I’m gaining weight even though I’ve reduced my calorie intake 😭

[stigss]

Hi, I’ve been slowly gaining scale weight over the past few months and I’m beginning to feel discouraged.

Context: I’m a 21 year old Female. 5ft3in and my forms of exercise is weightlifting and L.I.S.S style cardio 2-3 times a week. I eat at least 100g of protein per day.

So, I’ve recently come out of a reverse diet phase that lasted from April 25th 2022 to June 6th 2022. I slowly increased from eating around 1500-1750 calories per day up to 1950-2100 calories per day at the very top of my reverse.
At the start of my reverse, I weighed 10stone 2.2lbs.

During this time, I felt as though I gained a lot of muscle, mainly on my legs and glutes which Im happy about as this is a goal of mine. I wasn’t too focused on cardio and did it when I felt like it. I did two leg days per week and one upper body day.

Around a week before I stopped my reverse diet, I noticed that a pair of jeans that I hadn’t worn in a while was sitting higher on my waist than they used to. (These jeans were brought to be looser so that they could be low waist on me) They now sit at the smallest part of my waist and can’t be pulled down any further.
I used this as an indicator that my reverse was successful and that I could now slowly transition to a slight calorie deficit.

So, at this point I now weigh at 10stone 8.4lbs which at first I was scared that this was a lot of weight gain but realised that it was not that much.

Over the next 5 weeks, I slowly decreased my calorie intake from 2000 down to 1700-1750 calories per day. At first it was hard because I had gotten used to the extra food but now it’s manageable. I have just weighed myself today, and my weight is measuring at 10stone 11lbs. This shocked me as I’ve been tracking my calories in grams consistently and with the calorie deficit, I thought that I would at least weigh the same as I did 5 weeks ago.

For extra context:
- I’m two days post my period
- I weighed after dinner
- My body measurements have not changed (tape)

Now I’m extremely discouraged and not sure what I’m doing wrong. If anyone has any ideas, I’d be incredibly grateful!

 

[creator123]

@stigss Why on earth would you weigh yourself after eating dinner? You're just weighing the food and water sitting in your stomach. Always weigh yourself first thing in the morning, before you eat.

 

[mb57]

@creator123

 

[stigss]

@creator123 TMI: I’ve been having trouble having consistent bowel movements so it’s been tricky weighing myself in the mornings.

I don’t weigh myself often so it was a spontaneous check in. But now it makes sense that I’d be heavier after eating. Thank you!

 

[jas35]

@stigss Did you do your previous weights after dinner as well? My weight can fluctuate by 2+ pounds (USA) in a single day so I weigh at the same time every day.

 

[stigss]

@jas35 Yes, the previous weigh ins were normally done when I first woke up after using the bathroom. TMI: I’ve been having trouble having consistent bowel movements recently, so it’s been difficult to know when I should weigh myself. That’s why I weighed at dinner. Thank you for your help!

 

[williamis]

@stigss Weight can easily fluctuate +/- 5 lbs due to water weight, food or waste in your system, and things like that. If you ate 2lbs of food at dinner and then weighed 2lbs more that makes sense. To be consistent always weight yourself at the same time under the same conditions. For example, first thing in the morning, no clothes, after going to the bathroom, before eating or drinking anything. That reduces many, if not all, variables.

 

[stigss]

@williamis Yeah, that makes sense! I think for now, I’ll consistently weigh myself in the mornings so that I can get a visual on how my weight naturally fluctuates and then move onto casual weigh ins when I feel like it. I’ll make taking measurements my main source of tracking progress as it’s more accurate, minus the bloating. Thank you!

 

[dawn16]

@stigss Weigh first thing in the morning after you use the bathroom

 

[meteorstorm]

@stigss Weigh yourself in the morning morning right after you wake up. That is the best time as you have fasted and not eaten anything.

Even sometimes weight can fluctuate. Mine can fluctuate to up to 3lbs.

 

[nimitztrail]

@stigss Same boat as you. I stopped weighing myself coz it really affects me. What I do is I measure myself, from the neck, arms, chest, waist, thighs. Did a reverse diet and I gained like 2 cm in my thighs, tho my waist stay the same.

 

[stigss]

@nimitztrail Yeah, my reverse added 1inch to my waist but it’s a small price for improving my metabolic system. I’m definitely going to rely on measurements and only weigh sporadically as I was previously