Under my calorie goal but gaining weight?!?!?

YeOldeLancer
YeOldeLancer Posts: 80
edited September 30 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been under my calorie goal every day since I started over 2 weeks ago. I've lost 7 pounds since then. But when I weighed myself today, I gain a half pound! I understand that muscle mass is heavier than fat.....but I could lose another 30 lbs before being the ideal weight. What gives?

Replies

  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    I've been under my calorie goal every day since I started over 2 weeks ago. I've lost 7 pounds since then. But when I weighed myself today, I gain a half pound! I understand that muscle mass is heavier than fat.....but I could lose another 30 lbs before being the ideal weight. What gives?

    Unfortunately, it is impossible to build muscle that quickly. It is most likely water weight gain. Being under calorie goal is not necessarily a good thing either. Take a good look at the quality of foods you are eating and make improvements where you can. Include a lot of fruits, vegetables and lean meats. And finally, read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/bjohs/view/small-weight-gain-don-t-panic-127354. Good luck!
  • bmmadden
    bmmadden Posts: 499 Member
    you should have food diary public so people can give you suggestions-what kind of food are you eating, maybe not eating enough, and what kind of if any exercise are you doing?
  • sufikitkat
    sufikitkat Posts: 583 Member
    I wouldn't let a half pound get you down. That small of a gain is more than likely water weight, bloat, etc. It could be anything. Just move forward from it, make sure you are eating enough calories to maintain your basic functions, and keep your eye on your ultimate goal because you WILL get there!
  • Throlas
    Throlas Posts: 3 Member
    Your body weight can go up and down. It depends on the time of day you way yourself, when you ate the day before, how much weight training you did, lots of things. As long as you are staying under your calorie goal and doing what you should do, trust that the weight will continue to come off.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Honestly a half a pound fluctuation is nothing to worry about at all. Are you weighing yourself every day or just once a week? You can fluctuate a few pounds over the course of a day just because of water weight, needing to have a bowel movement, etc.
  • emperatrix
    emperatrix Posts: 10 Member
    Don't worry, your weight will fluctuate throughout the day/month, it doesn't necessarily mean you've gained body mass. That half pound may just be water weight. The pound fat/muscle thing is just a myth. A pound is a pound, whether it's fat or muscle, it just looks/feels different when you compare fat mass to muscle mass.
  • cmaxine
    cmaxine Posts: 1
    I gather from this that you are weighing yourself quite often, which you really shouldn't do more than once a week. If you've gained half a pound, I wouldn't worry about. Your day to day weight can vary because of how much sodium you've had, how much food you have in your stomach, etc. I hope this helps!
  • Womona
    Womona Posts: 1,813 Member
    I weigh myself every day too, and just had this issue yesterday! Although discouraging, try not to dwell on it. You're making great progress, and the slight bump in weight probably has to do with where you are in your cycle, or food not moving through your system as fast as it normally does.

    BTW, today I was back down to where I should be this morning, and this is after splitting a berry cobbler and ice cream with my son last night, so don't sweat it!!!!!
  • YeOldeLancer
    YeOldeLancer Posts: 80
    Thanks for the support everyone. I made my food diary public so people can see what i'm doing/eating. I weight myself about 2 or 3 times a week consistently after I get out of the shower in the morning before work. That's what I use to record my weight in my diary. I know it's only a half a pound but when you start losing, you really want to see it continually come off! ;)

    But anyway, thanks for the support! That was my first post and I can see everyone here is willing to offer up some great advice and keep others motivated! :D
  • abbie017
    abbie017 Posts: 410
    I understand that muscle mass is heavier than fat.....but I could lose another 30 lbs before being the ideal weight. What gives?

    Also, just want to throw this out there.. A pound of muscle weighs the SAME as a pound of fat. A pound is a universal measurement, meaning a pound of feathers weighs the same as a pound of lead. What is different is a pound of muscle is LEANER than a pound of fat, taking up less space than fat.
  • TazzytheMotivator
    TazzytheMotivator Posts: 646 Member
    I can't say with certainty without looking at your diary. But this i do know for a fact. Many times a person eat calories, but the wrong kind. Please take a look at your sodium mg. I'm not saying that is true in your case but look at it please. Then look at how much water you are drinking. You don't have to drink a river, but drinking water will pull excess water out of your system, too much can hurt you very badly. Since you workout on a regular basis, water helps the body to remove the fat we burn up when we exercise. and remove the toxins out of your system. If this doesn't help you then throw it out the window.lol
    S.W 350 H.W 369
    C.W 215
    G.W 150
    Do i believe in the water drinking and sodium watching yes, i live by it.
  • karamae
    karamae Posts: 136 Member
    Ugh, I gained the same today, 1/2 pound! I exercised this week and was under my calories. So frustrating. I think it's because I had a bigger dinner higher in sodium with friends last night. Also, I'm sore from working out so maybe my body is holding on to extra water! As hard as it is, think positive! Next week has to be a better week! :)
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    Thanks for the support everyone. I made my food diary public so people can see what i'm doing/eating. I weight myself about 2 or 3 times a week consistently after I get out of the shower in the morning before work. That's what I use to record my weight in my diary. I know it's only a half a pound but when you start losing, you really want to see it continually come off! ;)

    But anyway, thanks for the support! That was my first post and I can see everyone here is willing to offer up some great advice and keep others motivated! :D

    Keep up the great commitment! There will be many ups and downs... the trick is not to let it get you down. Just keep focusing on your health and you will be at your goal weight before you know it! A suggestion would be to start taking some "before" and "during" photos so you can make side by side comparisons from time to time. Also take your measurements. They will be much better tools for tracking your progress than the number on a scale. Better yet, by a pair of jeans one size smaller than you wear now. Try them on every couple of weeks and see how they feel. If they keep getting looser... you are doing everything right. :)
  • YeOldeLancer
    YeOldeLancer Posts: 80
    Again, some really great suggestions! I won't let it get to me. I'm pretty sure I'm doing all the right things: eating healthy, working out when i don't feel like it, and watching exactly what I eat without thinking "a little bit more will be ok..."

    On a side note, I took my dogs to the dog park yesterday with my fiance. It's about a 2 mile walk all the way around. We walked for about half of it and I was still full of energy raring to go. My dogs were hot and out of breathe though, but out of nowhere I just started jogging through the woods and rough trail. It felt AMAZING! 2 months ago, I would have never gotten the urge to do that! My dogs followed and my fiance, also using this website and trying to get healthier, did what she could. It was awesome :)
  • snowman8wa
    snowman8wa Posts: 12 Member
    You can fluctuate up to 4 lbs on any given day. It takes longer before you're going to see any muscle mass weight difference. As others have said here, just keep up what you're doing. Watch your carbohydrates, too many carbs will convert to fat. Exercise...exercise...exercise......

    Another thing you can do is eat your MAIN meal in the middle of the day; in any case try finishing your food intake by no later than 7:00 p.m. This will ensure at least 2 hours time before bed.....

    Hope this helps.............
  • Cewane
    Cewane Posts: 3 Member
    Don't worry. The same happened to me this morning. I burned over 300 calories yesterday and was under my caloric goal. I gained a half pound. I believe the half pound gain is due to swollen muscles that occurred during high impact exercise.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Hopefully the OP has worked out his issue in the 2 years since he posted this!
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