Why did I GAIN??

Ok, I spent all last week, with the exception of one bad night, eating perfectly, keeping very active and now at my one week mark I have actually gained weight.  2lbs to be exact...AND really three if you count that I had seemed to go down a lb for 2 days.

What is going on???  It is not water weight because I have been drinking tons of water and backed off the salt, I am not going through that time of the month.  It wouldn't be muscle becaue the pants are tighter in the belly...and I was doing cardio not weight training anyway.

This is beyond frustrating....I maintained my weight better before I started watching what i eat and working out.

Beachy - that is quite curious.  Could it be a temporary issue?  I notice that I hold weight for 2-3 days and then drop 2 pounds "overnight."  If you know you are expending more energy than you are taking in, then there is weight to be lost "in the bank."  Hang in there and give it time!  By the way, how often do you record your weight?  Do you make certain to weigh at the same point in the day, wearing (or not wearing) the same things?  I weigh first thing in the morning after voiding my bladder, which may give a low weight, but to compare from one weighing to the next is a good baseline.

David

I can become a scale junky so I am trying to weigh only twice a week...that is my goal...right now I am down to every other day...however I only counted it this time at the one week mark.

I weigh in first thing in the morning...sans clothes but not necessarily before or after emptying the bladder. 

A friend of mine said this happened to her and apparently she was told that the added sudden activity was to the body about the same as if I went into starvation mode...just kinda shocked the system and that once my body knew this cal burn was going to be normal it would stop saving calories and start dropping...sort of makes sense but I had never heard of that before.

BTW...the whole slimfast Optima thing...I feel like crap today from following it so far.  Not a good sign... let's see how I feel after my "sensible dinner"

PS...BTW David...howdy neighbor...I am in Pasco Co. Fl. :-)

Hi!  When you say that you are keeping very active, you are eating enough, right?  I'd say so long as your daily calorie deficit is no more than 1000 max (I know others on the site will say 500, so don't take my word for it 100%) and you are eating no less than 1200 calories a day, you should just keep doing what you are doing.  Maybe for a week or two your body will be a little out of kilter, but in the long run, think of all the good you are doing for yourself by being healthy! 

My rule of thumb is to always try something for a month before I decide it's not working for me - so maybe give it a couple more weeks and then see where you are.  I'll bet you'll feel great by then!!

What does your trend line say? I think it's fine to weigh every day, if you do it at the same time of day each day, but keep your eye on that trendline. Your weight actually fluctuates during the day, and even if you weighed yourself at EXACTLY the same time every day, the scale weight is only an approximation of your true weight. The trend line is a more accurate indicator of your true weight. I have started to think of my trend line weight as my true weight, so when my weight apparently drops (or rises) overnight, I don't start thinking of myself as being that weight but rather the trend line weight.

That trend line has been very helpful for me.

Beachy - Hi neighbor!  Did not realize we were so close.

I am brand new on this site, and so far am enjoying the tools and the support,

David

I haven't kept track online daily as far as weight....I was doing great keeping track of activities and food for most of the week and did not do it the last two days online, but I did in my paper journal...nothing changed really.

As far as calorie intake...i was keeping at about 500 -800 below....ate more on more active days. 

:-) gonna try this following week and see what happens...crossing fingers and toes.