Help! My first week has gone terribly awry!!!!!

Today marks the first week of my weight loss attempts. ACCORDING TO THE SCALE I HAVE GAINED 5 LBS!!!!!!!!!!! I weighed myself 2 days ago and I had gained 3 lbs since beginning!!!! I don't understand. I have been walking between 3-7 miles daily and doing at least 40 minutes of general aerobics daily. I have been watching my calories and not consuming more than I should with the exception of the 4th of July. While I did not track my calories yesterday I don't think I ate an extra 7000 calories since 2 days ago. I have been exercising! My husband and I took a 7 mile walk yesterday for goodness sake! So why is the scale going up?!?!

I feels so cheated because I feel  I have been eating better. I have been drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day, taking my vitamins, doing well in general. It's not even close to TOM. So why???

Do you weigh yourself at the same time everyday?  I usually do first thing in the morning, before I eat or drink anything, to get the most accurate idea of whatever change is happening- the scale numbers might not be accurate, because I'm empty at that point, but RELATIVELY, they mean something.

 

I've had days where I jump 5 or 6 pounds due to water weight.  Just keep plugging along today, and see where you land tomorrow.  It WILL work eventually, and you can do it!!

Yes I weigh myself every morning before I eat/drink anything (no clothes).  :(

I guess water is the most logical choice. I just wish I had some assurance that I am doing things right.

After I have a splurge day where I eat a lot more, I'll typically weigh 2-3 pounds more the next day. But, this weight usually leaves after a day or two. Don't stress out.

Also, out of curiosity, did this mark the start of your exercise routine or a marked increase in activity?

I generally notice a small weight fluctuation at the beginning of a totally new routine and/or big jump in activity, which is why I ask.

Original Post by zookat:

Today marks the first week of my weight loss attempts. ACCORDING TO THE SCALE I HAVE GAINED 5 LBS!!!!!!!!!!! I weighed myself 2 days ago and I had gained 3 lbs since beginning!!!! I don't understand. I have been walking between 3-7 miles daily and doing at least 40 minutes of general aerobics daily. I have been watching my calories and not consuming more than I should with the exception of the 4th of July. While I did not track my calories yesterday I don't think I ate an extra 7000 calories since 2 days ago. I have been exercising! My husband and I took a 7 mile walk yesterday for goodness sake! So why is the scale going up?!?!

I feels so cheated because I feel  I have been eating better. I have been drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day, taking my vitamins, doing well in general. It's not even close to TOM. So why???

If this is your first week of a healthier lifestyle(eating better and exercising) you could just be retaining water from the increase in activity(I think). I've heard that some people typically can gain a few pounds when they start exercising more. I'm not 100% on this, so maybe someone with more knowledge can be of assistance, but don't freak out or feel discouraged. These things happen, but you can definitely bounce back.

Yes this is the first week of marked activity. Out of curiosity why does activity cause retention of water?

If you went from a realitivley sedentary lifestyle to the exercise regimen you stated above, it is most likely water weight.   It may take a couple of weeks for your body to adjust to the new routine, but have faith you should start to see the scale go down. Just make sure you are eating enough to fuel those workouts.

 

Edited to add....

Activity causes the body to store water because it causes micro tears in the muscles and the muscles retain water to help repair themselves. You will see this especially when you are lifting weights.  If you get sore from your workouts, additional water will help make the soreness go away quicker....

Excellent. Thank you everyone for your replies and advice. I will continue to persevere!

The best advice I can offer is this:  DO NOT WEIGH YOURSELF MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK.  If you can't stay away from the scale in between, at the very least do NOT log your weight except for once a week.

Your weight can fluctuate by as much as 5 lbs in a single day based on amount of food in your system, how much you've drank, how much you've burned, last bowel movement, etc, etc.  You will drive yourself CRAZY freaking out about yo-yo-ing weight if you are checking daily and/or sporadically.

• Pick one day of the week as your weigh-in day and don't deviate.  If you can't weigh in that day, go one day later, not earlier.
• Weigh yourself at the same time every day, after the same ritual, and weigh naked (which you already do).
• Most importantly - it's only been one week!  Don't fret - your body will be adjusting to its new activity level/food intake/etc, it will take an adjustment period.  People who add a lot of exercise to their regimen often see some minor weight gain before they see loss.  Don't freak out about it unless the gain persists in the coming months.
• Also make sure that your caloric intake is at the very least over 1200 calories, probably more depending how much exercise you're adding.  Any less and your body can enter starvation mode, making it MORE likely to try to hang onto excess weight.

What a lot of people don't understand is long amounts of low intensity excersise slows down your metabolism, her are some very good tips â?¢ go to 'Bodyrock.tv' they have 20 minute excersises that you can do at home an the also have meal plans â?¢ it small amounts 5 times a day, but I'm not talking about an apple I mean 5 small healthy meals with proteins, good fats, etc. â?¢ MAKE A PLAN!!! Don't just decide what your going to do or eat that day, sit down once every week and an out your meals for the whole week and excersises, you'll find that it is easier to keep in track this way and not get lazy â?¢ It's ok to cheat once in a while, I love chocolate and ice cream and I'll be damned to give it up, but instead of eating large amounts of theese items I eat healthy brownies or a small amount of chocolate once a week I also eat ice cream that is made of water and friuit, way healthier then the dairy ice creams, but remember only once every week! And only if you have a strong urge to eat it if you don't then keep going with your healthy eating GOOD LUCK!!

