Its my second week of calorie counting, and I gained 3 pounds this week

stephaniek3105
stephaniek3105 Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ive been calorie counting for two weeks now, with a goal of 1,380 calories per day. The first week I lost 5 pounds, which I understand is water weight, but this week, gained 3 pounds. I'm 5'4 166 lbs, F. I haven't been lifting weights, but just have been doing the C25k program. Ive gone over my calorie goal by maybe 100-200 calories a couple days this week, but didn't think that would cause me to gain 3 pounds. What am I doing wrong?

Replies

  • mccarol1956
    mccarol1956 Posts: 422 Member
    You need to account for your monthly cycle as it causes weight gain, muscle swelling from the new fitness program (C25k) and the weigh you determine your calorie intake. Weighing your food is the most accurate way to measure your food. It will amaze you the difference if you are eyeballing it or using measuring spoons. Just some thoughts
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Many things can cause mysterious weight gain. Women have menses to deal with. Everyone has sodium, stress, injury, and even new or different exercise which can lead to a sudden gain of water. You're not actually doing anything wrong. Just stick to the plan and be patient. Log everything you eat and exercise within reason. C25K is reasonable if you stay on the schedule. It gets easier to stay within your goals as you learn portion control and learn to ignore temptations. Many of us had a rough start to this journey as we had to learn eating right while remembering eating self-destructively. It got easier for me after a month. One way to make the plan easier to do is to take over the act of cooking everything that goes into your mouth. That may not always be practical, but if you can avoid the daily treats at your favorite merchant you'll be able to control the nutrients you eat. Of course, weighing with a kitchen scale is far more accurate than measuring with cups and spoons and kitchen scales are both small and cheap.
  • nixxthirteen
    nixxthirteen Posts: 280 Member
    My best advice if you like to weigh yourself every day:

    1.) Weigh in the morning after you wake up, before food and after going to the washroom.

    2.) Get an app like Libra, for inputting your daily weight. Libra is great because it sends me a notification every morning to remind me, and it plots your weights on a graph. Despite the daily fluctuations, there will be a downward trend. My app informs me at the bottom that, despite what it may look like, I am right on track losing 1.5lbs per week :).

    It also helped me to notice trends that occur right before my period every month. I stay stagnant for weeks, but then all of a sudden I experience that "whoosh" you may see other users mention, and the pounds appear to all fall away at once.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    are you actually weighing all your food on a digital food scale, then doing the math when you're eating a percentage of a whole portion? also did you choose listings in the MFP database that you checked against the manufacturer info? many listings here are wrong, and can put you hundreds of calories over.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,313 Member
    Two options:

    1) Most likely you have put on water weight especially if you are starting our lifting weights. Your muscles retain water to help in repair from the work lifting.

    2) You are eating more than you think. If you are not using a digital food scale, or if you are not using the correct entries from the food database, you could be eating more than you think you are.

    Since it is only your second week, I tend to think it is number 1. However, it could be combination to 1 and 2. I would suggest one week is not enough time to know what way things are going. There are just too many things, especially for women, that can throw off scale number without actual fat being put on.
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
    The other thing to look at is the fact you are down 2 pounds in 2 weeks. That is still a good trend. There are going to be weeks you don't lose weight or even gain weight, especially for females. Don't overreact on a limited data set.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    edited April 2016
    Weigh all your food. Accept water weight fluctuations are real, so don't expect consistent daily weight losses. Instead look at weekly trends. Don't be afraid to adjust your exercise calories up or down if you lose too slowly or too quickly. The same goes for your activity level setting.

    The first few weeks or even months can be a very steep learning curve. If you're weighing all your food and logging it then you're learning quite a bit about your own caloric intake and expenditure. You can tweak things as you go forward. The most important thing is to keep at it and don't quit.
  • 12Sarah2015
    12Sarah2015 Posts: 1,117 Member
    Measure your waist. I gained muscle but lost from my waist

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