A Major Setback in the Weight Loss Journey Day 16-23

Day 16-23 of my weight loss journal. This week has been a roller coaster of the scale! Patience and consistency is the only solution. (See the other days in this weight loss journal here)

I think I need to officially share this journal once a week, rather than daily. It’s hard enough for me to go through the roller coaster of weight fluctuations, but I don’t want to discourage anyone else from being consistent and patient, as they see how volatile weight can be!

The daily scale report

Day 16: 118.6

OMG! I don’t want to talk about the weight this morning! I did have two TEENY TINY cheats yesterday, but I also ran 12 miles! I think after a long run, I always have inflammation and water retention, but this is ridiculous!

My cheats yesterday was tiny slivers of some new cookies my sister bought me for my birthday. And I mean tiny. It couldn’t have been more than 150 calories.

But, it also goes to show me three things:

1. I can’t have a true judgement on whether a diet is working or not if I continue to add teeny tiny cheats. The only way to know if a diet is working is to work the diet 100% for an extended period of time.
2. and second, I think after two weeks, if there’s no big change in my weight, I really need to be at 1200 calories. The thing is, I’m small and I know my BMR is about 1100 (I took a BMR breathing test once). So, clearly I don’t burn many calories. And, after a workout, I barely move. In fact, I think I’m going to start tracking my steps after a workout. It might be pretty low.
3. This 30 day journey to lose 10 lbs is going to change into a LOSE 10 LBS! I am no longer in my mind constrained by the 30 days part. BUT, I have to be REALLY careful not to let that idea allow me to justify overeating and tell myself I can start over tomorrow. This is consecutive days of accurate tracking until I reach the 10lbs down!

So, my new plan, and I’m going to get scientifically exact, is now 1278 calories, 125 grams protein, 100 g carbs, and 42 g fat. 40% Protein, 30% Carbs, 30% Fat) The fat is a little higher (experimenting on that), and I want to move my carbs to the evening, and maybe that will give me some good energy for my lifts in the mornings.

Day 17: 122.3!!

OMG! OK. I’m 1000% officially frustrated. I did overeat yesterday. I said I wouldn’t, and then I did. It was my birthday, and people LOVE to bring me treats. They know I love treats. I always feel like I have to eat gifted food. And not just taste it. I feel obligated to OVER indulge.

But at the same time, I’m pissed that I can’t take one day off and have it UNRAVEL everything! Why do I have to be so disciplined to reach my goals?

This is definitely “fake weight”, as in, I clearly didn’t gain 5 lbs of fat. I feel like I have a LOT of water retention, due to high sugar and salt. But water retention can still be the difference between my jeans fitting, and them not fitting. So, it counts as “weight gain”. The difference is, it’s easier to drop than fat, of course.

Day 18: 120.0 lbs.

So, apparently after a day of overeating, it takes SEVERAL days for my weight to come back down. It’s officially two days post binge, and I’m still struggling. But, I have a good feeling about tomorrow’s weigh in. I’m 1 1/2 gallons of water in, and it feels like the water retention is pouring off by the hour today.

Day 19: 117.6 lbs

Yes, I drank a lot yesterday, and Pee’d a LOT. My jeans are fitting better already.

Day 20: 118 lbs

OK, I was still consistently drinking the water, exercising, and weighing all 1278 calories of my food. This is A LONG game. But is it long? I mean, 20 days FEEL’s like a long time. But is it really?

Day 21: 115.4

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. Being so fresh off of my day of overeating on Sunday, and still remmembering how terrible I felt (bloated, lethargic, sweaty, moody, unmotivated), I was determined to not let Thanksgiving have the same effect.

And I didn’t! I still enjoyed the food, family and friends, and I woke up feeling better than ever. My Thanksgiving plate simply had turkey, salad, mushroom poppers, and a deviled egg. I put that green salad ALL over the plate. It felt (and looked like), I was eating as much food as everyone else.

I also passed on pie. I decided ahead of time I wouldn’t have any. Did I miss the rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffing, fruit salad with cool whip, and yams. Yes. I knew my rolls were good since I’ve had them before. And, I put a whole pound of butter plus cream in the mashed potatoes, so they weren’t even tempting to me, knowing how many calories they probably had. LOL.

Overall, I’m extremely satisfied with the day! I think I’m officially back on track.

Day 22: 112.6

Well, this is a new low. I do know that a lot of it was shedding massive amounts of water, bloat, and “fake weight”. I call it when I hit an abnormal high OR low number. It would be easy for me to say, I’ve lost 10 lbs in 1 week! Because, technically, I DID! But the 122 was an abnormal high, and the 112 is an abnormal low. I’m much more comfortable saying, I MIGHT have lost 5 lbs from the first day of tracking, because I’m really going from my set point weight, which averaged 117 over the last month.

Day 23: 114.6

And, we’re back to 114.6. Honestly, I feel great here. I don’t feel bloated. I don’t feel “inflammed”, if that’s even a thing. My pants are no longer tight, and my ankles and hands don’t feel like they will burst out of my skin.

So, that leads me to the question of the day: DOES WATER WEIGHT COUNT IN WEIGHT LOSS?

Does losing water weight count?

Honestly, people love to hate on losing water weight, as if it doesn’t count towards your weight loss. But, the way my clothes fit this week from 122 lbs, down to 112 pounds, assuming it was ALL water weight, actually made me feel SO GOOD. Water weight does add inches, tight clothes, and an overall feeling of discomfort!

The reason most people say it doesn’t count is because that weight loss isn’t sustainable. But, if you are going from a highly inflammatory diet with lots of processed foods, to a clean, whole foods diet, you might be getting rid of some of that excess water that you shouldn’t be carrying around in the first place.

How to drop water weight

So, if you know you had an extra “high day” on the scale, and you know you’re retaining water, what can you do to shed the water weight? This is what I usually do:

1. Cut back on added salt
2. Cut back on processed sugars
3. Cut back on soda’s or drinks that contain sodium
4. Eat low carb for a day
5. Drink 1-1.5 gallons of water
6. Exercise and sweat!
7. Try Dandelion root or other natural diuretics
8. Avoid processed meats, canned veggies, and other high salt foods.

My Workouts

I ran a REALLY fast 5K, which literally shocked me because I had been eating low carb all week, trying to shed the water weight. Normally, I have a banana before a race, but on Thanksgiving, I had a this protein waffle. Not only that, the day before I only had about 75 grams of carbs.

So, carb depleted, I actually had a great run. Of course, it was only 3 miles. I wouldn’t dare try a carb depleted long run, but I can’t help but notice how much energy I seemed to have. I even beat my last year’s Thanksgiving run (same route), by about 10 seconds. Also, won 1st place in my age group!

So, that’s my week, and what a roller coaster of the scale it’s been. A Full 10lb difference from Monday to Friday. But with that out of the way, I’m committed to continued consistency!

That’s it for today. Be back next week!