Unrealistic Weight Gain

Fatty_Fatass · August 2011

Hello to all.

I have a question pertaining to weight gain about a recent experience that just makes no sense to me.

Let me give you a little background............

I have lost around 200 pounds in the last 15 months and I have been very good about tracking both my calories and excercise. I am well past the point where I am seeing massive loss from week to week, and I have been dropping between 3 and 7 pounds per week very regularly for the last 4 months or so.

I weigh myself once a week on Saturday morning, on the same scale, at about the same time, after eating and going thru my morning routine.

My last weigh-in (before the issue I am about to relate to you) had me at 233.6 pounds that was a loss of 6.4 pounds from the previous Saturday's weigh-in which was 240.0

My Fitness Pal recomends I eat 1580 calories each day. I have been eating 1200 calories daily. The majority of my diet is fruit and veggies, so , 1200 calories is really a lot of food. I am not usually hungry by the time I go thru my 1200 calories. (You can check my food log if you like, its very accurate)

I have also been doing a lot of excercise. I walk 20-22 miles 3 days a week and 10 miles two days a week. I usually walk or jog for 90 minutes or so on one of the off days. I measure my pace with an Android app called cardio-trainer and I am usually between 3.5 and 4 mph, however, I always log myself as walking at 2 miles per hour because I do not want to overestimate my caloric burn.

It is very often that I burn more than 1200 calories, however, I have yet to "crash"

I am 38 years old and male.

Recently a woman that works at a nearby convenience store I frequent was staring at me pretty hard and she and I sorta had a conversation, which ended with her agreeing to let me take her out to Applebee's for Happy Hour.

I have never been out with a woman before and I was kinda nervous, so, I decided that just for that one evening I was not going to think about calories. I had burned 8700 calories in the 7 days previous (according to Cardio Trainer) and I had stuck to the 1200 calorie a day limit I set for myself, so I figured I would not be doing TOO much harm to just sorta let go for the night.

Well long story short , right after we had ordered food, (I ordered a chicken quesidilla and a rum and diet coke and she ordered a cowboy burger with a side of onion rings and a Strawberry Margarita) she got a call from someone in her bowling league who had apparently just broke off her engagement to someone, and needed her friend. So she had to go. It was too late to cancel the order, so I had her food boxed up and I ate mine. I was kinda bummed about the whole thing because I had really been looking forward to having some company, and perhaps it was a bad idea, but, I figured since I was there and since I had decided to disregard the calories I would go ahead and have another drink.

So by the time I got home I was drunk as heck and I had visited both Del Taco and Jack in the Box (among other places). I did actually track the calories and by the time it was over I logged a total net of 6823. (about half of that was from alcohol)

The next day I woke up feeling like crap, and since I still had her Cowboy Burger meal and Onion Rings I decided to just eat them that day. Otherwise they would sit in the fridge and I would have to look at them and be reminded of my utter failure every time I looked at them. I know I coulda thrown them away, but, I did pay 20$ for them and honestly I wasn't up for chopping veggies with that hangover.

On that second day of decadence my total net calories was 2960. I ate nothing additional to the leftover applebees food.

So if you are still reading all this thank you, and I am getting to the question...............

The next day (Sunday which is one day late) I got on the scale and I was SHOCKED to see that I had gained 10.2 pounds.

The way I understand it there are 3500 calories in a pound and even if I don't do anything my body is burning in excess of 1000 calories, so my total calorie overage for those 2 days (subtracting 1000 calories as a cml) was: 7783.

Which is roughly 2.25 pounds.

At first I thought it might be water or salt retention, but it has been 5 days since the "big oops" and while my weight is going down again at a normal rate now that I am back on track, the 10 pound gain is still there. Even now 3 days after weigh in I am 8.8 pounds heavier than the 233.6 I was weighing in at before the incident. Also my clothes fit more like they did 10 pounds ago and I really do look and feel like I gained 10 pounds.

How can this be?

Is it because my calories deficit has been so high for so long?

Even if I am in "starvation" mode how could I put on 10 pounds in 2 days with a surplus of under 10,000 calories?

Is this something I should expect anytime I deviate from my routine?

