How is this possible?!

[Robcorc]

With 87 minutes active this past week and a calorie deficit of just over 11,000 for the same period, I am somehow UP .2 pounds. What the heck?! I have never worked harder nor been more diligent in my tracking of food. And I have been building up my steps and activity minutes across the past three weeks--21 days ago, I had to struggle to get 10 active minutes. Last week I was disappointed to lose only .2; this week, after redoubling my efforts, I have merely regained that same loss. I need insight here.

[Kam123]

I wouldn't be too worried. It's disappointing but it happens. I always find that this week's hard work will only show results next week 🙂

Saying this, I'd be a bit weary of weight watchers. I lost with them A LOT years back when I was a meat eater. I became vegetarian then and I tried to lose with ww again - it really didn't happen - since veggie and fruit were free and I was a big fan of both! still am!

It's a bit painful at first but try to track your kcals in something like myfitnesspal. It will show you exactly what's going on. 

Your gain is probably not a muscle gain as others may suggest - unfortunately it's not this quick. BUT I always put on a tiny bit after a heavy workout when acid builds up in the muscles. I've no facts backing it up but it happens to me quite often. A day or two later when my muscles aren't sore anymore, my weight goes back down.

I hope this helps a bit 🙂

[SunsetRunner]

All right you all... Several of you have thrown comments my way and I wanted to point out a few things... 

1) They said they had been upping their exercise for just over 3 weeks. You CAN build muscle in three weeks and it CAN plateau your weight loss in that period of time. 

2) I didn't SAY it WAS muscle gain but it is something to be considered when you go from inactivity to increased activity. It DOES build muscle with regular application. The change being discussed is two tenths of a pound... which is medically possible to be related to the build up of lean muscle throughout the body. I have seen it done and had it confirmed by medical personnel that the cycle only takes a matter of days under the right circumstances and if nothing else is changing in the diet, it can cause a slight gain in weight as the body adjusts. My point was that it may not be a permenant gain because if it was muscle then more calories get expended in creating/maintaining that muscle... 

This is supposed to be a friendly, supportive discussion group... so just because a concept doesn't apply to YOU doesn't mean that it might not apply to others. To say it takes longer for women to build up muscle is a generalism and not true. It might take some women longer but not all women. It might happen faster for some men but not all men. That was why my comment was exactly what it was.... Have you considered the impact of muscle gain in your body due to increased activity. Considered. Thought about. Analyzed. I wasn't trying to provide a solution but to suggest a positive path of thinking. 

[Robcorc]

WendyB, I think Mom25munchkins is speaking to Dominique who cites 2 lbs. And my only 'upset' is that I have never experience a gain in the first weeks of a diet u Dee any circumstance, AND had been geometrically more active this past week than I had been in several weeks and months prior...so my expectation was not only not met but dashed. I will survive, and I am grateful for the supportive kindness I have found here in the boards. Thank you, all.

[Robcorc]

@Kam123, thanks for the advice. I am not a huge fan of WW, as I had a similar experience to yours. They were very unsupportive of my near-vegetarian lifestyle. I was also powerfully put off by their hawking of highly-processed and almost-entirely chemical and preservative "food parrots". I have been a real food freak since reading a book on rural and urban foraging waaaaay back in the '60s, and WW was not down for cat tails, day lilies and thistle as food sources. I have joined there online only as a way to get started, what with their weigh-in days and points (that are far more rewarding of whole food choices in this newest iterations) and their community. I had used MFP for years, and will return there after my trial is up at WW. Right now, it is feeling like a full time job logging my meals and exercise both in WW and for my Fitbit and actually DOING my meal planning, preparation, and consuming, and exercising. Looking forward to cutting back to maybe logging once? Learning that Fitbit may coordinate with MFP?

[WendyB]

@Robcorc Just keep hanging in there. Lets us know how you do next week. I bet you will see a loss!

[Robcorc]

Thanks, SlowCAT. I am definitely seeing muscle definition where there was none, particularly in my forearms and in my biceps. (Is that spelled right? It looks so weird!)
In fact, it is so cool to see that I find myself just kinda flexing even while watching tv or doing other quiet activities. To me last week, that was evidence that I had lost weight. This week, given that I did not, I am seeing it for what it is: muscle. Looking forward to seeing more...though I don't want to turn into a full-on muscle head, you know?😁😉

Sent from my iPad

[Kam123]

Hi @Robcorc
Fitbit and MFP work really well together - you have to sync them through your PC (I did it on the MFP site) and they feed from one to the other. It's pretty cool actually 🙂

Yeah, I have that thing about real food too haha it took me a while to understand it! And for a very long time I would have gone for a non-fat non-taste food alternatives myself.

