So discouraged..

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AFewLionCubs
AFewLionCubs Posts: 22 Member
in Motivation and Support
I gained 2lbs this week. I have a scale that measures water weight and there was no increase there...

I'm so discouraged.

I don't have a wearable pedometer but I use my phone at the track. I walked 10k 11k 12k 9k all week, all at once. I beat my 1 mile running time by an entire minute this week.

My meals are all planned and in the freezer. I make sure I eat the minimum 1200 calories.

And I've gained 2lbs.

The only thing I did wrong was go out to eat with my grandmother. I ordered a half portion of chicken Alfredo... then ate half of that... but I ate 4 rolls.. (they're small)

It takes me an entire week to lose that and I'm so upset that I've been set back again.

Replies

  • annobrien96
    annobrien96 Posts: 21 Member
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    I think your not eating enough if your doing that much walking and only eating 1200 calories
  • nineteentwenty
    nineteentwenty Posts: 469 Member
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    Water weight scales are kind of dubious (as in witchcraft). I have never seen one that worked, so I assume you are just retaining water from the sodium in the alfredo. Also, since you worked so hard, your muscles are probably asking your body to retain even more water to help heal.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    First, a scale cannot determine your water weight (or your body fat percentage). Read through this awesome chart by @lemonlionheart, and see where you can make adjustments.

    meehc8xyb43y.jpg
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,974 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I doubt your scale is accurate when measuring the water weight. My guess is that you are retaining water from the restaurant meal (usually high sodium) and the increased exercise. Two pounds from water fluctuations is perfectly normal. If you are female it could also be water from your menstrual cycle. If you are not weighing your food on a digital scale you are likely eating more than you think. And you need to have some patience. Weight loss is not linear. Some weeks you will be up and some weeks you will be down. I personally like to weigh daily and track it that way. For me it helps me to see the fluctuations so I know what is normal for me. If I'm up one week but I know that I'm ovulating or I ate out the day before then I don't let an increase in the scale discourage me.

    PS. You did not do anything wrong by going out to eat with your grandmother. I eat out at least one a week and it didn't stop me from losing weight.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    water. restaurant food is sodium heavy
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Alfredo sauce has a lot of sodium. You are retaining water. Anytime you gain weight rapidly it's water. It takes 3500 extra calories to gain a pound of fat. Do you really think you ate 7000 calories more than you burned this past week? Neither do I. So it's water regardless of what your scale says (and if it's anything like mine, it's rubbish for fat/water percentages because if I drink a glass of water and weigh myself before and after it'll raise my fat percentage. Rubbish.).

  • jdwils14
    jdwils14 Posts: 154 Member
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    Don't focus on weight loss if you are struggling. Focus on athleticism. What have you improved on fitnesswise?

    I am 215 lbs. But I can run a full 6 miles and possibly more without stopping. I can run a Spartan Super and kill it! I am pretty sure that not many as fat as I am will be able to do what I can do, and I take a bunch of pride in that. The weight loss will come, that takes some figurin' out. There is no magical formula besides figuring out how much energy our bodies use.

    Water consumption is a key part of allowing your body to do what it does, though. It provides fluidity to the cells, allowing for faster transport of nutrients (electrolytes). It allows the body to expel what it needs to.

    I am not sure of your numbers, and how much you are trying to lose, but what can you do? how healthy are you on the inside? I got some of the best lipid panels for my class (overweight), mainly because I stay active.

    Just keep at it. You will do fine. And just fyi....be wary of rolls, they pack a huge punch!
  • jdwils14
    jdwils14 Posts: 154 Member
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    Oh, and GO SUN DEVILS!
  • RebeccaNaegle
    RebeccaNaegle Posts: 236 Member
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    Two pounds is roughly 7,000 calories OVER your natural TDEE worth of fat. THAT is impossible unless you are actually trying to do it. You didn't gain 2 lbs of fat. Your scale is not going to be 100% accurate on water weight etc. It has to be water weight. Keep pushing and you will see it fall off.
  • ds41980
    ds41980 Posts: 133 Member
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    I weigh myself everyday for trending and there are times when I gain 2lbs overnight for no reason it seems but happily its fleeting. A couple of days later I am back to baseline.
  • selina884
    selina884 Posts: 826 Member
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    Sometimes I gain 5lbs overnight and then go back to normal the day after
  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 522 Member
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    As far as I am aware, water weight goes on fast, fat weight does not. I've had an increase of 5-7 lbs before that've taken a few days to come back off, and if I'm doing everything right, those lbs will come back off.
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
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    RebeccaNaegle wrote: »
    Two pounds is roughly 7,000 calories OVER your natural TDEE worth of fat. THAT is impossible unless you are actually trying to do it. You didn't gain 2 lbs of fat. Your scale is not going to be 100% accurate on water weight etc. It has to be water weight. Keep pushing and you will see it fall off.

    I wouldn't go as far as to say impossible. That is 1000 cals a day over TDEE. For me, this is around 2700-3300 cals a day, depending on activity level. Liquid cals make a huge difference, a pint of B&J often goes over the 1k mark easy. Cheesecake Factory, yo.

    Not saying that is what happened with OP, but...I could see it happening.
  • AFewLionCubs
    AFewLionCubs Posts: 22 Member
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    My scale probably is off. I drink a lot of water each day. More than half my weight in ounces and yesterday I was more thirsty after our meal.

    I started to get serious ... again.. first week of August. I'm down 12lbs not taking into account these 2lbs. I have a 35lb weight loss goal. That will put me back into a healthy and attractive bmi.

    I do not weigh my food. I'm bordering on an unhealthy mindset at this point and I know that that will be very discouraging for me.

    I DO weigh the food I buy and I split that into meals for the entire week. We eat green beans, carrots, sweet potato, zucchini, or bell peppers with a boneless skinless chicken breast. About 1lb per breast.

    I eat very close to 1700 calories per day, and I am breastfeeding. I don't eat rice, pasta, beef, pork, lamb, or anything not chicken. I do not eat much dairy, I'm using almond milk products now. (35 cal kind)

    I am ovulating right now and I didn't even think about that being an issue.

    I decided to go for a hike today... change my scenery. I did so great. I'm actually proud of myself because 2 months ago I would not have made it to the top of the mountian. (well, water fall) and I went ahead with my evening jog, too.


    I get discouraged easily and I give up. I'm really trying to stay focused and not get down this time.

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