I know weight fluctuates every day. I know that eating certain foods, more sodium, etc. can contribute to so-called weight gain. But I have been SO careful this last week with my eating. I've cut DRAMATICALLY back on my sodium, and it seemed to help... for a couple days. I went from eating an average of 3800mg of sodium a day to 2700mg. I've been drinking a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day (in addition to the occasional cup of hot tea, sweetened with Splenda). I've been eating more lean meat, more vegetables (no added salt), more fruits, less pasta and bread and substituting whole wheat where I can. I exercised for 6 1/4 hours last week, the most I've ever done before. It felt great, and a couple days ago I thought I had finally broken through my 2-week plateau.

Then yesterday morning came. I'm a daily weigher, I like to see how my weight fluctuates. Normally it's no more than a pound. Yesterday, I weighed myself and the scale said 173. The day before, it had been 171. I thought, okay, it must be a fluke. Maybe I had more sodium the day before, maybe I didn't drink enough water. So yesterday I drank more water, cut back a bit more on the sodium. I thought it might help.

This morning my weigh-in came around... 174. 174? How could I have GAINED ANOTHER POUND when I've been so good and careful? To be working so hard and have gained 3 pounds? I don't get it. What am I doing wrong?

You are weighing every morning and letting the numbers mess with your head! Other than that, and the fact that I think your sodium is still too high, you are doing everything right! Weightloss is all about a trend...and yours is downwards. Don't let short-term fluxuations kill your drive. Keep doing what you know is right- eat less, eat more healthy choices, and exercise more and the fat will come off.

Are you journaling what you eat? If you want to post it, we can take a look and try to help you. Any idea how many calories and the nutrient ratios you are consuming?

Mel

Most likely, I'd say it's the exercise and the salt. Just from my experience, 2700 mG of salt is way to much. I retain water at anything over 1500mG. The uppage in exercising will also make you muscles swell (which is water retention).

When I started exercising again, I got so discouraged because, suddenly, the thighs in all my pants were unbelievably tight! These were pants that I had worn through pregnancy when I was 20 pounds heavier. After a week or so, though, they just weren't tight anymore and most of the fat on my thighs was gone, like majik! O_o

Anyway, your body won't react to the changes you make as fast as you want it to. It will take time to adjust and grow accustomed to the new lifestyle. As long as you know that you're doing everything right, you shouldn't have any worries.

I wish I had words of wisdom to share with you, LadyFirelyght. All I can say is I can certainly understand your disappointment, frustration and fear (is this a trend? Am I going to have to make even MORE drastic changes to my life? Why, oh why is this happening to me????).

I know you've been very diligent (I remember your post about reducing sodium intake) and it just doesn't seem fair.

I'm sure one of the more experienced folks on these boards can give you more factual reasons (and some tips for taking care of it). In the meantime, I hope it helps to know folks can understand and commiserate.

((hugs))

Here's my fitday journal: http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...=LadyFirelyght

Mel: I normally don't let the scale get to my head... but I was REALLY frusterated by that I know I should be eating more protein, but lean meat is so expensive (especially since my parents, who I live with, eat only Kosher food). I'm trying, though.

Altari: Yeah, 2700mg is higher than it should be (AHA recommends a max of 2400), but it is much lower than it has been! I'm going out today to invest in some low-sodium foods to help me along. I remember one day a couple weeks ago, I consumed 6800mg of sodium! EEK!

Lena: Thank you for posting. You always seem to have something great to say ((hugs))

Any more info from anybody is greatly appreciated

I went through a seeming "plateau" recently, which is why I joined here for some support to get me through it. The first week, I gained 1 lb, and the second week I gained 2 more! I didn't know what was going on.

Indications said it might be muscle gain, but I wasn't making any gains in strength, and I just wanted the approval of the scale. So I did some dietary analysis and realized I wasn't eating enough protein, fat, or calories. That, and I needed to start mixing exercise stuff up again.

I tweaked my diet to include more protein, more (good) fat via flax-seed-oil, and after my analysis, I realized too many of my carbs were coming from sugar. I'm not an Atkin's dietter, or low-carb dietter, but I saw a trend that disagreed with me, so I've changed it and now try to make sure my sugar intake isn't ridiculous. I've actively tried to cut sodium back, too.

