Plateau And Weight Gain

[VitaleEM 44]

I'm mortified this morning. I have really and truly been following all the rules and not only did I hit a plateau, I've gained three pounds in two weeks. I ecxercise 45 minutes a day and I'm eating less than 1,000 calories a day. I do have hashimotos disease, but I take thyroid medicine for that and my t3 and t4 is normal! I'm calling the doctor today. This is insane! And the story of my life and how I got here in the first place. I track every morsel I eat in my fitness pal and I track my exercise as well. I'm dying........... Any suggestions are welcome!

I had my surgery on 8 oct 12 and had lost 30 pounds total, pre and post weight loss, now 28 pounds, obviously...... This is awful!

[Rootman 1,101]

Just stick with it, everyone has plateaus and everyone stalls for a time. Keep up the good work and the weight will again start to come off, we all panicked when the scale stopped moving, it happens to us all.

Keep up the good work.

[scorpion509 107]

these 2 pound can be just Water. ate something like salted food and Water stay inside of the body. ,Also did you exercise before surgery? if not might be you gaining some muscles.

I had stall and remember we are stronger we can keep going and weight will go down.

and btw 30 lbs per months - great. I was able to loose the same amount only for 2 months. So KEEP IT GOING!!!!

[geno5150 168]

If it's still 28 pounds a month from now, you have permission to panic. Until then, consider yourself absolutely normal.

[FishingNurse 1,210]

relax! This is not fat, its definitely a fluctuation in fluids. This happened to me several times on my journey it will come off in no time and you will be losing again soon,

[icon23 273]

Here's the explanation for the dreaded stall (you can read the full details here, including what to do about it):

The Inevitable Stall

By Diana C.

A "stall" a few weeks out is inevitable, and here's why.

Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of Water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of Water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.

As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a saber tooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

Breathe, and fuggedaboudit for a few days.

[mylifeinpink 349]

Here's the explanation for the dreaded stall (you can read the full details here' date=' including what to do about it):

The Inevitable Stall

By Diana C.

A "stall" a few weeks out is inevitable, and here's why.

Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of Water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of Water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.

As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a saber tooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

Breathe, and fuggedaboudit for a few days.[/quote']

I love good hard information like this!!!!

[RickM 1,747]

Diana Cox's treatise on glycogen and stalls is one of the best and most understandable out there. It is also good to recognize that this is just one of many different reactions and cycles in that our bodies go through that involve changes in hydration and Water retention - someone else mentioned increased salt consumption, which is one, as are changes in exercise or activity routines. As Diana's article notes, there are up to around ten pounds in play just from the glycogen cycle, so two or three pounds off of trend is not at all unexpected.

Another thing to be ready for is that when your loss does pick up again, it will probably be somewhat slower than it was initially, as that initial loss comes from glycogen (basically stored carbs) that burns rapidly at around 2000 calories per pound, while once you get past this initial stall you will be burning mostly fat which burns more slowly - around 3500 calories per pound. But burning fat is what we are here for, so rejoice!

[Threetimesacharm 1,400]

The same thing happened to me. What I found was I was eating too many calories. I was having 6 small meals a day and found that I really didn't need them all. I now stay around 600-700 calories and actually my hunger has DECREASED. I am losing weight steadily and couldn't be happier. I want to make sure I can get off as much weight as I can in the first 6 months, when they say it is the easiest. I also track daily my food intake and find this helpful. Give it a try, you have nothing to lose but weight!!

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I agree tat 600-700 appears to be a golden range once you are comfortable with eating that much. For me, that was after 5 weeks post op.

[VitaleEM 44]

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for your input! Especially the scientific stuff! It's something I can wrap my brain around! Makes total sense!

[VitaleEM 44]

Well, I've officially gained four pounds in two weeks averaging about 800 calories a day net. I tried eating more calories.....as recommended by some and tha t did not work, so I guess my next move is to go down to 600. This is maddening. It doesn't seem sustainable, when all I read says our bodies need 1000 a day just to survive.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Perhaps you need more calories, not less. Everybody is different. The calorie total one person needs is not necessarily what you need. But if you're active and working out daily and putting your body into an extreme calorie deficit, it will hinder our weightloss. Every time I've upped my calories I've lost weight. It usually takes me about 5 days or so at an increased calorie level to see the weight loss begin.

[HopeThruFaith 30]

How many carbs are you eating? When I have issues I drop back on my carbs and get a loss immediately.

[VitaleEM 44]

How many carbs are you eating? When I have issues I drop back on my carbs and get a loss immediately.

Practically no carbs.....