I went off track for FOUR DAYS and I gained 3 pounds. Just feeling really frustrated. 5’2” SW 125 GW 120 CW 126.6

[adriana28]

I’m just really upset. For the past 3 months I’ve been pretty damn good on my health journey. Tracking all my macros/cals, working out 4-5 times a week, getting my steps in. Started at 125 and got down to 122 and have stayed around 122/123. Starting Friday I didn’t track what I ate and I enjoyed going out to eat with friends and not sticking to my typical diet. I also did NOT binge, it wasn’t like I was eating a container of Oreos. I just weighed myself this morning and I gained 3 pounds since then. Keep in mind I had my period two weeks ago so it’s not period bloat. What the heck am I going to have to track and eat 1200 cals forever so I don’t gain weight? It’s like I see a damn piece of cake and gain weight. Also I even worked out 3 out of those 4 days.

 

[danial1234567]

@adriana28 Water weight

 

[dawn16]

@danial1234567 This. It’s not real weight. Itll come off quickly soon as you get back on track

 

[sexualpurity]

@adriana28 Even as a petite person you would have to be eating tens of thousands of calories OVER your maintenance to gain three lbs of actual fat. It’s likely water weight or sodium bloating. I promise those lbs will fall off the scale soon! Actual body fat weight gain doesn’t happen that quickly which is why it doesn’t fall off quickly either. Get back on track and it’ll even itself out.

 

[adriana28]

@sexualpurity Tens of thousands?? ok that makes me feel a lot better because I definitely did not eat that much. Probably a combo of water weight/sodium then. I’m back on track this morning and going to try my heat next weekend to be more mindful of what I eat when I go out thank you!

 

[amandasaved77]

@adriana28 A pound of fat is 3500 calories. So to gain 3 pounds of fat in a short time frame, you'd need to eat a lot of calories ,10500 calories. That's a lot of surplus calories to eat in a short time frame since you're burning calories too.

You're fine. It'll sort itself out when you get back on track.

 

[georgehay]

@amandasaved77 So, ten thousand. Not tens of thousands.

 

[mattom]

@adriana28 It's most likely water weight. As another comment stated, you literally would have to be going significantly going over maintenance to gain 3 lbs. You could have just been eating more sodium than you normal do, the food you've eaten may have not completely digested yet or something you ate might be more difficult to digest, or any number of reasons because sometimes our bodies are difficult and don't make sense. Not tracking for 4 days is not going to derail all the progress you make. Additionally, if you made some changes to your workout routine or maybe had a pretty intense session, that could affect your weight via water retention.

 

[adriana28]

Hi everyone, thank you for the comments. I have definitely learned a few things:
1. Most likely water Weight
2. It is normal to fluctuate this much in a few days
3. Once again it’s water weight

I’ve been super on track today with what I’m eating and going to stick with that for the rest of the week and just move on from the extra few pounds. I have to remember it’s not the end of the world.

 

[adriana28]

Also just weighed myself 24 hours later after sticking strictly to my macros & cals and I’m already 1.2 pounds down, so hoping this keeps on trending downward!

 

[pandafan]

@adriana28 It can also be the sheer weight of the food still working its way through your digestive system, if you've eaten more in volume than typical on your 1200 calories (and 1200 is not enough calories, but that's another discussion).

Sodium tends to be the culprit for me whenever I eat out, even if I don't overeat. Restaurant meals tend to have a lot of sodium. Heck I can stay within calories for the day and eat 2 slices of Domino's pizza and gain 3 lbs just from the sodium/water retention. Drink a lot of water and it'll help flush it out faster.

Also it can help to just not weigh yourself after a weekend like this.

