Words Of Wisdom Needed From Those Who've Dealt With A Gain
After my 4.5lbs loss last week I was on a total high, feeling better than I have in SO long.
This last few days however I've felt fat and bloated compared to how I was feeling last week, and when I stepped on the scales this morning I was hit with a 2lb gain
I haven't done anything different this week to the past 4 months really, so why a gain all of a sudden? My first in over 4 months...
I am absolutely gutted, have been so upset I'm actually near to tears all day.
I have no intention of giving up as I know I'd just end up back where I was 4 months ago, but I REALLY need to words of wisdom to get me through this first gain.
Right now I'm having such melodramatic thoughts as, this is it, I won't be able to lose anymore weight. Or that suddenly for some unknown reason what has been working for 4 months has stopped and is actually making me gain weight.
My official weigh in isn't til Friday and I know I shouldn't have gone on the scales this morning, but I couldn't help it. I know it could be water weight, but it's the first time the numbers on the scales have gone up and it's freaking me out.
Right now I just want to have a good cry and am feeling really sorry for myself. So for those of you who've dealt with a gain when there's been no explanation for it, what did you do to get you through it, and how quickly did that weight come back off and the scales carried on going down?
**ahem** it's 2 lbs, relax a bit! That's a natural human cycle during weight loss, count yourself extremely lucky it's your FIRST GAIN this whole time?! that's awesome! Do the standard things, write everything down and examine it, maybe some extra calories or sodium snuck in there.... but mainly just breathe, relax, physics will do it's job and it will come off if you continue eating less than you require.
It is very discouraging to work really hard and jump on the scale and there is a 2 lb gain. It has happened to alot of people. Just remember this is a lifestyle change. Things will get better. Just don't stop working out and continue to eat clean. You will get through this.
Loving-- I know how discouraging that can be, and I was freaking out every single time it happened, until I realized it was happening to me a LOT. In fact, my weight can fluctuate up as much as five pounds. One word. Water.
What helped me was to get a scale that measures body composition as well as weight. Then I can see in black and white when my % of water is up and my weight is up, and it calms me down.
As long as you've been on plan then you just have to give yourself a break and train your brain to say over and over again "it's water, it's water, it's water."
It doesn't count as a gain unless it happens on your weigh in day! And even then, you are still doing everything right and it'll come off again. There are so many valid reasons for weight to fluctuate from day to day. This is not a big deal, not a reason to throw in the towel, not a reason to panic, and not a reason to change anything about your plan.
When it comes to the scale, I try to look at it with scientific curiosity first. Sure it's no fun to see it go up, but I use it to assess if I did anything different and if not, I shrug and get on the next day - usually to see that whatever went on has come off in total or part.
Okay - that right there is why I stopped getting on the scale in the middle of the week. The scale was a total emotional roller coaster for me. My motivation/happiness got wrapped up in the scale, to the detriment of my weight loss efforts and morale.
Let me just tell you that my weight can fluctuate 5 lbs in a day and it is water weight. Chipotle and sushi are my two biggest offenders and you couldn't pay me to get on the scale the day after indulging.
If it might make you feel better, weigh yourself twice a day for a week and look at all the up and down bobbles and realize they are normal and expected.
What also helped me was charting my weight in Excel and watching the line move down down down over time. Sure it might have ticked up/down/all around, but over time - the line went DOWN.
My other favorite trick was changing my weigh in day temporarily. My weigh in day was always Sunday. If I didn't like what the scale said, I weighed in on Monday and just recorded that weight for the week. In almost every case, the weird bobble I didn't like on Sunday was gone by Monday.
Everyone's weight goes up and down. This is normal. You are normal. You are doing great, do not let the scale boss you around and determine your worth.
You have very little control over what the scale says. Focus on what you CAN control. Eating right, exercising, getting enough sleep.
Head down and keep going. If you weigh yourself more frequently than once a week (and many of us here do!), then you'll gradually gain a kind of "detachment" from what the numbers do from day to day. There are always fluctuations, whether we see them on the scales or not - look at the overall trend over a period of weeks or months, not simply days.
A gain of 2lbs is not unusual. Our body weigh can fluctuate by more than that - and back - within one day. Give your body time and please please be patient with yourself
And you're definitely not the only one. So many of us here have "blips" along the way. Let's help each other get over them all and towards our GOALS!
If you have been on plan the only excuse is water weight and just a natural fluctuation of your body. It'll be ok! Just keep doing what you have been doing
Head down and keep going. If you weigh yourself more frequently than once a week (and many of us here do!), then you'll gradually gain a kind of "detachment" from what the numbers do from day to day. There are always fluctuations, whether we see them on the scales or not - look at the overall trend over a period of weeks or months, not simply days.
A gain of 2lbs is not unusual. Our body weigh can fluctuate by more than that - and back - within one day. Give your body time and please please be patient with yourself
And you're definitely not the only one. So many of us here have "blips" along the way. Let's help each other get over them all and towards our GOALS!
Well said, Salsa. I have reached the stage of detachment.
I just want to add that we all have different "rules" for what we count as a gain. I weigh every day and "count" the loss as soon as it occurs, and I always round down, so that 230.8 counts as 230.
Then, I categorically ignore any fluctuations UP if I've been on plan (and I'm pretty strict about staying on plan). It took me a while to train myself, but I've got the hang of it.
I know weekly weigh-ins work for a lot of people, but it would make me crazy worrying that I'd happen to be up on my weigh in day.
So, make a rule that pleases you and then stick to it. There is no one way that is right for everyone.
I feel you. I just started and have been going steadily down, but due to the holidays and everything I'm standing still. I went down, but then it went right back up... In the back of my mind I'm already worried that maybe I won't be able to do this. When you put it into perspective though, I know I haven't been eating perfectly, and I know that I am having some water retention, so I just need to honestly look at what I'm doing and work on that area and there's no way I can fail over the long term. We can do this, we just have to be honest with ourselves, and make the necessary changes. No need to worry about failure, or anything like that.
I'm going to try to attach a picture of part of my weight-loss graph. I am a daily weigher and as others have said, you can learn to kind of become detached from the actual daily fluctuations. I don't like to weigh weekly because what if I happen to be UP on weigh-in day? I may have lose 2 pounds but if I'm on an up fluctuation, I'll never know it! There are different schools of thought; weighing weekly is what keeps some people sane but it would drive me nuts.
Anyway, take a look at my graph and you'll see the fluctuations. They're nothing to worry about. (The horizontal bars are 5-pound marks)
Words Of Wisdom Needed From Those Who've Dealt With A Gain
what they said!
