Weight-loss people- Help!

[JessReplanted]

I have slowly been losing weight since last winter (36lbs. so far). I was plateaued for at least three weeks, and then this past week I basically ate ALL the foods (mashed potatoes, so much pie, cookies, bagels with cream cheese!). I weighed myself this morning expecting to gain 5-7, and I have lost 4. I should be thrilled but I'm so frustrated! It doesn't make any sense.

 

For the record, before this week I was eating LCHF. I cut out dairy, processed sugar & grains.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

There is some idea that "re-carbing" can help reset your system and hormones and is a good idea from time to time when LCHF.  

 

I'd stick with the LCHF if that's what's working, and plan another re-carb week for Christmas.  :-D  

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'm inclined to think that is just a coincidence.  If you had been "good" for weeks prior I can't imagine one meal having any sort of major effect in either direction. 

 

We are led to believe that if we diet we'll lose 1-2 pounds per week exactly when it really means on average.  So if you dropped 10 after the first week, unfortunately, that probably gets added to the average and there will then be weeks you don't seem to be doing anything.

 

It is annoying as heck.

 

But I too have heard about the high carb day helping to move things along.  So who knows.

 

 

[kiana]

A lot of times when you're dieting for a while, your body will start to retain water. This has probably been what's been causing your plateau. Then when you have the eat all the foods day, the water weight that you've been retaining for a while suddenly drops off all at once. 

 

http://leanmuscleproject.com/how-whooshes-impact-your-weight-loss/

[JessReplanted]

Thanks, those are things to consider. Just to clarify, I ate like that for a WEEK! 😳

[SparklyUnicorn]

Thanks, those are things to consider. Just to clarify, I ate like that for a WEEK! 😳

 

Oh!  Well...hey whatever works.  LOL 

[hornblower]

My guess is combo of water retention, resetting the digestive system, and actually not eating that many calories.

 

Are you keeping track of calories in my fitness pal or similar?

 

Also, you can get a significant weigh variation during the month due to hormonal changes so it could all be coincidence.

[Anne]

I have no idea what causes it, but that has definitely happened to me!

 

Anne

[Kassia]

I had a similar experience last week.  I'd either be maintaining or gaining a little each week while eating perfectly which was frustrating (maintaining was fine, gaining was not).  My sons were home for three days last week and I ate more than usual two of those days and then absolutely stuffed myself on Thanksgiving.  I also exercised a little less.  I ended up losing 3 pounds.  Nice, but makes no sense!  

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I've had this happen in the past too (back when I could actually manage to lose weight *sigh*). My recollection is that I'd see a slight gain or no loss the following week, and then, if I went back to my normal healthy eating, I'd start losing again. Don't beat yourself up if next week's numbers aren't great. Just keep moving forward  :thumbup1:

 

[regentrude]

 then this past week I basically ate ALL the foods (mashed potatoes, so much pie, cookies, bagels with cream cheese!). I weighed myself this morning expecting to gain 5-7, and I have lost 4.

 

You can't really expect to gain 5-7 lbs in a week. Even when one eats much, one can't consume quite enough calories for that ;)

 

Most women's weight fluctuates during the monthly cycle by several lbs due to different levels of water retention. It can simply be that and may not have to have anything to do with eating.

[mamaraby]

We are led to believe that if we diet we'll lose 1-2 pounds per week exactly when it really means on average. So if you dropped 10 after the first week, unfortunately, that probably gets added to the average and there will then be weeks you don't seem to be doing anything.

It's basically this. Weight loss is not a linear thing. It is not a straight line from high weight to low weight. Well....it is if you zoom out and look at it from the long range like over the course of a year or whatever. If you zoom in on a shorter time frame you'd see the line would be spikey with some straight bits thrown in.

 

Just go into it expecting that it will be that way. It's a feature not a bug. It's also helpful to use some way of tracking weight that smoothes out those blips. The Apple Health app on the iPhone does this, but so does MyFitnessPal, etc. Don't forget to check where you are in your cycle and if you track your weight in a spreadsheet or program then check and see where you were in other cycles at a similar point. A lot of the time, since this is my third year at doing this, I find that my memory is buggy. I think x happened when the plateau or weight spike or whatever has actually happened before.

 

If you're really concerned, then take a look again at what you're eating - write stuff down, double check portions, etc.

[KrissiK]

I have slowly been losing weight since last winter (36lbs. so far). I was plateaued for at least three weeks, and then this past week I basically ate ALL the foods (mashed potatoes, so much pie, cookies, bagels with cream cheese!). I weighed myself this morning expecting to gain 5-7, and I have lost 4. I should be thrilled but I'm so frustrated! It doesn't make any sense.

 

For the record, before this week I was eating LCHF. I cut out dairy, processed sugar & grains.

That's funny. The exact same thing happened to me. I've been carb cycling since early Oct. and was losing at a modest rate. I took last week off. Didn't go crazy, but I did enjoy me some pumpkin pie and plenty of stuffing and gravy, kwim? I was expecting a gain of a couple lbs. when I stepped on the scale on Monday but.... I lost 2.5 lbs. It is a little frustrating. But, just keep plugging away. I'm taking another planned week off at Christmas with a plan to get back in the game after New Year.

[Kassia]

You can't really expect to gain 5-7 lbs in a week. Even when one eats much, one can't consume quite enough calories for that ;)

 

 

 

I could if I stopped exercising and indulged myself (like on vacation).

[Guest]

That's generally glycogen fluctuations and food/water retained in your system. Sometimes the fiber or even sugar can actually move things along, or if you were eating heavily at your meals but less overall you may actually just have less weight of food in your belly. Anything inside of about 2-4 pounds fluctuating on a daily basis can be skewed, and that number goes up if you're on the heavier side. A smaller woman might see a two pound flip flop but a 400 pound man could swing 10-14 pounds in a week with no appreciable difference in his actual body fat mass :)