No weight loss this weekend.
faithdwind
Posts: 31 Member
Why didn't I loose any weight this weekend? I ate 1300 calories per day, I weighed and logged my food. Last weekend I ate 1300 calories and lost 3 lbs. I dont go over 120 carbs per day and my fat is 44 grams per day. Should I give it a week and do light exercise?
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You will not lose weight consistently, even if you are logging very accurately and doing everything "right".
Your weight will always fluctuate from day-to-day due to fluid retention, water weight, and waste in your system.
All you need to do is have a lot more patience and look at the trend over time, not the day-to-day.9 -
Give any new eating/exercise routine 4-6 weeks to see what its effect is, on average over at least that much time. Day to day changes are mostly about changes in water weight (your body can be 60%+ water, y'know?).
Fat loss creeps along slowly, playing peek-a-boo on the scale with those water retention changes, not to mention varying amounts of food in your system on its way to becoming waste.
An apple in my hand becomes part of my body weight on the scale the instant I eat it, but most of that weight isn't fat and isn't ever going to be fat. (My last apple weighed 112 grams. It had 58 calories. If the apple all turned into fat - which it wouldn't - that many calories would be 7.5 grams of bodyfat. The rest becomes waste, after, oh, a day or even two days.)
If you're an adult woman who has menstrual cycles, when you adopt a new eating/exercise routine, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles. In between, hormonal water weight fluctuations can be misleading, hide what's really happening with fat loss. Some women only see a new low weight once a month, although it's rare for it to be that extreme.
While you're waiting long enough to really know your results, this would be a good thing to read, maybe calming:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
Right now, I'm sorry to say, your expectations of day to day weight loss aren't realistic. Fat loss may be happening just fine, but now showing up on the scale yet, hidden by changes in water and waste. If the routine is right, it'll show up on the scale eventually.
Best wishes!6 -
Give it time. Look in the mirror and/or weigh yourself after 2 weeks for genuine progress.0
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Because your weight won't always go down. Sometimes it will stay the same, sometimes it will go up for weeks on end. These are are normal things to see on the scale when losing weight.
The scale doesn't just measure how much fat is on your body, it measures everything, and a lot of those things go up and down much faster and much more dramatically than your fat does.
You can't tell what's going on in terms of fat unless you look at upwards of a few months of data. Any timeline shorter than that is not giving you a clear picture of what's happening with your fat levels.
Don't try to connect how you are yesterday with what the scale says today. If you do that, you will drive yourself crazy.3 -
Good things come with time.
Super fast weight loss is not a good thing, despite the screaming headlines and influencer chatter.
Patience, Grasshopper.4 -
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faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.5 -
Weekend dieting. I’d be all about that. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Seriously, I am the most negative person you will probably ever meet, but even I have to pause at your “what if”.
What if I’d died during childbirth? What if my husband turned out to be an axe murderer? What if I die in a car wreck on the way to the gym, have a heart attack in the rack, or get run over on a walk (a real possibility around here!) What if I never gave myself the chance to do something positive for myself because I might fail?
I would have missed all sorts of amazing possibilities.
Don’t live your life in a cloud of negative “what ifs”. Turn them into positives.
What if I’m down two pounds in two weeks?
And btw, weight yourself more often than every two weeks. My weight can go up five pounds overnight after some salty chicken sausages and a new workout, both of which I had last night. What if I’m up five pounds when I weight in later? Well, I’ll probably wee it all out today!!!!!
Screw what ifs!!!! Get on with it!!!!!!!
😘8 -
faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?1 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!3 -
Ironically, the theme of yoga this morning was “What If”.
What if you never tried that position? What if you never gave yourself space? What if you listened to your body, yourself?
Very apropos.
And in lieu of music during shivasana, our instructor opened the door so we could listen to the spring birdsong. What if we fully listened with our ears and our hearts?5 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?0 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.1 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?0 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.4 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?0 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.0 -
There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings0
-
kshama2001 wrote: »There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
Done!0 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.
Okay, thanks!
BTW, when I weigh my food, It would exactly be at the serving I'm getting. But when I come back/shift it on the scale to make sure It is exactly the amount I'm getting, It shifts like 1-2 grams over or 1-3 grams under. Does it matter, If it does that? Can I still eat it or would you make sure its EXACTLY on (for example) 40g instead of 41-42g .
