Frustrated and losing interest

Don't worry, it may well have gone by tomorrow. Scales are funny things - many diet gurus tell you to go by the tape measure instead. Sometimes there's a few days or a week's lapse between doing well/badly - the main thing is not to let it throw you, just carry on withe the good work.

You can't gain that much overnight, it's physically impossible. Unless you actually consumed 14,000 calories more than your daily intake.

I would bet a lot of money that it's water!!

You did not gain 4lbs overnight unless you consumed 14,000 calories OVER your maintenance calories (and I'm guessing this isn't the case.. lol). Our bodies are funny things and the scale is only one way of gauging our efforts. Don't panic. Don't worry. It is likely water retention and it will disappear as quickly as it appeared.

That being said, I would reconsider weighing yourself so much. Perhaps you'll do better only weighing in once a week. I weigh every morning, but a lot of people don't like to do it. I do it because it has taught me a lot about my body - what foods affect my weight, time of the month, etc.

Make sure you're drinking enough water.

Add a sodium column to your diary. Hang in there and keep drinking all that water! : )

I set a goal of 2lbs per week to start on 1/1/12. On 1/7/12 I met that first goal, a day early, when I weighed this morning, the day of reckoning I had gained 4lbs. I didn't binge last night and haven't binged all week. I didn't go over my calories, I did go over in protein which I don't consider terrible and i went over in fat which is bad but again not enough to gain 4lbs in one night. Any ideas what this could be. I am hoping it's just water weight for some reason and it will go away but I cna't reach my goals if I am gaining overnight like that.

That's probably just water weight. That is why weighing yourself too often is discouraged. It can cause you to not believe in yourself. You are on a journey to which the destination is not always black and white. I often tell my friends to trust in their journey. You know what to do and if you are doing that then there won't be a problem. It's okay to be frustrated, but don't ever give up because of what some stupid scale says. My scale hasn't moved an inch since last November and I'm still being as awesome as ever because I am doing SOMETHING. Pick yourself up and keep being awesome, the rest will work itself out. If the scale is discouraging you that much, then simply get rid of it. There should be nothing in your life that is distracting you from your journey. Redefine the nature of your association with your metrics. Good luck!

My weight variance is 6 lbs...during the same day, the scale might show me two numbers 6 lbs apart! I bet it's the same for you. Drink plenty of water, don't go more than 200 lower than your calorie goal, and don't get discouraged when the scale says funny things. As long as you're following your plan, the fat will be going, even if the scale occasionally lies. ^_^

2lb a week is a lot, but you should be able to achieve it.

You should have seen a loss by now, do check that you're weighing / measuring your food and not estimating it. With the sort of high calorie foods you're eating, just a bit over can make a big difference. If it seems like it's getting hard work, do consider eating more vegetables and lean chicken and fish, you'll find it far more filling.

Also, if you're eating exercise calories, be aware that estimates of calories burned can be a bit over-generous.

Not trying to sound like a smart *kitten* but check the batts in your scale if it has them and than I agree with the person that says dont weigh again till the end of the month. Watching the scale I have found to be the worst thing I used to do. Keep up what you been doing and it will work. This guy once told me during a RACE I was running in to keep me motivated to finish. If it was that easy to do it, everyone would be doing it.

In order to gain 4lbs of fat overnight you'd have had to eaten 14,000 calories over what you burned.......it's not fat.

I do weigh every day (or I should to keep myself on track - when I was consistently losing weekly). I didn't care so much about the fluctations. If you do, don't weigh daily - weekly is the most you should do.

Here are some questions I have:
1. Did you weigh in at the same time, with an empty stomach after using the bathroom, wearing similar clothes? This one helps eliminate all the external factors of weight change......
2. Did you meet your water goals yesterday? Did you meet your sodium goals yesterday? Did you have alcholic beverages yesterday? If you didn't meet one or both of these, you could be retaining some serious water - I can jump 5-8lbs overnight after a night of take out and poor drink choices. Dehydration will be the cause of all of these water retention reasons. You should be drinking half your body weight in ounces of water daily to really control dehydration.
3. Did you get 8 hours of sleep? Your body is likely to have fluctuations if it is not performing optimally. Since you have just started, you can expect that it is not. Sleep is one of the easiest things to do to start it in the right direction.
4. Are you expecting to start your monthly cycle anytime soon? Sounds crazy, but progesterone (the one that is high right before TOM) causes weight retention....expect your TOM to impact your weight over the course of about 5 days a month by 2-5 lbs.....it'll come on overnight and will go away just as quickly.

You're just starting the journey - no point in getting frustrated at this point - you're not even aware of your reactions to certain foods, activities and regular changes.......just track the changes, keep to your diary and exercise and you'll see an overall change over the course of a month. If after 6 weeks, you're still not seeing the results and you're properly hydrated, rested and eating nutrittious foods, you may want to check with your doctor to see if you have a medical issue.....

Right now though - best guess is water retention and those three things will help take care of it - hydration, rest & proper nutrition!

When I decided to take time for myself and lose some weight/get in shape, my husband said to me "If you never listen to anything I say, listen to this. Weigh yourself once a week, no more. And use the tape measure as your guide when the scale is depressing. That's where the results are."
I did personal training years ago and after paying out all that money I was so depressed because yes, I was a size smaller, but the scale NEVER changed!! How is that even possible? Muscle gain. Muscle weight. The more you excerise the more muscle you build, a very good thing!! Get out the measuring tape!!
Don't get discouraged. Find an accountability partner to keep you motivated!!

Misty