Stayed in deficit, worked out and gained weight!

1983rjg
1983rjg Posts: 7 Member
edited November 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm at a soul destroying stage in my dieting! Week two! Had amazing losses the first ten days then all of a sudden I gained 5lbs over three days! Average 1,000 calorie deficit by combination of exercise and diet. Slowly coming back down now, I've increased my water intake and gone big with the weights. Cut carbs well down and stuck with it. Fingers crossed I start to loose! Its getting depressing keep seeing the same/higher numbers on the scales. I currently weigh 308lbs and I'm aiming for 200lbs. I'm 170cm and 34 years old. Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Add me as a friend if that's cool. Thanks

Replies

  • laurabadams
    laurabadams Posts: 201 Member
    1983rjg wrote: »
    I'm at a soul destroying stage in my dieting! Week two! Had amazing losses the first ten days then all of a sudden I gained 5lbs over three days! Average 1,000 calorie deficit by combination of exercise and diet. Slowly coming back down now, I've increased my water intake and gone big with the weights. Cut carbs well down and stuck with it. Fingers crossed I start to loose! Its getting depressing keep seeing the same/higher numbers on the scales. I currently weigh 308lbs and I'm aiming for 200lbs. I'm 170cm and 34 years old. Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Add me as a friend if that's cool. Thanks

    How are you calculating your calories from exercise?
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    ^^ TRUE.
    I encourage you to relabel this phase as "learning" rather than soul destruction. I'm sure you've read "weight loss is not linear." This week you're learning what that means. Water weight fluctuations are CONSTANT, don't despair. Water weight does not come from drinking more water. It comes from increased sodium intake, increased exercise especially weight training, and normal body fluctuations. Drinking water actually helps to flush out the water weight, some people say, although I've not found that to be particularly true for me.
  • 1983rjg
    1983rjg Posts: 7 Member
    jospen83 wrote: »
    1983rjg wrote: »
    I'm at a soul destroying stage in my dieting! Week two! Had amazing losses the first ten days then all of a sudden I gained 5lbs over three days! Average 1,000 calorie deficit by combination of exercise and diet. Slowly coming back down now, I've increased my water intake and gone big with the weights. Cut carbs well down and stuck with it. Fingers crossed I start to loose! Its getting depressing keep seeing the same/higher numbers on the scales. I currently weigh 308lbs and I'm aiming for 200lbs. I'm 170cm and 34 years old. Any help and advice would be much appreciated. Add me as a friend if that's cool. Thanks

    How are you calculating your calories from exercise?

    I've just used the calculations for cardio from this app. I don't factor in any of the weights at all.
  • Wiggymommy
    Wiggymommy Posts: 106 Member
    What the first person said. I recently started exercising a week ago and gained a few pounds. it took a couple days but I lost that plus 2 more so far this week! Just be patient and look at overall trend.
  • 1983rjg
    1983rjg Posts: 7 Member
    lorrpb wrote: »
    ^^ TRUE.
    I encourage you to relabel this phase as "learning" rather than soul destruction. I'm sure you've read "weight loss is not linear." This week you're learning what that means. Water weight fluctuations are CONSTANT, don't despair. Water weight does not come from drinking more water. It comes from increased sodium intake, increased exercise especially weight training, and normal body fluctuations. Drinking water actually helps to flush out the water weight, some people say, although I've not found that to be particularly true for me.

    That's very interesting actually. I've had quite a lot of prepacked chicken which is quite high in salt content, that connected with the heavy weights and reduced calories storing water does seem very plausible.
    This week I can tell I'm starting to get smaller which is very positive. I did some calculations for my water intake and have gone with the 5l per day. So I expect to gain slightly from that even though I've done 9 million Pee's!

    Onwards and upwards!
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    If it's still happening six weeks in or twelve weeks in, then you have a problem, two weeks is nothing. Water weight gain can be caused by many things, sodium intake, or even a tough workout. It means nothing. Drink tons of water, consider weighing in less often, and keep on staying within your calorie goals.
  • Tweaking_Time
    Tweaking_Time Posts: 733 Member
    edited August 2017
    OP - it is not a straight line for sure. Just keep after it!

    I seem to remember some sort of app or spreadsheet that did some smoothing - like a 10 day trailing average or something. It was all the rage a few years back because it let people see the long term weight loss trends and the occasional wiggle over the moving average was not nearly the concern that you are currently experiencing.

    Also - I agree with
    - Get a food scale
    - water retention is very real after a workout

    I would not eat back any exercise calories if you can do it. I found that if I eat back more than 1/2 of my exercise calories - I tend to gain weight. Everyone is different though - experiment for a few days.

    Another thing that affects "me" is eating after 7:00 PM. It seems if I eat anything after 7:00 PM, I should weight it because I will weigh that much more in the morning - and even more if it was salty. Again - everyone is different.