0 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.
Okay, thanks!
BTW, when I weigh my food, It would exactly be at the serving I'm getting. But when I come back/shift it on the scale to make sure It is exactly the amount I'm getting, It shifts like 1-2 grams over or 1-3 grams under. Does it matter, If it does that? Can I still eat it or would you make sure its EXACTLY on (for example) 40g instead of 41-42g .
It's not going to be that big a deal. Adopt a rule for yourself: Either read the first number and believe it, or do the shifting thing and always use the highest or lowest or most frequent number you see. Just use the same rule every time, for consistency. (There's a long statistical-thinking justification for my saying that, but I'm not going to belabor it.) Personally, I'd pick the easiest (least fussy) one, which I think is "believe the first number", but it's up to you. Use one method.
After you use an overall consistent way of logging and tracking you can see if you lose as expected averaged over many weeks and ideally whole menstrual cycles (same day in each cycle).faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Yes, that might be the reason the scale didn't drop. As yirara said, you probably were losing fat - the thing we want to lose, right? - but adding a little water weight before your period, and the water gain hid the fat loss for a while. After you do this routine of eating/logging/weighing for a few months, you'll begin to understand some of the water-retention patterns your personal body usually goes through. Every woman is different.faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
That's what I'd do, in your situation, if you're finding the 1300 calories practical in other ways.4 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.
Okay, thanks!
BTW, when I weigh my food, It would exactly be at the serving I'm getting. But when I come back/shift it on the scale to make sure It is exactly the amount I'm getting, It shifts like 1-2 grams over or 1-3 grams under. Does it matter, If it does that? Can I still eat it or would you make sure its EXACTLY on (for example) 40g instead of 41-42g .
It's not going to be that big a deal. Adopt a rule for yourself: Either read the first number and believe it, or do the shifting thing and always use the highest or lowest or most frequent number you see. Just use the same rule every time, for consistency. (There's a long statistical-thinking justification for my saying that, but I'm not going to belabor it.) Personally, I'd pick the easiest (least fussy) one, which I think is "believe the first number", but it's up to you. Use one method.
After you use an overall consistent way of logging and tracking you can see if you lose as expected averaged over many weeks and ideally whole menstrual cycles (same day in each cycle).faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Yes, that might be the reason the scale didn't drop. As yirara said, you probably were losing fat - the thing we want to lose, right? - but adding a little water weight before your period, and the water gain hid the fat loss for a while. After you do this routine of eating/logging/weighing for a few months, you'll begin to understand some of the water-retention patterns your personal body usually goes through. Every woman is different.faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
That's what I'd do, in your situation, if you're finding the 1300 calories practical in other ways.
Okay. Thank you! Do you know when the water weight from my menstruation?0 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.
Okay, thanks!
BTW, when I weigh my food, It would exactly be at the serving I'm getting. But when I come back/shift it on the scale to make sure It is exactly the amount I'm getting, It shifts like 1-2 grams over or 1-3 grams under. Does it matter, If it does that? Can I still eat it or would you make sure its EXACTLY on (for example) 40g instead of 41-42g .
It's not going to be that big a deal. Adopt a rule for yourself: Either read the first number and believe it, or do the shifting thing and always use the highest or lowest or most frequent number you see. Just use the same rule every time, for consistency. (There's a long statistical-thinking justification for my saying that, but I'm not going to belabor it.) Personally, I'd pick the easiest (least fussy) one, which I think is "believe the first number", but it's up to you. Use one method.
After you use an overall consistent way of logging and tracking you can see if you lose as expected averaged over many weeks and ideally whole menstrual cycles (same day in each cycle).faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Yes, that might be the reason the scale didn't drop. As yirara said, you probably were losing fat - the thing we want to lose, right? - but adding a little water weight before your period, and the water gain hid the fat loss for a while. After you do this routine of eating/logging/weighing for a few months, you'll begin to understand some of the water-retention patterns your personal body usually goes through. Every woman is different.faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
That's what I'd do, in your situation, if you're finding the 1300 calories practical in other ways.
