Up 7lbs - So annoyed

Urbancowbarn
Urbancowbarn Posts: 97 Member
edited November 27 in Health and Weight Loss
I’m so discouraged. Please tell me these 7lbs are a combination of water weight & muscle. My clothes fit fine, my measurements haven’t changed. I know I’ve developed lean muscle over the past year because I can see it, but the scale weight messes with my mind so much. Grr. And I feel like my belly will never get as lean as the rest of my body. I’m really just venting. New game plan is to cut simple carbs and find some type of cardio I can stand to do regularly. (Fingers crossed).

Replies

  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    First of all how do you weigh yourself, daily or once a week and those 7 lbs came within what time period. Before you cut simple carbs, do you know that a caloric deficit is required to lose weight? If so, do you know what your maintenance is? Do you weigh your food? Sorry if I am asking too many questions, but I am curious to know your knowledge in but Do and weight loss.
  • Urbancowbarn
    Urbancowbarn Posts: 97 Member
    edited July 2018
    Double posted.
  • Urbancowbarn
    Urbancowbarn Posts: 97 Member
    Thanks for the input.
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited July 2018
    Urbancowbarn wrote: »
    fb47 wrote: »
    First of all how do you weigh yourself, daily or once a week and those 7 lbs came within what time period. Before you cut simple carbs, do you know that a caloric deficit is required to lose weight? If so, do you know what your maintenance is? Do you weigh your food? Sorry if I am asking too many questions, but I am curious to know your knowledge in but Do and weight loss.

    Hey there! The gain is over the past month after maintaining for 9 months. I calculate my TDEE to be at 1540 for weight loss. Lightly active 1-3x week workout. I’m 48, 5’6.5, woman.

    I did better when I cut simple carbs and ate mostly whole foods. Read about CICO and tried it, but I think it tripped me up. 😳 I do not weigh my food—because I’m worried it will trigger an old ED. And I weigh myself daily.

    PS changed MFP setting to lightly active (it was at not very active and 1200 calories) and it puts me at 1360 for weight loss. Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe my TDEE calculation is too high. Sigh.

    First of all CICO is not calorie counting. We all have that, we all lose weight in a caloric deficit and we all gain weight by eating more than we burn unless you have health issues which makes losing weight a problem, in that case, a doctor will suggest you a specific diet or prescribe you medication for your health problem. CICO is not a diet, lifestyle or a method, it's an energy equation.

    Second problem I see is you don't weigh your food so therefore you can't guarantee that you are eating at 1540 calories, that is one possible and probable reason you're not losing. Eating at 1200 calories is too easy, women always think they need to eat 1200 calories to lose weight, but only a small percentage of the population requires such deficit. For everyone else, eating trully at 1200 calories would make them lose weight too fast which in return isn't healthy because you're undereating and eating your muscles away.

    Another one is that maybe it's not your caloric deficit, but I tend to think more it has to do with you not weighing your food to be honnest. But I still mention this point, because if you take my case, I hardly do no cardio and I only lift 3 times a week, but I am considered as extremely active because my NEAT is so high that I lose too much weight in other settings after many trial and error. The maximum setting seems to be the most precise for me when I evalute my weight loss rate (Yes, I weigh myself every day and I check my weekly weight averages to see how much weight I am losing or gaining).
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Urbancowbarn wrote: »
    fb47 wrote: »
    First of all how do you weigh yourself, daily or once a week and those 7 lbs came within what time period. Before you cut simple carbs, do you know that a caloric deficit is required to lose weight? If so, do you know what your maintenance is? Do you weigh your food? Sorry if I am asking too many questions, but I am curious to know your knowledge in but Do and weight loss.

    Hey there! The gain is over the past month after maintaining for 9 months. I calculate my TDEE to be at 1540 for weight loss. Lightly active 1-3x week workout. I’m 48, 5’6.5, woman.

    I did better when I cut simple carbs and ate mostly whole foods. Read about CICO and tried it, but I think it tripped me up. 😳 I do not weigh my food—because I’m worried it will trigger an old ED. And I weigh myself daily.