 

[adriana28]

@pandafan Yep, honestly I’m not weighing myself after a weekend where I ate a lot again just because of how much it made me upset. I’m going to stick to doing it once a week, on wednesdays (which is what I probably do). Out of curiosity I weighed myself this morning and there was -0.2 change from yesterday.
I think I need to reevaluate my calories/macros because from what I looked up in MyFitnessPal and other websites in order for me to get to my goals I have to eat around 1200 cals. It’s definitely not easy and I think is a culprit for making me eat unhealthy on the weekends as a “reward”. Ugh. :/ if you have any resources that helped you I would really appreciate hearing them.

 

[pandafan]

@adriana28 I'm 57 so I've been on this train for decades. I've been fat, I've been fit, I've been skinny fat. At 5'0 and at my fittest ever (running marathons and strength training 5x a week), I weighed 127 lbs but wore two sizes smaller than I do now, at 120 lbs and working my way back to fit. (And no, that is not due to vanity sizing: I have always tracked my measurements so I know what they were at 127 lbs).

I've done the 1200 calorie thing, weighing and measuring every morsel. It makes me miserable. Sure, I lose weight (got down to 97 lbs) -- but I just become skinny fat because I have no energy to do anything but lay around. It's unsustainable. And I really don't want to know the damage it's done to my bones over the years.

MyFitnessPal and calorie counting were helpful in that they taught me proper portion sizes. And also taught me that it is normal for one's weight to fluctuate -- whether it's because of hormonal fluctuations or the volume of food eaten or the sodium in the food. That's all good information to have, but once you master that, it's time to move on.

The older you get, the less important aesthetics become. Now what I care about includes: 1) Is my cholesterol dropping (yes!) 2) is my doctor happy (yes!) 3) can I carry my own suitcases and lift them into the overhead bin without help (yes! And I can also carry my husband's suitcase too!) 4) am I mobile and flexible and does my body have less pain (yes!) 5) can I hike or walk long distances (yes!).

I would be thrilled to gain 7 lbs of muscle and be back at 127 lbs, which is nearly overweight by BMI. But I know I was fitter than ever then and yes I looked great too. Because the scale does not tell the whole story!

 

[stosa]

@adriana28 Assuming your maintenance is 2000 you would have to eat 16,500 calories to gain fat. I am still shocked about people complaining about normal fluctuations . If you cannot handle the numbers and it is affecting your mood I suggest not wedigjjng yourself. Mental health comes first

 

[adriana28]

@stosa I only weigh myself once a week, probably didn’t help that I weighed myself after a long weekend of eating over my maintence. Going to refrain from doing that again and go back to my normal day which is Wednesday

 

[michellelovesjay]

@adriana28 I encourage everyone who tells me they weigh once a week to do it more often than that. At least two days in a row, so if you have a one day that is totally whack you aren’t all depressed about it. Really though, if weight is something you’re going to watch, I’d suggest you weigh yourself daily. That way you’ll get used to these fluctuations and realized how normal they are.

 

[tavares]

@michellelovesjay The Happy Scale app is a good resource for frequent weigh ins as it shows your averages.

 

[godsbugaboo]

@michellelovesjay I actually found weighing myself every day really helped me understand how my weight fluctuates and no longer worry about it. I know this doesn’t work for everyone, but it helped me see how normal the fluctuations are.

 

[oneluv]

@godsbugaboo I agree, this works for me too. I start to understand how my body works and whether i should worry or not.

 

[icashoutapp]

@adriana28 Sweetie that is nothing but water weight and a blip on the radar. As long as you are noticing a downward trend over time. Weigh daily and take the average of the seven days as your actual weight. Water weight fluctuates based on so many variables including sodium from a big dinner (you ate out) and your menstrual cycle. Also take your measurements weekly to biweekly and take progress pics to see small changes over time. This is a slow process and takes longer than three months.

Just make sure you’re actually tracking accurately by weighing in grams. 1200 isn’t good for that level of activity you say you’re doing. I lose on 1500 if I’m tracking accurate and getting my steps in. I’m also 5’2”.

You are underestimating your actual calorie intake if you aren’t weighing your foods and are rather measuring in spoons, “1 medium banana”, “servings” and cups etc.