Okay. Thank you! Do you know when the water weight from my menstruation?
Also- sorry If I'm being annoying and that I'm asking a lot of questions2 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.
Okay, thanks!
BTW, when I weigh my food, It would exactly be at the serving I'm getting. But when I come back/shift it on the scale to make sure It is exactly the amount I'm getting, It shifts like 1-2 grams over or 1-3 grams under. Does it matter, If it does that? Can I still eat it or would you make sure its EXACTLY on (for example) 40g instead of 41-42g .
It's not going to be that big a deal. Adopt a rule for yourself: Either read the first number and believe it, or do the shifting thing and always use the highest or lowest or most frequent number you see. Just use the same rule every time, for consistency. (There's a long statistical-thinking justification for my saying that, but I'm not going to belabor it.) Personally, I'd pick the easiest (least fussy) one, which I think is "believe the first number", but it's up to you. Use one method.
After you use an overall consistent way of logging and tracking you can see if you lose as expected averaged over many weeks and ideally whole menstrual cycles (same day in each cycle).faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Yes, that might be the reason the scale didn't drop. As yirara said, you probably were losing fat - the thing we want to lose, right? - but adding a little water weight before your period, and the water gain hid the fat loss for a while. After you do this routine of eating/logging/weighing for a few months, you'll begin to understand some of the water-retention patterns your personal body usually goes through. Every woman is different.faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
That's what I'd do, in your situation, if you're finding the 1300 calories practical in other ways.
Okay. Thank you! Do you know when the water weight from my menstruation?
No, I don't know. It varies from one woman to the next. Some women only see a new low weight once a month. Some see a couple of peak weight days during each cycle, maybe at ovulation and right before the flow starts, but it could happy any time during the cycle. Or there could be more than two peaks, or only one, or it could last a day or a week or, like I said, most of the month. It can be individual.
Keep track of your own data, you'll learn about your patterns. Your patterns are the ones that are important for you, not stuff about other people. Even once you know your pattern, you may have a weird month once in a while that's different. Rarely, some women's pattern is that there's not a predictable pattern.
It really doesn't matter, ultimately. If you're losing fat, eventually it will show up on the scale. Water retention doesn't keep increasing and increasing forever, in a healthy person. It goes up and down. If your eating and activity are at consistent calories, fat loss is gradual and fairly steady in the background. Eventually, it'll show on the scale.3 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.
Okay, thanks!
BTW, when I weigh my food, It would exactly be at the serving I'm getting. But when I come back/shift it on the scale to make sure It is exactly the amount I'm getting, It shifts like 1-2 grams over or 1-3 grams under. Does it matter, If it does that? Can I still eat it or would you make sure its EXACTLY on (for example) 40g instead of 41-42g .
It's not going to be that big a deal. Adopt a rule for yourself: Either read the first number and believe it, or do the shifting thing and always use the highest or lowest or most frequent number you see. Just use the same rule every time, for consistency. (There's a long statistical-thinking justification for my saying that, but I'm not going to belabor it.) Personally, I'd pick the easiest (least fussy) one, which I think is "believe the first number", but it's up to you. Use one method.
After you use an overall consistent way of logging and tracking you can see if you lose as expected averaged over many weeks and ideally whole menstrual cycles (same day in each cycle).faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Yes, that might be the reason the scale didn't drop. As yirara said, you probably were losing fat - the thing we want to lose, right? - but adding a little water weight before your period, and the water gain hid the fat loss for a while. After you do this routine of eating/logging/weighing for a few months, you'll begin to understand some of the water-retention patterns your personal body usually goes through. Every woman is different.faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
That's what I'd do, in your situation, if you're finding the 1300 calories practical in other ways.
Okay. Thank you! Do you know when the water weight from my menstruation?
No, I don't know. It varies from one woman to the next. Some women only see a new low weight once a month. Some see a couple of peak weight days during each cycle, maybe at ovulation and right before the flow starts, but it could happy any time during the cycle. Or there could be more than two peaks, or only one, or it could last a day or a week or, like I said, most of the month. It can be individual.
