One bad day ruining weigh in...

DarkOctoberNight · July 2016

Hello. I just need someone to talk some sense in to me. So I have been doing pretty well with my diet. I've lost 15 lbs since I decided to try and 9 of those lbs were lost when I got serious. Well...I had a bad day. Did great with breakfast, light lunch and then I dive bombed my face in to a broccoli and cheese pizza...I now feel absolutely terrible! My weigh in days are usually sundays. Is this going to make a difference in the scale? Will it say I have gained? I have a lot of anxiety about the scale and it can ruin an entire week if I gain. Just give it to me straight...I can take it!

adoette · July 2016

Did it ruin your week? No.

Did you log it? How far over maintenence did it put you? For the day? For the week?

We have good days and bad days. I have all of today all planned out, and I'm probably going to bomb it by morning because I may decide that today, I do really want a chocolate bar. That's my choice. My worth isn't based on what that scale says, or whether or not I make deficit every single day.

Some days you're up, some days you're down. As long as you didn't wipe out your cumulative deficit for the WEEK it evens out in the end.

Now, it may affect your weigh in. That you need to prepare yourself for. Especially if it was a large quantity of food mass wise (calorie wise isn't as important in this). First off, it takes 24-72 to finish digesting a big meal. Yes. That long. Until it's all processed out and voided, the weight of food you put in will still be there on the scale, waiting to get out.

Now, your number may be a LOT higher than you expect, but let me tell you why. At the beginning of digestion (all 24-72 hours of it) your body pumps a ton of water into your digestive system. It turns solid food into a slurry to aid digestion. We're talking 2-3 pounds worth of water, more for a big meal. This can be up to 6 or 7 pounds if it was a huge meal, or a series of big meals in a row.

It isn't until that water is reabsorbed in the large intestine at the end of that 24-72 hour cycle that the weight will drop back off. That's normal. That's how your guts work.

Now, if its the calorie count thats bothering you, rather than the mass of food, you may not see such a hit. It just depends.

But your worth isn't based on that scale. Look back at all the hard work you've put in so far. That is where your worth is.

If you have a lot of anxiety on weigh in days, it might be worth talking to a therapist about this, because that kind of fixation can lead to eating disorders. I'm not saying it will in your case, just that it happens. Better to find ways of getting rid of that anxiety either way.

DarkOctoberNight · July 2016

@adoette I was over by 700 for my daily. It was 4 slices of pizza, 2 mozzarella sticks and a small coffee. In my head...for the way I have been eating recently...that's like thanksgiving for me. As far as my anxiety goes...I am going to therapy. Tomorrow is my second session. I used to be well on my way to anorexia so I try not to get obsessed because I don't want to be back to eating 1/4 of a bagel a day...it was hell and I was tired all of the time. Thank you for the explanation and concern. It did make me feel a bit better. I'm supposed to go hiking with some friends of mine tomorrow...Prehaps that will keep my mind off of it and maybe I'll move my weigh in day. Thanks again!

adoette · July 2016

700 over for the day? Thats equivalent to ... 3.2 oz.

Seriously. 3.2oz. That's all. That's the amount of fat per calories you could have possibly gone over today. And when you divide that out over the week... that's an extra 100 over a seven day period. That's not even enough to slow down your weight loss rate if it's just one week.

Four slices of pizza and the mozz sticks will probably kick up your gut water for a bit. They've got a lot of bread and a good amount of sodium, so I would recommend re-weighing on maybe Tuesday just this once to see how your number changes. I'm guessing that weighing more than once a week will up your anxiety a lot, but if you freak out way to much Sunday, it might make a difference.

I'm glad you're getting therapy! A lot of people feel shame or what not with mental health care, but its no more shameful than going to the MD for an ear infection, or the eye doctor for new glasses.

Have fun on your hike! I just bought new hiking pants (the mosquitos chewed me up last time in my gym pants) and I'm frothing at the mouth to get back outside! After nearly two weeks of not getting out for a good long walk in the woods I'm getting... twitchy.

