"Female" weight issue

[Angelic Fruitcake]

I'm really frustrated. I gained two pounds in five days. I think it's probably water and impending Time Of the Month, but I can't be sure. I've understood that one way to know if it's waterweight is to see if the seams on clothing make indentations in your skin. Anyone have any other ways to tell? I'd really like to know whether I've accidentally eaten too much or whether it's a problem that will seep out within the next week.

[Duality]

To gain two pounds in a week you would need to eat 1000 calories over your maximum caloric maintenance level. It's a lot.

 

I've seen fluctuation of 3-4 pounds pound already, 178 one day, next day 174.4, next 175, next 176, etc etc.

 

Water retention levels are also relevant to how much your sodium intake has been the past few days.

 

With all that being said, personally I don't think to much about the scale and more about how you feel, just keep going, keep pushing through, don't let the scale bring you down because it's up, it means nothing MOST of the time. I use it once every two weeks when I know I should be seeing a lower number.

[Quillard]

Angelic, seems unfortunate that two men have responded to you on this issue... but it made me laugh, so I'll give you my two cents.

You're being ridiculous. You know you're being ridiculous, but you feel a little jiggly and you've given in to paranoia.

Your body is doing some refurnishing. It needs so materials to do so and keeps those handy by way of water. If the body could store fat with near perfect efficiency it would need 3500 calories extra to store 1 pound. 
It would need 7000 to store two. Have you eaten 7000 calories extra? 

I realise this must seem incredibly offensive coming from someone without a uterus, but it makes me chuckle. The deep and rich kind of chuckle that will last me the coming hour by way of secret smiles, so here:

Nows the time to endulge, lady. Now. Not after. 

(I double checked by way of my sister, to be sure. We both chuckled, then she hit me.)

 

[JPrev]

Agreed, your weight alone isn't a good indicator of fat loss, or muscle gain, or any of the things that someone trying to get fit will tend to fixate on.  There are just too many things going on in our bodies.  There are other methods that are a little better, but ultimately the best indicators are qualitative, like Duality says.

 

Keep in mind, progress is about peaks and valleys.  Some days/weeks will seem good, others will seem a bit worse, but it's the overall change that matters.  Unfortunately, guaging progress isn't at easy as stepping onto a scale and comparing that number to last time's.

[Vella]

I've been known to vary anywhere between 2 and 4 kilo over the course of a month, when I was exercising and eating ... relatively fine (not as good as now, but not pigging out or anything) and keeping weight steady.  Don't worry!  It's almost certainly not you putting on sudden weight, and you may well find that next time you step on the scales, the number has magically gone back to normal.

 

Sympathies for the freakout, though; been there, done that, got the condescending pat on the head from more level-headed friends and family.

[Missmouse]

I wouldn't sweat it.  My weight constantly fluctuates by 3-4 lbs or so.  Water intake, salt consumed, time of the month, time of the day - all of these things can make a difference.

 

What's been important (for me) is that the overall numbers have been slowly marching downward for the past several months.  In addition, my inches have been going down, even when my weightloss seems to have stalled completely. 

 

My advice would be to stop worrying so much about the number on the scale, and pay more attention to how you feel, how much energy you have, and especially, how happy you are in your skin.

 

Welcome!

[I-Jo]

Consider your weight to be + or - five lbs.

 

if you are maintaining- you will always be in a 3-5 lb range- you will NEVER EVER be exactly that same weight- it will always be a 'floating' around that weight.

 

relax.

Go poop.

 

Keep working out.

If you must weigh yourself- do so in a very systematic objective manner- the TREND line must be downwards- which means there will be ups and downs- but you will see a creeping of the numbers downward.

I personally don't weigh myself often- I'm going to start- just to watch and chart- to do better with calories and dialing in- but in general I always recommending just sticking to the plan- and stay off the scale.  

 

You'll be fine.

[Angelic Fruitcake]

Thanks for replying all! I do realize I'm being a little paranoid, but it's been going really well lately and it was rather disappointing to see the scales. I only weigh myself once a week. I tend to rely more on measurements. How I feel also fluctuates. Especially what with colds and everything.

 

@

Quillard

 

You do sound a bit obnoxious, but I forgive you. Give my regards to your sister!

[Quillard]

Its why I got hit, angelic. Well deserved. To be sure. 

good luck!

[El Exorcisto]

Is your weight what defines you? Stop stepping on the scale and start stepping under the bar. Unless you are trying to make weight for something, being a neurotic wreck about two pounds is fucking ludicrous.

[Vintage]

Um. El Exorcisto? I'm not sure that comment was entirely helpful. In fact, it was pretty f*cking rude. But perhaps you didn't mean it to sound that way.

