Very Confused

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Inga_Dawn
Inga_Dawn Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all! I have been reading several posts about weight loss and scale fluctuation, but I am still slightly discouraged. I am 5'1 and 155lbs. I try to stay under 1200 calories and I use a gazelle at moderate to brisk pace for 40 minutes 6 days a week. I drink at least 8 cups of water a day. I was so excited to see the scales go down to 151 at day 7, but on day 8, it went to 155! I am now on day 12 and it is still at 155. I use the same scales and weigh myself of the morning before breakfast. Can someone please help me understand what is going on. Thanks.

Replies

  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
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    The scale fluctuates. Water retention, bloating, etc. but, if it's only been12 days, the biggest thing you need is patience.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Sodium, Ovulation, ToM, Carbs... there's so many reasons for temporary water weight.

    My advice would be to take note of the fluctuations... you may just start to see a pattern in them or a correlation to the foods you eat.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Also, test your scale. If it's battery opped, change the batteries. :) Someone else just posted their scale was adding 5 pounds a week, and then it died. (I would have killed it, personally.)
    But pretty much what everyone else said- This is for the long-haul. 12 days isn't even two whole weeks, and your body needs far more time than that to adjust to a new eating and exercise plan. If you're still stuck after a month at this plan, you may need to revise something.
    I'd advise only weighing once a week, on the same day, at the same time. That way you won't get hung up on day-to-day weight fluctuations. :)
  • 1956suzyq
    1956suzyq Posts: 12 Member
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    Most important thing is never eat less then 1200 calories. Our body needs that much to function. If you eat too little the body holds onto the weight. And yes our body does fluctuate from day to day. That is also normal.
    Just keep at it and things will start to move.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    1956suzyq wrote: »
    If you eat too little the body holds onto the weight.
    This is actually untrue.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Do you use a food scale and weigh and log everything you eat? Do this first. Do it religiously for 6 weeks. Then report back.

    I plugged your stats into a TDEE calculator, assuming you are 'sedentary.' I got this:

    9d5i6bhm6ro2.jpg

    You should be able to lose a pound a week eating 1541 calories per day. That is assuming you are actually eating the amount of calories you think you are. That is where the food scale is essential.

    Good luck!
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    Weight fluctuates. Stop weighing every day, switch to once per week. This is a life commitment to better health, not a sprint to a finish.
  • ames105
    ames105 Posts: 288 Member
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    1200 to 1500 hundred calories is the bare minimum a woman needs to keep her body functioning properly. Remember, food is fuel. You wouldn't give your car less gas than it needs to get you to work, don't do it to your body. If you consistently go below the minimum, your metabolism will start to slow down to conserve the fuel. You will have a more difficult time losing weight.

    That being said, the closer you are to your goal, the slower it seems to come off. Also you seem to be doing a lot of cardio, you might want to add in some weights, they help with toning and help create a little more muscle which will burn more calories. Remember that exercise causes tiny tears in your muscle and then it repairs itself stronger. Doing that gazelle every day could make your muscles retain water as they break down and repair. I wouldn't worry about it even though we all like the scale to go down. As someone said about, weight fluctuates but should trend down over time. Another thing....it could be that time of the month. I always gain about three or four pounds overnight and then it slowly comes back off again.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Do you use a food scale and weigh and log everything you eat? Do this first. Do it religiously for 6 weeks. Then report back.

    I plugged your stats into a TDEE calculator, assuming you are 'sedentary.' I got this:

    9d5i6bhm6ro2.jpg

    You should be able to lose a pound a week eating 1541 calories per day. That is assuming you are actually eating the amount of calories you think you are. That is where the food scale is essential.

    Good luck!

    TDEE (total daily energy expenditure is BMR plus intentional exercise, minus calories to lose weight) can be confusing to people new to MFP, since it uses the NEAT formula (or BMR minus cals to lose, plus your exercise). Clear as mud, huh? lol

    However, both equations should get you to the same number of calories to eat. So OP: since you're using MFP, you should be netting 1200 calories a day minimum, and that means eating back your exercise calories. (Which is probably close to 300/workout, or 1500 a day.) 1200 net is the bare minimum in order to do this the healthy and sustainable way.

    As to scale fluctuations, pick one day a week to weigh in and do it under as close to the same conditions each time. I like Friday mornings first thing (after the bathroom, of course). That way if I do have a slice of pizza on Saturday, it gives me a week to flush out the sodium and it won't be there as water weight when I weigh in. I always know when it's my ToM, because I'm up 5-8 pounds no matter what.