It took 2 - 3 weeks to burn off that 10 pounds I can't believe it can come back that easily.

Can it have anything to do wih massive amount (2-3 gallons) of water I drink everyday? Do I need to drink more? Less?

Is it possibly related to the fact that the vast majotiry of my diet is very very very lean and the garbage I ate those 2 days was NOT lean?

I am really sorry to be so long winded about this but......

Seriously its really got me frazzled.........

How is it possible to gain that much weight (and negate my normal weight loss for the week) from some bad judgement and an extra 10k calories?

Again, thanks to anyone who bothered to read all this. I would really appreciate any thoughts you might care to extend.

I want to avoid this sort of thing in the future, but, someday, when my weight is under control, I would really like to go out for an ice cream when it is really hot, or have a couple drinks on a Friday night.....

Anyways, thank you in advance.

melibea · August 2011

It could be a lot of water retention due to the insane amount do sodium of restaurant food? And why dont you weigh before eating?? You are weighing the food you just ate for breakfast.

kelika71 · August 2011

It's not a true gain. I agree with the previous poster, it's a sodium gain from restaurant food. It doesn't matter how healthy I eat out, I still will show a gain of anywhere between 3-10 lbs. The worst was 16 lbs!! I still turned in a loss come weigh in day.

Just drink plenty of water and keep your sodium down. It should come off anywhere between 2-5 days.

MariPars · August 2011

I'm not an expert and you will, i'm SURE, get the real answer from someone who knows FAR more than me...but, MAYBE..with the weight of the food.. everything that you have previously eaten, and eaten since, is still in your system and you have yet to, well...poop out. I say..wait to weigh yourself until you do and then worry about how much you have gained... I myself have had this worry when I've had MASSIVE "cheat meals" Usually I might gain a little...you might gain a cpl lbs because you did cheat for more than one meal/day..but i would THINK it should NOT be 10 lbs... that sound CRAZY to me! Good luck!!!!

Fatty_Fatass · August 2011

Kelika,

It's not a true gain. I agree with the previous poster, it's a sodium gain from restaurant food. It doesn't matter how healthy I eat out, I still will show a gain of anywhere between 3-10 lbs. The worst was 16 lbs!! I still turned in a loss come weigh in day.

Just drink plenty of water and keep your sodium down. It should come off anywhere between 2-5 days.

Thanks for responding.

Its been 5 days and in those 5 days I have walked 30 + miles in 100+ degree heat and drank pretty darn close to 20 gallons of water, can salt retention really remain thru that?

MariPars,

I'm not an expert and you will, i'm SURE, get the real answer from someone who knows FAR more than me...but, MAYBE..with the weight of the food.. everything that you have previously eaten, and eaten since, is still in your system and you have yet to, well...poop out. I say..wait to weigh yourself until you do and then worry about how much you have gained... I myself have had this worry when I've had MASSIVE "cheat meals" Usually I might gain a little...you might gain a cpl lbs because you did cheat for more than one meal/day..but i would THINK it should NOT be 10 lbs... that sound CRAZY to me! Good luck!!!!

Thanks for answering,
I have definetly "let go" of far greater mass than usual......... sorry to be gross, I just don't know how else to say it.... would the weight of the food stay even after expelling it? Like would the fatty portions "stick" to me because I usually eat so little fat? Are you saying strictly the metric weight as opposed to the caloric weight? If that was the case would my body still be processing it for conversion to energy or would it just be sitting there? It really was 10.2 pounds....... I don't even think the food & alcohol weighed that much........

I am not trying to be argumentative, I just really like NEED to understand this.

tattereds · August 2011

I am feeling your pain...

Recently my in-laws were here for a week and had us eating "good" and "nutritious" homemade Israeli and Polish food the whole time. His mum is the kind of lady who really loves to cook for us and wanted to teach me how to prepare every family recipe also... These were not the healthiest foods for sure! At one point, I asked very quietly if there was any chance of getting a salad, as they are aware I am trying to lose weight. My MIL lovingly responded with an (albeit delicious) creamy potato and carrot salad, and really felt that she had done her best to accomodate!

