Eating 1200cal and gained 2 lbs?!

abrooks0519
abrooks0519 Posts: 6 Member
edited November 19 in Getting Started
Hi all!
I'm new to my fitness pal and I have a question and hopefully can get some motivation! I've been logging consistently for about a week with minimal cardio (3x) per week and light weights. I stepped on the scale and it said I had gained 2lbs! I freaked and feel discouraged but I haven't stopped logging! Can anyone explain and give some advice?

Replies

  • kristikitter
    kristikitter Posts: 602 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    Most likely water retention at this point. Possible culprits: high sodium meal, TOM, and/or new or increased intensity workout routine. It will drop off soon enough. Hold on.

    this covers it :)
    Might be worth investing in a digital scale to weigh your food if you're not au fait with portion sizes
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    Hi all!
    I'm new to my fitness pal and I have a question and hopefully can get some motivation! I've been logging consistently for about a week with minimal cardio (3x) per week and light weights. I stepped on the scale and it said I had gained 2lbs! I freaked and feel discouraged but I haven't stopped logging! Can anyone explain and give some advice?

    weight loss isn't linear
  • coffeebean92
    coffeebean92 Posts: 41 Member
    your either eating 1200 cal of salt or your eating more than you think
  • abrooks0519
    abrooks0519 Posts: 6 Member
    Thank you for all of your responses! I'm 27, I weigh 159, I want to lose about 10-15 pounds and my height is 5'7. Hope that helps. I've been cooking my own food at home and I try not to use a lot of salt in anything just very light seasoning if necessary
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    Check out a trend weight app like Libra. Basically weight will flux up and down and after a month or so of daily weight you will start to see trends and this is particularly true as you will be having slow loss due to being close to goal weight
  • Akmauser
    Akmauser Posts: 51 Member
    Had this issue myself recently. Started a new job and for the first 2-3 weeks I didn't lose one pound, even with all my new activity. However after weighing myself a couple days it shows not only am I on track, but also lost a little extra from where I should be.

    Also if you like salty foods or eating easy food which has a lot of sodium already, you will retain water weight. I love eating sunflower seeds and these have a lot of salt on the shell. I notice that the day after I devour a bag my weight is a few pounds higher for a couple days. It always works out in the end :-)
  • thewindandthework
    thewindandthework Posts: 531 Member
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?
  • abrooks0519
    abrooks0519 Posts: 6 Member
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    Hi all!
    I'm new to my fitness pal and I have a question and hopefully can get some motivation! I've been logging consistently for about a week with minimal cardio (3x) per week and light weights. I stepped on the scale and it said I had gained 2lbs! I freaked and feel discouraged but I haven't stopped logging! Can anyone explain and give some advice?

    Body weight fluctuates...2 Lbs is nothing...most people can flucatuate up or down anywhere from 0-3 or 5 Lbs day to day. Nobody weighs exactly XXX Lbs. There could be about a billion and one reasons for this.

    My typical maintenance weight is around 182...on Tuesday morning I weighed 185...today I'm 181.8. I haven't done anything differently...body weight fluctuates.

    if you were truly eating a paltry 1200 calories, there's no way you gained fat...because mathematically impossible.
  • musicfan68
    musicfan68 Posts: 1,143 Member
    edited June 2017
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?

    There is a stickied thread at the top of the forum, I think it says read this first - look over that thread - it will answer your questions about correct logging and why, and a lot of other things that may come up.

    Edit: I decided to go get the links and post them here for you.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest
  • thewindandthework
    thewindandthework Posts: 531 Member
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?

    I had a feeling that might be the case, but didn't want to assume.

    Yes, weighing really, truly makes a huge difference. When most people start weighing their food (including me), they find that they've been seriously underestimating how much they're eating. Food scales are cheap, and they make a world of difference. I highly recommend it.

    Weigh ingredients before cooking, and be sure to include any cooking oil and condiments, as well as beverages.

    I bet you'll see you're taking in more calories than you thought, and if that's true, you can scale back to start *really* meeting your goals! :smiley:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?

    If you log 4 oz chicken, how do you know you actually ate 4 oz of chicken if you don't use a scale? Most chicken breasts come in at about 8 oz...so if you ate a whole breast and logged 4 oz, it's more likely than not that you actually ate double what you logged.
  • abrooks0519
    abrooks0519 Posts: 6 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?

