I'm getting a yo-yo and am worried

I've been doing this for a couple of weeks and have been keeping up alright with activities and dieting. I was just wondering if anyone else, when they first started, saw a bit of a yo-yo on the scale. I was really excited last week cause I had lost about11 pounds since I moved out of my parents house (it was about a pound, two pounds since I started recording here) but then I got on the scale today and it says that I'm back up! From 199 lbs to 205!! But I feel slimmer and I think I look slimmer. I think maybe it's just muscle mass catching up? But ack! It's so disheartening to see that! I was just wondering if anyone else experienced this as well? And if not... any tips on what I might be doing wrong?

I have and I've had several trainers tell me is just weight from new muscle.

Yeah, I am experiencing the same thing, this 1 lb, i lose it one day I gain it back 2-3 days later, then i lose again and gain again. Has been going on for 2 weeks now and is totally frustrating me. and this is on top of eating at least 400 cal deficit per day and exercising 2-3 days a week. So i guess at one point the weight loss does slow down and maybe one does end up gaining more muscle mass.

 

You have no reason to listen to me, I am lets say the mechanice with the broke down car in the yard.  I am a nutritionist by degree I have never yet exercised that degree but have enough background to stay healthy and I am over 100 pounds over weight.  but  from my studies, make sure you are not depriving yourself of caloric intake. This will not only make you feel sluggish but slow your metabolism down and you can gain.  So I know that this first week made you feel great and you probably thought if I eat less then I will loose more next week....  A woman should intake 13 calories per pound so if you weight 200lbs you should eat 2600 calories to maintain your weight.  now to loose you should decrease 500 calories for every 2 to 3 lbs a week.  Really you at this weight should never go under 1600 calories a day.  If you want to increase that weight loss do work outs. Cardio is great but remember to do some muscle training, remember that muscle weighs more than fat but dont let that stop you from doing this type training your body needs it!  Swimming is the best, threading water can help you to shed pounds and you dont feel like you are excersizing at all.  Good luck!

Sooo.... I am also frustrated beyond belief... I have been dieting for about 6 weeks. The first few weeks I shed about 7 pounds. YEA! But in the last two weeks I have re-gained 4 pounds.

I am trying to maintain about 1500 calories a day and I strength train and do cardio 3-4 times a week at the gym. There is just no conceivable way I have consumed 14,000 extra calories in those two weeks to gain 4 pounds. And I don't think it is water weight as that time of month is still a full two weeks off. And the trainer I am seeing says you cannot gain that much muscle in two weeks either.

I weigh 226 and am 5'1" and 38 years old. I have a LONG way to go, so going the wrong way this early on is really debilitating!!!! 

darleneseufzer, it sounds, from what you are saying, that this should be working for me. My doctor told me I should eat 1300 calores a day and NEVER more. I found that to be really un-liveable for one and it seemed like too much of a deficit for right now. But was he right? I mean, here I am GAINING weight eating 1500. It makes no sense. I was not gaining that much weight every two weeks when I was eating whatever I wanted and sitting on my butt all day.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!

NEVER eat more? i always thought it was better to vary it a little from day to day to keep your body guessing, i.e. i generally try to eat 1400 one day and then up to 1600 the next just to vary it. its also strange to me that at 226 your doctor would recommend you at 1300, according to the calorie counter you should be eating at least 1800.

 **edit: and trying several different caloric intake calculators 1800 was the lowest number with the highest being around 2600... 

Ok Sarah!  I am 41 and I can tell you loosing weight after hitting 30 has gotten harder every year.  As we age everything ages including our metabolism.  Dont be discouraged!!!  Also depending on what you eat when you eat it can also be an issue.  Remember try to stay away from carbs after 3 or 4 pm, eat them at breakfest and lunch!  Also anything whole wheat is better because it breaks down easier.  I have had in the past people tell me that multi grain or whole wheat can have more calories and this is true the calorie content is not the reason for changing to that it is because it breaks down easier.  I have been slowly changing my family to whole wheat pasta, I started out like 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white.  withing weeks we have gone to all wheat.  remember buy it then eat it, dont let it sit in the cupboard too long it will never get softer than aldente...  also it takes a little longer to cook, so test it.  The only other thing I can think of right now is remember to eat breakfest. It starts that metabolism up, and if possible add something crunchy to it, experts say eat an apple or celery with breakfest the crunchy seems to boost that metabolism.

If all of this sounds familiar and you are excersizing all these things, you might have hit a major plateo and it will pass.  you will see, maybe you will get on the scale next week and loose a bunch!!!  DONT WEIGH YOURSELF EVERYDAY!!!  It will discourage you!!! 

I have been drinking the kelloggs protein water, it is good and keeps me full too.  Also Kash N Karry has a diet drink, waist watchers..  look for it somehow it gives me energy!!!  I hope you do better!!

I think the doctor based the 1300 on my height, not my weight. I usually trust him completely (the doctor that is... been seeing him for 12 years). But this is the first time I have been upset with him. He knows how hard it is for me to lose weight with almost no thyroid function and he made it sound like a death sentence.... ugh. He has been losing weight (so much easier for guys anyway) and I guess just thinks it should be that easy for me too. But I'd bet a million bucks he eats more than 1300 calories a day. :)

 Anyway, I am definitely doing the whole wheat thing and usually don't eat many carbs with dinner... but I could do better about that. I will try that.

Thanks

Sarah

 

 

 

Original Post by ciryature:

but then I got on the scale today and it says that I'm back up! From 199 lbs to 205!!

Ciryature: This is normal and nothing to worry about. If you weigh yourself several times during the day, you will find that your weight varies by about 5 lbs anyway. Are you weighing yourself in the same clothes every time? At the same time of day? Have you eaten lately? Been to the bathroom? Showered?

I understand why it is recommended not to weigh yourself every day. But I find that doing that gives me great insight into my body's weight variation. Try not to look at the scale as a challenge. The number on that scale has no power over you. It is meaningless by itself. If you enter several days' worth of data into your CC weight log, you will notice a green trend-line on the graph. That trend-line is what you should be interested in. It tells you what direction your weight is trending towards. Your weight will bounce around like the stock market, but in the end, the trend is all that matters.

Original Post by sarahs4boys:

Sooo.... I am also frustrated beyond belief... I have been dieting for about 6 weeks. The first few weeks I shed about 7 pounds. YEA! But in the last two weeks I have re-gained 4 pounds.

I am trying to maintain about 1500 calories a day and I strength train and do cardio 3-4 times a week at the gym.

Sarah: See my comments above on scales. But also, you should make sure to eat more on exercise days. Calculate your calorie burn for the exercise you do and eat that many calories extra for that day. Eat some good protein to help your muscles rebuild right after your workout.

Otherwise I'm afraid you may be starving your body and lowering your metabolism. This will have a tendency to stall your weight loss. It happened to me. I documented my plight here:

http://caloriecount.about.com/users/phord/121 895.html

and here:

http://caloriecount.about.com/users/phord/148 234.html