Feeling frustrated..
CINDYR776
Posts: 71 Member
Sigh.....I'm starting to get really frustrated. This is the start of week 4. I've been weighing myself every Monday, and after an initial 8 pound weight loss in the first two weeks, I didn't lose anything the third week. Ok, I was a little upset, but I got back up and kept pushing forward. I weighed myself this morning and I'm back up 6 pounds seemingly overnight! How is this even possible!! I have a lot of weight to lose, and I have been mostly staying under my calories for the day. I've even added doing Zumba 1-2 times a week. I should have lost something, and I put on weight. Has anybody else experienced this?
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Replies
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How many calories have you been having, you might want to go 100 calories less to see if that works.1
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Your weight will fluctuate daily due to all sorts of things, not related to actual fat gains. Water retention from sodium and exercise, (especially new exercise), hormones/time of month/PMS, digestion timing from previous meals, constipation, weighing yourself at a different time of day, using a different scale, weighing with clothes vs no clothes, drinking something before weighing etc etc etc.
Look at monthly trends and not so much daily/weekly. Compare your first weigh-in of the month with your last weigh-in of the month, to get a better idea of where you're actually at.2 -
This might help.5 -
I would suspect hormones. You get a period? I always shoot up 4 pounds a day or two before and it comes off a day or two after.1
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go get a food scale at the store today
weigh yourself daily but log it weekly. this way you will learn how high sodium foods or alcohol affect you.
monthly visitor will bring wreak havoc to your weight
don't eat back ANY exercise calories. losing weight is 85% what you eat. 15% exercise.4 -
Take a deep breath. Weight fluctuations are totally normal. If you have been sticking to your calorie goals, it's almost certainly not fat (unless you are being extremely inaccurate with your logging). What it probably is, is water.
There are a number of things that can cause water weight increases:
1. Hormone fluctuations related to your menstrual cycle.
2. Hot weather.
3. Higher than usual sodium consumption.
4. Starting a new workout routine or intensifying the one you already do.
5. Eating more carbs than usual.
If it is water weight, it will fall off again in the next few days to few weeks.
Also, a good part of your initial 8 lbs in 2 weeks loss was water, because it is hard to lose that much fat in such a short period of time. So it makes sense that some of the water weight would come back.2 -
OliveGirl128 wrote: »Your weight will fluctuate daily due to all sorts of things, not related to actual fat gains. Water retention from sodium and exercise, (especially new exercise), hormones/time of month/PMS, digestion timing from previous meals, constipation, weighing yourself at a different time of day, using a different scale, weighing with clothes vs no clothes, drinking something before weighing etc etc etc.
Look at monthly trends and not so much daily/weekly. Compare your first weigh-in of the month with your last weigh-in of the month, to get a better idea of where you're actually at.
So, I've been using the same scale and making sure I always weigh in before eating. I'm generally weighing myself at the same time of day (give or take a half hour). I was so under my calories yesterday that I had to find things to eat to make it over 1000 calories for the day. I did eat dinner pretty late last night (ate two chicken drumsticks and a serving of Halo Top ice cream at 10:30pm) since I had gotten to busy to eat at a regular hour.
If I look at the first weigh in 4 weeks ago to now, I've only lost 2 pounds. That is incredibly frustrating at my size.
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TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »go get a food scale at the store today
weigh yourself daily but log it weekly. this way you will learn how high sodium foods or alcohol affect you.
monthly visitor will bring wreak havoc to your weight
don't eat back ANY exercise calories. losing weight is 85% what you eat. 15% exercise.
Food scale is already on order with Amazon Prime
Although, I really think I've been over-estimating the amount of food I'm eating. It's possible I'm not eating enough. The food scale will help. I try not too eat all of my exercise calories, because I don't trust the calorie burn MFP puts on certain workouts (Zumba, for instance), but I will try not to eat any back to be sure. Thanks! 0 -
TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »go get a food scale at the store today
weigh yourself daily but log it weekly. this way you will learn how high sodium foods or alcohol affect you.
monthly visitor will bring wreak havoc to your weight
don't eat back ANY exercise calories. losing weight is 85% what you eat. 15% exercise.
Food scale is already on order with Amazon Prime Although, I really think I've been over-estimating the amount of food I'm eating. It's possible I'm not eating enough. The food scale will help. I try not too eat all of my exercise calories, because I don't trust the calorie burn MFP puts on certain workouts (Zumba, for instance), but I will try not to eat any back to be sure. Thanks!
Using a food scale will most likely be shocking-it's crazy how easy it is to overestimate portion sizes! I'm several years into maintenance and I still use my food scale on a regular basis!1 -
Take a deep breath. Weight fluctuations are totally normal. If you have been sticking to your calorie goals, it's almost certainly not fat (unless you are being extremely inaccurate with your logging). What it probably is, is water.
There are a number of things that can cause water weight increases:
1. Hormone fluctuations related to your menstrual cycle.
2. Hot weather.
3. Higher than usual sodium consumption.
4. Starting a new workout routine or intensifying the one you already do.
5. Eating more carbs than usual.
If it is water weight, it will fall off again in the next few days to few weeks.
Also, a good part of your initial 8 lbs in 2 weeks loss was water, because it is hard to lose that much fat in such a short period of time. So it makes sense that some of the water weight would come back.