In fact, when my partner and I were first together and decided to move to live closer to his family, I actually gained 10kg in 6 mths despite continuing to exercise etc. I attribute this to the family dinners and dietary "love" we were lavished in while there.
Since moving away I am getting back on track, but it makes it hard to have setbacks like this one.

Needless to say, I gained 3kg during their visit week, and it is sloooooooooow going getting it back off again

My partner's whole family are all very average or even petite in size, and none of them experience the same effects from the food obviously!

I can definitely relate with the alcohol thing also, as I have always found that even one or two drinks can really ruin a whole weeks worth of hard work. I have always wondered if I am the type of person for whom "normal" eating and drinking habits will simply never be possible.

I guess we should just chalk this up as a week of learning for us both! Hope you continue to see good results from now on!

MariPars · August 2011

I really dont know, im sorry!! I wouldnt think so though...from what ive always heard .... if youre eating healthly pretty constantly.. when you DO eat bad, once, or one day...it usually passes right through you. Now, you did eat bad pretty much for 24 hours right? So you SHOULD be just fine. Do keep in mind though..Im just a 29yr old woman who has diet problems myself....im NOT an expert of any kind...its just my best guess! I think youll be fine. What youre going through has happened to me before too... sometimes I did actually gain a lb or two and said DAMNIT! But, it was better than the 10lbs. : /

Fatty_Fatass · August 2011

I really dont know, im sorry!! I wouldnt think so though...from what ive always heard .... if youre eating healthly pretty constantly.. when you DO eat bad, once, or one day...it usually passes right through you. Now, you did eat bad pretty much for 24 hours right? So you SHOULD be just fine. Do keep in mind though..Im just a 29yr old woman who has diet problems myself....im NOT an expert of any kind...its just my best guess! I think youll be fine. What youre going through has happened to me before too... sometimes I did actually gain a lb or two and said DAMNIT! But, it was better than the 10lbs. : /

Right On MariPars, Thanks again for answering,

I am gonna lose it again so, y'know, whatever.......

Its just that it seems so obverwhelmingly huge an amount to have to backtrack over, I am wondering if something in my normal dietary routine is broken enough to cause or contribute to it. It is a "real" gain, and I can't really think of any reason it would happen unless the calorie deprivation from previous months has caused my body to go into a panic mode or something and do something screwy with the caloric conversion process. I know there is a lot of sugar in alcohol, and I never drink..... I am just wondering if anytime I do anything outside my routine my body is gonna "hoard" stuff for later. Thats kind of a scary thought.

Tattereds,
Thanks for answering,

I understand what you are saying although I am not sure I agree that we can't someday enjoy "normal eating habits". My issue has to be some kind of explainable anomoly ........ its just beyond my knowledge , hopefull someone will have some insight........

Creamy Potato Carrot Salad huh? Mmmmmmmmmmmmm that sounds yummalicious

TY for the motivation!

rsrunner · August 2011

Water retention may be part of the problem, but I suspect the main issue is your seriously restricted calorie intake. Consuming only 1200 calories a day, along with doing some significant exercise (that is an awesome amount of walking, by the way - very impressed!), you have most likely put your body into starvation mode. You're still losing weight because you have a bit left to lose, and you're doing such high levels of exercise, but your metabolism has seriously slowed down.

So, when you went out and consumed all those out-of-the-ordinary calories, your body grabbed hold of every single one of them, and converted them all into fat. And probably hung onto some of the calories from your next few meals, too.

My (entirely unqualified) advice would be to start eating /more/ food. Near or up to the 1500 calories advised by MFP. Your weight loss will probably slow or stall (or you might even gain!) for a few weeks, but it shouldn't take too long for your metabolism to reset, and get back on track. You'll probably even start losing more than the 7-8 pounds a week you have been.