Keep track of your own data, you'll learn about your patterns. Your patterns are the ones that are important for you, not stuff about other people. Even once you know your pattern, you may have a weird month once in a while that's different. Rarely, some women's pattern is that there's not a predictable pattern.
It really doesn't matter, ultimately. If you're losing fat, eventually it will show up on the scale. Water retention doesn't keep increasing and increasing forever, in a healthy person. It goes up and down. If your eating and activity are at consistent calories, fat loss is gradual and fairly steady in the background. Eventually, it'll show on the scale.
Thank you again, I got one more question. My foodscale have2 MLS, and this morning I weighed milk in a measuring cup and the measuring cup in one ML weighed 615 and the other 597. I went with the one with 615MLso I added 240 to the 615 and poured the milk until it reached 855ML. But when I was done, the other ML weighed 837. And in grams It weighed 855g. Which ML Should I use? Am I using the correct one?0 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.
Okay, thanks!
BTW, when I weigh my food, It would exactly be at the serving I'm getting. But when I come back/shift it on the scale to make sure It is exactly the amount I'm getting, It shifts like 1-2 grams over or 1-3 grams under. Does it matter, If it does that? Can I still eat it or would you make sure its EXACTLY on (for example) 40g instead of 41-42g .
It's not going to be that big a deal. Adopt a rule for yourself: Either read the first number and believe it, or do the shifting thing and always use the highest or lowest or most frequent number you see. Just use the same rule every time, for consistency. (There's a long statistical-thinking justification for my saying that, but I'm not going to belabor it.) Personally, I'd pick the easiest (least fussy) one, which I think is "believe the first number", but it's up to you. Use one method.
After you use an overall consistent way of logging and tracking you can see if you lose as expected averaged over many weeks and ideally whole menstrual cycles (same day in each cycle).faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Yes, that might be the reason the scale didn't drop. As yirara said, you probably were losing fat - the thing we want to lose, right? - but adding a little water weight before your period, and the water gain hid the fat loss for a while. After you do this routine of eating/logging/weighing for a few months, you'll begin to understand some of the water-retention patterns your personal body usually goes through. Every woman is different.faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
That's what I'd do, in your situation, if you're finding the 1300 calories practical in other ways.
Okay. Thank you! Do you know when the water weight from my menstruation?
No, I don't know. It varies from one woman to the next. Some women only see a new low weight once a month. Some see a couple of peak weight days during each cycle, maybe at ovulation and right before the flow starts, but it could happy any time during the cycle. Or there could be more than two peaks, or only one, or it could last a day or a week or, like I said, most of the month. It can be individual.
Keep track of your own data, you'll learn about your patterns. Your patterns are the ones that are important for you, not stuff about other people. Even once you know your pattern, you may have a weird month once in a while that's different. Rarely, some women's pattern is that there's not a predictable pattern.
It really doesn't matter, ultimately. If you're losing fat, eventually it will show up on the scale. Water retention doesn't keep increasing and increasing forever, in a healthy person. It goes up and down. If your eating and activity are at consistent calories, fat loss is gradual and fairly steady in the background. Eventually, it'll show on the scale.
Thank you again, I got one more question. My foodscale have2 MLS, and this morning I weighed milk in a measuring cup and the measuring cup in one ML weighed 615 and the other 597. I went with the one with 615MLso I added 240 to the 615 and poured the milk until it reached 855ML. But when I was done, the other ML weighed 837. And in grams It weighed 855g. Which ML Should I use? Am I using the correct one?
I fell like you may be making this more complicated than it needs to be?
Weigh the milk in grams**, not ML. Then, find an entry in the MFP database that has a grams quantity for the type of milk you're using. It may take a little longer to find one the first time, but after you do, it will stay in your recent/frequent foods and be quick to find, as long as you use milk reasonably frequently. You may need to use the serving size drop-down on some database entries to find one with grams, for milk, but they're there.
** Grams are a weight measurement. ML are a volume (size) measurement. For water, 1 ml weighs 1 gram. For other liquids that are not water, some are lighter per ml, others are heavier per ml.
This is an example of what I mean (screen grab below). This is from the web browser version of MFP, but it will work the same on a phone/tablet app version of MFP, just maybe a little different screen. I searched, then used the drop down to look at what serving options were available, found one with grams. (The red arrow is to show which entry I chose.)
