This isn't making sense!!

**Sephora** · 01-25-2010 06:54 AM

I hit a plateau at 211 and then I started going down again. I got to 204 and had two days where I couldn't have any water and practically didn't eat (Thursday and Friday). When I finally got to a place where I could eat (Friday evening), I really couldn't eat all that much and I drank diet Coke to keep me awake on my drive home (3 hours on the road). Saturday morning I weighed in at 203 ~ yeah. Now I'm all the way up to 206. I haven't eaten differently than before my two days of starvation and no water but I'm going up even beyond where I was before I couldn't eat. Is my body holding on to all the water I drank Saturday and Sunday? I exceeded 14 glasses yesterday between being home watching kids and going out to dinner plus 4 glasses of green tea (my normal daily amount). Could my body be holding on to all the water because of just two days of not drinking it? And can the body's "starvation mode" start that fast? I mean, I know if you go long periods of time not eating, your body will hold on to all the food it gets when you start eating. Can it possibly happen that fast?

I just really was hoping to be under 200 before 1/28 (my birthday) and now I don't think it will happen.

I was so close.

**WildChild** · 01-25-2010 08:22 AM

Weird eating and not enough water just isn't good for you. You need to eat a sensible healthy diet and being hydrated is Vital to good health. Recent studies have shown that people who drink "diet" sodas and other drinks may actually gain weight or lose it more slowly. Having goals is essential but don't try to lose weight on a time table.

Do you have an exersize program?

**Sephora** · 01-25-2010 09:00 AM

As I said, the two days weren't a choice, and certainly aren't normal for me. There was no water available where I was, no food I could eat without being ill. I was in a situation where there was no choice in what to drink or eat.

More background ~ I've been successfully dieting for 4 months and have lost 40 pounds. I have stringent goals and stringent eating/exercise logs. I've been losing at a steady rate with a plateau but never a gain of three pounds in two days, and certainly not right after my period. I drink 10-12 glasses of water a day and 4 glasses of green tea. I keep my calories at an average of 1300 a day each week. I shake up my daily calories so my body doesn't go into a lull mode and expect the same amount of calories per day. I've read multiple articles that say this is the best to break and keep plateaus at bay.

As for the soda ~ as I stated ~ it was a necessity for the drive home, 3 hours at 9:00 at night, in order to stay awake so I didn't crash my car. Drinking bottled tea would have been worse considering the amount of sugar in those. And who can afford Starbucks espresso? Not me. And again, sugar!! It is not an every day thing.

What makes no sense is the gain. There were two days where I COULDN'T EAT OR DRINK ANY WATER (I guess I feel I need to reiterate that because the only response thus far failed to see that this factor was not a choice). It was only two days.

What makes no sense is how I can be up by 3 pounds when I haven't changed anything, just had two days of no choices. Does the body go into starvation mode that quickly; is it just holding all the water that I drank Saturday and Sunday? THAT'S the question.

**Futureboy** · 01-25-2010 09:22 AM

Sephora

Weight is not the key it is body shape and fat %. Weight is only an indicator of this

I suspect one of a few things:

Parallax error (looking at the dial + arrow from different positions)
Different scales
Scales not zeroed to the same point,
Shoes and clothing,
Resolution of your scales (in reality digital scales seem to offer acurracy to .1 KG when it may only bo 1kg)
Temperature and humidity of equipment in use
How and where you stand on the scales

Personally I do not use scales i measure myself once a month or so.

When I lived with a teenage step daughter my SO at the time banned scales to prevent obsessive weighing and resultant issues, result slim but not obsessive about weight 16 yo

Weighing yourself everyday IMO is not healthy as you become obsessed about the odd pound or two. Personally I recommend only weighing once a week at the most. Notice how often a personal trainer weighs you it's once a month

Congrats on the acheivement so far

Fb

**WildChild** · 01-25-2010 09:30 AM

You've done great so far! This may well some fluid weight and a reaction to the stress of a change in eating patterns for a couple days. Don't worry about it. Just keep steady, you may not hit you bday goal but you still doing Great!

**caterpillar79** · 01-25-2010 09:34 AM

What they said is true. So, I guess there is really no illogical thing here.

This time, try to eat 5-6 small meals at regular intervals and drink as much as 64 oz. of water is possible, or sufficiently proportionate to your weight if I may say.

NO processed food.

**Sephora** · 01-25-2010 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by Futureboy

Sephora
Parallax error (looking at the dial + arrow from different positions)
Different scales
Scales not zeroed to the same point,
Shoes and clothing,
Resolution of your scales (in reality digital scales seem to offer acurracy to .1 KG when it may only bo 1kg)
Temperature and humidity of equipment in use
How and where you stand on the scales
Fb

Nope ~ none of that is an issue. Same clothes, time of day, same scale, same room, same position on the scale. I know how to be consistent on my scale. I do it every day. I don't believe in measuring. I know some people swear by it, but for me it doesn't work. It actually frustrates me more than the scale. I hate the tape measure.

**Sephora** · 01-25-2010 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by caterpillar79

What they said is true. So, I guess there is really no illogical thing here.

This time, try to eat 5-6 small meals at regular intervals and drink as much as 64 oz. of water is possible, or sufficiently proportionate to your weight if I may say.

NO processed food.

As I said, short of the two days, my average daily intake of water is 10 - 12 glasses. That's over 80 ounces of water today.

I can't do 5-6 small meals. I tried that and I didn't lose a thing and hit a huge plateau. Turns out that that is one of those things that doesn't work for everyone.

As for processed foods ~ there's a logic issue for me with that statement. All food is processed. Chicken is processed, beef is processed, oranges are processed. I've never understood what people mean when they say "no processed foods".

**Little** · 01-25-2010 10:43 AM

Why on earth couldn't you drink or eat for two days?
If you drank 2-3 lbs of water, esp after not having any for days, I would assume your body would retain it like crazy. Five pounds is not an abnormal fluctuation.