[lovegoddess1977]

SO my weight loss has been going great. I have been doing 1200 calories a day and I have lost 23 lbs in the last 3 weeks. Well, I was off on Friday Saturday and sunday. I didn't eat bad at all. I had a few more calories than usual. I had about 1600 calories each day instead of the 1200. Also, I didn't exercise these last three days. I was planning on starting up my exercise again today. WELL.... somehow I gained 6 lbs these last 3 days!!!! WHAT?????? How is that possible????? That makes no sense to me at all and I am extremely upset about this. Does anyone have any ideas of what I did wrong????

[niafabo]

You probably consumed a lot of excess sodium and it's water weight which will come off in a day or two of being on plan. You may also be PMSing which can cause a great deal of temporary "weight gain" for most of us.

[Heather]

lovegoddess -- you didn't do anything wrong. It's just that the scale is, well, evil! Okay, maybe not, but scale fluctuations are very common -- mainly because most of us is water! You may be retaining a lot of water -- maybe you ate some really salty food for example...

Here's a sticky with more information about scale fluctuations: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/weig...er-weight.html

So, don't worry! Just stay on plan and over time you should see results.

[beerab]

It does sound partly to be because of salt but also at over 300 lbs 1200 calories is very very low. You body is holding on to all it can it seems, I would not work out at your weight and eating 1200 calories a day. It's just too little for your body and you might stop losing.

Technically at your weight you could eat around 2000 calories and still lose. I say if you insist on working out you should eat at least 1800 calories a day or your body won't let go of the fat cuz it won't be getting enough nutrients.

I was watching TV the other day and I was watching some program that said restricting calories too much makes it so that when you increase your calories just a bit you gain.

[time2lose]

As the others said weight fluctuates. Give it a few days to settle down.

That said, I have a question about this statement,

I had about 1600 calories each day instead of the 1200.

Did you count the calories or are you estimating? Whenever I have tried to estimate instead of weighing and measuring and actually counting my calories, I go way over on the calories. You may have consumed more than you think.

Another thought, is your 1200 calories per day sustainable for you? There are plenty of people here that can sustain 1200 calories per day. Lori Bell comes to mind. But me?? I couldn't have at first. I had tried many times and then fell off plan so this time I started at 1800 calories and worked my way down. So I was just wondering if you should raise your calorie limit a little. Just a thought.

[lovegoddess1977]

I am pretty happy with the 1200 calories. It took a little while to get used to but now I feel better about it. A few years ago I lost 120 lbs in 9 months on 1200 calories a day. Of course I gained it all back over the years but it worked pretty well for me then. I know that I am older now so it will probably be harder but I have never been more determined in my life. I just get upset easy with the setbacks.

Thinking about it now I did drink a lot more diet pepsi's this weekend instead of water. I will bet that that has something to do with it. Well, today is a new day. I can't let this throw me off.

[NiteNicole]

A little of your weight loss was probably due to dehydration and when you ate more, your body just rehydrated...which translates as pounds on the scale but it's not fat. You couldn't gain six pounds of fat on 1600 calories.

I've read a lot about calorie cycling, cheat days, meals off plan, the Wendy plan for WW - and they all warn that if you restrict a LOT most of the time and then give yourself a cheat or bump up, you will probably notice a small and temporary gain but you should ignore it and go on.

As a side note, you can probably eat a LOT more than 1200 calories and still lose weight. It might not be as fast, but it will be steady.

[beerab]

Yeah soda is the worst- I still don't understand how SODA can be 0 calories. It's got fake sugar crap in it- it's got calories! I just stay away from all that stuff.

You know yourself best but I highly discourage eating 1200 calories a day AND exercising at your weight.

[Niecy]

I agree with everyone and the suggestion to increase the calories. Even if by only 200 more a day. I am 146-147 at the moment and I try to establish at least 1400-1500 daily average and I am losing.

My weight can fluctuate 1-2 lbs overnight depending on what I ate the day before. And we all know it would be freakishly impossible to gain a pound or two of FAT overnight if I am watching my calories. So yes, 3 days off plan could impact the scale just from water and sodium alone. Don't feel bad, I tend to freak out when I see this happen to myself too! It's temporary.

I do hope you will at least give the suggestion a try, once you hit a plateau there is no room left to lower your calories.

And NiteNicole is right! I calorie cycle and on those "cheat" days, the next day is when I sometimes see a bump up. When I drop the cals. again is when I see that weight plus some disappear. Yesterday was a cheat day, and most of my eating was good during the day, but last night I had salad with light ranch dressing, bacon bits and croutons and then Lasagna with garlic bread. Today my scale is a pound higher. SODIUM!

[time2lose]

Well, today is a new day. I can't let this throw me off.

Exactly! Great attitude!