HELP!! Lost 6lbs in first week then gained 4lbsin 3 days??

I dont understand my body!! I stared my diet on the 5th of jan at a weight of 164lbs, i was healthy all week, only exercised once for 45mins and lost 6lbs. I weighed myself this morning because i couldnt wait a week, and low and behold the same scales say i have gained 4lbs! In 3 days?? Also the thing that got me is i have been doing exercise for at least 45 miutes every night, mostly high impact cardio! My mother told me to only weigh myself once a week if i dont want to see it fluctuate as she has, in the past, lost 42lbs through diet and exercise.

I know it's only my second week but i dont want to get a defeatist attitude so soon. I stuck to my diet just as i did last week so why the weight gain? I am going to weigh myself on sunday as normall do you think it will have changed by then if i stick at it? Thanks guys

It might be your water weight fluctuating...? I am in the same boat as you, started on jan 5.  I havent dropped anything and I am doing cardio like you. :-(

I think it might take a little bit for the body to kick in. But I have also heard that fluctuations of 5 lbs every couple of days is normal.  So I would suggest, (which I am going to try to do as well) is pick a day like your mom said and just see if it drops any.  Hope this helps a bit, I am learning about how to do this too.

Yes i think this too because my jeans are still the same fit and everything, just really sucks to see that on the scale!! I try not to weigh myself but every time i'm in the bathroon i can just see the scales out of the corner of my eye like they are saying "stand on me, stand on me" haha.

So what is your start weight and goal weight then?

So, in just over a week you've lost 2lbs.  That's pretty much the most anyone should expect to lose.  I don't see what the problem is.

O my gosh!! MEEE TOOO.  I was JUST talking to my mom last night about how bummed I am that my jeans are still tight on me.  AKA feels like I have still been eating junk food etc, instead of eating healthier etc.

Also, I agree with the scale thing!! I have a want to get on it but at the same time feel its my worst enemy cause I will just hate myself for not losing anything or just a pound.

On another note, no one has written back on my post. :-( So I have a few questions maybe you can help me with???

I am 5'4", 21, female, CW 150, GW 120. 

First one, is it better to change up your exercise routine?  For example, use the elliptical one night and a fitness video the next? Or is it better to stay on the elliptical and do variations of short bursts and then moderate pace, or longer time?

Second, I have heard different opinions on eating breakfast.   I have heard to eat breakfast in the morning to get the metabolism burning early in the day.  Then I also have heard that "a calorie is a calorie".  I have changed my diet so it is healthier, but didn’t know which "rule" to use.

Hey - I responded! Go back and look. ;)

I weigh myself daily. It has become part of my routine, first thing in the morning, after I go to the bathroom and naked. Not that I am recommending this, I am just saying that because I am prepared for the fluctuations I may see and I know when to expect them. I have been fighting my weight battle for the last three years, starting at 207, to now 145.

I also use other measures to know if I am on the right track. I do my measurements, check body fat (my scale), and of course weight. Don't let the scale have that much power, that it can make you feel defeated. You are doing things right, give your body the time it needs.

I remember seeing a cartoon a while back that has always stuck with me. Two little girls are standing next to a scale. One little girl is looking at the other one and she says "Don't step on it, it will make you cry." I saw this cartoon around the time I was first starting out. It reminded me how silly it was. Just a number. Don't let it get you down.

trayceebee - I'm with you - I weigh every day, and I don't worry about the fluctuations. When I was working on losing weight (I'm now maintaining), I logged my weight every day - that's how I got my pretty weight chart. Yeah, there were lots of zigs and zags, but over time, a nice downward trend.

But if you can't handle seeing the fluctuation, better to hide the scale.

I'm the same, I weigh myself everyday but ignore fluctuations. My 'weigh day' however is on mondays, and that day is when I log my weight into CC.

I've also noticed that your weight doesn't seem to vary as much if you snack/eat regularly and in good, healthy amounts and drink water throughout the day. It seems to keep your body a lot more in tune. Last time I lost weight I would see fluctuations of 5-7lbs! But that was because I wasn't eating enough and binging on water instead. This time I've had a steady flow of water and food, and amazingly enough the most I've seen the scale move up is 2lbs, usually 1lb if anything, and often it goes down a little! Its a lot more motivating XD

Thanks Amethystgirl!! I saw that after I had posted to indiabutler!!! :-)

Amethystgirl what i am saying is not that i am unhappy to have lost 2lbs but that i didnt understand the flucuation of that much in 3days that was what the problam was. Only wanted to know why this happens not why i am not loosing more!