    If you log 4 oz chicken, how do you know you actually ate 4 oz of chicken if you don't use a scale? Most chicken breasts come in at about 8 oz...so if you ate a whole breast and logged 4 oz, it's more likely than not that you actually ate double what you logged.

    Thanks for the realization.... I'm new so I definitely will incorporate your tip into my regimen
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?

    If you log 4 oz chicken, how do you know you actually ate 4 oz of chicken if you don't use a scale? Most chicken breasts come in at about 8 oz...so if you ate a whole breast and logged 4 oz, it's more likely than not that you actually ate double what you logged.

    Thanks for the realization.... I'm new so I definitely will incorporate your tip into my regimen

    Weighing helps you get a handle on portions...people are generally pretty bad about eyeballing things. And as for the chicken example, a lot of people will look at a label that states a serving is 4 ounces and will just assume a breast is about 4 ounces when in reality a whole breast is usually more on par with 2 servings.

    I still use my scale, but not as much as I used to...I was pretty religious about it when I was losing weight, but it gave me a pretty good handle on how to eyeball a lot of things now...and I've been in maintenance for 4+ years so I do have a bit more leeway for error.
  • abrooks0519
    abrooks0519 Posts: 6 Member
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?

    I had a feeling that might be the case, but didn't want to assume.

    Yes, weighing really, truly makes a huge difference. When most people start weighing their food (including me), they find that they've been seriously underestimating how much they're eating. Food scales are cheap, and they make a world of difference. I highly recommend it.

    Weigh ingredients before cooking, and be sure to include any cooking oil and condiments, as well as beverages.

    I bet you'll see you're taking in more calories than you thought, and if that's true, you can scale back to start *really* meeting your goals! :smiley:
    Thanks so much for that! I never thought to weigh my foods (I know that sounds dumb)
    I will go buy one today! And thanks for posting those links!!
  • abrooks0519
    abrooks0519 Posts: 6 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?

    If you log 4 oz chicken, how do you know you actually ate 4 oz of chicken if you don't use a scale? Most chicken breasts come in at about 8 oz...so if you ate a whole breast and logged 4 oz, it's more likely than not that you actually ate double what you logged.

    Thanks for the realization.... I'm new so I definitely will incorporate your tip into my regimen

    Weighing helps you get a handle on portions...people are generally pretty bad about eyeballing things. And as for the chicken example, a lot of people will look at a label that states a serving is 4 ounces and will just assume a breast is about 4 ounces when in reality a whole breast is usually more on par with 2 servings.

    I still use my scale, but not as much as I used to...I was pretty religious about it when I was losing weight, but it gave me a pretty good handle on how to eyeball a lot of things now...and I've been in maintenance for 4+ years so I do have a bit more leeway for error.

    Hmm.... I'm sure I haven't been eating the correct portions then! Thanks for the tip! That will definitely make a difference now I'm sure!
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?

    If you log 4 oz chicken, how do you know you actually ate 4 oz of chicken if you don't use a scale? Most chicken breasts come in at about 8 oz...so if you ate a whole breast and logged 4 oz, it's more likely than not that you actually ate double what you logged.

    Chicken is purchased already weighed. If you buy 1 lb of chicken breasts you can divide that by the number of pieces in the package and know whether your breasts are 4 or 8 oz. Unless you are specifically eating the biggest pieces and giving the smallest ones to someone else, your logging will average out.

    A scale is helpful, but common sense can also go a long way.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    abrooks0519 wrote: »
    thewindandthework wrote: »
    You mention you're logging consistently, which is great! Are you weighing all your food with a scale?

    I don't weight my food actually, do u find a serious difference with this? When I weigh my food, let's say chicken for instance, do you weigh it before it's cooked or after?

    If you log 4 oz chicken, how do you know you actually ate 4 oz of chicken if you don't use a scale? Most chicken breasts come in at about 8 oz...so if you ate a whole breast and logged 4 oz, it's more likely than not that you actually ate double what you logged.

    Chicken is purchased already weighed. If you buy 1 lb of chicken breasts you can divide that by the number of pieces in the package and know whether your breasts are 4 or 8 oz. Unless you are specifically eating the biggest pieces and giving the smallest ones to someone else, your logging will average out.

    A scale is helpful, but common sense can also go a long way.

    That's great for raw, less good for frozen... which can be mislabeled by up to 20%
  • thewindandthework
    thewindandthework Posts: 531 Member
    edited June 2017
    .
This discussion has been closed.

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