Ate more and still lost weight? Is that possible?

jacki865
jacki865 Posts: 122 Member
edited November 30 in Health and Weight Loss
Im 5;2 started at 235 and now Im at 211

I'm probably jinxing myself by posting this but these past two weeks I have been unable to maintain my normal routine cause of moving and going out more. I have been eating a little worse, but not near as bad as I have before I began this journey. I have found myself indulging in more take out then usual and had a soda here and there and drinking on the weekends. Most of my takeout has either been restaurant meals, pizza, or chicken fajita tacos. I haven't had much gym time so besides moving, I haven't been as active. I expected to at least maintain my weight of 216 but weighed sunday at 211.

I thought it was a mistake on scale so I put my shoes on and reweighed and it gave me 212. The scale at the gym last night gave me 213. This morning it weighed at 211. I even lost an inch on my hips and waist. I have been monitoring my eating and workouts for months thankful to lose a lb but 2 weeks of letting go I lost 5? How is that possible?

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Were you tracking your intake? Or just guessing?
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    Were you tracking your intake? Or just guessing?

    I'm guessing that she's guessing.
  • jacki865
    jacki865 Posts: 122 Member
    Well last monday I ate an entire papa johns small pizza, Wednesday I ate chicfila, friday I had half of a large papa johns pizza and drank about 3 beers. Saturday I went to 54 street and ate a meal and appetizer there. The week before I had 2 taco cabana trips and got soda with the meals, I ate pasta and breadsticks at olive garden. Thats what I recall so far.
  • KSnow78
    KSnow78 Posts: 37 Member
    You said it all in your first line ..... Moving and going out more... Is it possible that you were burning more in calories than you were eating ?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    jacki865 wrote: »
    Well last monday I ate an entire papa johns small pizza, Wednesday I ate chicfila, friday I had half of a large papa johns pizza and drank about 3 beers. Saturday I went to 54 street and ate a meal and appetizer there. The week before I had 2 taco cabana trips and got soda with the meals, I ate pasta and breadsticks at olive garden. Thats what I recall so far.

    Yes, those meals sound big. But if you weren't logging, I'm not sure how you're sure that you were eating more. Did you look up the calories of everything that you ate?
  • jacki865
    jacki865 Posts: 122 Member
    Im sure the calories in each one of those are high, I also had my normal breakfast and lunch meals that I usually have, I have only went to the gym last thursday.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    You said it all in your first line ..... Moving and going out more... Is it possible that you were burning more in calories than you were eating ?

    OP, if you weren't measuring food, and you were doing activities you don't normally do, it is quite possible that extra incidental activity made up for any extra food. Regardless, weight loss isn't linear, sometimes in the short term the body will do something unexpected and make up for it later! Just get back on the horse and hopefully that weight loss will be a bonus :)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    jacki865 wrote: »
    Im sure the calories in each one of those are high, I also had my normal breakfast and lunch meals that I usually have, I have only went to the gym last thursday.

    I don't know about you, but when I move I tend to do much more walking and lifting than usual. That you weren't going to the gym doesn't mean you were not burning calories in other ways. Moving takes a lot of energy!
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    jacki865 wrote: »
    Well last monday I ate an entire papa johns small pizza, Wednesday I ate chicfila, friday I had half of a large papa johns pizza and drank about 3 beers. Saturday I went to 54 street and ate a meal and appetizer there. The week before I had 2 taco cabana trips and got soda with the meals, I ate pasta and breadsticks at olive garden. Thats what I recall so far.

    Such terrible life choices. Why do you hate yourself?

    Just start logging your calories and move on. Do not taunt the gods of weight loss.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Also, use only one scale to weigh yourself on. Ever. Granted, you'll have to use the doctor's office for their, but each scale is calibrated differently, so you'll weigh different on each one. Set a specific time of day and day of week to weigh yourself so you're weighing on the same scale under the same circumstances, like after you've gotten up and had your first pee of the day.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    jacki865 wrote: »
    Well last monday I ate an entire papa johns small pizza, Wednesday I ate chicfila, friday I had half of a large papa johns pizza and drank about 3 beers. Saturday I went to 54 street and ate a meal and appetizer there. The week before I had 2 taco cabana trips and got soda with the meals, I ate pasta and breadsticks at olive garden. Thats what I recall so far.

    Such terrible life choices. Why do you hate yourself?

