Hi everyone!

Boy I'm not happy this week. I have been steadily losing for 4 weeks consecutively and this week was TOM for me - it's over now, and now the scale is going up a little bit every day this week instead of down.

I am up 2 pounds from last Tuesday but I don't know WHY. I have not done anything different this week than I have for the last 4.

I am seeking the experience of the other people here to give me some insight because I'm getting nervous as to what is happening? I would have been ok with a bit of stalling but gaining is another thing? I do feel a bit stogged up inside (if ya know what I mean) so it could possibly be that? Maybe I'm not drinking enough water? I would say if anything that's the only thing I'm not doing as well with this week.

Because you all might wonder, no I don't have an online fitday thing anyone can look at because I have the PC version, but I eat low sodium, and keep fat g around 30 g per day. Most all of my foods are non-packaged and non processed etc.

My daily cals range from 1200-1600 all days except Sunday where I eat a treat meal and my cals usually go up to 1700 and fat g can be about 60 g.

Is this something you have all experienced or ? I'm not happy about it!

~ Angie

Mine does that occasionally. Flunctuations in the scale are normal for me. My biggest problem is constipation (may or may not be painful). When I've really gone to the bathroom, it'll change the scale. Also if I excercise a lot, my weight will go up slightly for a bit then back down. If dont get enough sleep that will affect my scale big time.

Anything from stress, dehydration, hot weather, slow elimination or salty foods, etc. can cause unexplained weight gain.

I know that if I'm not 'regular' I can gain 2 lbs. in a day or two. To avoid this problem, I include 1 tbsp. of psyllium husk powder in my daily protein shake. This keeps me regular as clockwork! (You need to drink extra water if you take psyllium).

Also, you could try to remember if you've been eating a lot of salty foods lately, that will make me gain quickly as well. A good way to tell if you are retaining water (dehydrated) is if your rings are tight or if your ankles swell up a bit. It sounds a bit counter-intuitive that being dehydrated means you retain water, but if you don't drink enough water your body holds on to every drop and stores it in your tissues until the 'drought' is over!

Since you have to eat about 3500 extra calories to gain a pound, I would guess that it's excess water weight or constipation that's the problem.

I can relate to your post. Last weeks weigh in I was at 178...the lowest I've been in years. I was so happy and just KNEW I would be down one or two more pounds at this weeks weigh in. Well, I went from 178 to 181.5 in three days time, up one pound every day. I held on to that 181.5 for the rest of the week. I was so disappointed in myself and confused as to why I gained. I knew my calories were NOT high enough to have any gain, and should be low enough to create a loss. It was incredibly hot and my rings were tight, so I held on to hope that it was just water retention. I was so afraid of having to log a gain. My weigh in was Sunday. On Saturday morning, I went back down to 179 and by Sunday morning I was 176. I'm still not sure what caused the water weight, but I was so happy that I didn't have to record a gain. It sounds to me like the same thing may be happening to you. I'm blaming it on the heat. Just don't give up hope, keep eating right and those extra pounds will probably go away as quickly as they came.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone...

You know what, one thing is for sure (penpal, thank you - this one turned on the lighbulb for me) I have NOT consumed enough extra calories to have gained 2 pounds since just yesterday (that's how fast it happened!) so I think it is a combination of a few of what was mentioned -

1. need more fibre because I think I am stogged
2. need more water cause I haven't been focusing on that, and maybe that's why I am looking at #1 in the first place
3. My sleep this week has been erratic. During TOM I have awful awful nightmares so I sleep really badly all week. (one night I had to sleep with a lamp on all night cause I was just that terrified) When I take my B vitamins regularly this helps it a LOT.
4. I do retain water easily and even diuretics have little effect on it

So.. duh.. I just need to keep my brain in check. I have not done anything WRONG and need to stop beating myself up mentally for something I did not really DO. I know I should probably not look at the scale as much as I do, but having that 'scale doesn't matter' attitude sort of got me where I am today. I need to remember to focus more and not get on an emotional roller coaster about this stuff. It's so hard though, isn't it?

Abbeycat -- I had the same problem this week, and even though I SAY not to focus on the scale and KNOW that this happens and that it wasn't what I did, it still bothered me some. The scale is starting to move back down for me, finally, and it will for you too. We just have to have patience and see the big picture!

wyllenn

Thanks

I was upset this morn because I saw the big 300 number on there which I thought I had left behind. My goal prior to my hubby coming back home was to be at 299 and I'd met that goal, so I was just saddened to see the scale rise again. I'll just keep at it, what else can I do I suppose! I'm glad I had an outlet to vent my frustrations, that helped for sure.

Patience and the big picture, yes, that's what I said to myself today, too.

Ditto what everyone else said about the reasons. I think the other thing in this whole journey is to work out your scale personality. I know this sounds strange but hang in there!

Some people are very clinical, and can weigh daily, write it down and forget it and move on.

Some people are very guided by what they see on the scales and are able to alter little things and get their weight in check.

Others are emotional weighers. If they see a rise in the scales they see it as a personal criticism, a reflection of what they have done. Even going to the extent of self sabotage "the scales have gone up two pounds and all I eat is cottage cheese and celery so darn it I'm gonna eat that pizza, chocolate bar, whatever"

I am an emotional weigher. I know exactly where it comes from, the weekly weigh ins when I was a kid. Now I tend to weigh very infrequently. It helps me, because I use other measures, however it may not be right for you. But if every time your gonna see a rise in the scales it's gonna make you feel rotten, you might want to change the way you weigh.

Thanks for everyone's very wise opinions. it is still a learning process for me, even though I'm a 'professional' in that I've been dieting for years, just never achieved long term success.

I agree, everyone is different, in many ways. For ME, I need to weigh every day. My reason for it, regardless of what it says, is that I don't want to hope hope hope all week, and then find out my happiness depends on one day. If it's a good week, I'd be happy but waiting for the other shoe to drop. for ME this way, I can see what is coming. I can digest it better if I don't have the expectation.

I was a little frustrated yesterday, but then after thinking about it, posting about it, and a little thought.. I just reasoned with myself that if I keep following the plan, it eventually has no choice but to come off. At least SOME. Sometime. Logic right? It's math.

I have said in other parts of the forum, my OLD weight loss trials have produced WAY less results than I have had in the past month, and this was due to this time making the calorie counting choice. I am SO happy with my results so far, I am not feeling down about not losing this week.

BTW.. the scale is back to where I was last week + .5 pounds.. so what I put on as of yesterday, gone already. Weird. The body is a machine, always doing something.

I am staying on my plan, and that to me is more important than losing this week. Sticking to it is the tougher part.