HELP I lost 5 pounds last week now this week I have put 2 on

CarlieEdwards
CarlieEdwards Posts: 5 Member
edited November 17 in Motivation and Support
I am devastated I was stricter this week than last week I have been so so good and iv put weight on! WHAT IS THE POINT! How does that even work?!

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,341 Member
    Period?
  • LucasWilland
    LucasWilland Posts: 68 Member
    It doesn't matter if you put on two pounds in a day. I guarantee you that it definitely was not fat. What's most likely happening is that you could be retaining water from being stressed out, not enough sleep, etc. In females, particularly, this can occur around their time of the month, and can result in what Lyle Mcdonald calls the swoosh effect, which is where the fat cells temporarily fill with water and then empty out, causing severe fluctuations on the scale. This is why the scale is not always the best measure of progress, as it doesn't tell you what was lost or gained. A better idea is to take waist, hip, and neck measurements every week at the same time of day, as well as a weekly average of weight change to compare over the course of several weeks.

    If the issue is indeed water retention, then a dry carb refeed may help soak up some of the excess water, as well as ensuring proper sleep and stress levels will help level out the water retention, but if nothing is still happening, then you may have to look at a diet break or reducing calories further or adding in more activity, depending on how long you have been in a deficit. And remember: this is what weight loss looks like:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1301621/weight-loss-terraces
  • SammiG01
    SammiG01 Posts: 105 Member
    LucasWilland wrote: »
    It doesn't matter if you put on two pounds in a day. I guarantee you that it definitely was not fat. What's most likely happening is that you could be retaining water from being stressed out, not enough sleep, etc. In females, particularly, this can occur around their time of the month, and can result in what Lyle Mcdonald calls the swoosh effect, which is where the fat cells temporarily fill with water and then empty out, causing severe fluctuations on the scale. This is why the scale is not always the best measure of progress, as it doesn't tell you what was lost or gained. A better idea is to take waist, hip, and neck measurements every week at the same time of day, as well as a weekly average of weight change to compare over the course of several weeks.

    If the issue is indeed water retention, then a dry carb refeed may help soak up some of the excess water, as well as ensuring proper sleep and stress levels will help level out the water retention, but if nothing is still happening, then you may have to look at a diet break or reducing calories further or adding in more activity, depending on how long you have been in a deficit. And remember: this is what weight loss looks like:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1301621/weight-loss-terraces

    Dry carb refeed? What is this please? I am having some kidney issues and have periods of crazy water retention.
  • CarlieEdwards
    CarlieEdwards Posts: 5 Member
    These are great.. I am not due on so it can't be hormonal... I was just shocked this morning as I have worked so hard and can't understand it!! But advice is fantastic please throw more at me!
  • LucasWilland
    LucasWilland Posts: 68 Member
    Lyle Mcdonald talks about using what are called dry carb refeeds-- it's called dry because on a carb refeed, very little fat is consumed, only about 15% or so. Myolean Fitness has a great article on this here: https://myoleanfitness.com/stopped-losing-weight/

    The reason for this is to increase Leptin levels, as carbohydrate has the greatest impact on Leptin, whereas fat does not. The importance of which is that Leptin downregulates hormones like cortisol and grehlin, which make you hungrier and causes you to retain water.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    CarlieEdwards wrote: »
    These are great.. I am not due on so it can't be hormonal... I was just shocked this morning as I have worked so hard and can't understand it!! But advice is fantastic please throw more at me!
    Hormone levels vary throughout the month so it can always be hormones.

    Here's my last 3 months. I've been at or slightly under my calorie goal every day:

    pktvdz38rhlh.jpg

    I just keep on keeping on. Day-to-day weights are just data points. I don't change anything about what I'm doing because I know that my general weight trend is downward.
  • LucasWilland
    LucasWilland Posts: 68 Member
    However, a better idea is to take a diet break where calories are increased to maintenance every 8 weeks or so for two weeks and are held there. Although this might seem like a scary prospect for people that are looking for continuous progress, the research shows that there is no difference in fat or weight loss over the long term, and it helps restore some of your hormones back to a base level. A single or two day refeed just does not have the same impact.
    Ideally, you want to make as few adjustments as possible whilst still being able to reach your goals, which is why it is recommended that no changes be made to calorie intake until at least 3- 4 weeks, with 4 weeks being the maximum.
  • neldabg
    neldabg Posts: 1,452 Member
    edited March 2017
    With a net loss of three pounds, you're doing fine. Also keep in mind the possible effect of sodium. Sometimes I eat canned/packaged soups, fish, vegetables, etc. and those tend to be high in sodium. As a result, the scale will read higher for a short time. It helps to document your weight on an app like Libra or Happy Scale so you can see the overall trend.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    You lost 3 pounds in two weeks! Well done. Just keep doing the right thing and don't let the scale affect your mood - it's kind of fickle. I agree with everyone else, I can be randomly up or down on any given day for no discernible reason. It used to bother me. Now it's just meh. The general trend is down. :)
  • SammiG01
    SammiG01 Posts: 105 Member
    LucasWilland wrote: »
    Lyle Mcdonald talks about using what are called dry carb refeeds-- it's called dry because on a carb refeed, very little fat is consumed, only about 15% or so. Myolean Fitness has a great article on this here: https://myoleanfitness.com/stopped-losing-weight/

    The reason for this is to increase Leptin levels, as carbohydrate has the greatest impact on Leptin, whereas fat does not. The importance of which is that Leptin downregulates hormones like cortisol and grehlin, which make you hungrier and causes you to retain water.

    Thank you.
  • sarraheclark
    sarraheclark Posts: 125 Member
    Don't stress too much about it and just stick to the plan. Weight will fluctuate due to a number of different causes. If you dropped 5lbs in a week, I wouldn't expect you to drop a bunch this week too.

    Just stick with it!
  • BootCampC
    BootCampC Posts: 689 Member
    you will always fluctuate up to 5 lbs depending on water retention , salt , muscle repair, carb intake and waste.
    be happy you are on a downslope , we all fluctuate.
  • spas2k
    spas2k Posts: 10 Member
    Water weight, guaranteed. You lost 5 pounds, most of which was water. Your body is simply holding more water at the point you weighed in compared to the previous point which you weighed in at.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,142 Member
    CarlieEdwards wrote: »
    I am devastated I was stricter this week than last week I have been so so good and iv put weight on! WHAT IS THE POINT! How does that even work?!

    Your weight fluctuates constantly due to water retention, which can be caused by any of the things below (and more):
    • Alcohol
    • Not drinking enough water
    • Sodium Intake
    • Hormones (as stated above, hormones don't just affect you during your period)
    • Increases or changes to exercise
    • Changes in macronutrient ratios

    Once you get your head around the fact that it's the overall trend that counts, you will find this a lot less frustrating. Try weighing daily for a while (same time of day, same state of undress - in the morning before eating or drinking is the easiest I find). This helps you to understand the effects different things have on your weight.
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