Gaining weight but clothes are loose???

This post I just posted on another thread I think addresses the OP's issue. Between hormones, exercise and sodium you COULD show that much of a gain even while posting a loss. Improved fit of clothes if real also indicates fat loss. Here is the post:

I think the Op, correctly, points out that the lack of data points can create for the weekly/monthly weigh ins the exact issue of devastation they seek to avoid.

There have been multiple times while losing 122 lbs that I've weighed the same OR MORE at specific points of time that were 7, 15, 21 or even 30 days apart. Yet I was losing weight and my trending weight was showing it.

If the weight loss is in the half lb a week range it is trivial for it to be obscured by hormonal weight fluctuations (or in my case sodium or exercise related water retention)

Even at a 1lb a week rate, 2 lbs for hormones, 1lb for sodium content and 1lb for exercise (which are all non maximal values) and there goes a whole month's work and people are now ready to give up.

I do get the upset. I just think that desensitizing people to the upset is a better long term plan.

Its hard to say without knowing 2 months ago vs 3 weeks ago vs the time of weighing.. Can't make a correct analysis to come up with a definite conclusion..

Based on the "facts" given, I think given being female alone can explain a lot, then add in dietary changes, hydration or lack there of, changes in activity or exercise and even up to what was consumed the day before weigh in and other varying factors.. can easily explain 6 pound SCALE gain.. this is still well with in reasonable fluctuations on the scale.

RoxieDawn wrote: »

victoriaratcliffe1972 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I run on a treadmill for 30 minutes 4 times a week for exercise and I've been doing that steadily for the last 2months. I hadn't seen any weight loss for the last month and was surprised to see that much of a gain. I didn't think it could be muscle as I only run, I'm always hydrated so didn't think it could be water retention, well not all the 6lbs anyway. Maybe it's a combination of both and perhaps I should smile at the fact that my clothes are looser and come away from the scales for a while.

If you know for sure you are 100% on point with logging and food consumption, meaning your are steadily and consistently in a calorie deficit to lose weight, this scale weight has to be water retention, and its not just hydration.. It can be many many things.

Take body measurements, keep trending weight using your scale how ever you want to, but find a method that helps you weed out female hormones (ovulation, week leading to and on day of menses), observing your carb intake and sodium intake on days leading up and on weigh in day, how well you are hydrate (even making sure you are not over hydrating, this can lead to hydration), stress levels, sleep, etc..

With only 30 minutes of treadmill running (the same excising for 2 months) is not building muscle.. So either fat gain or water or both.. If you rule out 100% fat gain there is no other reason than water weight.

I'm saying the following to expand on what you're saying in the quoted post, not to disagree with it:

A thought experiment for OP, related to whether this could be primarily a logging problem vs. a water fluctuation problem, would be to do the math.

To gain 6 pounds of fat, one must eat approximately 21,000 (6 x 3500) calories above *maintenance* calories, approximately during the period of time during which the scale change occurred.

Over a 3-week period, so 21 days if whole weeks, that would mean averaging 1000 calories above maintenance calories during that period.

Such a thing could be accomplished by increasing intake, or reducing activity (exercise or daily life), to the tune of an average 1000 calorie excess daily. If previously losing weight, that would mean changes not only to add the 1000 calories above maintenance, but also wipe out whatever calorie deficit had been showing up on average on the scale over the preceding several weeks (using a whole monthly menstrual cycle for that estimate would be a good plan, comparing the same relative point in two cycles).

OP, I'm guessing you have some idea whether your intake increased, or activity decreased, or a combination, by that much on average days over the past 3 weeks. If not, then it isn't fat regain, it's water weight fluctuation (for whatever reason). (I agree that's too fast for muscle gain to be a factor, especially in context of your workout routine.)

Of course, it could be a combination of fat increase and water retention, too, so consider that as well.

Since you're smaller in clothing, I'm pretty much in the camp that it's probably water fluctuation, and possibly digestive contents in transit.

I've lost 6 pounds of water weight overnight, which I think was my biggest single day change in either direction, ever (and I'm post-menopausal, BTW). I can't remember what my largest one-day upswing was, let alone biggest single three-weeks upswing. Recently, though, I saw 2.6 pounds up overnight (128.8 to 131.4), and if I cherry pick I have a recent 127.4 to 130.8 (3.4lbs) in 3 weeks. (This is in a context where I'm losing ultra-slowly overall, like half a pound a week or less loss.) If you're pre-menopausal, I'd expect the potential for bigger swings.

If you haven't read this article, OP, it's a good one:

https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

I agree that daily weight as a routine can be a useful learning experience, about what causes random (non-fat) weight fluctuations for you personally, but if you find daily weighing stressful, maybe that's not a good idea. I like to weigh daily, put the weights into a weight trending app**, and pretty much ignore the daily weights . . . but even the trend line can mislead, sometimes. Trusting the process works, for me, mostly - thinking about the math, for example.

(** I use Libra for Android. There's also Happy Scale for the Apple folks, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need to buy a device), Weightgrapher, and probably others. Keep in mind it's just a statistical projection, not a magical crystal ball. ).

That can happen if you gained muscle while burning fat

AnnPT77 wrote: »

unforgettable2010 wrote: »

That can happen if you gained muscle while burning fat

Which has not happened to the point of 6 pounds muscle gain in 3 weeks, with the exercise routine of "run on a treadmill for 30 minutes 4 times a week" for two months, especially while female.

Under perfect circumstances, without potentially dangerous (and illegal) performance enhancing drugs, a woman would be doing well to gain a quarter pound of new muscle mass per week. Perfect circumstances include a well-designed progressive strength training program faithfully performed, sound overall nutrition (and definitely adequate protein), relative youth, and a calorie surplus. Even OP understands she hasn't gained 6 pounds of muscle in 3 weeks.

So, sadly, no, not in this case. I wish.

thanks - i read the original post wrong. i thought it said 3 months.