Oh forgot to mention the reason I said to eat small meals 5 times a day about every 3 or so hours is to speed up you metabolism, trust me it works but don't forget to excersise and don't do just cardio you need to build up muscle to hat rid of bad fats and believe it or not muscle also speeds up your metabolism (:

zookat, I agree with the additional water after excercise.  This happens to me.  One other thing that increases my morning weigh-ins is when I have a lot of sodium the day before.  I am sodium-reactive, so I retain water when I eat too much sodium.  My guess is that your Fourth splurge included some high-sodium items.  Maybe a hot dog or some chips . . . 

You can do it!  I successfully lost 25 pounds using CC last year.  Unfortunately, I got a couple injuries and I gained 15 back, so I'm back on CC. :)

Also, your sodium intake will fluctuate your weight.  If you eat a lot of sodium in your foods then you will hold on to water weight guaranteed.  Watch your sodium intake, drink the recommended amounts of water, and you will see it come back off again.

An increase in activity tells your muscles to produce/store more glycogen for energy.  I think I read that a glycogen molecule has 2 water molecules attached.

I have the same problem.  No matter what, I seem to play with the same 5 lbs., Up one day & down the next.  I think it is water weight.  Very upsetting!

Original Post by gr8tblueheron:

The best advice I can offer is this:  DO NOT WEIGH YOURSELF MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK.  If you can't stay away from the scale in between, at the very least do NOT log your weight except for once a week.

Your weight can fluctuate by as much as 5 lbs in a single day based on amount of food in your system, how much you've drank, how much you've burned, last bowel movement, etc, etc.  You will drive yourself CRAZY freaking out about yo-yo-ing weight if you are checking daily and/or sporadically.

I have never really understood this advice. Based on the same points, I would recommend to weigh yourself every day. The reason is this: suppose you weigh yourself on Monday, 6am in the morning. Then you wait an entire week to weigh yourself again on the next Monday, 6am. Unfortunately, it just happens that this second Monday is the day when your weight is 5lbs above its actual weight due to water retention, but you only have these two measurements and think: oh crap, I gained 5lbs! Would this not freak you out?

Isn't it better to have daily measurements, so that you can see: oh, I was x lbs on Monday, Tuesday, ... Sunday, but now I am all of a sudden x+y lbs. But since I know this is an outlier, and since I know how much I consumed, I can easily exclude the possibility of weight gain due to fat, and conclude that this is water retention.

Anyway, just my opinion!

I have found that I always put weight on when I first start a diet and weight regime. I think it's due to the fact that my body is still processing the food I ate before (And I sometimes used to go on a bit of a binge just before - silly me!) - but once that first week is through it starts falling off. Glad you're not giving up!

Also some not all of it could be some of your muscle building if your walking and doing aerobics that much!!

Original Post by lamasshu:

Original Post by gr8tblueheron:

The best advice I can offer is this:  DO NOT WEIGH YOURSELF MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK.  If you can't stay away from the scale in between, at the very least do NOT log your weight except for once a week.

Your weight can fluctuate by as much as 5 lbs in a single day based on amount of food in your system, how much you've drank, how much you've burned, last bowel movement, etc, etc.  You will drive yourself CRAZY freaking out about yo-yo-ing weight if you are checking daily and/or sporadically.

I have never really understood this advice. Based on the same points, I would recommend to weigh yourself every day. The reason is this: suppose you weigh yourself on Monday, 6am in the morning. Then you wait an entire week to weigh yourself again on the next Monday, 6am. Unfortunately, it just happens that this second Monday is the day when your weight is 5lbs above its actual weight due to water retention, but you only have these two measurements and think: oh crap, I gained 5lbs! Would this not freak you out?

Isn't it better to have daily measurements, so that you can see: oh, I was x lbs on Monday, Tuesday, ... Sunday, but now I am all of a sudden x+y lbs. But since I know this is an outlier, and since I know how much I consumed, I can easily exclude the possibility of weight gain due to fat, and conclude that this is water retention.

Anyway, just my opinion!

Agreed! I like to do it every day... I see the .5 drops every few days, sometimes a +1 or +1.5 increase which makes me think about what happened the day before. Was it sodium or a lot of water? Or something else? At least you can be at peace with it being an outlier.

I recently started with a personal trainer, and he did the 1x a week weigh in - when it came out 5 pounds HIGHER than the week prior he started lecturing me about being honest with what I eat and sticking with my goals. I watch what I eat, and I knew that it was because I'd had 3 pints of water, eaten 3 small meals, and was wearing heavier clothing, all much more than the first weigh-in, because I weighed myself EVERY morning first thing and that gym scale was the outlier. Having a net deficit every day and just one 0 net day would not result in a REAL 5 lb gain!

In the same boat!  After 15 years of not exercising at all I joined a fitness bootcamp.  For 4x a week, 1 hour a day for 4 weeks I busted my butt and watched what I ate and I actually gained weighed.  I was shocked!  I am still confused as to why and no one can really give me a solid answer.... water weight? fat turning into muscle? body re-setting itself? Losing inches? Not eating enough?  My diet was good.... I figured the weight would just drop since I went from being a couch potato to burning 500-600 calories a day while watching what I ate.  I have signed up for another bootcamp starting Monday.  Giving myself 3 months to see a positive change on the scale. It is frustrating but I will conquer this beast! lol