Almost ready to give up already!

  • I have another question.. I know, I know I bug. I just weighed myself and instead of 175 (what I usually am about this time) I am 179! I did have dinner but not nearly enough to weigh that much. What is going on?? I only had 1300 calories today and I am gaining back my weight so fast I am getting extremely depressed. I don't want to go back on low carb but for some people is there only certain ways to lose weight? Also, is it possible to gain 2-5 pounds in one day?
  • I hope you don't give up! Stay with us!
    I think it's best to weight yourself at the same time everyday, ususally first thing in the morning. That will give you the best chance of accuracy. When you weigh throughout the day there a lot of factors than account for differences.
    Don't give up! You can do it!
  • Fluctuations happen for all sorts of crazy reasons. Don't give up, take a deep breath, and instead weigh yourself tomorrow morning, even even better - a few days from now in the morning, before you have eaten anything. The gain in the scale could turn out to very well mean nothing other than your body is holding on to extra water, etc.

    By the way, unless you have eaten 7,000+ calories, it is not possible for you to have gained 2-5 pounds of fat in one day.
  • I do weigh a few more pounds at night. I am learning to just not look then. I weigh myself first thing in the morning and it is working great. just drinking water can make you "gain" weight so even if you didn't eat a few pounds worth of food it can go up. It doesn't 'stick' don't worry.
  • Don't give up! My weight fluctuates like crazy mad during the day, making me crazy mad if I weigh myself at other times than in the morning.

    Although I weigh in every day I treat the overall results as week by week. As long as the trend moves downwards you're on the right track!
  • I agree with what everyone said here, it is usually best to weigh yourself once a week, in the morning, right after you pee.
    Another approach - maybe you should measure your loss with inches or dress sizes, instead of pounds? That way you won't obsess so much over those little pounds that sneak in there after meals!

    And as a final note - stay focused on your behavior and eating changes, not so much the numbers.

    Hang in there!
  • I can fluctuate nearly 5 lbs during the course of a day. You KNOW there is no way you gained 4 lbs of fat since you woke up, you would have had to consume 14000 calories, I think you would have noticed eating 14000 calories. These fluctuations are very normal and natural and happen to EVERYBODY.

    Pick up a glass, it's not that heavy. Walk over to the sink, fill it up. Wow, that glass is heavy - wow, water is HEAVY. Imagine drinking that glass of water, you will now weigh YOU + WATER and the scale will reflect that. Did you gain weight? Nope.

    If the daily fluctuations bug you, quit weighing everyday or at least quit weighing multiple times a day. It might ease your mind to record your weight in an Excel spreadsheet, the line might zig and zag a bit, but over time you'll be able to see a downward slope.
    Personally, I only weigh myself on Sundays, first thing in the morning because that is the time of day when I weigh the least
  • If you're switching from low carb to a higher carb diet, please realize that anywhere from 3-8 pounds regain is normal. This is not fat! This regain is simply glycogen stores and water in your muscles. When you're on low carb, your glycogen stores are low or non-existant, when you begin eating a higher percentage of carbs, you have glycogen stores again.

    Remember back to your first and maybe second week of low carb--you probably dropped an absurd amount of weight, and then began losing at a regular pace after that. The reason you dropped so much in the first two weeks is because you were depleting your glycogen stores and with the gylcogen went some water in your muscles, too.

    Don't be afraid, just accept that the number on the scale is going to go up a few pounds when you get off of low carb--it's not fat. Accept that as your new 'now' point and go from there. If you're just switching over, your body is replenishing its glycogen stores and getting used to using carbs as fuel again. Any diet change can also cause you to retain fluids--give it a couple weeks to stabilize. If you don't like low carb, then don't do it! For some people (like me), it works and for the most part, we like it! For others, it's really not sustainable.
  • Great post, Azure.

    I think that all makes sense, along with having eaten and more water retention due to more sodium in your body can all add up to a lot. I think that every day 5, pound fluctuations have to be considered possible. At the end of a month, you can look to see how much you've really lost.

    You've lost quite a bit since you've begun, Rikku, don't forget that. It's never going to be easy - just keep going at it!
  • Dont give up
    if your gaining that in a day its water. Your probably doing PMS water gain. Don't get discouraged avoid the scale like the plague. Use measurements instead. Scales can be evil and they lie. After your TOM you'll find a delightful 10lb drop sometimes.
  • If you give up, where will you be a month from now? How pissy would that make you? I know, I've quit twice and am right back where I started from. Doing any type of strength workingout will also up the scale until you lose the fluid. Just push through this and the scale will go in the right direction.

    Touch your toes
    And touch your toes
    And wish you skipped those Oreos
  • I agree with everyone here And I want to add that if I have too much salt in a day, it affects me like crazy for the rest of the day (and sometimes in the morning). If it's the week before TOM, and I eat too much salt, I won't see that go away until TOM does... Sometimes you just have to keep pushin through the hard times!!!