Thanks! I'm thinking my hormones are all over the place this week, so that might be part of the culprit. I'm wondering if sodium intake is partly to blame as well. I had deli ham this weekend for the first time in weeks, and I had 2 cans of seltzer water at a party yesterday (didn't eat any food there). I'm just so discouraged because I thought I was doing so well.0 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »I would suspect hormones. You get a period? I always shoot up 4 pounds a day or two before and it comes off a day or two after.
Yeah, that old nemesis should be coming around pretty soon. LOL0 -
@CINDYR776 When I first started using MFP and faced the question of food diary privacy, I decided to make it visible to the public. I think this gave me a layer of self-checking before I allowed such thoughts as "should have lost" to snowball into frustration By staying aware that others might be watching, I cared enough to log accurately. When I guessed or didn't care, I left a note for that day on the diary page. Just admitting that I didn't care was sometimes enough to snap me out of the funk. I don't know how I would have dealt with the wild and wacky process with a private diary. Maybe you can give the scary world a peek at your eats?3
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Water weight. Keep doing what you're doing, get a food scale, you'll do ok!2
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OliveGirl128 wrote: »TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »go get a food scale at the store today
weigh yourself daily but log it weekly. this way you will learn how high sodium foods or alcohol affect you.
monthly visitor will bring wreak havoc to your weight
don't eat back ANY exercise calories. losing weight is 85% what you eat. 15% exercise.
Food scale is already on order with Amazon Prime Although, I really think I've been over-estimating the amount of food I'm eating. It's possible I'm not eating enough. The food scale will help. I try not too eat all of my exercise calories, because I don't trust the calorie burn MFP puts on certain workouts (Zumba, for instance), but I will try not to eat any back to be sure. Thanks!
Using a food scale will most likely be shocking-it's crazy how easy it is to overestimate portion sizes! I'm several years into maintenance and I still use my food scale on a regular basis!
I'm excited for it to arrive! I want to see how accurate (inaccurate!) I've been
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »@CINDYR776 When I first started using MFP and faced the question of food diary privacy, I decided to make it visible to the public. I think this gave me a layer of self-checking before I allowed such thoughts as "should have lost" to snowball into frustration By staying aware that others might be watching, I cared enough to log accurately. When I guessed or didn't care, I left a note for that day on the diary page. Just admitting that I didn't care was sometimes enough to snap me out of the funk. I don't know how I would have dealt with the wild and wacky process with a private diary. Maybe you can give the scary world a peek at your eats?
Thanks! I did go WAYYYY out of my comfort zone and allowed my diary to be viewed by my friends, so that does give me a level of accountability. I'm not so sure I'm ready for the big scary world yet. LOL1 -
Spliner1969 wrote: »Water weight. Keep doing what you're doing, get a food scale, you'll do ok!
Thanks!!0 -
I think you'll be happy you got a food scale. See what happens if you eat 1400 calories a day for a week.1
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The food scale is going to make a heck of a difference. I tried going by the measurements and it worked to an extent. It was after I got a food scale that I really started seeing results. You'll be amazed with portions. Hang in there and good luck. It gets tough sometimes but don't give up!3
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Also, I could never weigh myself on Monday as I workout a lot (water retention) and eat more (maintenance) on weekends. Are you sure this is the best day of the week to weigh in for you?0
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Also if you think your hormones are playing a part in scale gain, chances are good that they're also playing a part in how you FEEL about it.6
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Honestly, you guys are the best. Thanks for talking me down off the edge. I'm currently putting the proverbial towel down, and not throwing it in yet. LOL My new food scale should be here tomorrow or Wednesday. Thanks a million!!3
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brznhabits wrote: »Also, I could never weigh myself on Monday as I workout a lot (water retention) and eat more (maintenance) on weekends. Are you sure this is the best day of the week to weigh in for you?
I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't try moving my weigh in to Friday.
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brznhabits wrote: »Also, I could never weigh myself on Monday as I workout a lot (water retention) and eat more (maintenance) on weekends. Are you sure this is the best day of the week to weigh in for you?
I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't try moving my weigh in to Friday.
I have around 5 years of daily weigh-ins under my belt and I'm always my highest weight on Mondays. While I weigh-in every day, my 'official' weigh-in day is on Thursday mornings 3 -
So, I just wanted to give an update...I switched my settings to track sodium intake, and boy was that an eye opener into what happened on Monday. I also got a food scale, and have been using that to measure food intake. I weighed myself this morning (5 days later), and I'm back down the 6 pounds I had "gained" and down an additional 2 for a TOTAL loss of 10 pounds. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented and gave their suggestions and support. And to anyone else who might stumble across this post going forward, and finding themselves in the same boat, DON'T GIVE UP!6
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So, I just wanted to give an update...I switched my settings to track sodium intake, and boy was that an eye opener into what happened on Monday. I also got a food scale, and have been using that to measure food intake. I weighed myself this morning (5 days later), and I'm back down the 6 pounds I had "gained" and down an additional 2 for a TOTAL loss of 10 pounds. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented and gave their suggestions and support. And to anyone else who might stumble across this post going forward, and finding themselves in the same boat, DON'T GIVE UP!
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Also, consider trying a weight trend app, which means you weight in every morning and the app tracks your overall weight trend, rather than the specific number that happens to be on the scale that day. I use the app Happy Scale.1
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