Go forth, listen to the birds, hunt honeysuckle by scent, and enjoy the feeling of the breeze washing over your face. I'm going to sit here and be jealous because I need to sleep when I get home on Saturdays (I work 12 hour nights and my Fridays start way too early).

dlkfox · July 2016

Therapy is awesome!

I switched my weigh in day to Wednesday, sometimes Thursdays, so any weekend indulgence wouldn't effect the scale to much.

michelleepotter · July 2016

According your diary, you're still over 2,000 calories under your goal for the week. I think you'll be fine.

DarkOctoberNight · July 2016

@adoette thanks! And yes...hiking is my therapy!

I should write in the community more often...I'm surprised by how nice everyone is!!

DarkOctoberNight · July 2016

@Jakep2323 I may try that. I tend to have more cheating on weekends. That might make me feel a bit better. Thanks for the tip. You as well, @dlkfox

cmriverside · July 2016

Even if you have an uptick on the scale, just stay the course with your food and it will drop right back off.

I've been trying to lose that last five pounds for weeks and I often go "over" by 1000 calories or more. It's just life, man. Keep at it - it all balances out.

I weigh every day. It takes all the drama out of the "reveal," and it lets me see how food affects me or doesn't affect me on any given day. The scale no longer holds power over my emotions. It's just another number to plug into my Excel spreadsheet.

ninavalentine · July 2016

Those little pizza (etc.) "accidents" can be so scary because the scale can jump up 5 pounds or more. But it's not real! Just extra water gain that will go away with a few days of good eating. I often come back from vacation up 7 pounds or more, even if I've done well. It's just all the restaurant eating and those 7 pounds fall off pretty fast if I get back into my routine.

Just a note -- I always liked giving myself a few days after the weekend for my weigh in until I realized I was using that schedule to cheat and then starving myself the next few days before weigh in. I bit the bullet and moved weigh in to Monday. I do so much better on weekends now and, honestly, I don't seem to miss the cheats that much. Or I do have a cheat or two but adjust for it the rest of the day. I may move it back to the middle of the week sometime but for now, Monday weigh in -- while sort of scary -- seems to be working.

kirstenb13 · July 2016

ninavalentine wrote: »

Just a note -- I always liked giving myself a few days after the weekend for my weigh in until I realized I was using that schedule to cheat and then starving myself the next few days before weigh in. I bit the bullet and moved weigh in to Monday. I do so much better on weekends now and, honestly, I don't seem to miss the cheats that much. Or I do have a cheat or two but adjust for it the rest of the day. I may move it back to the middle of the week sometime but for now, Monday weigh in -- while sort of scary -- seems to be working.

I agree, if you are the sort of person who takes the scale so seriously I wouldn't do something like that either. You can set yourself up for some really unhealthy eating habits if you go over on weekends and then go super low the next few days just to make weigh in. And being lighter because you have no food in your body is not your true weight either just as a few pounds up because of excess waste in you isn't. So what's the point.
I would suggest to just keep plugging along, over time you will start to trust the process and know that even a temporary up is not the end of the world and it will go down again. It just takes a few times going through that to really get it into your brain (took me a while too).

haviegirl · July 2016

cmriverside wrote: »

Even if you have an uptick on the scale, just stay the course with your food and it will drop right back off.

I've been trying to lose that last five pounds for weeks and I often go "over" by 1000 calories or more. It's just life, man. Keep at it - it all balances out.

I weigh every day. It takes all the drama out of the "reveal," and it lets me see how food affects me or doesn't affect me on any given day. The scale no longer holds power over my emotions. It's just another number to plug into my Excel spreadsheet.

You and me both regarding the last little bit of weight. There's just not much wiggle room when you're close to goal. We had dinner at a fancy restaurant last night, and although I didn't overeat by much, the sodium pushed my weight up today. But that's all it is. And since I weigh daily, it's just one number out of many.

cmriverside · July 2016

haviegirl wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

Even if you have an uptick on the scale, just stay the course with your food and it will drop right back off.

I've been trying to lose that last five pounds for weeks and I often go "over" by 1000 calories or more. It's just life, man. Keep at it - it all balances out.

