Fat vs Calories

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Sirick86
Sirick86 Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Over the week I dropped to my lowest weight yet, 213lbs putting me at 39lbs lost. However 4 days later I am up 5lbs. I have ate decent keeping my calories in check(except Friday). So I'm just wondering how big of a factor Fat plays into everything ? I hit the gym every night with an hour on weights and 30-45mins on the treadmill before I leave. I know it's all mostly water retention but it made me wonder about the fat topic.

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  • WrenTheCoffeeAddict
    WrenTheCoffeeAddict Posts: 148 Member
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    I was watching my calories feverishly, and not really losing much. A 1lb here and there. It was getting really disheartening. Then I realised I wasn't really focussed on my fat macro. Starting last monday, I focussed mainly on fat percentages and g instead of calories. Bam, 5lb down in the first week.
    I was clearly going way over.
    Look at all your macros, and make sure your fat/protein/carbs settings are correct, and that that's what you're aiming for.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
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    Carbohydrate, salt, alcohol, and hot weather seem to affect my water retention/weight. Fat, in short bursts like a single meal or day, I've not noticed a correlation.
  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
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    Awesome job so far, keep up the good work!
    The scale is super sensitive to fluid fluctuations, so it's not uncommon to see a swing like that (I still have 4lb swings over the course of a day). Like stealth said, there's plenty of things that CAN cause this but fat doesn't tend to do it much. Really it's usually more related to sodium intake and maybe carbs.

    As far as fat goes.... eating fat doesn't make you fat. I don't even pay much attention to it anymore, as long as I hit my protein and calorie goals. Once I hit those 2, I just fill in the rest.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
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    You said "except for one day"... so I'm guessing you had a cheat day?

    Any chance you ate a lot of carbohydrates or sodium that day? And/or consumed alcohol? Eating high carbohydrates makes you retain water and store glycogen in your muscles, refined sugar or grains and highly processed foods cause inflammation which results in water retention, sodium makes you retain water, and alcohol causes your body to store calories you've eaten as fat to prioritize burning off the alcohol calories first to get it out of your system since it's a toxin. Alcohol and fat are very high calorie, and any time you go over your calories you will store some as fat.

    It's likely your cheat day resulted in some fat gain from excess calories, and the rest is probably water weight.

    There is however some benefit in occasional high calorie days to combat your metabolism slowing down from being in a calorie deficit - it has to do with hormones. I believe higher carbohydrates are best for cheat/refeed/calorie surplus days, as far as maximizing the benefits? But just try to be sensible on those days and not go way overboard or eat a bunch of junk food. I like to plan my leg/lower body workouts for the day following a high calorie day.

    On a daily basis try to eat within your proper macronutrients, especially protein. Fat or carbs can be a little off but try to hit your protein goal. But remember if you eat a lot of fat - especially added fats like butter & oil - you won't get to eat a lot of actual food because it will use up your calories for the day. On the other hand if you eat a lot more carbs you'll retain water and feel hungrier since carbs increase appetite. Try to avoid alcohol altogether until you hit your weight loss goal.

    At least this is my understanding from what I've discovered through my interest in weight loss and fitness & diet. I'm not a doctor or nutritionist, just a person who likes to learn a lot about whatever I'm interested in or focused on. It would be good to do your own research as well.

    Good luck!
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    edited October 2016
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    The general rule is a minimum 0.4g/lb of lean body mass to maintain hormonal functions.
  • Sirick86
    Sirick86 Posts: 23 Member
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    Thanks yall. And yeah Courtney, Friday was a cheat day with a trip to Captain D's and some fish lol. I believe that day I took in close to 2080 calories. No alcohol but I did have a large diet pepsi that night, something I haven't had since my journey started.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Sirick86 wrote: »
    Thanks yall. And yeah Courtney, Friday was a cheat day with a trip to Captain D's and some fish lol. I believe that day I took in close to 2080 calories. No alcohol but I did have a large diet pepsi that night, something I haven't had since my journey started.

    2080 is not a cheat day sorry...that's normal eating for me in a cut...

    what are you eating on a normal day?
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,222 Member
    edited October 2016
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    One pound of fat is worth 3500 calories so you can do the math for yourself. It is very unlikely you overate by that much.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    It is not unusual at all to have a "rebound" after achieving an new low. There can be a variety of reasons for this. Sometimes the new low represented a sharp dip due to some transient change--e.g. Water loss or glycogen depletion--and not a true "base" weight. Sometimes the new low occurs after a particularly strenuous workout and the body hasn't fully recovered--see previous examples. Sometimes the new "low" provides a subconscious "permission" to go out and binge a bit (big problem for me).

    We tend to evaluate weight changes by what happened the previous 24 hours, but the cycles of gaining and losing weight are likely longer than that--which means we often make incorrect assumptions about the causes of those weight changes.

    If you are following a good and consistent program, your weight will gradually settle down around that new low, and then you might see another drop, followed by the same process.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    What day was Captain D's and what day did you measure your 5lb gain?

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