    PS changed MFP setting to lightly active (it was at not very active and 1200 calories) and it puts me at 1360 for weight loss. Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe my TDEE calculation is too high. Sigh.

    A 7lb gain over a month would be eating 816 calories per day over your maintenance. I highly doubt that your maintenance is 723 calories per day (1540-816), so at least some of that is water weight. And as others have pointed out, not weighing your food is going to introduce a certain amount of inaccuracy.

    If you are opposed to weighing your food (and it seems like you are, based on your personal history, and that is just fine), I suggest you slowly reduce your intake. Try the 1360 per day for another 6 weeks and see what happens. This will all be with the knowledge that you are eating more than that, you just don't know how much more.

    Does that make sense?
  • Urbancowbarn
    Urbancowbarn Posts: 97 Member
    Thank you for the replies! Very insightful and helpful. 😊
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited July 2018
    If you re-introduced white carbs, your base weight is going to be higher because you usually carry more water when your carbs are higher, especially "white carbs". If you've also introduced some fast food and packaged goods, your base weight is going to be higher as well due to sodium. You would be expected to maintain at a few pounds higher now, how many pounds? I don't know, depends on your body. This wouldn't be fat weight if you're in true maintenance, just a higher base weight. Think of it like weighing more in the winter at the same weight because clothes are heavier.

    I understand your hesitation to weigh things, so here is what I will suggest: keep doing what you are currently doing. Don't change a single thing. After a month see how your weight behaves, or better yet, keep a daily weight log for a couple of months if that's not too triggering and see how it averages (I used the trendweight website).

    What is most likely to happen is that you'll find yourself maintaining at a higher weight while keeping your current size. If you find yourself gaining even more, then what is likely happening is that you know your "grove" eating whole foods to keep you in your desired caloric range, but you don't know your "groove" eating a more flexible diet. In that case, think of ways to lower your calories a bit. You may find yourself maintaining at a lower calorie budget on paper. In reality, you will be maintaining on the same calories you always have, but because you're not weighing your food and probably eating more than you realize, artificially lowering your budget may work.
  • Urbancowbarn
    Urbancowbarn Posts: 97 Member
    edited July 2018
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    If you re-introduced white carbs, your base weight is going to be higher because you usually carry more water when your carbs are higher, especially "white carbs". If you've also introduced some fast food and packaged goods, your base weight is going to be higher as well due to sodium. You would be expected to maintain at a few pounds higher now, how many pounds? I don't know, depends on your body. This wouldn't be fat weight if you're in true maintenance, just a higher base weight. Think of it like weighing more in the winter at the same weight because clothes are heavier.

    I understand your hesitation to weigh things, so here is what I will suggest: keep doing what you are currently doing. Don't change a single thing. After a month see how your weight behaves, or better yet, keep a daily weight log for a couple of months if that's not too triggering and see how it averages (I used the trendweight website).

    What is most likely to happen is that you'll find yourself maintaining at a higher weight while keeping your current size. If you find yourself gaining even more, then what is likely happening is that you know your "grove" eating whole foods to keep you in your desired caloric range, but you don't know your "groove" eating a more flexible diet. In that case, think of ways to lower your calories a bit. You may find yourself maintaining at a lower calorie budget on paper. In reality, you will be maintaining on the same calories you always have, but because you're not weighing your food and probably eating more than you realize, artificially lowering your budget may work.

    Thank you, I think you nailed it. It was the white carbs I introduced. Once I started eating what you want but in deficit in combination of not weighing my food—it must have just been easier to eat more than I thought I was. Today I ate two grilled chicken thighs, a baked sweet potato, and grilled asparagus for lunch and feel full and satisfied. Plus I enjoyed what I was eating. So it’s time to cut the simple carbs that don’t really satisfy me anyway except for a moment of tasting. Protein, complex carbs, fruits and veggies are easier to eat at a deficit for me and this jump up is a good reminder.

    Thanks to everyone for indulging my vent and
    the thoughtful responses!

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