I might never eat Chinese takeout again.

amselby81
amselby81 Posts: 150 Member
edited February 2016 in Food and Nutrition
I've been losing consistently for the last couple weeks. started 221 at the beginning of February. Last week I was down to 219. A couple days ago, I was down to 217. Yesterday might have been a fluke, but I weighed myself in the morning, and was down to 215. But the last weight that I recorded was 217. So, for valentine's day, dh and I decided to eat Chinese food. I went a little overboard, and ate all of mine last night. I consumed about 300 extra calories for the day. Out of curiosity, I hopped on the scale this morning, and I weight 223!!!! I know, I know, I know. I'm not supposed to be weighing myself so much, because my weight can fluctuate from day to day. I only really take it to heart once a week. But sometimes I hope on the scale more often, and I just disregard what I see on the scale. But this, I'm blaming on the Chinese food. Can the extra sodium cause me to gain 6 pounds? I can't think of what else would have caused that. I'll be drinking lots of water and watching my salt for the next couple days. Ugh. Chinese food. I might not like you so much anymore.

Replies

  • FitGirl0123
    FitGirl0123 Posts: 1,273 Member
    Yup. It's called water weight. Just chill. Weigh in on your normal day and keep trucking.
  • amselby81
    amselby81 Posts: 150 Member
    Thank you! I figured. It's less discouraging to hear others confirm my suspicions. :smile:
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    Yeah, sodium will do that. But don't worry, it's just water weight... all is not lost!! Just keep going with your normal deficit today and drink water. That water weight will eventually disappear. :smile:
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    Weigh every day, or once a week. It doesn't matter. Just look at the overall trend.
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
    Sodium is the devil...Don't worry about it. stick to what's been working and weigh in a few days..it'll be gone
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    Chinese food gives me an average of 8lbs of water weight the day after eating it. Gone in a week. I only eat it 1-2xs a year now.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    It will be gone in a few days. I weigh daily, but I know that any large jump is water related. High salt intake, hard workout, or TOM will all increase it. If the fluctuations bother you, then you are right about not weighing so often. However, if you can recognize the fluctuations for what they are, it doesn't matter how often you weight. Don't let it stop you from enjoying some Chinese food once in a while. It's all an illusion.

    On a side note, if you haven't already, I suggest taking measurements and regular pictures along the way. The scale lies a lot. Other metrics can be very useful information.
  • ClubSilencio
    ClubSilencio Posts: 2,983 Member
    You should blame the dishes you selected. Chinese food is pretty broad. Not fair to vilify an entire country's cuisine. I can go to a greasy spoon, hole-in-the-wall and order some sesame chicken, steamed rice, and maybe a few egg rolls.... no probs here. Thank YOU Chinese food.

  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    Never say never. I have been able to maintain my weight for 3.5 years by eating mostly home-cooked and carefully measured food with doses of all my favorite things. And that does include occasional meals of my favorite Chinese cuisine. I get a to go box with the meal and put most of it in there, eating the rest. I can generally get three meals out of a restaurant sized portion of my favorite Chinese foods.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,989 Member
    Lol, I eat it once a week and maybe gain a pound. But that's because I don't track my sodium ever. And I'm sure I exceed the maximum every day.

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  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It takes 3500 over maintenance to gain one pound... trust the math.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    The problem with most restaurant Chinese food is the overabundance of peanut oil and salt (not to mention cheap meat). I've had Chinese-style foods at my (Chinese) friend's house and even made them at home and it was quite a different-- much lighter. Still, I understand that when you become accustomed to something as a comfort food, that's the way it has to be.
  • stmokomoko
    stmokomoko Posts: 98 Member
    Go eat dimsum. Get the steamed dishes, they also come in pretty portion controlled.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    If you order your dish steamed with sauce on the side, you have much better control of how much sauce(sodium) is in your food. I have not gone to any Chinese place that will not accommodate special orders.

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