Gained a pound in a month... while eating below TDEE?

It's a pound, it could be any number of things. It could be related to your increased workouts, more time on the feet with your new job, where you're at in your cycle, some extra food in your body, increased humidity (if you're in a part of the world where summer has hit). Stressing out over a pound is counter-productive.

You're very close to your goal so it's going to require patience and consistency. There are probably going to be times when the scale goes up and you can't get thrown by that.

stargirlhorse wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

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You're very close to your goal so it's going to require patience and consistency. There are probably going to be times when the scale goes up and you can't get thrown by that.

How much going up is normal?

and

meharmahshahid wrote: »

Same girl, Im also 18,5'5, Asian (Pakistan) and my goal is 120, and right now I'm at 138lb. It honestly kills me when the weight goes up even by half a pound. A veryyyyy small side of me knows it is probably because of too much salt the day before or water retention, but it still KILLS me, no joke. I know i have a very toxic mindset but the mind does what it does. How did you achieve your goal?

Welcome to the club haha. Do you happen to know how much water our bodies retain?

There is no one answer to what is "normal." My weight trends around 110 average, but I will swing up between 108 and 115 during the month. I know that's normal for me because I've been observing the trend for quite a while.

I highly doubt you have loose skin from weightloss from being barely overweight and if so it would be very minimal. Either you’re retaining fluid (very likely and nothing to worry about) or you’re not weighing your food and eating more than you think. Either way your reaction to one lb of weight gain is a little concerning since you’re within normal bmi. Have you considered speaking to a gp to have them assess you and workout a plan?

stargirlhorse wrote: »

Is it possible that some of this weight is loose skin from weight loss?

In January I was somewhere like 136, so I lost about 14 pounds.

No. Think about it: Let's say you do have loose skin (which I agree is doubtful, from that small a weight loss at your age).

It isn't new skin, so it's been part of your weight all along. Loose skin happens when we lose fat, so the skin gets wrinkly or droopy, because the fat isn't keeping it filled out. It isn't skin that was mysteriously added on. It's skin we had all along, that we don't want/need anymore. And it's very likely to shrink on its own (especially at age 18) . . . it just takes time.

stargirlhorse wrote: »

Is it possible that some of this weight is loose skin from weight loss?

In January I was somewhere like 136, so I lost about 14 pounds.

Loose skin is skin you already had when you were heavier. It doesn't weigh more now just because it's loose.

OP
A pound is nothing so try and stop stressing. It’s within normal fluctuations.

Carry on doing what you’re doing. Weight loss when it’s the last few pounds can be frustratingly slow. I’m crawling at a pace of a quarter of a pound a week.

stargirlhorse wrote: »

Hanibanani2020 wrote: »

Have you considered getting a professional personal trainer with a degree in nutrition to help you out?

Kinda broke right now (or well, planning to be broke in August because of college), but I have a friend who's thinking of getting a PT license. She's given me some ab exercises to do, which I do.

I also ran my measurements today and I'm 27-28% body fat. Great... But strength training hasn't been working.

You are only like 5lbs away from being underweight. Do you think that little bit will make a difference? I think you will be way more happy with adding strength training/gaining muscle vs losing to be underweight.

stargirlhorse wrote: »

Hmm, yeah. It might be stress since I'm preparing to go away to college soon.

I don't have a weight trending app because I hate stepping on the scale, I'm always afraid I'm going to gain another pound. I assume it was water since yesterday I was back to 121. But on the downside, I haven't lost any weight in a month.

I have also ruled out that it's muscle. My body looks the same from the side (~very~ scientific, I know) but also, my waist hasn't shrunk. However, I've been doing ab exercises- at least 30 crunches, a 1-minute plank, and 20 leg lifts each day. I've expanded into doing that AND MadFit's senorita ab work out (so basically a 3 min ab workout). My thighs are still jiggly as hell and my arms look like bat wings when I put them straight out. I've also been doing 5 knee push-ups because that's all I can do (and get up from).