    Just start logging your calories and move on. Do not taunt the gods of weight loss.

    LOL, at least she got the breadsticks!
  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
    jacki865 wrote: »
    Well last monday I ate an entire papa johns small pizza, Wednesday I ate chicfila, friday I had half of a large papa johns pizza and drank about 3 beers. Saturday I went to 54 street and ate a meal and appetizer there. The week before I had 2 taco cabana trips and got soda with the meals, I ate pasta and breadsticks at olive garden. Thats what I recall so far.

    It can take 2 weeks too show a gain your body doesn't know days weeks just an overall period that's why monthly weigh ins are real indications of weightloss
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    dubird wrote: »
    Granted, you'll have to use the doctor's office for their, but each scale is calibrated differently, so you'll weigh different on each one.

    I blame my car keys for my weight gain at the Dr office. :angry:
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Afura wrote: »
    dubird wrote: »
    Granted, you'll have to use the doctor's office for their, but each scale is calibrated differently, so you'll weigh different on each one.

    I blame my car keys for my weight gain at the Dr office. :angry:

    That's why I always empty my pockets at the doc's office. XD
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,985 Member
    Just anecdotal: later last year I was on a 5 week vacation and ate myself several times through Singapore's Chinatown and then had lots of lovely food in Indonesia, plus sampled the local brands of crisps a lot. Then I spent 3 weeks in a B&B in the UK and ate out every evening, from fish & chips, to game in a posh restaurant, to gastro pubs, to terrible (British) and good (authentic) Chinese food, and British Indian. When I finally moved into my flat and got my scale back I'd gained 1 pound, which honestly might only have been water weight as I was living in an extremely hot place before and was always slightly dehydrated.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    It could be s random fluctuation. Please don't complain or stress out if next week you show s gain! Losing a few pounds does translate to an inch on hips & waist. It takes a lot of loss to go down an inch!
  • mbcieslak87
    mbcieslak87 Posts: 206 Member
    I've lost weight on vacation before and attribute it to all the extra walking I do, and less snacking.

    That being said, as many people have mentioned before me, weight loss is not linear and you may see a gain next week, or maybe it was just your body letting go of some fluid/bloat it had been holding on to... just please don't think that you can make a habit of eating all those things each week and continue to drop a lot of weight... (don't we all wish we could :smiley: )
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    jacki865 wrote: »
    Im 5;2 started at 235 and now Im at 211

    I'm probably jinxing myself by posting this but these past two weeks I have been unable to maintain my normal routine cause of moving and going out more. I have been eating a little worse, but not near as bad as I have before I began this journey. I have found myself indulging in more take out then usual and had a soda here and there and drinking on the weekends. Most of my takeout has either been restaurant meals, pizza, or chicken fajita tacos. I haven't had much gym time so besides moving, I haven't been as active. I expected to at least maintain my weight of 216 but weighed sunday at 211.

    I thought it was a mistake on scale so I put my shoes on and reweighed and it gave me 212. The scale at the gym last night gave me 213. This morning it weighed at 211. I even lost an inch on my hips and waist. I have been monitoring my eating and workouts for months thankful to lose a lb but 2 weeks of letting go I lost 5? How is that possible?

    Where are you in your menstrual cycle? I have a big weight loss whoosh a week after my period starts.

    Also, I have found moving to be a very effective calorie burner as I am active for such long periods of time for many days.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    Moving is one of the biggest stresses in life, and it's hard work, packing/sorting/unpacking/ settling in.
    My guess is you're burning way more calories than you think you are. And like mbc said above, don't think you can make it a habit. My bet is that once you're settled into your new place and things are going smoothly again, you'll go back to expected losses. :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    The way it works is that your fat cells fill up with water as you burn fat, and the weight loss only shows on the scale when you shed that water weight... but that fat loss could have happened 2 weeks ago.

    I only lost weight in woosh every 3-4 weeks. Truth is, I could have eaten way over on that 4th week and still lost weight because of that... but then I would probably have lost much less 4 weeks later. The calories don't magically disappear, unfortunately... it will affect your weight loss sooner or later.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    edited March 2016
    Please give us numbers, OP. How many calories did you eat as compared to before?

    We don't actually need to know what you ate.

    It is possible you were eating less calories if you were enjoying your food more and not overdoing it.

    Also moving can burn a lot of calories.
This discussion has been closed.