calorie deficit confusion?!

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anniea1818
anniea1818 Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So im getting really confused about my daily calorie goal. 2 weeks ago w/c 26/09 my goal was 1800 for weight loss. My daily intakes were M; 1867, T: 145, W: 1795, T: 1649, F: 2229, S: 1782, S:1823. Av: 1799. I lost 1.8 pounds the next monday (weigh in day) so i assumed if i ate around 1800 cals I would be in a deficit and lose weight. However last week I ate pretty similarly and gained 0.6 pound. My daily intakes were M: 1797, T: 1904, W:1755, T: 2153, F: 1731, S: 1796, S:1790. Av: 1847. I know last weeks were slightly higher but i dont understand why I gained 0.6 pound from going slightly over if i lost a whole 1.8 on a little less the week before. I weight everything accurately , oils, condiments (pick n mix sweets I had on thursday). I have also started weight lifting and this is my 6th week so im assuming its not related to that as I heard you retain water for the first few weeks? if im wrong please correct me. So now im stumped, I dont know whether to lower my intake ven more or keep going and see if i gain again this week and then lower? I weighed in again this morning out of curiosity and Ive gone up even more making me think im eating too many calories but im so confused how I lost that much then gained with that calorie difference. Hope this makes sense and someone can help me, my diary is open if that helps. Thanks

Replies

  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    You are not going to lose weight every week. You may be assuming that what you do today automatically shows results tomorrow, or what you do this week automatically shows on the scale come Monday.

    Unfortunately there is an annoying factor of water weight. Your body can retain weight for a variety of reasons, including stress/sodium/hormones/TOM/change in carb intake level/muscle repair. (Sore muscles is one sign that they are going thru the repair process.)

    The only way to judge results is weight change over time. And 1-2 weeks is not enough. If you are eating in a deficit, then give it 4-6 weeks. In general, if you weigh less today than you did a month ago: that is sign of progress. Which means you need more weeks of data.
  • cheeky_marie
    cheeky_marie Posts: 16 Member
    edited October 2016
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    Other things, like your carb intake and menstruation can cause changes in water weight. Check your macros (carbs, fat, protein) from the past few weeks. It could be that a higher portion of your calories last week came from carbs. If so, your body could be retaining more water, masking fat loss. Keep doing what you're doing for a few more weeks. If you steadily keep gaining or maintaining, lower your calories a bit. Taking your measurements every few weeks can also help you determine whether you're getting smaller, which I assume is what you want. Good luck!

    EDIT: What StaciMarie1974 said!
  • anniea1818
    anniea1818 Posts: 12 Member
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    Thanks ladies! I actually checked in today and I've gone down, even past the 0.6 pound gain so you were right! All about patience

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