WTF-- Gained 6 lbs in 4 days

tiabernagozzi
tiabernagozzi Posts: 18 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all,

I'm so frusturated!! I have been trying really hard to eat low-sodium foods because I am super prone to water weight. I have been exercising at least 4x a week, usually 6, and drinking water like it's addictive. Today I step on the scale and I'm heavier than my original weight!! WTF?? I'm so discouraged and I feel like a mess. I weigh a lot of my food and I try to not underestimate caloric intake. My diary is open, please take a look... Encouragement would be helpful!!

Replies

  • howellssarah
    howellssarah Posts: 1 Member
    That time of the month coming up?
  • Jriggs46615
    Jriggs46615 Posts: 50 Member
    Good morning,
    I'm no expert here, and I recently started here myself, but I can try to help. I think one of the first questions people will ask if it's your TOM. That definitely affects your weight.

    Also, I don't have a lot of time to check your diary, but I looked at a couple days. You mentioned that you "weigh a lot of your food." You should make sure to measure or weigh everything. It could be that you're underestimating, even though you think you're doing the opposite.

    Are you checking your numbers against the database food entries? Every single day, I see wrong entries, so definitely check that before blindly accepting one of them. The only time I will use one, no questions asked, is if I truly can't find the information somewhere. For example, last week, I was in meetings all day at work. Our food was catered from a company that didn't list their nutrition, so I took the closest thing I could find in the database. In fact, I took the entries with the highest numbers to be on the safe side.

    I'm sure there are plenty of people coming behind me that will have more ideas and answers.
    Good job on watching your sodium. This is definitely one of my downfalls.
    My advice is to stick with it, and try to tighten up your numbers. In addition, make sure you're adding your exercise and eating some or most of those numbers back.

    Good luck to you!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited June 2017
    Hormones/ high sodium/ more carbs than usual / new exercise / constipation / stress / lack of sleep / meds ....weight fluctuates for a number of reasons and that is perfectly normal.
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 661 Member
    You could just be retaining water from your exercise routine. Watch your exercise calculations. One day it had that you burned over 800 calories through exercise. While possible, I tend to underestimate calories burn from exercise.

    Your calorie intake looks good, except for Saturday. I wonder if the fact that your day consisted of only donuts and kettle corn has something to do with your water weight. We've all been there, but maybe on days like that you could throw in a little protein/vegetables just to help you feel better.

    My advice, keep going. This weight will flush away, especially if you log consistently and accurately.
  • MaddMaestro
    MaddMaestro Posts: 405 Member
    edited June 2017
    If water weight is a problem, you should keep drinking water and don't be afraid of sodium from electrolytes. Also, women can gain weight before that time of the month.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    It's definitely not 6 pounds of fat. I always gain when I change my exercise routine and at different times around my cycle. In fact I gain a lot for ovulation, drop a bit but maintain a slightly higher weight than pre-ovulation for two weeks, gain even more before period, then drop the weight fast for two weeks. Your mileage may vary, but expect your hormones to play games with your water levels regardless of your sodium intake.

    Weight fluctuations are normal and you just have to approach them logically. If you believe you have somehow eaten more than 7000 calories every day for the past 4 days then you may have reason to be concerned, I find that very VERY unlikely if you've been purposely dieting. If you ate that much you would most likely know it, regardless of the accuracy of your logging.
  • Sheisinlove109
    Sheisinlove109 Posts: 516 Member
    I gain 3-8 lbs at time of month then it goes away. Also, possible your scale has low battery?

    If you're doing all the right things, give it time.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    This is how it works. Up and down all the way to your goal. Your body is not a machine.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    TOM....
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    unless you consumed 21,000 extra calories in the past four days, it is just water weight.

  • Poisonedpawn78
    Poisonedpawn78 Posts: 1,145 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    unless you consumed 21,000 extra calories in the past four days, it is just water weight.

    Otherwise known as breakfast for The Rock. lol.
  • Vegplotter
    Vegplotter Posts: 265 Member
    Your diary is not open - so we can't help you. Happy to help further if you friend. But without looking at your diary I'd advise that you remember a) it's only calorie reducing that will lose weight and b) no amount of exercise will make a huge difference. Simply 30mins walking or cycling each day is all that's required for weight loss. Drinking water and limiting salt are both excellent additions to a healthy diet strategy.
  • AmberSpamber
    AmberSpamber Posts: 391 Member
    It's water weight. It's impossible to gain 6 lbs that quick. Also, don't cut out salt. Salt is a part of our genetic makeup and you need it.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    A couple of questions:

    1. Do you know yet what your normal fluctuation range is? Everyone's weight fluctuates up and down from day to day, and women typically have monthly fluctuation cycles as well. It's totally normal, but it's not usually visible to most people until they start trying to lose weight, so lots of people freak out at first. If you're still new(er) to tracking your weight, you may not have a good idea of your normal range yet, so it may be hard to tell whether this gain is just within your normal or something out-of-the-ordinary.

    2. Where do you keep your scale? Do you keep it out in one place or do you have to bring it out/put it away? Is it on a hard, flat surface or on carpet?

    3. Are you using the same scale or different scales? If you're using the same scale, when is the last time you changed the batteries?
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    OP

    Low sodium with high water consumption is a recipe for disaster.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited June 2017
    Just wanted to reiterate what some posters have already mentioned - trying to control water weight fluctuations is a lot of stress and aggravation for absolutely no reason. You will experience water weight fluctuations, by as much as 10 lbs sometimes, every week for as long as you live. It's part of being alive.

    In fact, going overboard trying to control water fluctuations can actually make them substantially worse.

    Eat your calories and log your food using a food scale. Drink enough water so your pee is a light yellow, no more than that is necessary. Remember sodium is actually necessary for your body to function, so while it's fine to try not to overdo it, make sure you are getting enough.

    And perhaps it might be better for you to only weigh yourself once per week, if you are going to get so caught up in normal weight fluctuations. You are looking for trends over time, like weeks and months.
  • tiabernagozzi
    tiabernagozzi Posts: 18 Member
    Thank you all. I decided not to weigh myself for a week. I will do my best to weigh everything, but it will take some getting used to. I doubt my scale is low on batteries, since it's brand new-- and I always weigh in my bathroom. I'm ovulating atm, maybe I gain during this time.
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