    Another variable to consider - when do you weigh yourself???
    I suggest you weigh yourself first thing in the morning after you complete your morning - ahem - necessities.
  • 1983rjg
    1983rjg Posts: 7 Member
    Ive been keeping a thorough diary to be fair. I get weighed 3 times a day and log everything on a spreadsheet so that I can hopefully see what works and what doesn't.
    I don't take any calories back from exercise. Ideally i d like to loose 5 lbs a week long term.

    I've swapped my main meal for lunch time so that I have longer to burn off carbs etc, and don't eat any carbs really after 2pm.

    I've just been weighed and I'm 2lbs less than I was this morning. I'm really happy with that. I'll probably loose another 2-3lbs by the time I get weighed in the morning. Its heading in the right direction again.

    You prob think I'm crazy for getting weighed so often! I like to be thorough and numbers is my thing! Haha.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    1983rjg wrote: »
    Ive been keeping a thorough diary to be fair. I get weighed 3 times a day and log everything on a spreadsheet so that I can hopefully see what works and what doesn't.
    I don't take any calories back from exercise. Ideally i d like to loose 5 lbs a week long term.

    I've swapped my main meal for lunch time so that I have longer to burn off carbs etc, and don't eat any carbs really after 2pm.

    I've just been weighed and I'm 2lbs less than I was this morning. I'm really happy with that. I'll probably loose another 2-3lbs by the time I get weighed in the morning. Its heading in the right direction again.

    You prob think I'm crazy for getting weighed so often! I like to be thorough and numbers is my thing! Haha.

    5 lbs per week is likely not achievable at your stats. That's extremely aggressive.
    Not to mention a 1000 calorie deficit (as you stated in you initial post) would only result in a 2 lbs per week loss..

    You can eat carbs after 2 pm. You don't need "longer to burn them." All you need is a calorie deficit, it doesn't matter what time you eat those calories.
  • 1983rjg
    1983rjg Posts: 7 Member
    not_a_runner wrote: »
    1983rjg wrote: »
    Ive been keeping a thorough diary to be fair. I get weighed 3 times a day and log everything on a spreadsheet so that I can hopefully see what works and what doesn't.
    I don't take any calories back from exercise. Ideally i d like to loose 5 lbs a week long term.

    I've swapped my main meal for lunch time so that I have longer to burn off carbs etc, and don't eat any carbs really after 2pm.

    I've just been weighed and I'm 2lbs less than I was this morning. I'm really happy with that. I'll probably loose another 2-3lbs by the time I get weighed in the morning. Its heading in the right direction again.

    You prob think I'm crazy for getting weighed so often! I like to be thorough and numbers is my thing! Haha.

    5 lbs per week is likely not achievable at your stats. That's extremely aggressive.
    Not to mention a 1000 calorie deficit (as you stated in you initial post) would only result in a 2 lbs per week loss..

    You can eat carbs after 2 pm. You don't need "longer to burn them." All you need is a calorie deficit, it doesn't matter what time you eat those calories.

    That's 1,000 calorie deficit on top of the deficit created by mfp which based on my BMR its already 1340 cals down.
    So a 2340-2530 calorie deficit a day.

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    1983rjg wrote: »
    Ive been keeping a thorough diary to be fair. I get weighed 3 times a day and log everything on a spreadsheet so that I can hopefully see what works and what doesn't.
    I don't take any calories back from exercise. Ideally i d like to loose 5 lbs a week long term.

    I've swapped my main meal for lunch time so that I have longer to burn off carbs etc, and don't eat any carbs really after 2pm.

    I've just been weighed and I'm 2lbs less than I was this morning. I'm really happy with that. I'll probably loose another 2-3lbs by the time I get weighed in the morning. Its heading in the right direction again.

    You prob think I'm crazy for getting weighed so often! I like to be thorough and numbers is my thing! Haha.

    Okay, weighing 3 times per day really tells you absolutely nothing. Stick to once per day in the morning right after going to the bathroom. Also, unless you are diabetic or have diagnosed insulin issues it doesn't really matter when you eat the carbs. Your body is in a constant cycle of storing calories and burning calories. It doesn't impact weight (outside of medical issues) to cut off carbs at one point or another during the day.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    If you want to weigh frequently because you like the numbers go ahead, but it's important not to lose the forest for the trees - there is very little to nothing you can do about weight fluctuations, and what really matters is your trend line. You've got a lot to lose and a lot to learn - take your time and don't get discouraged!
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    edited August 2017
    Your 3x a day weighing basically just tracks fluid retention and how much material is in your digestive system at that given point. The only useful data you will get from it is understanding how much fluctuation happens. For actual weight tracking purposes, pick a consistent time/place - for many people that's first thing in the morning, naked, after voiding. With once-a-day weigh-in, you will notice a day to day fluctuation. Some folks use some kind of smoothing app/spreadsheet, others (me included) mentally note a trend and record the losses when they hold up over a couple of days.
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