why did I just gain two pounds?

My weight has been bouncing up and down since my last time of the month and I hadn't been very regular if you know what I mean. So, last week I decided I needed more fiber, water, and exercise and increased all 3.  I haven't changed the amount of calories I have been eating still 1200/day but I make sure that I get at least 25 g of fiber each day and drink 8 glasses of water. I have also started to run 3 times a week (half run half walk for now). It seemed to be working I have become really regular once or twice a day but then I got on the scales... I have gained two pounds in one week!!!  I have no idea what is going on. Even my clothes that were becoming loose fit are tighter again. Should I stop eating so much fiber? Or maybe this is a plateau? Do you gain weight when you plateau? Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to get my weight loss back on track?

I don't think it was the fiber and I'm pretty sure that you don't gain back wieght when you plateau...it might just be water wieght. Sometimes in the summer your body retains and your weight is alll over. I was going through that yesterday. Don't worry I don't think you can gain 2lb of fat from taking fiber :)

Thanks for the reply. I also just remembered that I quit taking birth control pills this month after 2 years of taking them. That might have something to do with it. I will wait it out for a few more weeks and see what happens.

Original Post by tia_lee:

My weight has been bouncing up and down since my last time of the month and I hadn't been very regular if you know what I mean. So, last week I decided I needed more fiber, water, and exercise and increased all 3.  I haven't changed the amount of calories I have been eating still 1200/day but I make sure that I get at least 25 g of fiber each day and drink 8 glasses of water. I have also started to run 3 times a week (half run half walk for now). It seemed to be working I have become really regular once or twice a day but then I got on the scales... I have gained two pounds in one week!!!  I have no idea what is going on. Even my clothes that were becoming loose fit are tighter again. Should I stop eating so much fiber? Or maybe this is a plateau? Do you gain weight when you plateau? Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to get my weight loss back on track?

Are you sure you're eating enough? Some people start out with the 1200 calorie a day diet but once some cardio pops in you may need a little bit more. If you have too much of a deficit your body may be clinging on to every calorie you have and not assisting your weight loss or maintaining goals.

When you start exercising your muscles retain a bit of water because they don't really know what's going - they aren't used to using up their glycogen stores ... it should go away after a couple of days.

I have heard your muscles can retain water. Hopefully that is what's going on. I will wait another week or so and maybe try increasing my calories a bit.

Thanks everyone