Again, this is just my unqualified opinion, but based on what you've described, this seems like the likeliest option.

edouglas3 · August 2011

it's also possible, if you're regularly burning a lot of calories compared to what you take in, that your body has gone into starvation mode and will be crazy about retaining anything you put into it for as long as it can. the suggestion that m yfitness pal gives you for caloric intake is what should be LEFTOVER after you subtract the calories you burn from exercise - NO size of person should ever have less than 1000 net calories in a day, as it can start to cause issues with everything from digestion to brain function.

ninerbuff · August 2011

So here's the skinny: It's mostly water retention. But the MAIN reason you're not dropping down faster is because when you diet for a long period of time, do nothing but cardio (you mention no strength training) and are definitely not eating enough to support muscle retention, then you've lost a lot of lean muscle tissue. Your metabolic rate is going to keep slowing down more and more and anything you eat in excess will take much more effort to burn off than you're currently doing now.
IMO there's no reason that you shouldn't be doing some strength training now, and retaining what lean muscle you have left. Not to mention you could probably build some in the process since your still at a high weight. This will only INCREASE your metabolism and allow you to eat some denser food then just vegetables as your filler.
It's great that you lost the weight, but I can bet that once you eat some food with high caloric values, the weight is going to add on much faster than you think and you could relapse to a high weight again. Seen this happen many a time.

LauraMarie37 · August 2011

I want to add my $0.02. I had a somewhat similar situation in that last week I had a TERRIBLE day at work (I mean, like the kind of day where someing you've been working for for months just completely and irrecoverably falls off track) and binged horribly, including getting very drunk (at home, not at work, don't worry!). I gained SIX pounds from that one day - and I am a relatviely thin female who already is at a BMI of about 22, so six pounds is a probably comparable, percentage-wise, to 10 for you. Now, a week later, being more careful about my diet than usual and drinking TONS of water, I've only lost about 3.5 of those pounds. (I am different than you in that I eat my exercise calories back religiously, though). My binge night was very high in sodium (chinese food) and alcohol, like yours - maybe that combination is particularly deadly?

I don't really have answers, just want you to know you're not alone!

I do agree that maybe you want to up your calories a little bit, though. If you're not in starvation mode now you soon may be. Also, I don't think it is (1) helpful or (2) true to call yourself a failure from one date gone wrong. Totally her loss.

Fatty_Fatass · August 2011

it's also possible, if you're regularly burning a lot of calories compared to what you take in, that your body has gone into starvation mode and will be crazy about retaining anything you put into it for as long as it can. the suggestion that m yfitness pal gives you for caloric intake is what should be LEFTOVER after you subtract the calories you burn from exercise - NO size of person should ever have less than 1000 net calories in a day, as it can start to cause issues with everything from digestion to brain function.

Water retention may be part of the problem, but I suspect the main issue is your seriously restricted calorie intake. Consuming only 1200 calories a day, along with doing some significant exercise (that is an awesome amount of walking, by the way - very impressed!), you have most likely put your body into starvation mode. You're still losing weight because you have a bit left to lose, and you're doing such high levels of exercise, but your metabolism has seriously slowed down.

So, when you went out and consumed all those out-of-the-ordinary calories, your body grabbed hold of every single one of them, and converted them all into fat. And probably hung onto some of the calories from your next few meals, too.

My (entirely unqualified) advice would be to start eating /more/ food. Near or up to the 1500 calories advised by MFP. Your weight loss will probably slow or stall (or you might even gain!) for a few weeks, but it shouldn't take too long for your metabolism to reset, and get back on track. You'll probably even start losing more than the 7-8 pounds a week you have been.

Again, this is just my unqualified opinion, but based on what you've described, this seems like the likeliest option.

RS Runner & Edouglas,
TY For replying,
I have been hearing this alot lately. The deprivation was really working for me when my BMI was at morbidly obese levels, but as of late, even tho I am still pretty heavy, I have been feeling less OOMPH. I know I am supposed to eat back some of my spent calories to stay in step with my CML, but I haven't needed to up to this point. I am gonna lower my calorie deficit by 300 calories this week, which means a total intake of 1500 calories minus whatever cardio I do and see if that helps. I am starting to run pretty strong, and I know that moving at 6-7 mph is burning a lot more calories so....... ya I think thats good advice and probably time I listen to it lol. Thanks, and thanks for the compliment as well.

