Feeling discouraged after jumping on the scale =(

jillk93
jillk93 Posts: 45 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've been working out hard and eating well for the last three weeks. I jumped on the scale this morning, before breakfast and after I had gone to the washroom and it said I had gained almost 5 lbs! How is this possible? I've been doing a mix of weight training/cardio 5 days a week. I was hoping to at least see 1 pound shed! So discouraging :(

Replies

  • 25lbsorbust
    25lbsorbust Posts: 225 Member
    edited September 2016
    There are 2 possibilities:

    1. Water weight: are you watching your water, carbs, and salt intake? All three of those need to be in check to prevent more water weight, and to drop what you already have.
    2. You're eating more than you think. Are you weighing out all your food? Weighing your milk is just as important as weighing your cereal. Make sure you do that for EVERYTHING, and log every single thing that goes into your mouth. Trust me on this one, it will change your perspective on what you're eating! Also, watch what you eat back of 'exercise' calories. The machine's burn rate at the gym is usually inaccurate, as well as MFP's. They've both been known to over-estimate. I'd invest in a HRM or avoid eating back more than 1/3 of exercise calories for now.
  • aerial102
    aerial102 Posts: 52 Member
    I was eating a super clean, all veggie vegan diet. Lost 9 lbs in one week. In the course of a day, I had gained 7 lbs. It was all water weight when I made the mistake of eating unhealthy carbs. Water weight can make a difference with the scale.

    I use measuring tape and check my inches. I recently gained some water weight and despite the scale going up, I had lost a couple of inches.

    If anything, you have to be losing some inches with the activity you've been doing.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    Scales are often times liars and should be punished. I only care when I average over/under a 5 lbs difference.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Are you ovulating, or nearing/having your period?
  • jillk93
    jillk93 Posts: 45 Member
    25lbsorbust wrote: »
    There are 2 possibilities:

    1. Water weight: are you watching your water, carbs, and salt intake? All three of those need to be in check to prevent more water weight, and to drop what you already have.
    2. You're eating more than you think. Are you weighing out all your food? Weighing your milk is just as important as weighing your cereal. Make sure you do that for EVERYTHING, and log every single thing that goes into your mouth. Trust me on this one, it will change your perspective on what you're eating! Also, watch what you eat back of 'exercise' calories. The machine's burn rate at the gym is usually inaccurate, as well as MFP's. They've both been known to over-estimate. I'd invest in a HRM or avoid eating back more than 1/3 of exercise calories for now.


    I think you may be right with the weighing of the food. I've kind of been guesstimating... however, I feel like i've been logging over just to make sure i'm covering it all. I'll have to get more diligent with weighing. Ugh.. I'm really hoping this is water weight and not actual weight gain!
  • jillk93
    jillk93 Posts: 45 Member
    aerial102 wrote: »
    I was eating a super clean, all veggie vegan diet. Lost 9 lbs in one week. In the course of a day, I had gained 7 lbs. It was all water weight when I made the mistake of eating unhealthy carbs. Water weight can make a difference with the scale.

    I use measuring tape and check my inches. I recently gained some water weight and despite the scale going up, I had lost a couple of inches.

    If anything, you have to be losing some inches with the activity you've been doing.

    I'm hoping it's water weight! I looked back on my diary and my sodium intake was unusually high the last couple days. However, I haven't been the greatest at accurately weighing my food. I'll give it a few more days and cut the sodium, see what the scale tells me.

    Thanks!
  • jillk93
    jillk93 Posts: 45 Member
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Are you ovulating, or nearing/having your period?

    Nope :( hoping it's water weight from sodium. I'll have to wait a couple days and see what the scale tells me. Pretty discouraging. Regardless of the sodium intake I've been drinking 10-12 glasses of water a day. I was hoping this may have flushed some of it out.
  • MsAmandaNJ
    MsAmandaNJ Posts: 1,248 Member
    My weight often fluctuates 3 lbs from day to day. As long as the overall trend is downward, I'm happy. I use the scale as a bit of a guide, but I don't worry much about it. Be accurate and honest and you'll see the results you want.

    I recently put on about 13 pounds - not as active, not honestly logging. It sucked to see I was above 200 again, but I just had to get back into my routine and10 lbs slowly came off. DO THE DO!!
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    Remember if you are just starting a new exercise program or have changed it considerably the scale will ALWAYS go up. Usually it will take me at least a month of steady workout, logging, water etc before I start to stabilize after starting something new.

    Good article here about it :sparkpeople.com/blog/blog.asp?post=why_the_scale_goes_up_when_you_start_a_new_workout_plan
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    jillk93 wrote: »
    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Are you ovulating, or nearing/having your period?

    Nope :( hoping it's water weight from sodium. I'll have to wait a couple days and see what the scale tells me. Pretty discouraging. Regardless of the sodium intake I've been drinking 10-12 glasses of water a day. I was hoping this may have flushed some of it out.

    Sushi (soy sauce) and airplane flights (dehydration) are the other two that make the scale JUMP for me.

    If it's a new workout program, it's probably that.

    Don't fret.
  • BrokeBirkin
    BrokeBirkin Posts: 73 Member
    Look there are a lot of factors here. Look at your diary and make sure your calories are good. Then look at your macros just to make sure. If that is all right, just keep going 1 more week and then see. If your body isn't used to this it can go in defense mode, but sheds off nicely after. If you didn't eat right or work out before your body is repairing tissue, building muscle, and refueling where you weren't getting nutrients before, that's a lot of work so it will hold onto everything it can while it's healing. After a month look in the mirror, think about where you were physically and mentally before this to see if there is a difference. It can take some people 3 months to start seeing results. 1 girl saw nothing for 6 months and then it all dropped off basically overnight.
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    "Eating well" doesn't really translate into weight loss. Have you been weighing your food and eating at a deficit?

    Agreed, hormones and sodium can mess with your numbers (and your head).
  • losergood2011
    losergood2011 Posts: 172 Member
    Good for you looking at the sodium and not being consistent on measuring! I weighed daily for a while and found to my amazement I could fluctuate up to 7 or 8 lbs overnight! Now I weigh in after a couple of lower carb days and stay off the darn thing if I've had a lot of sodium or eaten out.
  • jevvel1
    jevvel1 Posts: 7 Member
    My scale hasn't moved in over 2 months, but I've lost a pant size. I encourage you to not fixate too much on the numbers and try to gauge how your clothes feel, take progress pics, and/or measurements.

    You can do it!

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