I weigh every day. It takes all the drama out of the "reveal," and it lets me see how food affects me or doesn't affect me on any given day. The scale no longer holds power over my emotions. It's just another number to plug into my Excel spreadsheet.

You and me both regarding the last little bit of weight. There's just not much wiggle room when you're close to goal. We had dinner at a fancy restaurant last night, and although I didn't overeat by much, the sodium pushed my weight up today. But that's all it is. And since I weigh daily, it's just one number out of many.

ha. Well, I like to say, "I'm working on that last five pounds," but like you say, no wiggle room - so it's pretty much just trying to stay below maintenance calories a few days out of the week. If I push it much more than that I end up having a few binge days to feel normal again. It's a battle for me...for sure. I'm older and my maintenance calories are pretty low anyway - I've been at this for nine years, so I have good data that I am certain about. I think that is the key to this whole thing. Good records over a long period of time.

determined_14 · July 2016

I'm a fan of Thursday or Friday morning weekly weigh-ins. I tend to be more precise in my logging and careful in my eating choices during the week than on the weekend. We also eat Mexican on Friday nights, which I love, so a Saturday morning weigh-in could be artificially high from increased sodium and food volume.

My weight has been back up a few pounds from my lowest a week or ten days ago. It's frustrating, but I used a tape measure yesterday and discovered another inch gone off my tummy. So the scale sometimes lies. Don't freak out if it's up for a little while!

TavistockToad · July 2016

michelleepotter wrote: »

According your diary, you're still over 2,000 calories under your goal for the week. I think you'll be fine.

OP do you speak to your therapist about your eating disorder as well as the anxiety?

Christine_72 · July 2016

cmriverside wrote: »

haviegirl wrote: »

cmriverside wrote: »

Even if you have an uptick on the scale, just stay the course with your food and it will drop right back off.

I've been trying to lose that last five pounds for weeks and I often go "over" by 1000 calories or more. It's just life, man. Keep at it - it all balances out.

I weigh every day. It takes all the drama out of the "reveal," and it lets me see how food affects me or doesn't affect me on any given day. The scale no longer holds power over my emotions. It's just another number to plug into my Excel spreadsheet.

You and me both regarding the last little bit of weight. There's just not much wiggle room when you're close to goal. We had dinner at a fancy restaurant last night, and although I didn't overeat by much, the sodium pushed my weight up today. But that's all it is. And since I weigh daily, it's just one number out of many.

ha. Well, I like to say, "I'm working on that last five pounds," but like you say, no wiggle room - so it's pretty much just trying to stay below maintenance calories a few days out of the week. If I push it much more than that I end up having a few binge days to feel normal again. It's a battle for me...for sure. I'm older and my maintenance calories are pretty low anyway - I've been at this for nine years, so I have good data that I am certain about. I think that is the key to this whole thing. Good records over a long period of time.

@cmriverside when you lose those last 5lbs, can you let me know how did it! Because I'm in the same boat and it refuses to budge :sad:

Francl27 · July 2016

That's why weekly weigh ins suck.

daweasel · July 2016

Doesn't work for everyone, but I weigh daily (or almost) but don't focus on the day's number, since it can fluctuate by as much as a few kg depending on what I've eaten and what I've done exercise-wise (a few months back the day after a hard 150km ride it went up nearly 5kg, not kidding, but down again in a few days, was retaining stacks of water, I could feel it as well). But that way I don't get hung up on "oh no it's going to be so high this week because of yesterday" or at different times of the month, I just log it and move on. I don't expect to see a loss every day, it's almost always down one day then up the next, but then looking at the trend over the weeks it heads downward, so I know everything's heading in the right direction.

You'd need to work out for you whether this increases or mitigates the anxiety about it, for me I found it really helped because it helped me to get past "but why is it higher, I did everything right!?" and just look at the bigger picture.

Piloteer2009 · July 2016

Don't even think twice about coming off the rails at supper. Stick to your plan tomorrow and keep going. One meal isn't magic either way. It's just a meal. You are going to lose weight slowly...little down tomorrow...maybe a little up the next day...down more later next week... The numbers drift down like a feather in the wind.

One bad day ruining weigh in...

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