Question:
Please help...so upset that I've gained...Need advice

Let me start off by saying my weight loss has been wonderful. I have lost 136 lbs in 11 mo. I have hit a few minor plateau's along the way but nothing too bad. I am a firm believer in making your tool work for you. Now, last week I lost 5-6 lbs in about 8-9 days which is very unusual at this stage of the game. This week I've gained 4 lbs. As many of you longer posties know it is such a mind trip gaining ANY weight. I live by the rules...high protein, low to moderate carbs. I usually eat every 3 hours or so with 1-2 of those meals/snacks being a protein shake. My carb intake is usually below 50g per day. My protein is usually about 100g per day. I have recently incorporated exercise into my day. I bike ride 5-6 miles in the am and on alternating days I will walk 3 miles. I don't know if that could account for any of my weight gain. I guess what I'm looking for is if anyone else has gone through this and if it just passed if you stuck to your correct eating regimen. I'm also looking for any suggestions or constructive critisism on my diet/exercise. Thanks for reading this long post. I try not to ask for help too much unless I really need and this has me stressing so badly. I can handle a plateau as I know they're normal but I cannot handle gaining weight. Thanks again everyone.    — Robin V. (posted on August 22, 2003)

August 22, 2003
First let me commend you for really taking full advantage of the wonderful tool you've been given! Second, have you thought that you may simply be trading fat for muscle since you've incorporated exercise into your plan? Muscle is heavier than fat so you could actually show a gain according to the scales but really be getting smaller. Strange but true, huh? Keep up the awesome work! I don't think you have anything to worry about.
   — ronascott

August 22, 2003
Robin, Let me first say that I'm right there with you how-ever a little farther out, about 15 months out, Open RYN. I've been neating myself over my head to try to loose the last and remaining 15-20 pounds, and it's hard beyond belief, I've been like you said following the same regiman, how-ever I've also been weight lifiting, and you're so right about getting on the scale justto see that your attempts at loosing more weight have failed...... Don't be hard on yourself, they are so right that muscle does way more then fat, it also burns more calories then fat, so Smile, grab your tape measurer and use that as a gauge for your weight loss from this point on, I know it's always easier said then done, as I usually slip and find myself on the scale but use the tape measururer as well, you'll find that you're loosing inches and that is AWESOME ! You're doing wonderfull.. Keep up the AWESOME work. Many Hugs !
   — tannedtigress

August 22, 2003
Sounds like you may be just adjusting to a fluctuation. If losing 5-6 pounds in 9 days is unusual, then you've gained back 4, you're actually down 1 or 2 which would be expected--if not better than expected!--at 11 months out. Maybe you got somewhat dehydrated last week for some reason, or there are hormonal fluctuations. But I wouldn't think of it as a true fat gain.
   — Celia A.

August 22, 2003
Robin, it sounds like you are doing everything right, your diet, exercise, protein, how frequently you eat. And you've obviously done well during your 11 months. Since the exercise is new, it may account for the fluctuations. I wouldn't worry about it. I've had a few times where I have gained 2-4 and then lost it again within a week, so don't stress.
   — Cindy R.

August 22, 2003
I'm just guessing, but I think it could be related to the exercise, especially the biking, which may be stressing your leg muscles (in a good way). I know I gained a few pounds as soon as I started strength training at the gym. My personal trainer told me that it's very typical, and it's due to water retention. When you first start putting extra stress on your muscles, they draw in water to help repair the damage (that's how muscles get stronger -- you stress them, cause tears in the fibers, and they "heal" stronger to get ready for similar stress in the future). My trainer said you'll usually see a jump of 4-5 pounds after only a few days of strength training, and that early gain is typically due to water retention. Maybe your biking is causing a similar effect? BTW, one thing that really helped me during the past year was to use a body fat monitor. That allowed me to know immediately if a gain or loss of a few pounds was due to changes in body fat or not. Anyway, congratulations on your wonderful success so far. It really sounds like you're doing great, and I'm sure the scale will keep going down -- try not to worry! :-)
   — Tally

August 22, 2003
I don't think you could be doing anything more right! Congratulations on all your hard work. I'm one of those people who can't stay away from the scale. I will often notice a two-pound fluctuation in weight readings during a week. I record my weight once a week, however, and as long as that's trending down, I'm not worried that one day was a little higher than another day. Our weight fluctuates naturally, and you may by chance have happened on a particularly "light" time in your five pound loss, and a particularly "heavy" time in your four pound gain. There are lots of reasons for weight fluctuation, many of them suggested here. Give it some more time. As long as you keep trending down, hang with it. You're doing great!
   — Vespa R.

August 22, 2003
You *can* handle gaining weight, IF it's not a real weight gain. I totally understand the stress about a weight change that seems to come from nowhere, but I wouldn't agree that it's "very unusual" to have a drop at 11 months (or later) out. I've known a number of people that's happened to, and usually, it can be explained by, for instance, the beginning of an exercise program, or a change in one, or something like preparing for a move from one house to another, a stressful event, or something else. Sometimes it just happens, though. It bears watching, of course, but it doesn't mean you or your tool are on the road to failure (as we all, including me, quickly panic and fear immediately. If only I could take my own advice to "calm down" on weight and eating changes!)<P>You say you just started an exercise program. That's a big deal for your body, and it will be months before you settle into whatever your exercise routine is, in a way where you can be confident you've found what works for you, and what level(s) of intensity you'll be applying to it. Then the weather will change, the holidays will come, and you'll adjust the exercise for that, and have to come to grips with any weight changes (or lack thereof) that come from those changes. Eating may have to be adjusted then, too. My point is that what was once your "correct eating regime" may no longer be correct.<P>I find that learning what my body does weight and size-wise, and why, is an ongoing process that's not over at any point, but with our history of obesity, it's just SO hard not to freak out about weight changes. The stress of change is hard, but it does NOT end, even when you get to goal and are trying to maintain. <P>You may find that, with regular exercise, you get hungrier and need more carbs now than you used to. Heretical statement here: It may be a good idea to eat more carbs, now. Your body needs more of them if you're exercising more. It may be mentally taxing to allow more carbs, because you've retrained your eating habits in a certain way, but the exercise and eating go hand-in-hand in regulating your body and metabolism. It was real hard for me to allow more carbs than I had before, but when I did, I kept losing (surprise!), and I had been exercising all along, from three weeks post-op. It's just that I got to a point where my exercise got so much more vigorous over time, there was no sense to the particular limit I had placed on my carbs anymore (and my limit was a lot higher than yours). Slowly, I realized my rigid rules, adopted during the losing phase, did not work for maintenance, or for vigorous exercise, and that loosening them up was a good and ultimately necessary thing, and it did NOT herald the beginning of the end. It's just another adjustment. Be open to it. You know whether you're eating too much junk and/or not exercising, or otherwise truly "falling of the wagon," and from your description, you're not doing any of those bad things (to the contrary).<P>Have you taken your measurements? Time to start using that as a measure, along with the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat, but you look smaller wearing it. I'd rather weigh X+10 pounds and be in a smaller size (and be in a great exercise routine) than weight X-10 pounds, humorlessly driving myself on an exercise routine that would make a Puritan weep. Just a thought. ;-)
   — Suzy C.

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