 

OP acknowledged that she was being paranoid and she clearly asked the question knowing that everything was probably fine and she was needing some reassurance. This forum is a good place to do that, and we all have those crazy-pants moments. 

 

Angelic Fruitcake - the answers and advice you've gotten are spot on. I've made huge strides in letting go of my obsession with what the scale says, but occasionally I step on the scale and it's gone up (which is always most discouraging when it's been steadily going down) and I have to give myself a reality check. But then I realize that for me to have actually gained 2 lbs of fat in a week I'd have had to have eaten 7000 extra calories. Did I happen to eat a couple of cheesecakes last week? No? Then it's probably not fat. 

 

It really really helps to have other benchmarks and ways to measure your awesomeness. Take measurements and photos once a month (preferably at the same time in your cycle), record what you eat so that you can look at the evidence that you didn't eat those two cheesecakes worth of extra calories, and find some sort of performance-oriented goal that you can work on. I'm not going to say don't weigh yourself (I don't want to dish out advice I won't follow myself) but don't set it up so that your feelings about your progress and effort ride only on that one number.

[El Exorcisto]

I don't think putting that an arbitrary and indirect unit of measure is of little importance was rude. If bodyfat was stagnating or measurements were increasing then there is a definite sign of body composition going the wrong way. Obsessing over minor weight fluctuations with no more objective data, and no iminent need for a small amount of weight to drop is obsessing for the sake of obsession. Train hard, relax, and know that eventually the work you are putting in now will pay off later.

[Vintage]

I don't think putting that an arbitrary and indirect unit of measure is of little importance was rude. If bodyfat was stagnating or measurements were increasing then there is a definite sign of body composition going the wrong way. Obsessing over minor weight fluctuations with no more objective data, and no iminent need for a small amount of weight to drop is obsessing for the sake of obsession. Train hard, relax, and know that eventually the work you are putting in now will pay off later.

 

I'm not arguing with the basic content of your comment. Notice that my own comment (like those of others) assured OP that this wasn't a rational fear and advised she not place nearly as much important on the scale number.

 

But I am trying to alert you to the fact that the tone of your comment didn't come off as particularly helpful or kind, particularly to a new member asking a question for the first time. Calling the poster a 'neurotic wreck' and saying she's being 'fucking ludicrous' is patronizing, dismissive and unnecessarily abrasive. 

[Angelic Fruitcake]

Something that complicates the issue is the fact that my cycle is very irregular because of birthcontrol. I suspect I still have a cycle of about 5 weeks, however sometimes I don't actually menstruate for three months. I think I still have the hormonal variations, but it's hard to be sure.

 

And as Recruit pointed out, I really was only looking for reassurance. Since my BMI is still slightly above 25 I want to step on the scales every week, but once it drops I will probably quit. I have a tendency to become obsessive. 

 

Also, as an update: Out of curiosity I weighed myself again today and now I'm down a pound. So there you go. I'd like to know just how much water I can actually retain. The last two days of my pregnancy I gained a whopping 5 pounds in water. Couldn't fit in my shoes. 

[StuffofDreams]

Maybe you should consider only weighting yourself once a month? Or even once every 2 months. 

 

Your weight constantly fluctuates throughout the day depending on your hydration levels, how much you've eaten, whether you've worked out that day or not and a whole host of other factors. 

 

Not to mention scales can be influenced by the temperature of the room. 

 

You want to look for a general trend going down. 

[Duality]

Maybe you should consider only weighting yourself once a month? Or even once every 2 months. 

 

Your weight constantly fluctuates throughout the day depending on your hydration levels, how much you've eaten, whether you've worked out that day or not and a whole host of other factors. 

 

Not to mention scales can be influenced by the temperature of the room. 

 

You want to look for a general trend going down. 

 

What I personally did was weight in myself everyday, but I plug them into an excel spreadsheet and average them out and take the average of the week and compare it with the one of two weeks prior. I've been obsessed with weighing myself in the past and this is the solution I found for myself.

[Quillard]

Yea, it's a doozy, angelic. If you've got a proper routine... Weighing yourself at the same time of day, with a diet set in stone... you'll know. 

My parents are fans of the alternate-day fast (Which I personally don't recommend... but hey, they get to pick their tools) and they weigh themselves at the end of their fast right before they eat in the morning, which admittedly gives them a pretty accurate comparison on how they're doing in the weight department. 

So perhaps if you ate the same amounts every day, same time of day, fell into that routine... you could have an accurate measurement (comparatively).
 

I've been told that for women, the two most unreliable signs of weightgain are the face and the scale. 
And likely the best advice I was given on the issue.