I got that - it was more of a general comment - people go back and forth on whether to weight daily or weekly on this site - my view is if you can handle it, daily is fine. If you get upset, better to go weekly. I wasn't judging where you fell.

But as floggingsully said, 2lb in a little over a week is great!

oh sorry amethystgirl i posted your name in that comment instead of floggingsully!!

I understand what your saying about when to weigh yourself. Think it is a bad idea to do it most days if you are weak willed because if it looks like a re-lapse sometimes people give up or bing! I would do neither but do all the same get annoyed at those bloomin' scales at time!

Thanks for the positive comment!! and i am with you when you say you loose more weight on a steady flow of food and water. Once i was going through a bad patch and lost 10lbs in 2 weeks through basically eating a few bits of toast every day, but low and behold once i came around i had put it all abck on plus a few extra lbs!

Dont stress out. Have you tried taking measurements of your body?

Sometimes the scale is the worst enemy becuse of water weight.

Have to take into consideration that weight also?

I started with my first measurements today so we will see!!

I have no idea how much water to drink becaus eosme people say if you drink too much your body retains it then if you dont drink enough you wont looses as much weight!!   6 to 8 glasses a day seems a lot to me and if i even try and drink that much i'm just running to the toilet every half hour, which i cant be doing at work....

This seems to be my cycle of losing:

Lose 1 pound, gain 1/2 a pound. Lose 1 pound, gain 1/2 pound...every few days!

a little over a week ago -

Monday: 175

Wednesday: 175.5

Friday - 174.5

Monday - 174

today - 174.5

I'm guessing I'll be about 173 in a few more days and then back up to 173.5!

Original Post by indiabutler:

I have no idea how much water to drink becaus eosme people say if you drink too much your body retains it then if you dont drink enough you wont looses as much weight!!   6 to 8 glasses a day seems a lot to me and if i even try and drink that much i'm just running to the toilet every half hour, which i cant be doing at work....

Actually, it's the opposite of your first sentence. Not drinking enough water will cause your body to retain it, while drinking enough water will cause your body to shed water weight. I just experienced this for myself over the weekend--salt, alcohol, and not enough water caused me to be up 4 pounds on Monday. I drank tons of water and was down 5 pounds the next day.

Also, your body will adjust to drinking more water so hopefully after a few days at 6-8 glasses you won't be peeing quite so often!

My body does the same thing I lose a couple of pounds, gain a couple of pounds, lose a couple pounds and so on. What I have noticed is that my measurements are decreasing even thought the weight on the scale hasn't changed. And my base weight decreases so overall you are losing weight it's just coming off slowly (possibly) and that's what you want it to do because maybe it won't be as easy to gain back. From what I understand slow weight loss= real weight loss. (But I'm not an expert) Basically, keep exercising and eating right and the weight is bound to come off. You may also want to try weighing yourself once a week rather then every day because true weight loss takes longer than 1 day. Hope that helps a little.

Many things could be in factor here.  The first amount of weight you lose (your 6 lbs) was mostly water weight. Make sure you are keeping your body flushed out everyday by drinking tons of water.  Fat is water soluble.

Also, if you have been exercising, you probably have gained a small amount of muscle weight, which is good.  There is this little period from the time you start excerising and before your body starts losing fat when it has both so it seems as though you have gained weight.

If you are a woman, check your cycle.  You might be PMSing and have gained a few pounds due to this also.  Good news is that you burn more calories when you are PMSing than when you aren't (hence the massive amount of cravings that you have during that week).  Keep your calories at the same amount and try not to overindulge.  When you go back to normal, you will be amazed by how many lbs you can drop by doing this.

I weight myself once a week. It used to be on Fridays so I could indulge a bit at the weekend & not worry about the scales. However, I have decided to change it to Mondays to keep me on the straight & narrow over the weekend.

I couldn't weight myself every day. The scales & I have a complicated relationship & we argue regularly. We don't like each other & like to keep our liaisons brief. Twice a week tops.

My Mum has alway said that too. Looks like mother knows best!