What the actual fuck? This makes no sense, what can I be doing wrong?

[Smithermetimbers]

Ok so I put on weight over the last year through stress and emotional eating. Almost two stone, the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life (even when pregnant) not at all my natural weight.
I gave up drinking alcohol in January (not started back up) plus stepped up on my exercise and really tried to reduce stress and increase sleep. I always drink plenty of water and herbal tea. Nothing happened, in fact I put on a few more pounds. I thought, I just need to be consistent and patient so carried on. Still nothing.
So last Sunday, I went back to intermittent fasting (16:8) which I’ve tried successfully in the past. On top I cut out all added sugar, which I would have said was impossible for me but I have done it, not a single bar or biscuit or sweet thing. I have just allowed myself two portions of fresh fruit a day. I cut out all snacking between meals. My meals have been healthy too- no junk, plenty of protein, loads of veg, otherwise fairly low carb.
I got a fitness watch and have been working out all week, averaging well over 1000 cals each day. It’s been a mix of hiit, cycling, weights, yoga and walking all of which I’ve really enjoyed. I’m also meditating a little and getting more sleep than usual.
So this morning I have weighed myself and put a fucking pound on?!!!! What the actual heck is going on here? Surely the first week of any diet you’d expect to drop a couple of pounds pretty easily? I am mid 40s but not experiencing any peri-menopausal symptoms. What on earth can I do more than this?

Are you tracking everything you eat? I found that despite thinking I was eating healthily, I was consuming way more calories than I thought. Also, if you have been exercising more, a pound increase may well be a response to that. I can weigh 2-3 pounds more the day after a long run. I think it’s for something to do with muscle repair and increased water weight.

I would advise you to track everything you eat in mfp for a week. Weigh everything. That will give you a sense of how many calories you are eating. Also, a couple of stone may sound like a lot, but it’s not a huge amount to lose, so you may not see massive drops in weight, but a pound or two weekly. Good luck op!

How many calories are you eating a day?

I'd give it another week and if still no loss, drop your calories by 100/day to see if that jumpstarts it.

I always go up the first week I start a new diet.

Then I find I drop 2-3lbs the following week, then 1 a week for a few weeks and then 2-3 again.

It's about your body adjusting.

Especially if like me your a bit of a yo yo dieter!

1lb is nothing - that could just be normal margin of error in your scales - or that you had urine in your bladder or excrement in your bowel.

Keep going OP.

Firstly, start weighing and tracking portion sizes. Food can be high protein low carb etc and still cause weight gain if there's too much of it.

Secondly, the additional exercise will be causing your muscles to retain fluid as they repair themselves. This will come off in due course. It's worth measuring inches as well as weight.

Thirdly, it may be where you are in your cycle. It's not unusual to lose weight pre ovulation but maintain or gain weight after, due to water retention. If so, it should come off in the next few weeks.

Forthly, the change in diet to more vegetables may take a few weeks for your digestion to adjust. Again you may be retaining fluid until it does.

Finally, weight loss is frustratingly slow and non-linear. Give it a couple more weeks. Perhaps also consider adjusting your regime so it is less full on but more sustainable for you? Burning a thousand calories a day through exercise is a difficult target to maintain long term, not least due to the injury risk. Intense exercise can also trigger hunger and make it difficult to eat at a deficit. Less, although regular, exercise and portion control is more likely to deliver consistent though slower results.

I don't want to be the person offering excuses, because that doesn't help - but is there any chance it's muscle? 1000 calories of exercise is a lot! You could be building muscle there - maybe. Have you measured yourself? I only suggest it because the two times I've actually lost a few pounds this year were when we had to do a couple of weeks isolation: we were baking for entertainment, breaking up the boredom with takeaway, and doing no exercise - and I lost 2-3 pounds. Both times. The only explanation is muscle wastage because I wasn't doing the nursery run (it's over 3 miles a day in total).
It sounds incredibly frustrating, but I'd look at measurements as well as weight if you've added a lot of exercise in.

Thanks. I didn’t really want to start tracking calories as well. When I’ve tried that in the past it leads to a rebound as I feel too restricted and completely focussed on food. Plus counting calories is time consuming and not very accurate esp when cooking family meals from scratch so I kinda thought there wouldn’t be much point in that.
Cutting out all added sugar, time restricted eating and no snacking are all theoretically supposed to have an impact by themselves. Combining all three I would have thought would be enough! I will record everything I eat without calories first and see if that enough. If not, I will start calorie counting.
It’s not fair this weight loss business is it?