I think most important for all of us is not to give up or give in 🙂 good luck!



Sent from my iPhone

[emili]

and... muscle and fat weight the same- density is different. you won't gain a number on the scale because you have more muscle. you might stay the same but look much leaner.

[emili]

@Robcorc- when I was losing weight, anything but a negative from where I was before would ruin my day. ruin it. I completely understand where you are coming from and how you feel. I also 100% agree about WW not being the best option for you. Their points system is really good for people who do not eat high nutrition so its a way to build in guardrails against overeating. for you, the point system may actually be forcing you to eat more. Not everyday obviously or you wouldn't have lost anything, but the super hungry days it might. Having said all that and having read your story, I am slow clapping for you between typing. so many people in your situation would shrug and not do anything to improve their fitness. You on the other hand, not only care, but so much that .2 pounds has become a hot topic. slow clap.

[OxfordComma]

So glad you survived the cancer and its treatment. 

[oakiedoakie]

Hi Robcorc,

Like everyone has discuss in this discussion, there are lots of possibilities why this could be the case.

I personally take hip, waist, leg (thigh) and arm (bicep) measurements as well as measuring my weight. It gives me a good indication of whether I'm stacking on fat or muscle as muscle weighs more than fat. Even before I take all these measurements I usually notice a change in how I look (whether it be in the mirror or my reflection in a shopping window), how clothes fit differently (tighter or looser), and changes in energy, mood and fitness.

I also take measurements and weigh myself at the same time of day each time, you could try in the morning after you've been to the bathroom but before you've had breakfast or at the end of the day before bed after you've had all your meals and exercises. I also try for the same day of the week/month.

Don't be discouraged if one weigh in shows an increase in weight. There are lots of factors that change a person's weight, not just fat and muscle.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Philly C.

[ells]

Like most people I hate not seing a loss every week. However I understand my scale are not 100% accurate and that my weight will naturally fluctuate. I weigh myself every day and compare the average weight week on week. This helps to smooth away odd readings.

It really is a case of its a long journey and every step forward will get you closer. I have had a bad couple of days so I feel for you where you have not lost weight. It is hard, really hard. Just trying and hold on to the focus and keep going.

[fitmissjen]

Hi @Robcorc,

Good on you for tracking your food and becoming more active. That itself is something to be proud of.

I just have a quick comment, when it comes to tracking food and watching calories, bla, bla bla, not all calories are created equal. I am not saying the foods you are tracking are unhealthy, i'm just saying a calorie is not always just a calorie!

For example, 100 calories worth of chocolate is NOT the same as 100 calories worth of broccoli.

Or if you allow yourself 2000 calories per day and you eat 2000 calories worth of unhealthy junk food, even tho you are sticking to your 2000 calories, you wont be achieving anything in the long run as you are eating the incorrect calories. So maybe the foods you are choosing are not doing you any favours. You can count calories until the cows come home, but if the choice of calories is wrong, you will struggle to see results.

Check out this link for more info 🙂

http://authoritynutrition.com/6-reasons-why-a-calorie-is-not-a-calorie/

Take Home Message

Different calorie sources can have vastly different effects on hunger, hormones, energy expenditure and the brain regions that control food intake.

Even though calories are important, counting them or even being consciously aware of them is not at all necessary to lose weight.

In many cases, simple changes in food selection can lead to the same (or better) results than calorie restriction.

[Robcorc]

@fitmissjen, thanks for your response. I am pretty aware of nutrition in general, and have been a near-vegetarian and whole food eater and proponent for a couple of decades. Ironically, the only week I lost weight since starting formally documenting and exercising three weeks ago, I was eating total CRAP compared to my usual: we still had too much celebration food left from several holiday get together soon in out home in the week between Christmas and New Year's, and I was building WW point-appropriate meals around those choices: lots of different cheeses, a variety of (whole grain) crackers and crisps, cookies and petit fours (!) and dips and spreads to beat the band. Of course, I also had a LOAD of fruits and veg with those more questionable options, but I do not eat like that as a rule, and yet I lost 6.8 pounds that week. The hubs offered to fill the fridge with numerous cheeses, pates and nibbles again if that would help. I declined. So far.