I know it may sound a bit ironic, but the weight-trending app can actually make you feel better about stepping on the scale because it shows you how normal those fluctuations are. As others have mentioned, the one-pound-freakout is a bit concerning.

While you can’t spot reduce, ab exercises can help build muscle over time, which losing fat can help reveal. But your body may not lose fat around your mid-section initially. And I don’t think that’s enough intense exercise to build muscle or burn fat just yet. And any exercise is better than none. Keep at it, and you’ll build on your current strength and stamina.

stargirlhorse wrote: »

Hmm, yeah. It might be stress since I'm preparing to go away to college soon.

I don't have a weight trending app because I hate stepping on the scale, I'm always afraid I'm going to gain another pound. I assume it was water since yesterday I was back to 121. But on the downside, I haven't lost any weight in a month.

I have also ruled out that it's muscle. My body looks the same from the side (~very~ scientific, I know) but also, my waist hasn't shrunk. However, I've been doing ab exercises- at least 30 crunches, a 1-minute plank, and 20 leg lifts each day. I've expanded into doing that AND MadFit's senorita ab work out (so basically a 3 min ab workout). My thighs are still jiggly as hell and my arms look like bat wings when I put them straight out. I've also been doing 5 knee push-ups because that's all I can do (and get up from).

Sadly, muscle takes months to years to gain in any material amount, so you're right, it's not muscle. Under perfect conditions, a very good result for a woman would be a quarter pound of additional muscle mass per week (possibly twice that, if male). Perfect conditions include a well-designed progressive strength training program faithfully performed, good nutrition (especially adequate protein), relative youth, and a calorie surplus. You have the youth part, but not the good progressive strength program (arguably the most important element), you're shooting for a deficit (not a surplus), and I have no idea how good your nutrition is. I'm not saying you couldn't see some muscle mass gain, but it would be less than a quarter pound a week.

Also, everyone, even very fit people, have some underarm tissue that moves when they hold their arms straight out. Relaxed triceps do that, with gravity. I'm not saying you have zero arm fat or whatever, but I'd bet that some of what you're calling "bat wings" is perfectly good muscle. For every single woman in real life I've discussed this with (there have been quite a few), part of what she was calling "bat wings" or some other ugly name was actually triceps muscles. (This is one of my pet peeves, TBH). Triceps are slack/mobile when relaxed, and only tighten up when they contract to do work. When you hold your arm out straight, they're relaxed.

Hold your arm out horizontally, then grab a handful of the hang-y bit with the opposite hand, grabbing up as close as you can get to the upper arm bone with your fingertips. Hold on.

Next, while continuing to hold on with the opposite hand, take the extended arm and flex it like you're a bodybuilder. Get the upper arm at an angle above your shoulder, curl the lower part of the arm down toward your shoulder, curl the wrist downward/inward, and just generally work as hard as you can by positioning and intention to tighten up every bit of your arm that you can, especially that upper arm. (Basically, it's the position in my profile photo, but with the elbow up so the upper arm is raised maybe a 45-degree angle above horizontal, and tightened. In my photo, the triceps muscles aren't really engaged.)

Anything that you have grabbed with the opposite hand, that you feel tighten up or get firmer when you do the flexing, is muscle, not fat or loose skin. It's just that when that muscle is relaxed, especially with the arm outstretched, gravity makes it hang a bit. (If it didn't, how would it contract to do work?) Any large/long muscle in your body can act like this, such as hamstrings. The triceps just happen to be located in an area where its easy to see them and obsess about it. Sometimes women misidentify some hamstrings as fat, too - in the seated, relaxed position, part of the upper thigh squishing out horizontally is just relaxed hamstrings. If one raises the leg while lying done, but keeping the hamstrings relaxed, they'll wobble, too.)

Even quite fit women (and men) can typically make the upper arm area wobble, if they hold it in the right position with triceps relaxed.