This takes more time on the first use, but it's more accurate and you don't need to worry about those tiny differences in ml between different measures.
If it were me, I wouldn't worry much anyway: Milk is not all that calorie dense. Get close in ml, the calories will be close enough. Yes, sometimes you'll be a little over on calories that way, but other times you'll be a little under. The difference won't be huge (in context of your all-day calories), and the overs/unders will average out, over time.
It's good to be accurate, but it's not good to be so worried about accuracy that you're becoming anxious about numerically small details. It'll be OK.
3 -
Water retention and stool accumulation will create a variable in body weight that it typically 4 pounds or so. It will vary for everyone depending on a lot of factors having nothing to do with weight loss. For you it might be 2 pounds or it might be 6.
When you weigh in, think of that scale weight as a point in a range of weights that has parameters of about 4 pounds. So, if I weigh in at 169.2 today, as I did, I know that that weight is really somewhere between 165 and 174. More specifically to me, since my weight has never been below 169.0 I am pretty confident that my real weight is in the upper range. 169.2 to 174. So I can lose weight and still get on the scale and have it read more than 169.2 depending on my diet and my bathroom events.
Hence losing weight but weighing the same. Or more.
1 -
Didn't read everything but don't count what is on the scale unless you are weighing at the exact same time under the exact same circumstances. Otherwise, the data won't be comparable. For me it's always first thing in the morning after the bathroom. Clothes matter, bodily functions matter, everything has weight to it.
Also, as someone who has struggled with my weight, I find an occasional cheat day within moderation does your body good. Your body gets too used to eating soo little and needs to be shocked occasionally. Doing this, I have found keeps my weight loss going. Two key words there are MODERATION AND OCCASIONAL!!
That being said, I think you are eating too few calories.0 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.
Okay, thanks!
BTW, when I weigh my food, It would exactly be at the serving I'm getting. But when I come back/shift it on the scale to make sure It is exactly the amount I'm getting, It shifts like 1-2 grams over or 1-3 grams under. Does it matter, If it does that? Can I still eat it or would you make sure its EXACTLY on (for example) 40g instead of 41-42g .
It's not going to be that big a deal. Adopt a rule for yourself: Either read the first number and believe it, or do the shifting thing and always use the highest or lowest or most frequent number you see. Just use the same rule every time, for consistency. (There's a long statistical-thinking justification for my saying that, but I'm not going to belabor it.) Personally, I'd pick the easiest (least fussy) one, which I think is "believe the first number", but it's up to you. Use one method.
After you use an overall consistent way of logging and tracking you can see if you lose as expected averaged over many weeks and ideally whole menstrual cycles (same day in each cycle).faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Yes, that might be the reason the scale didn't drop. As yirara said, you probably were losing fat - the thing we want to lose, right? - but adding a little water weight before your period, and the water gain hid the fat loss for a while. After you do this routine of eating/logging/weighing for a few months, you'll begin to understand some of the water-retention patterns your personal body usually goes through. Every woman is different.faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
That's what I'd do, in your situation, if you're finding the 1300 calories practical in other ways.
Okay. Thank you! Do you know when the water weight from my menstruation?
No, I don't know. It varies from one woman to the next. Some women only see a new low weight once a month. Some see a couple of peak weight days during each cycle, maybe at ovulation and right before the flow starts, but it could happy any time during the cycle. Or there could be more than two peaks, or only one, or it could last a day or a week or, like I said, most of the month. It can be individual.
Keep track of your own data, you'll learn about your patterns. Your patterns are the ones that are important for you, not stuff about other people. Even once you know your pattern, you may have a weird month once in a while that's different. Rarely, some women's pattern is that there's not a predictable pattern.
It really doesn't matter, ultimately. If you're losing fat, eventually it will show up on the scale. Water retention doesn't keep increasing and increasing forever, in a healthy person. It goes up and down. If your eating and activity are at consistent calories, fat loss is gradual and fairly steady in the background. Eventually, it'll show on the scale.
