[kimpo101]

I have been tracking my points faithfully almost to the extent of being neurotic about it. Thought I was doing good; pants felt looser, had more energy and just felt better. THEN went to weigh-in and had gained .6 of a pound. How is this possible? I did have a little slip at a cookout for my birthday, but how is it possible to gain that much from one slip? This is my second weigh-in and already feeling the pang of failure. How do you handle it when you have a weigh-in gain?

[Lovely]

We gain weight for many reasons.

First let me get something out. Weight does not mean fat. Weight is weight, and it includes, water, bones, bodily organs & tissues, miscellaneous whatnots and, yes... fat. But weight is not soley fat. This means that if weight goes up... or down... it's not just measuring our fat loss, it's measuring our weight loss. Which includes, but is not limited to, fat.

We gain & lose for various reasons. Perhaps we're retaining water one week. (Salt... alcohol... stress... lots of reasons we retain.) Sometimes we've eaten something particularly heavy before weigh-in. Sometimes we (this is graphic) have to uh, use the bathroom, before the next weigh-in.

About your gain. It is small enough, that it is mostly likely just water retention. Get in a little exercise, and drink enough water to get things moving again. Continue counting your points this week. Just keep going.

I've been on WW for over a year now, and sometimes it feels like every other week I gain. Usually something small like .2 or .4. Truthfully, it's disheartening, even after seeing them a million times. But, having gone through them I know what to expect, and what next week may bring if I just stay on plan for one more week. I shudder to think what I'd weigh if I'd let any of my gains keep me down for long. Or had made me quit! I would not be down 92 lbs that's for sure!

You've come across your first gain, and in all likelihood, it will not be your last... It is a part of the journey. And teaches us patience. And also teaches us that this is not only about losing weight. It's about feeling healthier.

So, what do I do when I see a gain? In short, continue onward. That's all we can do!

[luckymommy]

Wow, that is a great answer from Faerie! I'm not doing WW, but I have in the past and if I'd doing it or not, I can totally relate to this situation. I just wanted to mention another factor: if you lose a lot of weight at one week, then the next week is very likely to be an adjustment weigh in. It seems that my body needs time to figure stuff out and get used to what is going on. I know that's not a very medical explanation, but that's just what happens. Just hang in there. Go to the Goal forum and you'll probably find out that just about everyone there has had that same experience, but what made them reach that goal was consistency. One final thing: you might want to do something different with your workout...change things up a bit. Surprising your body is great for seeing numbers move down faster.
GL.

[momof4under5]

I am not sure what type of excercise or trainin you are doing but if you lifting small weights you could be gaining more muscle and losing fat...sooo therefore the scale will not show you a fat loss...your pants being lose will show you the fat loss....!!!!

[aarron]

I make sure that I not only weigh in, but also take my measurements. I have only lost a few pounds so far, but I have lost 2 inches off my waist!!!! My clothes are more loose, but the scale hasn't really reflected that yet. It makes me feel better to not only use the scale as a tool, but the measuring tape as well.

[luvmyfam]

Everyone's responses are really helpful. So far, I've been losing, but I've not been exercising hard yet.

Dh was SUPPOSED to do WW with me, but he's been doing his own thing. One thing is he's been great about getting out almost every day to walk...I think about 6-8 miles total a day. Plus about every other day he's been doing sit-ups and push-ups. He has been far better about the exercise than I have, but I've been more consistent with eating better (he's been mostly fasting until this week...now this week he's eating, which is good...but he's also snacking on some not-so-good things.).

Anyway...As hard as he has been working, for a while, he didn't see the scale move much. BUT...I've been noticing a difference in his legs and his stomach. Taking measurements will be a big help, as aarron suggested. Then you'll have more than just the scale to show you that you're making a difference.

I need to keep track of my own measurements, too!!

[Kelly_S]

Why The Scale Lies by Renee Cloe,
ACE Certified Personal Trainer

We’ve been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can’t resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can’t bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it’s readings. From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.

Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body’s water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don’t understand what’s happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it’s water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.

Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it’s easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn’t have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That’s why, when it comes to eating, it’s wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.

Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.

Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it’s packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it’s stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it’s associated water. It’s normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.

Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it’s wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It’s the actual weight of everything you’ve had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you’ve finished digesting it.

Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it’s not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it’s likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it’s only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it’s physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you’re really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.

This brings us to the scale’s sneakiest attribute. It doesn’t just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you’ve lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you’re just sitting around. That’s one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue.

Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn’t differentiate between the two. It can’t tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.

If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn’t appeal to you, don’t worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don’t be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It’s a matter of mind over scale.

[fatnflab2fitnfab]

When I have a slight gain like yours was, I don't worry about it too much because I know that the next time I weigh in, I'll probably have a greater loss (and I usually do). Faerie said it best though!!

[shelbysmom]

Chin up girlfriend,
I just stay positive and try to stay on track,ever heard the saying, "If you fall off the horse,just get back on and keep riding" ? Well that's pretty much the jist of it....... I've lost 12 lbs since February and it's been a long long long road and I've still got a long road ahead of me,BUT, last week I gained 2 lbs and this week I haven't lost any,so.........that's right,SO.....I just keep on pressing,I think if you stay positive and excited about your weight loss,everything will be just fine...if you beat yourself up,it'll just make matters worse and you'll end up in a downward spiral....But you'll get there I promise!!

[kimpo101]

Hey everyone! Thanks for the positive replies. I have been totally depressed about it and fell completely off the horse, bumped my head and in a crazy daze at like a pig all week. I have finally regained my composure and except for the sugar in my coffee this morning have decided to get it back together and get back on track with my points and not try and stress if I have to use some of my 35 flex points. Thats what they are there for, right. This website has been such a God send for me and I'm sure for so many others. Its wonderful to find other people who dont judge you for little (or BIG) mistakes and encourage you to continue. Thanks guys!