Causes of sudden weight gain when counting calories?
Hi!
I'm 20 and am trying to lose a significant amount of weight finally. I have been dieting for a week now by counting calories and carbs. When I weighed myself yesterday, the scale said I had gained 2 pounds; when I weighed today, it said 3 more, so a total of 5 pounds in two days. Is that possible? I've kept my calories under 1200 and haven't went much over 100 carbs a day (Not great but still). It's not PMS either, I actually just had my period. It's just really discouraging to see that when I've been eating well and trying hard. I haven't been exercising a lot because I had a cold, but I did go for a 2 mile walk today and plan to do a lot more. Any ideas of why the fluctuation?? When I weighed yesterday, it was in the morning (when it said I'd gained 2 pounds) and the second time was just a few minutes ago. I know you're not supposed to weigh at night but I was curious.
The scale is finicky and no its not possible to gain fat that fast. Basically water fluctuations due to retention can cause the scale to go up. I usually weigh 3-5 lbs more at night than in the morning. And excess sodium, hormones, working out, being sick, not drinking enough water, etc, etc can cause your body to hold onto excess water. So just keep drinking water and don't fret too much about the scale.
Did you recently do anything strenuous like a new exercise or anything? Or did you injure anything that could be swollen?
Honestly, I know these fluctuations are frustrating, which is why I'm back...again, but you can't sweat over them too much. I would give it a good week before entering panic mode.
This happens to me when i put salt on my food. Try to limit your salt intake and drink more water.Weighing yourself naked first thing in the morning before eating/drinking will give you an accurate number. Your clothes are weight and so is the glass of water or food in your stomach. So all these factors could be playing a roll.
Definitely water weight! Up your water intake, watch your sodium intake like mentioned above. I know it is frustrating, I have that problem all the time.
I see you've already lost significant weight, congrats. But you also say that you started counting calories a week ago. So, does that mean you have some time off from watching what you eat? The reason I ask is because if you were eating a high calorie diet just before starting your calorie counting, then you might be seeing weight from a week ago on the scale.
But keep doing what you are doing!!! It will work. Look at the goal stories for inspiration. Try to look at the scale numbers as data, not as a representation of your worth. Keep up the good work!
Thanks guys!
An added note, I looked back at my calorie app (that also tracks water) and the most I'd had over the past couple weeks was 32oz. so it's probably water retention!
Glad you sorted this out! Water weight is so annoying but it’s also a sign that your body is dehydrated. I keep my 20oz water bottle handy and drink about 4 bottles, not counting teas. If you find it hard to up your water intake, buy a fancier bottle, on Amazon you can find a trillion funny bottles and they’re pretty cheap.
I highly recommend buying a scale that measure body fat and muscle. Those measurements are usually much more consistent than your net weight because they don't get changed by bloat or a large meal.
Just an update if anyone cares, it was my scale!! It started giving me weird numbers (and 4lb weight gain/loss within 20 minutes) so I realized something was wrong. I went and bought a more expensive scale that I felt was definitely better quality and saw a 13lb weight loss! So excited! Weird thing is, the broken scale was only a month or so old and had a weight limit of 450, so I know I didn't break it! I feel so relieved; I was about to give up
Causes of sudden weight gain when counting calories?
