I’m scared this is too much

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Replies

  • Hannahwalksfar
    Hannahwalksfar Posts: 572 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    I’m 5’4” 75kg and am steadily losing on 1200, however I’m currently under a lot of stress and am sick. I am religiously logging as always but have gained 0.5kg in 24hrs. I also tend to eat porridge when I’m sick which also causes fluid retention. A few months ago this would have freaked me out but now understanding that weight loss is not linear and water weight is very easily brought on I am OK with what I see as I know it couldn’t possibly be fat gain. Just breathe.

    Remember if you are sick you should not be in a calorie deficit.
    I’m eating at maintenance atm. Didn’t realise I was sick until today. This is what happens when you’re used to pushing through, you crash when it does hit you.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Someone please help. Either my scale is broken or I’m messing up bad. I weighed myself this morning and I’m up! Wtf😢

    Deep Breaths...

    Weight loss is not linear. Many factors can cause fluctuations - extra sodium, extra carbs, stress, new exercise, hormones, time of month, etc.

    How much were you up?

    When you lost previously, were you logging accurately and consistently? You said you were using a food scale but were you logging everything you ate?

    What was your rate of loss when you were eating 1200? Were you eating back exercise calories?

    Bottom line with your stats you should be able to lose at 1390 cals, I’m not sure why that seems like a lot of calories. I’m shorter, lighter, and older and I lost all my weight eating 1600-1900 cals/day.

    If the fluctuations bother you, get a trending weight app like Happy Scale which helps normalize the little spikes and dips and shows you the overall trend over time.

    Yes, before when I was losing I was logging accurately and consistently.

    Now?
  • csoderstrom
    csoderstrom Posts: 25 Member
    This post goes into really explaining how MFP calculates. Also helpful info on eating too LITTLE. Which is a problem I tend to have when eating only healthy foods. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea#latest
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,846 Member
    Someone please help. Either my scale is broken or I’m messing up bad. I weighed myself this morning and I’m up! Wtf😢

    Where are you in your menstrual cycle? I gain at ovulation and right before my TOM. Because of this (and because Lyle McDonald said to) I compare myself to last month, not last week.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6846ZTBu08k&index=4&list=PLUXvX9BaxgqG9yO5XWB3gA_QshvrrcjVr

    You could also be retaining water if you started a new exercise program, etc., etc.
  • jessackerman21
    jessackerman21 Posts: 44 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Someone please help. Either my scale is broken or I’m messing up bad. I weighed myself this morning and I’m up! Wtf😢

    Where are you in your menstrual cycle? I gain at ovulation and right before my TOM. Because of this (and because Lyle McDonald said to) I compare myself to last month, not last week.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6846ZTBu08k&index=4&list=PLUXvX9BaxgqG9yO5XWB3gA_QshvrrcjVr

    You could also be retaining water if you started a new exercise program, etc., etc.

    I’m due to get it any day now... hoping that’s all it is.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Someone please help. Either my scale is broken or I’m messing up bad. I weighed myself this morning and I’m up! Wtf😢

    Where are you in your menstrual cycle? I gain at ovulation and right before my TOM. Because of this (and because Lyle McDonald said to) I compare myself to last month, not last week.

    You could also be retaining water if you started a new exercise program, etc., etc.

    I’m due to get it any day now... hoping that’s all it is.


    Well the other option is that you gained 3 pounds of fat. Since it happened in 24 hours what are the odds that you ate 12,100 calories yesterday? That would be your maintenance of ~1600 + (3500 x 3).

    Math sometimes helps end my worry when my scale goes the wrong way. Hope it helps you.
  • marialba67
    marialba67 Posts: 79 Member
    Someone please help. Either my scale is broken or I’m messing up bad. I weighed myself this morning and I’m up! Wtf😢

    Heads up - a doctor told me years ago your WATER weight can fluctuate as much as four (4) kilos within a day. Roughly translated, it's about 8 (eight) lbs within a day. Make sure, even though it feels counterintuitive, to drink past your water goal for the day. If you don't, your body holds on to every drop and your weight goes up as result.
  • jessackerman21
    jessackerman21 Posts: 44 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Someone please help. Either my scale is broken or I’m messing up bad. I weighed myself this morning and I’m up! Wtf😢

    Where are you in your menstrual cycle? I gain at ovulation and right before my TOM. Because of this (and because Lyle McDonald said to) I compare myself to last month, not last week.

    You could also be retaining water if you started a new exercise program, etc., etc.

    I’m due to get it any day now... hoping that’s all it is.


    Well the other option is that you gained 3 pounds of fat. Since it happened in 24 hours what are the odds that you ate 12,100 calories yesterday? That would be your maintenance of ~1600 + (3500 x 3).

    Math sometimes helps end my worry when my scale goes the wrong way. Hope it helps you.

    No way I ate that much
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    marialba67 wrote: »
    Someone please help. Either my scale is broken or I’m messing up bad. I weighed myself this morning and I’m up! Wtf😢

    Heads up - a doctor told me years ago your WATER weight can fluctuate as much as four (4) kilos within a day. Roughly translated, it's about 8 (eight) lbs within a day. Make sure, even though it feels counterintuitive, to drink past your water goal for the day. If you don't, your body holds on to every drop and your weight goes up as result.

    Do you often go entire days without urinating or sweating?
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    marialba67 wrote: »
    Someone please help. Either my scale is broken or I’m messing up bad. I weighed myself this morning and I’m up! Wtf😢

    Heads up - a doctor told me years ago your WATER weight can fluctuate as much as four (4) kilos within a day

    Yep, no doubt, but only under special circumstances. I've spent a lot of time drilling down on water weight, basically because I have no life beyond analyzing numbers and making spreadsheets LOL My water weight can vary by, yes, around 8 pounds, if I have a no-holds-barred gorgefest. It can then take up to 7 days to fully drain off. Conveniently, I have an example from this month:

    954yxyn9l8y3.jpg

    Man, I wish I hadn't done that LOL But sometimes you have to just embrace the madness and move on.

    I've determined that (at least for my body) there's 3-4 pounds more water retained at a maintenance level of calories and normal salty eating than at a reduced sodium, 1,000 calorie deficit. So, when starting a diet, I get that instant 3-4 pound "loss" (but not fat loss) spread over 4-5 days. Which was very exhilarating the first time, less so now ;) Likewise, if I take a few days off of deficit eating, the scale creeps up 3-4 pounds, but of course it's just water, however it'll stick around until I get back to deficit eating. My point being that it isn't like water is this temperamental thing entering and exiting your body at random; there seems to be a natural, persistent amount of water weight for different caloric/sodium/carb intake levels.

    8 pounds, that is a lot and I only get that when I'm either going from a deficit to a massive overeating fest, or from an overeating fest back to a calorie deficit.

    But anyway, my conclusion is that there is no one exactly "right" weight you will see on a scale at any given point in time, except one. If you eat very low sodium and the same calorie deficit every day, after a week or more, you'll have expunged the excess water and will see something akin to a true "lowest possible" weight (for that level of calorie deficit). Any deviation from that, in additional sodium, carbs, or calories, and your body will retain water and you'll get a false picture of weight gain (or less loss, as the case may be).