    Also, start taking progress pics and measurements. Those can be much better indications of progress, and keep you motivated if the scale is being a brat. ;)

    Best of luck!

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    a2rdyak6oq33.jpg
    1.jpg 135.4K
  • iecreamheadaches
    iecreamheadaches Posts: 441 Member
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    Everyone always hates on daily weighers. I like to weigh myself daily cause I like to see the correlations. Do what Nink said and just log the correlations and see what might be affecting it if you wanted to continue weighing daily. I do also recommend a food scale as well because I realized what I thought might be that 1/2 cup serving was NOT in fact. I grossly undermeasured veggies and fruits, and grossly overmeasured things like mashed potatoes (ex: if 1/2 cup potatoes was a serving and it was 100g, i was eating 200g of potatoes, if a cup of broccoli is 80g I was only eating maybe 40g). And eat what your mfp goal is, which i imagine can't be less than 1200 as it freaks on you for even logging under 1200 calories. I also see it recommended that you should eat your mfp cals + only half of whatever exercise youve logged a lot.

    Also, it's only been 12 days. Chill.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    iecreamheadaches wrote: »
    Everyone always hates on daily weighers. I like to weigh myself daily cause I like to see the correlations. Do what Nink said and just log the correlations and see what might be affecting it if you wanted to continue weighing daily. I do also recommend a food scale as well because I realized what I thought might be that 1/2 cup serving was NOT in fact. I grossly undermeasured veggies and fruits, and grossly overmeasured things like mashed potatoes (ex: if 1/2 cup potatoes was a serving and it was 100g, i was eating 200g of potatoes, if a cup of broccoli is 80g I was only eating maybe 40g). And eat what your mfp goal is, which i imagine can't be less than 1200 as it freaks on you for even logging under 1200 calories. I also see it recommended that you should eat your mfp cals + only half of whatever exercise youve logged a lot.

    Also, it's only been 12 days. Chill.

    Good stuff right there! There are apps you can use to chart your daily weigh-ins, too. I use Happy Scale.
  • trjjoy
    trjjoy Posts: 666 Member
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    1956suzyq wrote: »
    Most important thing is never eat less then 1200 calories. Our body needs that much to function. If you eat too little the body holds onto the weight. And yes our body does fluctuate from day to day. That is also normal.
    Just keep at it and things will start to move.

    It does NOT hold onto the weight.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    iecreamheadaches wrote: »
    Everyone always hates on daily weighers. I like to weigh myself daily cause I like to see the correlations. Do what Nink said and just log the correlations and see what might be affecting it if you wanted to continue weighing daily. I do also recommend a food scale as well because I realized what I thought might be that 1/2 cup serving was NOT in fact. I grossly undermeasured veggies and fruits, and grossly overmeasured things like mashed potatoes (ex: if 1/2 cup potatoes was a serving and it was 100g, i was eating 200g of potatoes, if a cup of broccoli is 80g I was only eating maybe 40g). And eat what your mfp goal is, which i imagine can't be less than 1200 as it freaks on you for even logging under 1200 calories. I also see it recommended that you should eat your mfp cals + only half of whatever exercise youve logged a lot.

    Also, it's only been 12 days. Chill.

    Good stuff right there! There are apps you can use to chart your daily weigh-ins, too. I use Happy Scale.

    I use Libra. :)
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
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    ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »
    Also, test your scale. If it's battery opped, change the batteries. :) Someone else just posted their scale was adding 5 pounds a week, and then it died. (I would have killed it, personally.)

    Also if you're using a scale and moving it around it will need to re-calibrate every time you move it. I have to step on mine, let it pick it's number, step off and wait for it to blank out, then step on for my actual weight.

    Just throwing that out there because it almost got me. Other than that everyone else has given you some great ideas!
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    edited February 2016
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    You can easily retain 4 pounds of water. Monthly hormonal changes can cause water retention, among other things. If you're really sticking to your calorie deficit, you will lose weight. It may take longer in practice than it should in theory. Don't give up.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    iecreamheadaches wrote: »
    Everyone always hates on daily weighers.

    I think that's only when the daily weigher is like the op, getting discouraged or freaking out over normal weight fluctuations, concerning them selves with small timeframes.

    Patience is key, give it a month and see what's what.

    Weigh your food to make sure your logging is accurate ie don't log a banana as a medium, log it as 165g or what ever it weighs.

    Also patience is important.

    And lastly being patient is something everyone needs.

    :tongue:
  • Inga_Dawn
    Inga_Dawn Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies. I am new at dieting and really don't know what to expect. I did take advice away from every reply, so thanks a lt!

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