So here's the skinny: It's mostly water retention. But the MAIN reason you're not dropping down faster is because when you diet for a long period of time, do nothing but cardio (you mention no strength training) and are definitely not eating enough to support muscle retention, then you've lost a lot of lean muscle tissue. Your metabolic rate is going to keep slowing down more and more and anything you eat in excess will take much more effort to burn off than you're currently doing now.
IMO there's no reason that you shouldn't be doing some strength training now, and retaining what lean muscle you have left. Not to mention you could probably build some in the process since your still at a high weight. This will only INCREASE your metabolism and allow you to eat some denser food then just vegetables as your filler.
It's great that you lost the weight, but I can bet that once you eat some food with high caloric values, the weight is going to add on much faster than you think and you could relapse to a high weight again. Seen this happen many a time.

NinerBuff,
Thanks for answering,

I actually have been doing some strength training. I know that larger anaerobic muscles require more calories to perform aerobically , so I have been doing some Ashtanga Yoga as well as some basic weight training. I hadn't mentioned it because the caloric burn from these activities is nominal despite thier very great benefits to weight loss. I just didn't want to confuse the issue and hear "muscle weighs more than fat" a hundred times. I know there is NO WAY I put on 10.2 pounds of anaerobic muscle in any week. If I could do that I would write a book on how and make a bajillion dollars. I do eat some denser food, I always eat enough protein to hit the mark My Fitness Pal sets. Shrimp, Salmon, chicken, pork and once in a while beef in small quantities are always mixed in with the veggies. I am still heavy and I want to lose abother 40 (possibly 50) pounds and strength training definetly plays a large role in this. But, despite all of this, wether strength training and / or cardio is involved in my calorie deficit, could eating some denser food, with higher salt/fat/carb content really pile up like this, to 3 times thier actual caloric weight? Is "starvation mode" responsible for this? As long as I am not experiencing catabolism, even if I am in starvation mode, shouldn't 3500 calories = 1 pound? Somehow it equalled 10 times that.......... I notice you are a certified personal trainer......... can water retention from a situation like this really last 5 days?

Thanks again for the reply.

Fatty_Fatass · August 2011

I want to add my $0.02. I had a somewhat similar situation in that last week I had a TERRIBLE day at work (I mean, like the kind of day where someing you've been working for for months just completely and irrecoverably falls off track) and binged horribly, including getting very drunk (at home, not at work, don't worry!). I gained SIX pounds from that one day - and I am a relatviely thin female who already is at a BMI of about 22, so six pounds is a probably comparable, percentage-wise, to 10 for you. Now, a week later, being more careful about my diet than usual and drinking TONS of water, I've only lost about 3.5 of those pounds. (I am different than you in that I eat my exercise calories back religiously, though). My binge night was very high in sodium (chinese food) and alcohol, like yours - maybe that combination is particularly deadly?

I don't really have answers, just want you to know you're not alone!

I do agree that maybe you want to up your calories a little bit, though. If you're not in starvation mode now you soon may be. Also, I don't think it is (1) helpful or (2) true to call yourself a failure from one date gone wrong. Totally her loss.

LauraMarie,
Thanks for answering.....

I hate to say this but I am glad to hear your story lol
It is good to feel I am not alone.
BTW: I was referring to the failure of eating close to 7k calories in one day, not the date gone wrong. I gave up on women a long time ago lol

Lozze · August 2011

Yes it is a big put on. But you're on a journey here. A journey has ups and downs. This is one of them. Don't beat yourself up over what happened, accept it did and move on. Killing yourself by walking that much isn't going to do anything.

Based on your username, I don't think you have the highest self esteem. Change it, it's a horrible thing to call yourself. You are NOT just what you weigh.

As others have asked, do you do strength training? One of the things I've had drummed into me from my gym manager is that without strength training you're not helping yourself. Cardio is awesome and is great for fat burning but if you keep doing the same thing your body adapts and it doesn't work as well.

TavistockToad · August 2011

i agree with some of the previous posters, that you probably need to up your calories a little due to all the exercise, and maybe change your routine a bit to get your metabolism going. also, make sure you have 1 rest day a week for your body to repair itself.

Apart from that, you just need to try and put the past behind you and carry on the great work you have done so far. and like someone said, that spoilt date was her loss, not your failure!

SallieBeige · August 2011

What I have to say is not particularly useful or based on any expertise but I just want to say it ....

You have done an INCREDIBLE job to loose all that weight - well done!!