Thank you again, I got one more question. My foodscale have2 MLS, and this morning I weighed milk in a measuring cup and the measuring cup in one ML weighed 615 and the other 597. I went with the one with 615MLso I added 240 to the 615 and poured the milk until it reached 855ML. But when I was done, the other ML weighed 837. And in grams It weighed 855g. Which ML Should I use? Am I using the correct one?
I fell like you may be making this more complicated than it needs to be?
Weigh the milk in grams**, not ML. Then, find an entry in the MFP database that has a grams quantity for the type of milk you're using. It may take a little longer to find one the first time, but after you do, it will stay in your recent/frequent foods and be quick to find, as long as you use milk reasonably frequently. You may need to use the serving size drop-down on some database entries to find one with grams, for milk, but they're there.
** Grams are a weight measurement. ML are a volume (size) measurement. For water, 1 ml weighs 1 gram. For other liquids that are not water, some are lighter per ml, others are heavier per ml.
This is an example of what I mean (screen grab below). This is from the web browser version of MFP, but it will work the same on a phone/tablet app version of MFP, just maybe a little different screen. I searched, then used the drop down to look at what serving options were available, found one with grams. (The red arrow is to show which entry I chose.)
This takes more time on the first use, but it's more accurate and you don't need to worry about those tiny differences in ml between different measures.
If it were me, I wouldn't worry much anyway: Milk is not all that calorie dense. Get close in ml, the calories will be close enough. Yes, sometimes you'll be a little over on calories that way, but other times you'll be a little under. The difference won't be huge (in context of your all-day calories), and the overs/unders will average out, over time.
It's good to be accurate, but it's not good to be so worried about accuracy that you're becoming anxious about numerically small details. It'll be OK.
Hi- Sorry if I'm annoying you, but I have a question. So, the can of black beans I ate said 130g for 100kcal so I decided to get two servings, which is 260g and on the back of the can it said "about 3.5 servings" and it was only about 2? Should I still have eaten 200kcal if I gotten 260g? I just felt like I ate the 3 servings.0 -
faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
What's your alternative? Giving up? yes, eat 1300 calories, and make sure you're weighing your food carefully.
Okay, thanks!
BTW, when I weigh my food, It would exactly be at the serving I'm getting. But when I come back/shift it on the scale to make sure It is exactly the amount I'm getting, It shifts like 1-2 grams over or 1-3 grams under. Does it matter, If it does that? Can I still eat it or would you make sure its EXACTLY on (for example) 40g instead of 41-42g .
It's not going to be that big a deal. Adopt a rule for yourself: Either read the first number and believe it, or do the shifting thing and always use the highest or lowest or most frequent number you see. Just use the same rule every time, for consistency. (There's a long statistical-thinking justification for my saying that, but I'm not going to belabor it.) Personally, I'd pick the easiest (least fussy) one, which I think is "believe the first number", but it's up to you. Use one method.
After you use an overall consistent way of logging and tracking you can see if you lose as expected averaged over many weeks and ideally whole menstrual cycles (same day in each cycle).faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Yes, that might be the reason the scale didn't drop. As yirara said, you probably were losing fat - the thing we want to lose, right? - but adding a little water weight before your period, and the water gain hid the fat loss for a while. After you do this routine of eating/logging/weighing for a few months, you'll begin to understand some of the water-retention patterns your personal body usually goes through. Every woman is different.faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »faithdwind wrote: »
What if you don't "what if"? 😉 (This may not be true for you, but one of the things I learned during cancer treatment was that if I worried about things that might not happen, beyond minimal plans for handling them, I was just increasing my anxiety unnecessarily, and making myself unhappier than I needed to be.)
You say you'd seen an increment of loss on the scale, then there was a sudden jump. Those of us with experience are telling you that that sudden jump is almost certainly water weight or digestive contents, not fat gain, as long as your eating and activity levels have stayed consistent and there was nothing in there (moving much less, eating much more) to account for that much fat (re-)gain.
I'm curious, though: You say you only ate 1300 calories during the weekend. Is that 1300 calories, total, including both days, or 1300 calories per day? And what did you do, how many calories did you eat, during the week, between the weekends? Your results in two weeks (or any longer length of time) will depend on the average of what you do over all the days in the time period, not just the weekends.