This time, back on the scale, it says I lost 9 lbs in a week - which I find highly unlikely, but it would keep me "on track" if I didn't take the other two weeks to heart... (i.e. 3 weeks at 2 lbs loss per week would've put me at another 6 lbs lost... but 2 weeks reading a total of 3 lbs gain put me 3 lbs up... so 9 lbs off of that put me at my scheduled 6lb loss). The only thing I can figure is that the scale was off because I weighed myself after my workout, after the steam-room, and after I'd drank about 72 fl. oz. of water (which I had yet to get rid of). Coupled with the fact that my body was temporarily holding onto stuff from my diet, because I was depriving it of rebuilding supplies...

It could've been anything. The point is, as discouraged as I was, I kept going, and said, "Just get through this week, and keep doing what you're doing." I also had the favor of the tape-measure, which told me I was still losing SIZE, if not weight. You should definitely keep track of both from week-to-week (not daily). I use the cm side, because it makes changes more pronounced.

And whether the scale tells you what you want or not, take heart that you're a work in progress, and not every week is going to agree with you. There are bumps along the road - the key is to not get hung up on them, but to keep going.

--Janis

I agree to just keep going. you will get there. I finally lost that one pound that has been hanging around me for 3 weeks. And i finally picked that darn scale up off the floor this morning and put it in the closet. I am not getting it out again until Friday for weigh in day.

I like that idea about using the cm side of the tape measure. I am trying to only measure once a month. figured that way it'd be a pleasant surprize at the beginning of the next month. (and maybe there would be a change to report once a month. )

Just keep your chin up and know that it may take time, but we will all see our goals soon enough.

Salt isn't the only thing that helps the body retain water. Starchy carbs do too. Take some flour and put a little water on it. How fast does the flour absorb the water? or corn starch same thing. Add a little more water. Add a little more. Keep on adding water and see how long it takes that flour to get super saturated. (means it won't hold the water any longer).

So if you are eating lots of salt and lots of bread type carbs, you will find that your body will be heavier until the salt is washed out and the flour is eliminated. This is one reason why low carb diets make you lose so much weight at first. You eliminate those carbs and you lose a lot of water right off. It is also one reason why low carb diets can frustrate you because you change the content of what you eat by just a little and the scale can go up with sudden water excess.

I'm not saying you are on a low carb diet, but if not, then how much bread are you consuming? The scale went up the first day because of excess salt. So you upped your water intake. The salt hung on to MORE of the water you drank. The water that left your system washed out some of the salt, but maybe not enough of it. Hold on a few more days, keep drinking more water and also not eating starchy foods or highly salted foods to hold onto the water and I'm sure your scale will drop.

It usually takes more than a day or two though. For me when I eat any starchy carbs (grains) at all, I expect the scale to be up the next day and it always is. Also extra salt. Same thing. It usually takes 3 days of not eating grains or salt, and drinking more water before I see the scale gain drop off again and start seeing a new low.

Maybe when you thought you broke through your plateau, you didn't really hit that low weight, and it was just a false number? Sometimes I get low weight counts that are as much an aberration as the high numbers are. I also don't accept low weights until I've seen them consistently for about 4-5 days. That might help you so you don't get as discouraged, your body may drop low one particular day (dehydration, anything could be the cause) with no intention of staying there and when you go back up and it looks like you've "gained." But really, you hadn't yet lost the weight to begin with! Hang in there, you will find a way to get over these.

If you are eating the way you are supposed to and exercising, keep it up! No matter what the scale says. It will go down and eating healthy and exercise is good for your body no matter what.

I weigh myself every morning, and just before bed. More out of habit than obsession. I like to see how my body works but I don't let the numbers mess with my head. Sure, I have a huge grin when it goes down, but I can't expect to see a loss everytime I step on the scale (I wish!)

As Mel said, as long as the overall trend is downwards, so what if it fluctuates? It's like stocks, they go down some days, but as long as they're up overall for the year, that's what counts. It's the same with weight, but in reverse

So...don't let the numbers mess with you. Do what you need to do with food and exercise, the rest will take care of itself.

PS: I was up 3-4 pounds in the middle of the week, but it was TOM. Sure enough, I hit a new low after I stopped being bloated. It happens every month, so I just ride it out and stay on track.