"If the apparent change in weight seems sudden or surprises you in any way, it's water."

 

Real weight gain or loss creeps up on you. The rest is just flux.

[I-Jo]

 

What I personally did was weight in myself everyday, but I plug them into an excel spreadsheet and average them out and take the average of the week and compare it with the one of two weeks prior. I've been obsessed with weighing myself in the past and this is the solution I found for myself.

if you want to know what your average water retention is- this is the way to go.  Weighing at regular intervals and plugging them into excel to find trend lines is DEFINITELY the way to do it- but you have to be super objective about it and to be honest- it doesn't sound like you are ready for that.

 

I typically weigh myself about 3-4 times A YEAR.  once or twice at the doctors, because I have to, and then when I get a lot of comments about my weight- after a few weeks worth- I'll jump on and see what's going on and if people are right or it's just body recomp.

 

That being said- starting November- I'm going to be planning a 2x weigh for documentation and numbers.  I'm planning on a meticulous slow bulk and I want to make sure I regulate my progress appropriately. Plus trendlines and charts are cool.

[Angelic Fruitcake]

 Plus trendlines and charts are cool.

 

 

I love charts. I do make them for my measurements, and have been able to see two inches crawling of my waist, thighs and butt over two months. But I've been told that the fact that I'm almost the same weight yet skinnier is not related to musclegrowth as women don't gain muscle weight fast and easy.

[W4DM]

Hey Angelic, 

 

As a female I always bloat a little right before that time, so I wouldnt worry.  Its ususally just a little water retention, but make sure you keep drinking water.  If you wake up and you have pillow lines on your face or sheet marks on your body, you are dehydrated!  Well, thats a good indicator for me anyways.  

 

Also gaining two pounds in a week means that you ate 7000 cals over maintenance in a week, so i think you would know if it was from over-eating.  If not, start tracking and keep moving forward.

 

Posting online is brave since there are people that would say meaner things on here than to your face in real life.  So take what people say with a grain of salt.  

 

Hope this helps, 

 

Veronica

[Duality]

Yeah, I don't actually look at  the number in particular, I look at the line over a period of time. I know also my weight can fluctuate from 174 to 179 from day to day. I even tested how much I could make it fluctuate once, I drank almost 2 gallons of water over the course of a day and ate a lot of steak. I weighed at 182.2 that night. (I usually weight myself first thing in the morning after my shower and peeing). The next day I went on a binge drink (to dehydrate myself and to party of course) and I weighed at 173.8 the morning when I woke up, peed and pooped, that's 8.2 pounds in the course of about 36 hours (Thursday night to Saturday morning).

 

This might be a little extreme, but it is to show you how weight can fluctuate a lot depending on what you've done and when you're weighing yourself.

[happysal]

Hi Angelic,

 

I'm fairly new myself so admire your bravery of posting this!

 

I felt the urge to reply to to this post because I can completely empathise with you! Previously (on other, non-helpful, stupid "diets"), I went MENTAL with the weighing, I would weigh myself once, if not twice a day and it really is not helpful. If I didn't like what I saw on the scales then (I can't believe I'm going to admit this) but I would do something stupid like skip a couple of meals or starve myself for a day...sure the scales showed a number that I preferred but to what detriment to my body? Obviously, not healthy. 

 

I've just finished my first week of my new healthy lifestyle (NOT diet!) and I am going to weigh myself once a month - no sneaky looks at the scale or anything - measure myself once a week and take weekly pictures. I am extremely excited to measure myself tonight as the waistband on my dress feels looser, so obviously, I go with how I feel too. 

 

I'm not sure if this was very helpful or not but I get where you're coming from :-) 

 

Good luck,

Sally

[Calli]

My G.P. once told me that your weight can change by as much as 8-9 pounds during TOTM, mostly water retention, a bit of the other stuff (not fat, obviously ). With me having an irregular cycle, I found that really helpful during previous attempts at weight loss, particularly during the "OMFG I've been super angelic and the numbers say WHAT?!?!?!" moments. That said, the scales really aren't your friend because the numbers change so much depending on whether you've eaten, WHAT you've eaten, what you're wearing, where the scales are placed, what kind of floor is beneath them etc etc. Too many variables. Someone further up said to use them to see what the weight trend is, rather than focussing on individual numbers, and that's awesome advice, which I shall file away for future reference myself!

[Angelic Fruitcake]

Thanks for your kind words all of you. I will try to work on considering an average myself.

[Ataraxia]

If you would like to take measurements the proper way, get some bodyfat calipers.  I myself haven't gotten them because I know I'd drive myself nuts with obsession and I don't need more stuff, nor more obsessions.  Do the work, eat clean, and take photos.