I meant for the whole week(per day)! Sorry If I confused you. This will be my third week eating 1300 calories. I know that I said What if I didn't loose any weight in two weeks, but if I don't check until my 6th week, and no result, should I raise my calories?
Good, that makes sense, as a routine.
But I still don't like the negative "what if". I feel like that's encouraging anxiety, creating stress. Y'know what? Stress is one possible thing that can increase water retention, and water retention can hide fat loss on the scale. It's fat loss we care about, isn't it?
There exists an actual physical-psychological syndrome where people (usually women, unfortunately) become stressed about weight loss being slow, add water weight from stress, panic about not losing (maybe even gaining) when it's just about water retention (not fat), cut harder, create more stress, hold onto more water weight . . . on repeat. That is not a good thing. Implicitly, without wanting to be all alarmist about something that - yes - may not happen to you, we're trying to guide you away from the thought patterns that can lead in that direction.
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/dietary-restraint-cortisol-levels
If you're adult, female but not in menopause yet, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles - for example, last day of menstruation in each cycle. The third cycle might even provide better insight.
If you are not over-stressed by daily weighing, do that - first thing in the morning, after bathroom, same state of (un)dress, before eating/drinking is ideal. Record that weight. A free weight trending app would be a useful place to record. (Happy Scale for Apple iOS, Libra for Android, Trendweight with a free Fitbit account (don't need a device), Weightgrapher, others). The day to day weight fluctuations (water, digestive contents mostly) can be misleading. A trending app isn't magically insightful, but it can be a help, in sorting out progress from random stuff.
I'd suggest that you also tape-measure some key points, maybe once a month (same point in cycle!). The first time, make it a point to think how you can best be sure you're putting the tape at the exact same place, and level, every time. If you can, take some photos: Front, side, back, slim-fit but not compressive clothing or something like a bathing suit. (Don't do undies. Trust me, you'll want to be proudly showing off your "before" once you reach that "after". MFP has a "no undies in photos" rule.)
Sometimes one thing will show progress, when another doesn't.
If you literally have seen no new low-point weight** in 6 weeks (or 1-2 full menstrual cycles), I'd urge you to come back here, provide details, ideally open up your diary so the MFP old hands can take a look, and answer questions folks might have. Depending on details, it may make sense to increase calories, decrease calories, do some of the estimates differently, or something else.
** You will be asked what "no loss" means to you, if it comes to that. Sometimes people show up here, post "I'm not losing", and it turns out that they lost slower than expected, maybe even a pound a week, but that felt like "no loss" to them because they were trying really hard . . . so we tend to ask. 😉
The Community folks (me included) can sometimes be confused, repetitive, misunderstand, communicate unclearly in writing, and generally be fallibly human. Still, please know that many people here would truly like to see you succeed, want to help you, because weight management success has been so very powerful in their own lives. That's absolutely true for me. We will do our (imperfect) best to help you.
Really: Trust the process, follow the process, try to be calm, see what happens. If you don't get the results you reasonably hope for, we will try to help you figure it out, try a variation, see how that works for you. If you keep going, keep experimenting, adjust based on results, you can succeed at this.
Best wishes!
I didn't loose any weight this weekend.
Yesterday, I was 190, and today i'm 191.4.
BUT, sometimes when I come home, (last weekend) I weighed 191 in the morning and then weighed 189, in the afternoon. Am I in a plateu? What should I do?
Nope, not likely a plateau. You're just experiencing normal fluctuations.
Since around mid-month March, I've been anything from 125.8 pounds to 130.8 pounds, and that's just weigh-ins first thing in the morning under consistent conditions, for someone who's maintaining weight, not trying to lose or gain. It wasn't one extreme at the start, and the other at the end, either, those are just the high and low points randomly mixed in there somewhere.
This is the stuff that healthy bodies do. It's no big deal. It's not fat changes, it's water and digestive contents, primarily.
My swings would be even more extreme if I weighed at other times of day. Think about it: A pint of water - 2 cups - weighs roughly a pound, and it weighs that much whether it's in glass or in my stomach/bladder. When it's in my body, it's part of my scale weight. When I urinate or sweat it out, it's not part of my scale weight anymore. Ditto for food. That stuff changes by multiple pounds throughout Every. Single. Day.
