Discouraged

lizard76

So, I'm trying to drop those last pesky 8-10 pounds of baby weight. I have never eaten horribly and have been active/lifted weights since high school.

Anyway, I decided the only way that those pounds would go away was to become more consistent with exercise and to monitor my food intake. I've been using sparkpeople.com and have stayed within my 1200-1500 calorie range all week and have exercised 4x.

I'm up 1-2lbs! I know it may be water weight and I should up my water intake, but I'd hope to see just a little downward movement.

lizard76

I know...I have not paid attention to the scale in the past, more how my clothes fit. I do know what my "typical" weight is within a two pound or so range, so that's what I'm aiming for.

fyrefairie

you cannot build1-2 bs of muscle in a week..but it very likely is water weight...when lifting you tear your muscles they then rebuild themselves which is what makes them bigger...in the process of doing said repair your cells hang on to more water carrying the necessary components to the torn muscles...I am always a lb or 2 heavier following a lifting session...also 1200 cals is pretty low-IDK your stats but if you are not eating enough calories it will hinder weight loss as well

2-Step

I've noticed that I'll gain a pound or two over the course of a week and then all of the sudden drop like 5 pounds in a few days. I think it must be how my body operates when building muscle and dropping fat. I get discouraged sometimes, but I try to remember that this usually happens to me right before a loss and 90% of the time I"m right (if im exercising and eating right). So my solution has been to only weigh myself every two-three weeks. This is tough for me but it allows my body more time to adjust so I can see the full results and not obsess over gain or loss each week.

HappyMommy28

Make sure your drinking enough water.  Take measurements and before pictures.   That will show you how your doing better than any scale!

blu-eyedwife

fyrefairie:

also 1200 cals is pretty low-IDK your stats but if you are not eating enough calories it will hinder weight loss as well

I was thinking this too.  Sometimes if you're not getting enough calories (especially if you're very active) your body goes into "starvation mode" and starts storing calories instead of burning them.

I know the first time I started Sparkpeople was because I couldn't seem to be losing weight despite working out and eating right.  I realized when I inputted my food I was only eating 700 calories a day.  When I upped my caloric intake, my metabolism starting working better.

mollym23

What are you doing for exercise? Make sure to include strength training.  You will really see a difference!