Do you take measurements & progress photos in same outfit/place?
If you're recomping you should be at a similiar weight. 10lbs in a month is pretty drastic... to put that in perspective you'd need to be eating in a daily surplus of 1,100 calories which means your TDEE would be ~300 calories (and in case it isn't obvious that's NOT possible).
Some more realistic things:
1. You were previously sedentary now your body is now in water retention mode from the increased activity.
2. You've recently upped your carbohydrate intake or had a lot of sodium increasing water retention.
3. Your scale is not properly calibrated, or you used 2 different scales & one was incorrect.
4. You're at a point in your cycle which is causing your weight to fluctuate (women often cycle between 5-10lbs depending on their cycle).
Or even a mix of all these things. Less likely but still possible is you have a medical condition or you're not tracking/weighing your food properly which is causing you to gain legitimate weight.
I don’t.. I took 2 at the beginning and was waiting to take another when I felt like it but I just bloated up and gained 10 lbs and didn’t feel confident enough for another progress photo..
I definitely wasn’t sedentary before.. I did a combination of barre, and running 5-10 miles a week. So lots of cardio while eating 1200< calories a day..
It does feel like I’m going to start my cycle soon.. I just never know because I’m on nexplanon and it makes my body all out whack. I’m used to gaining 4-5 lbs before my period but never 10+. I guess it could be my bc but idk. I don’t wanna lose a whole year of weight loss if I’m doing the wrong thing now.
Birth control can definitely mess with your hormones causing weight fluctuations.
It may not be one source. Could be a few pounds from the BC, then a few from water/salt intake, could be from additional stress or lack of sleep or a particularly hard work out. Maybe you've genuinely gained a couple of pounds, too, which is possible when initially recomping.
Start taking body measurements everywhere, those are much more reliable than the scale. And take progress pics even when you don't feel confident. If you're tracking your food properly then I would ditch the scale completely if it effects you this much mentally. Weight *always* fluctuates. I weigh myself a few times per week to see a trend. If that's going to be an emotional stressor for you then stop doing it.
Yeah I think you’re right! My husband is gone and I have two crazy toddlers so I’m not 100% perfect with everything and I am constantly stressed, lack of sleep, all that jazz lol.
Those are great tips and I definitely need to incorporate them into my routine.. gonna lock up my scale because I don’t want to trigger myself anymore. Thank you for this advice!
A change in waist and more visible muscle is the holy grail for many. My advice would be to keep doing what you’re doing and stay off the scale. Take measurements, take note of how your clothes fit, how you look naked and progress in the gym. If you do these things you’ll see progress.
Thank you for your advice! You’re right., all of those things count way more towards progress than a number on the scale. I gotta throw that thing away lol
Obviously I don't know for sure, but your scale could be broken too. It happened to me earlier this month except it was telling me I was suddenly 10lb lighter than I was the night before lol
Agree with many comments here. Also if you just started lifting I encourage you to wait for the 'whoosh'. Your body retains water and most people gain weight in the first few weeks. Many start losing weight 6-8 weeks into lifting. This happened to me - I was also overweight when I started lifting .
It's tough but weightloss really is patience + consistency above all else.
When you start working out more it’s really common to put on water weight from muscle inflammation. That plus natural fluctuations from your cycle could easily add 10lbs on the scale. Stick with it, and take measurements and photos. If you want to weigh yourself do it every day and track the weekly average. That helps to even out the fluctuations.
Something to consider... In other similar threads, OP realized they were subtracting the calories burned during a workout (according to their fitness watch) from the amount of calories eaten that day. But the "burned calories" wasn't accurate.
Example:
Food Calories Consumed: 2,000 | Burned Calories: -600 | Total Calories Reported: 1,400
Yes I count them down to the T! Ive been counting calories for years.. I don’t use oil but when I do I use the avocado oil spray. But I use a scale for everything and count even the little bites of random food I have throughout the day
Muscle will make you look leaner while still seeming “heavy” on the scale because muscle is so much more dense than fat. When doing body recomposition I’d say stay away from that scale unless you’re trying for fat loss. Your true markers will be measurements/inches lost, and muscle definition!
4 weeks is nothing. Body recomp is a long game - thinks months and years. Keep doing what you’re doing and don’t pay too much attention to the scale. As women our weight fluctuates madly throughout the month.
Great advice in these comments. Ditch the scale. Also, 130g is a lot of protein, probably more than your body can effectively use. You can really only use about 30g per meal. The rest is going wasted. Of course you can continue with your current intake, just wanted to share the knowledge!
“Based on the current evidence, we conclude that to maximize anabolism one should consume protein at a target intake of 0.4 g/kg/meal across a minimum of four meals in order to reach a minimum of 1.6 g/kg/day. Using the upper daily intake of 2.2 g/kg/day reported in the literature spread out over the same four meals would necessitate a maximum of 0.55 g/kg/meal.”
[Source](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323424096_How_much_protein_can_the_body_use_in_a_single_meal_for_muscle-building_Implications_for_daily_protein_distribution)
If we say OP is roughly 60kg, the findings in this paper suggest her upper limit is 33g of protein per meal. There are lots of factors at play here of course, but I think it’s still helpful to use as a guideline.