I guess it certainly could be muscle gain. We have been isolating this week so that’s how come I have had time to step up the exercise this much. I just wanted to start off with an extra push, I won’t be able to maintain this 1200-1300 cals exercise normally.
I know weight is not the only measure of health and fitness but it is the easiest to track objectively.

I know weight is not the only measure of health and fitness but it is the easiest to track objectively.

Not strictly. Our hormone cycles cause fluctuations. Right now I'm a good 2lb heavier because AF is due. I tend to also see a gain around ovulation. Equally after too much sodium.

Lots of influences to consider. Just keep going and if after a month you see no improvement, perhaps you should reconsider calorie counting as ultimately calories in < calories out is key.

Could it be water retention? Something I recently am finding an issue. That might be more to do with size/bloating rather than actual weight g as in however. How do your "normal" clothes feel on?

Weight gain

Sounds like what's happening to me right now but I'm not worried because it happened last summer when I started my weight loss plan but after about 2 or 3 weeks I started to see results, and good ones. Infact in about 3 months I lost 1.5 stone. Then Christmas and another lockdown came, I got lazy and put most of it on again so here I am starting again. Do hang in there op.

I didn’t really want to start tracking calories as well. When I’ve tried that in the past it leads to a rebound as I feel too restricted and completely focussed on food. Plus counting calories is time consuming and not very accurate esp when cooking family meals from scratch so I kinda thought there wouldn’t be much point in that.

You don't need to do it 100% if you don't want to, it's not for everyone, but it can really help you get an idea. Healthy food can be really calorific. Like really calorific. Having a look at it and then adjusting portions a bit can make big difference.
Lots of healthy recipes use amount of olive oil I would use in a a month, for example.
Also, often the biggest problem are portion sizes. I had massive issue with it and it seems that lots and lots of people do too. I would certainly check that.

It will kick on soon. Every body is different in how it reacts to changes.

Be more patient. Any weight you lose over the next month or 2 would just be fluid anyway. It takes a while for the fat to start coming off. Be consistent and patient.

How long did it take to put the weight on? Years? What makes you think you can lose it in a few weeks?

Weight loss is never straightforward. I rarely diet but when I do I never lose anything for two weeks, then it tumbles off and keeps falling for a week or two even after I go back to my old habits. Stick at it for at least a month to see a downward trend.

When are you weighing?

First thing, naked, after going to the loo is the best time. Weigh yourself like that then again after breakfast, when you are dressed, and you might seem to have gained 3-4lb.

This is totally a thing when suddenly switching to very healthy eating plus upping exercise. It's so frustrating, I've had it happen a couple of times when I've had a particularly unhealthy period followed by extremely healthy. With me, it was definitely water retention, my body going WTF?! After approx 10 days I lost the water pretty quickly then you can actually start to see proper progress.

Cut carbs for a week and see what happens. It could be that your meals are just far more calorific than you realise

A pound really is nothing, but it’s frustrating for sure.

Sounds like you are eating very healthily so I would use something like nutricheck (better than my fitness pal) to check you aren’t eating too much, as a first move.

Keep going for another 1-2 weeks OP. If you are doing everything you have said the weight will come off- it’s just delayed. I always find my weight loss on the scales is 1 week behind the work done. Keep going!

So just weighed again this morning in the hope that yesterday was a blip and another pound on! For actual fucks sake!
I will try tracking calories now, I can’t afford to keep on putting on weight, there’s got to be something that I can change to have better success than this.

What are you actually eating every day?

Don't weigh yourself daily! Once a week at most

@Theunamedcat

Don't weigh yourself daily! Once a week at most

I second that.i eeiggted daily just to see the movements and i go a lot of kilo up and down within a week

@Smithermetimbers

So just weighed again this morning in the hope that yesterday was a blip and another pound on! For actual fucks sake! I will try tracking calories now, I can’t afford to keep on putting on weight, there’s got to be something that I can change to have better success than this.

Do not keep weighing yourself! Once a week or once every two weeks! Step away from the scales!

I have muuuuuch more to lose than you and am finding the same thing but I actually weigh myself every day. First because it makes it less significant/upsetting when it goes up and second because you can see a downward trend with ups and downs along the way. It means you don't get those exciting woohoo I lost loads feeling but neither do you get the aaargh I put on loads feeling either - because there is always tomorrow.