However, IMHO, I cannot believe it is sustainable. I think you have to come to terms with the fact that soon enough you will need to slow it down. Maybe when you go the slower track you might gain less on your blip days?

I agree with Lozze. You sound intelligent and sensitive (a great find for the right girl) - but you have to believe, at least a bit, in yourself.

SuperScrabbleGirl · August 2011

Congratulations on the massive loss so far! Well done. 200 pounds. You've lost the amount I want to weigh. Just think about that for a minute. The amount of weight you have lost is the amount that I would like to be. That's totally awesome. Well done.

I am well past the point where I am seeing massive loss from week to week, and I have been dropping between 3 and 7 pounds per week very regularly for the last 4 months or so.

That's a pretty big loss per week, even if it is less than you're used to. If you're losing this much regularly, I wouldn't worry about one slip up. I'd be more worried about the behaviour that led to it. Is this the kind of thing you would have done regularly before you worked hard to lose the weight? If it is, then you can really use the experience as a reminder about why you started doing this in the first place.

I just really want to stress that you have come a very, very long way already and you should be proud. Use this experience as a positive. So you ate a bunch of food, you know what happens now. Also I think it's important to remember that you can treat yourself without going crazy and without completely disgregarding your calorie intake.

Anyway. Well done. You're doing brilliantly.

Fatty_Fatass · August 2011

Yes it is a big put on. But you're on a journey here. A journey has ups and downs. This is one of them. Don't beat yourself up over what happened, accept it did and move on. Killing yourself by walking that much isn't going to do anything.

Based on your username, I don't think you have the highest self esteem. Change it, it's a horrible thing to call yourself. You are NOT just what you weigh.

As others have asked, do you do strength training? One of the things I've had drummed into me from my gym manager is that without strength training you're not helping yourself. Cardio is awesome and is great for fat burning but if you keep doing the same thing your body adapts and it doesn't work as well.

Lozze,
Thanks for answering,

My username has been a source of inspiration to me. I originally started my journey on SparkPeople, and ended up here because the android app has a barcode scanner lol.

Alot of people get this "love yourself and accept yourself no matter what" attitude, and if that helps them then great by all means go for it.

I prefer to look at things from a realistic standpoint.

I was not zapped by an alien fat inducing ray gun. I did not accidently fall into a vat of lard and have to eat my way out. I did not get abducted by the mob and get locked in a freezer with nothing to subsist on by Ben & Jerrys Chunky Monkey Ice Cream for 4 years.

I made choices on a day to day basis to put other things before my health. Sometimes work, sometimes comfort, sometimes just plain old avarice. I made myself a Fatty Fatass and I accept that.

I weighed almost 500 pounds at one point. I was a Fatty Fatass. I needed to acknowledge that in order to accept that I didn't want to be. It is helpful to me to remember where I was.

My first step in this weight loss endeavor was to hike the Appalachain Trail. When I started that trail I couldn't walk 3 miles with my backpack on. It would take me 3 days to go from checkpoint to checkpoint. It took me 64 days to get out of Georgia.

By the last 2 months (of the 8 I spent out there) I was doing 20+ miles (often 30+) daily over tougher hills and feeling good. I was still a huge fatass, people still looked at me like I was a huge Fatass, everytime I ran into new people I would have to explain why/how a person weighing over 400 pounds was out hiking a 2800 mile cross country trail. That really motivated me to keep up with the other hikers from day to day. I got really sick of talking about it, and no one ever asked more than once.

I became OK with it. I lost 107 pounds hiking that trail and the day I got home I RAN up the stairs in my house.....

Calling myself a Fatty Fatass is a badge of honor, nothing less.

Thank you for your opinion but , I like my username just fine

erinkeely4 · August 2011

it's also possible, if you're regularly burning a lot of calories compared to what you take in, that your body has gone into starvation mode and will be crazy about retaining anything you put into it for as long as it can. the suggestion that m yfitness pal gives you for caloric intake is what should be LEFTOVER after you subtract the calories you burn from exercise - NO size of person should ever have less than 1000 net calories in a day, as it can start to cause issues with everything from digestion to brain function.

AGREED.

Fatty_Fatass · August 2011

oops

Unrealistic Weight Gain

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