....It was not food weight since I had already done number 2 and I had waited 2 days before weighing myself.

Please tell me if you have any ideas on how to cope with the distress and is weight loss really so arbitrary that the math of 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat isn't true? Like it takes a long time to lose weight but you can really gain so much weight and the math doesn't add up?

No, you absolutely did not undo 2 months of diet and exercise in 3 days time. You are referencing your BMR - that is not the number you should be looking at. Your BMR is basically the amount of calories you would need just to stay alive with ZERO activity whatsoever. What you need to determine is your TDEE, your Total Daily Energy Expenditure - the total amount of calories you burn being alive, in your daily activity, and with your exercise added in. It takes 3,500 calories ABOVE that in order to put on 1 lb of fat. It is impossible, even with your day of 3210 calories, that you exceeded your maintenance level by 8,750 calories.

You need to be patient. Weight loss is not linear. There are many things that can impact it - water retention, stress, TOM, etc.

If you haven't already, give this a read:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

As well as the other Helpful Forum Posts at the top of each Forum section.

Quoting because listen to this and also because best username.

Hah - thanks!

Geek answer, more about the effects of progesterone.

"Elevated levels of progesterone potently reduce the sodium-retaining activity of aldosterone, resulting in natriuresis and a reduction in extracellular fluid volume. Progesterone withdrawal, on the other hand, is associated with a temporary increase in sodium retention (reduced natriuresis, with an increase in extracellular fluid volume) due to the compensatory increase in aldosterone production, which combats the blockade of the mineralocorticoid receptor by the previously elevated level of progesterone.[54]" - Wikipedia