Did you read this article yet? If not, please do!
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
What should you do? Hang in there, stick to a reasonable routine, see what happens over multiple weeks, whole menstrual cycles. Try to avoid stressing about it . . . stress can increase water retention, and it feels icky, besides.
It's going to be fine. Stick this out until you can compare your body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different menstrual cycles, or 4-6 weeks if you don't have cycles. Then, if there's no change, you might need to change something. Until then, try not to stress about it.
Okay, thank you! I'm thinking about just zig zagging diet for a week or two- I'm getting tired of staying in the same calorie deficit- I ate 1530 calories yesterday. Also- I just gotten my period today. Could that be a reason I didn't loose on 1300 calories?
Hun, I know you desperately want to lose weight. But please, Please read what AnnP has been writing to you, and then read it again, and then the link she posted. Yes, it's likely you would have gained water weight from getting your menstruation. Most women do. And yes, water has a weight, the amount of food in your digestive tract has a weight. And neither is bodyfat. But both influence the weight on the scale thought and might mask fat loss.
So, should I try eating 1300 calories for a few more weeks?
That's what I'd do, in your situation, if you're finding the 1300 calories practical in other ways.
Okay. Thank you! Do you know when the water weight from my menstruation?
No, I don't know. It varies from one woman to the next. Some women only see a new low weight once a month. Some see a couple of peak weight days during each cycle, maybe at ovulation and right before the flow starts, but it could happy any time during the cycle. Or there could be more than two peaks, or only one, or it could last a day or a week or, like I said, most of the month. It can be individual.
Keep track of your own data, you'll learn about your patterns. Your patterns are the ones that are important for you, not stuff about other people. Even once you know your pattern, you may have a weird month once in a while that's different. Rarely, some women's pattern is that there's not a predictable pattern.
It really doesn't matter, ultimately. If you're losing fat, eventually it will show up on the scale. Water retention doesn't keep increasing and increasing forever, in a healthy person. It goes up and down. If your eating and activity are at consistent calories, fat loss is gradual and fairly steady in the background. Eventually, it'll show on the scale.
Thank you again, I got one more question. My foodscale have2 MLS, and this morning I weighed milk in a measuring cup and the measuring cup in one ML weighed 615 and the other 597. I went with the one with 615MLso I added 240 to the 615 and poured the milk until it reached 855ML. But when I was done, the other ML weighed 837. And in grams It weighed 855g. Which ML Should I use? Am I using the correct one?
I fell like you may be making this more complicated than it needs to be?
Weigh the milk in grams**, not ML. Then, find an entry in the MFP database that has a grams quantity for the type of milk you're using. It may take a little longer to find one the first time, but after you do, it will stay in your recent/frequent foods and be quick to find, as long as you use milk reasonably frequently. You may need to use the serving size drop-down on some database entries to find one with grams, for milk, but they're there.
** Grams are a weight measurement. ML are a volume (size) measurement. For water, 1 ml weighs 1 gram. For other liquids that are not water, some are lighter per ml, others are heavier per ml.
This is an example of what I mean (screen grab below). This is from the web browser version of MFP, but it will work the same on a phone/tablet app version of MFP, just maybe a little different screen. I searched, then used the drop down to look at what serving options were available, found one with grams. (The red arrow is to show which entry I chose.)
This takes more time on the first use, but it's more accurate and you don't need to worry about those tiny differences in ml between different measures.
If it were me, I wouldn't worry much anyway: Milk is not all that calorie dense. Get close in ml, the calories will be close enough. Yes, sometimes you'll be a little over on calories that way, but other times you'll be a little under. The difference won't be huge (in context of your all-day calories), and the overs/unders will average out, over time.
It's good to be accurate, but it's not good to be so worried about accuracy that you're becoming anxious about numerically small details. It'll be OK.
Hi- Sorry if I'm annoying you, but I have a question. So, the can of black beans I ate said 130g for 100kcal so I decided to get two servings, which is 260g and on the back of the can it said "about 3.5 servings" and it was only about 2? Should I still have eaten 200kcal if I gotten 260g? I just felt like I ate the 3 servings. ( I drained the can so I think that could be why)0
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