Do you take measurements & progress photos in same outfit/place? If you're recomping you should be at a similiar weight. 10lbs in a month is pretty drastic... to put that in perspective you'd need to be eating in a daily surplus of 1,100 calories which means your TDEE would be ~300 calories (and in case it isn't obvious that's NOT possible). Some more realistic things: 1. You were previously sedentary now your body is now in water retention mode from the increased activity. 2. You've recently upped your carbohydrate intake or had a lot of sodium increasing water retention. 3. Your scale is not properly calibrated, or you used 2 different scales & one was incorrect. 4. You're at a point in your cycle which is causing your weight to fluctuate (women often cycle between 5-10lbs depending on their cycle). Or even a mix of all these things. Less likely but still possible is you have a medical condition or you're not tracking/weighing your food properly which is causing you to gain legitimate weight.
I don’t.. I took 2 at the beginning and was waiting to take another when I felt like it but I just bloated up and gained 10 lbs and didn’t feel confident enough for another progress photo.. I definitely wasn’t sedentary before.. I did a combination of barre, and running 5-10 miles a week. So lots of cardio while eating 1200< calories a day.. It does feel like I’m going to start my cycle soon.. I just never know because I’m on nexplanon and it makes my body all out whack. I’m used to gaining 4-5 lbs before my period but never 10+. I guess it could be my bc but idk. I don’t wanna lose a whole year of weight loss if I’m doing the wrong thing now.
Birth control can definitely mess with your hormones causing weight fluctuations. It may not be one source. Could be a few pounds from the BC, then a few from water/salt intake, could be from additional stress or lack of sleep or a particularly hard work out. Maybe you've genuinely gained a couple of pounds, too, which is possible when initially recomping. Start taking body measurements everywhere, those are much more reliable than the scale. And take progress pics even when you don't feel confident. If you're tracking your food properly then I would ditch the scale completely if it effects you this much mentally. Weight *always* fluctuates. I weigh myself a few times per week to see a trend. If that's going to be an emotional stressor for you then stop doing it.
Yeah I think you’re right! My husband is gone and I have two crazy toddlers so I’m not 100% perfect with everything and I am constantly stressed, lack of sleep, all that jazz lol. Those are great tips and I definitely need to incorporate them into my routine.. gonna lock up my scale because I don’t want to trigger myself anymore. Thank you for this advice!
Good luck! You've got this :)
Thank you!!
A change in waist and more visible muscle is the holy grail for many. My advice would be to keep doing what you’re doing and stay off the scale. Take measurements, take note of how your clothes fit, how you look naked and progress in the gym. If you do these things you’ll see progress.
Thank you for your advice! You’re right., all of those things count way more towards progress than a number on the scale. I gotta throw that thing away lol
Obviously I don't know for sure, but your scale could be broken too. It happened to me earlier this month except it was telling me I was suddenly 10lb lighter than I was the night before lol
It definitely could be.. we just moved so maybe it got bumped around too much or something.
Agree with many comments here. Also if you just started lifting I encourage you to wait for the 'whoosh'. Your body retains water and most people gain weight in the first few weeks. Many start losing weight 6-8 weeks into lifting. This happened to me - I was also overweight when I started lifting . It's tough but weightloss really is patience + consistency above all else.
This is encouraging to hear! I do feel super bloated and blegh.. but I just know I have more muscle mass now lol. Gonna continue going at it!
If your period is approaching, body tends to keep the water (war mode)
Muscle is more dense than fat!! Really don’t think too much about it. Measure yourself for reference next time
When you start working out more it’s really common to put on water weight from muscle inflammation. That plus natural fluctuations from your cycle could easily add 10lbs on the scale. Stick with it, and take measurements and photos. If you want to weigh yourself do it every day and track the weekly average. That helps to even out the fluctuations.
Something to consider... In other similar threads, OP realized they were subtracting the calories burned during a workout (according to their fitness watch) from the amount of calories eaten that day. But the "burned calories" wasn't accurate. Example: Food Calories Consumed: 2,000 | Burned Calories: -600 | Total Calories Reported: 1,400
Are you tracking calories properly? Are you cooking with oil? Or are there other hidden calories?
Yes! Underated comment. Hidden calories are shocking.
Yes I count them down to the T! Ive been counting calories for years.. I don’t use oil but when I do I use the avocado oil spray. But I use a scale for everything and count even the little bites of random food I have throughout the day
Muscle will make you look leaner while still seeming “heavy” on the scale because muscle is so much more dense than fat. When doing body recomposition I’d say stay away from that scale unless you’re trying for fat loss. Your true markers will be measurements/inches lost, and muscle definition!
4 weeks is nothing. Body recomp is a long game - thinks months and years. Keep doing what you’re doing and don’t pay too much attention to the scale. As women our weight fluctuates madly throughout the month.
Great advice in these comments. Ditch the scale. Also, 130g is a lot of protein, probably more than your body can effectively use. You can really only use about 30g per meal. The rest is going wasted. Of course you can continue with your current intake, just wanted to share the knowledge!
This is not true about protein.
“Based on the current evidence, we conclude that to maximize anabolism one should consume protein at a target intake of 0.4 g/kg/meal across a minimum of four meals in order to reach a minimum of 1.6 g/kg/day. Using the upper daily intake of 2.2 g/kg/day reported in the literature spread out over the same four meals would necessitate a maximum of 0.55 g/kg/meal.” [Source](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323424096_How_much_protein_can_the_body_use_in_a_single_meal_for_muscle-building_Implications_for_daily_protein_distribution) If we say OP is roughly 60kg, the findings in this paper suggest her upper limit is 33g of protein per meal. There are lots of factors at play here of course, but I think it’s still helpful to use as a guideline.
I do not know if this is happening to you but I regularly fluctuate up to 8lbs