Exercising and eating under my calories but gaining weight :(

spoth94
spoth94 Posts: 5 Member
edited March 2018 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone!

In mid December I was 180.8 and since that time I got down to a low of 161.4 this past Monday (my goal is 140, my pre-hospitalization weight). I've been mostly consistent with myfitnesspal throughout this time. However, this week my weight has gone up to 163!! I weigh myself every day and this is the only time I've seen the numbers increase since I started my weight loss journey. I've been exercising a lot, logging everything, and eating well under my calorie limit. I'm really discouraged :( please help! My diary should be visible.

Replies

  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    Are you getting ready to start your period?
    Did you have a bit of extra sodium?
    Did you increase exercise?
    Have you been drinking less/more water?

    A pound and a half is a normal weight fluctuation. Make sure you're getting adequate water and give it a couple of days.
  • spoth94
    spoth94 Posts: 5 Member
    I'm not about to start my period. Don't think I ate any more salt than usual though I did have sweetened iced tea. I was swimming two hours and jogging three miles most days this past week.

    I'll definitely give it a few days but I was very upset to see a steady rise from Monday til today.
  • cfredz
    cfredz Posts: 292 Member
    are you weighing all your food?
  • spoth94
    spoth94 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks concordancia I'm trying my best to stick to it :) And cfredz I don't weigh my food but eat mainly pre-packaged stuff or things I wouldn't need to weigh (eggs, almonds, milk).
  • ccruz985
    ccruz985 Posts: 646 Member
    This is 100% normal. We tend to fluctuate 1 - 5 lbs, if it doesn't go down for longer than a week or two, that means your body has most likely become accustomed to the changes you made and it's time to switch up/go more intense in your workouts.
  • darrenbeckworth
    darrenbeckworth Posts: 64 Member
    This is why I do not measure daily. These little fluctuations would get to me when I knew I was following the plan correctly. I recommend continuing to do what is working for you and weigh less often. You'll see the overall trend going down and not the little bumps up.
  • JMcGee2018
    JMcGee2018 Posts: 275 Member
    spoth94 wrote: »
    Thanks concordancia I'm trying my best to stick to it :) And cfredz I don't weigh my food but eat mainly pre-packaged stuff or things I wouldn't need to weigh (eggs, almonds, milk).

    Why wouldn't you need to weigh eggs, almonds, or milk?

    I can understand not weighing eggs, but milk and almonds (especially almonds!) need to be weighed.
  • spoth94
    spoth94 Posts: 5 Member
    Thank you all :) I think I'm going to weigh weekly moving forward and I'll try to tighten up my diet a bit more. Also, thank you ccruz985 for your feedback and MegaMoose for sharing your daily weigh-ins it's reassuring to know that this happens to all of us.
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,027 Member
    spoth94 wrote: »
    Thanks concordancia I'm trying my best to stick to it :) And cfredz I don't weigh my food but eat mainly pre-packaged stuff or things I wouldn't need to weigh (eggs, almonds, milk).

    A lot of pre-packaged stuff can be off weight wise. Especially once you start getting close to goal weight, weigh everything. You don't have room for error and guesses.
  • kokonani
    kokonani Posts: 507 Member
    Water water water. A sudden jump in numbers most likely is from water retention. Whether from hormones, food, salt, insulin spike, ect.. I've had water weight increase 4lbs in the last few days. Very slow going back down, but I know it's just water. My fingers are puffy and rings fit tight.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,068 Member
    I still weigh daily and use a trend app (Libra on android). I really like the trend app as it helps eliminate those spikes and major dips - while a major dip feels great that day, it can sometimes be a complete fluke, too.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    It's only been four days. You're never going to lose every single day, or even every week. It's very surprising that it took 2.5 months for you to experience a fluctuation. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear
  • 2deltacharlie
    2deltacharlie Posts: 13 Member
    edited March 2018
    161.4 vs. 163 over even as few as 24 hours is nothing. It's almost certainly at least 90% due to your hydration level. You have had great results so far! Stay the course.
    Examining weight from day to day is instructive as you learn how much your weight can vary. However on a day to day basis that can be alarming if you are not used to how much it can vary. What is important is your trend over time. i.e. where are you today compared to a week ago...
  • ladybug4233
    ladybug4233 Posts: 217 Member
    A week ago the scale said I gained a pound instead of loosing. One week later I was down 3.5 pounds. Im not sure why but I kept doing what I was doing...trusting the process.
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    Almonds are calorie dense and definitely should be weighed. Milk/liquids can be measured with measuring cup... I often skip weighing eggs when using commercial eggs since they are pretty consistent but I do weigh farm eggs since they vary in size.

    You would also likely benefit by logging your weight into a trending app (Happy Scale for iPhone or Libra for Android are popular). It smoothes out the daily fluctuations and shows the overall trend.