Okay, I know this may sound ridiculous.. but please bare with me. I have been on SBD for 23 days. I had lost 17 pounds in 23 days.. BUT NOW.. make that 13 pounds!! I have gained 4 pounds this week. And I am just beside myself. I haven't cheated! NOT EVEN ONCE. I am in Phase 2, and have had 1/2 cup of oatmeal ONCE, a handful of strawberries ONCE, and 1/2 cup of Uncle Sam cereal TWICE. What the **** is going on with me? Why have I GAINED and not lost. I so feel like.. why am I even bothering. I know I will continue on...because I refuse to give up so quickly. BUT DARNIT.. Im ticked! I haven't done anything to deserve a 4 pound weight gain! Haven't been exercising.. so don't give me the muscle weighs more than fat speach because I have already heard that two times today from my mom and a coworker!! Please tell me what to do. I can't be on Phase 1 for the rest of my life.

Is TOM coming?

NOPE. My period ended on April 22nd. That was only 11 days ago.

Are you exercising?

I may be jealous but IMHO 17 pounds in just over three weeks may be too fast, particularly when you have so little to lose. Your body may be saying Whoa there! I'd just keep on making healthy choices and see what the end of the month brings. Slow loss is more sustainable than fast loss.

(By the way, muscle does not weigh more than fat. They weigh the same but fat takes up less room.)

Maybe you had something salty and you are retaining water???

Sorry to hear about that, Moncheree. It must be frustrating. However, please be aware, most of all, of this from Mandalinn82's wise signature:

The scale doesn't tell what you gained or lost...only the (current, possible) amount. In this case, my guess would be that you lost a LOT of water and that you've gained some of it back. There could be a variety of reasons for that. I think "wait and see" is a good approach, but here are some things to do in the meantime:

• Make sure you are drinking lots of water (if your urine is very, very pale yellow, you're getting enough). If you don't get enough, you'll hold on to what you have.
• Add exercise. You can only restrict calories so much. It is possible (but unlikely, considering what you've added back in) that you have added in enough calories to stop your loss. Either way, exercise will help "rev" your metabolism, make you less hungry, build muscle (which burns calories even at rest), and burn far more calories than you'd ever be willing to cut out of your daily diet for very long. It's essential to any successful plan for health and weightloss. Plus, it helps reduce frustration!
• Try adding things in one at a time in Phase 2. It's possible that one of the things you added caused you to feel more "crave-y" than other foods and you may have eaten a lot of on-plan foods as a response. If you only try one new thing a week, you get a chance to see what is affecting you.

I'm sure things will work themselves out. Glad you aren't planning on quitting...you have a lot of success ahead of you! :

Weight fluctuations are completely normal, frustrating (if you allow them to be), but normal.

I weigh more than twice what you do, and my "normal" fluctuations are also more than twice what you're experiencing. I can do "everything right," and still gain as much as 10 lbs, occasionally more in water weight. It's not always easy to pinpoint the why. Some are obvious for me: TOM, but also sometimes mid cycle - maybe ovulation, I'm not sure. An increase in sodium (such as chinese or any restaurant food), and not all dieatary sodium tastes salty, so you can't always go by taste alone. If I drink significantly more or significantly less water than my usual, it can take several days to adjust. I love fruits and vegetables, and if I stay in my calorie range, but eat a lot of high fiber foods, it can seem like I've gained weight, when really I just haven't digested the high fiber foods, yet.

I've also noticed that when I eat very low carb (which Phase I is), I tend to lose more in water weight. I don't think that means anyone should stick with very low carb, you may just have to realize that you will weight a couple pounds more on normal carb eating, than on low carb eating. But not all pounds are "bad" pounds.

You've got to remember that one week means almost nothing in terms of weight loss. You've got to look at trends, not just one week or you'll drive yourself insane.

I agree with all of the above. And as the girls in the forum would say, a pound of muscle is still a pound, it doesn't weigh more than a pound of fat. But yeah, it happens and I think all our wise women here stated the possibilities.

But please keep on truckin!

thanks ladies. I think that maybe I am not drinking enough water. I'm probably retaining water I'm thinking.. because 2 days ago I was 142 and this morning 145. And, I do need to start exercising. I know I do.. just so darn tired all the time.. Im so busy!!! The only time I have to exercise is at 4 am... Ugh..
Thanks for all of the input. You all... tell me straight up how it is without the sugar coating or the "im sorry's"...
THANK YOU!

Also if I'm a little constipated my weight goes up. And constipation can be a problem for some on SB. I started measuring my waist when I started SB and saw a consistent decline. For me, this was as good a way to measure progress as the scale.

This is why I weigh myself (nearly) daily . I initially got SOOO discouraged the first time it jumped like that. Then I realized, it always went up after a hard run. I guess retaining water? Then, the little fluctuations were just 'normal' for me. I only become concerned when they stay longer than 4-5 days!!!

I also agree on the measurements. Looking back, I can't believe how thin I got last summer, without even realizing it!! I'm glad I wrote the measurements down for before and after!

Good luck! We're all here with you!

I like to weigh myself just as much as the next fat chick, but I only take one reading seriously. Pick a day of the week (mine is sunday) and on that morning, before you eat anything, right after you wake up, but AFTER you go to the bathroom, weigh yourself. Then, next sunday (or whatever day you picked) do it again. use this day and time of day to keep accurate track of your weight. If you want to see how big fluctuations can be, get back on the scale that night before bed, and don't be shocked if you weigh 3-5 lbs more than you did that morning!

I was going to ask if you'd pooped lately. Make sure to get all your water, all your veggie servings, and 1 serving of beans every day! Make sure you're eating ENOUGH calories too, because if you're not, your body will think it's starving and make you retain every little thing you put in it.

And just stay on course! You can do it! We all go through ups and downs, but I can guarantee you this: You won't ever reach your goal if you lie down and quit. If I had a dollar for every time my weight went back up over the last 5 years, I'd never have to work again! Suck it up, smile, suck down some water, inhale some veggies, wolf down some beans, and go for a walk.

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!

Lisa

Weezle and the celebrations! Too funny...

Moncheree, I doubt you want to hear this right now (I'm sure I wouldn't have), but exercise actually helps you feel SOOOO much more energetic. Really. Even if you do it at 4 am, as bizarre as that sounds.

For now, ease into it. Try some tabatas (4 mins, HUGE impact!), walk at lunch or during breaks, park farther away, take the stairs, etc. Try renting a Walk Away The Pounds DVD (20 min workout). Eventually, start making the time to work out. Figure out a way to do it. It's worth it. Really. And this is coming from a former hater of any exercise that didn't involve chewing. Really.