Last week I was very sick. I took a whole week off from exercise and calorie counting. Let me assure you that I am NOT one of those people who loses their appetite when I'm sick. On the contrary I ran to my old vices like cheetos, chips, cake, cheese, pasta, fast food, and chinese-take out. To tell the truth I was too scared to count up those calories. Laying on the couch for a week not even wearing my pedometer and hardly getting any activity in my days.

This morning I was petrified to get on the scale but was prepared nonetheless to see at least a 3lb gain from the salt alone! To my shock I had a 1lb loss bringing me officially under 180lbs. I don't FEEL skinnier and my clothes even feel just the tinsiest bit tighter.

I'm too confused to be happy about this although I've been looking forward to the number 179 for a long time. I'm not even willing to post it in my ticker yet. What on earth has happened to me?

Weight is the weirdest thing!

I dunno Wannabe

Sometimes we struggle and nothing happens. Sometimes we relax and something does happen. But over the longterm, both me and my body are happier and better if I eat healthier food and stay active.

Take what you've been given today. Remember that encouraging number and just keep on keepin' on.

Were you laid out? Boy, that sounds bad but I just can't find different wording right now.

When I am sick, in bed or on the couch, with my legs up, my weight drops. I am sure that it is fluid loss. Sometimes I am surprised by how small my ankles look then. Maybe you normally carry a little more fluid in your legs and having them elevated made you lose it.

Now, if I could just work from the couch with my feet elevated!

I have found a similar experience when I have taken a week or so off from exercise. Even though you are eating more, something changes in your body from the lack of exercise, probably fluid-related. This past summer I went on a mini-vacation to visit relatives and stopped exercising for about 6 days and pretty much ate like a pig. When I came home I had lost a pound. This after weeks of struggling to lose a pound a week by exercising an hour or more every day and counting calories like crazy. Sometimes you just have to shake your head and move on.

For me, I don't count weight as truly lost until I see the number on the scale at least 3 days in a row. Give yourself a few days and see what the scale shows.

When you are sick your body is fixated on fighting off the virus and that means it is using what it can as energy. You also do lose fluids, like I said, your body is working overtime to fight things off.

I always lose weight, no matter how I eat, after I'm sick. It can be a pound or like when I had the stomach flu, I lost 8 or 9 pounds in 4 days. Fluid loss, I did gain back a few pounds after I started getting more hydrated.

Hopefully you are well? I hope so! Get yourself hydrated and if the scale goes up, don't fret, it happens. Fluids!

Wannabe,

I so carefully share this. BUT.

I have had a 3 times during my journey when I skipped workouts (3-4 days) for being sick, traveling, horrendous weather or whatever. --Definitely was eating more during these periods as well--as evidenced in my food journals. Anyway, I had unexplained weightloss just after the periods of upping calories and decreasing workouts. My weightloss was 3 pound chunks though.

As far as your clothing, I am unsure why that would be. Drink lots of water and get your fiber today and stay away from sodium. I am betting you will see another drop in the morning.

I sure will Susan, that's great advice.

Well I'm glad to hear I'm not the only that's experienced this. I don't let this small unforseen victory to give me cart blanche on eating cheetos again anytime soon, and have gone to a strict 1200 caloric intake for today (i'm a calorie cycler normally).

Hubby also votes for the "your body's working really hard to fight off the virus" theory and thinks that getting over a cold burns a lot of calories.

Ok I'll say it..... Welcome to the 170's dear self!!