Freaking the F Out....

I am so confused and saddened.    I am 5 weeks out, on my full diet and am grateful that i have had zero complications at all.

But over the last 3 days i have consistently put on 1 lb per day.    I know that we should not weigh every day.. but it has become a game for me. 

Please somebody tell me how that eating Less then 1000 Calories per day would result in 3 lb weight gain. 

I am so stressed out..   From the 3 week stall to seeing the weigh come off and now up.. What the hell am i doing.  If anything i am not eating enough... but come on 3 lbs...

I knew i would be the one person that this would fail on.

SIGH....

Mentally i know that i am so early out.. and that things will sort themselves out.   But when you see a steady loss then suddenly days of gain...

its scary...and i am truly freaked out..

I have no advice for you but can just say I understand your feelings. I'm only 3 weeks out and I think it is so hard! Everyone on here just says stick to it and it will be ok. It is a real mental thing. I feel like I'm not as strong as everyone on here. Stay calm. As long as you stay on plan you can't hurt yourself and it will work!!! That's what the vets say. Good Luck!!

Are you seeing a therapist?  

A lot of us have willpower issues pre-op and the operation doesn't change that.  It can be hard to completely change your way of eating.  Therapy can help with that. 

Lots and lots of things can cause your weight to fluctuate - sleeping habits, stress, salt, new exercise patterns, not enough liquid, lack of a good poop.. 

Weighing yourself daily isn't really a problem, I do it.  The problem is when you let those daily fluctuation cause you to "Freak the F out."  

Stick to your plan, measure your meals, drink all of your liquids, and you'll reach your goal.  And if daily fluctuations will continue to cause you to freak out, either stop weighing daily or use something like TrendWeight which will allow you to focus on the overall trend instead of on daily change.  

No no no... you cannot be the person that this would fail on! Because I was going to be that person! And it didn't fail for me and it won't for you either. 

What exactly are you eating? Are you checking in on my fitness pal or equivalent to see your caloric intake approximately? Are you getting enough protein? Liquids? 

Also, sorry but I can't tell if you are a man or a woman and haven't looked at your profile as I write now so maybe this would not be relevant if you are a man but if you are a woman, this could be a TOM issue? Retaining water? Too much sodium?

Are you on any medication?

Do you have access to your surgeon/nutritionist to discuss this?

Last but certainly not least - and I have seen this happen on here countless times over the years - check the batteries of your scale, if it is digital. There may be something mechanical or technical or electronic going on that is giving you erroneous results not related to your actual weight. Might be a good idea to get a 2nd scale (I have two plus the one at the gym) for verification purposes.

I have weighed myself every single day since surgery - and since before surgery actually. Only when I am travelling and have no access to a scale do I miss that daily ritual. For me this is one of the weight monitoring and maintenance tools in my arsenal. I would strongly advise anyone to keep doing that as it ensures that you don't wake up one day and step on the scale and 'discover' a 15 lb gain! You can take remedial action at 1 or 2 lbs.

Good luck sorting this out and please do give us more info - there are lots of ideas on here that could be helpful.

Honestly -- if you weigh everyday then you have two choices: a) go crazy b/c the scale isn't always logical or b) understand that the scale isn't always logical.  

I'm just about a year out and my weight goes up and down like a roller coaster.  It happens -- chill.  You know what you ate, you know if you drank your water, you know if you exercised.  If you did what you were supposed to do, then your body will (eventually) do what it is supposed to do.

Ditto to Stacy.  There are many factors to contribute to  the scale fluctuating.  If you've been honest with what you are eating, it will all workout.

I think we all have had the fear that it would not work.  Don't let the scale mess with you!

I know how tempting it is to get angry and to freak out... also how tempting it is to get very depressed (at this stage) by weight gain. I have seen entire days become clouded over because I saw the scale move up a pound when I feel CERTAIN that I had gone down. 

There are some very important things to keep in mind, even if they don't help you emotionally at the moment. You body is undergoing very drastic change. Many things affect what will change on your scale. I have had two very significant stalls so far since my surgery in July and they've both been difficult, but the second time it's come around, I've just been a bit patient. It takes work and waiting, but yes, you ARE right - when you're eating so little, weight does come off.

Your metabolism is changing, your intestinal rhythms are changing, your water retention levels are changing, so many things. Things such as constipation, fluid intake, etc, can also have a big impact on the scale at any given time.  As you've probably seen here and on other posts, you'll often find that suddenly, after a slump, a lot of weight will come off almost overnight. 

I really do understand how depressing this can be, but you will lose weight, and it's going to happen very, very soon. Try as hard as you can to be patient.  It's going to be fine.

I weigh myself daily as well and what I have come to realize is that daily fluctuations occur.   I did everything right this week and I was up 2 pounds from a week ago. Then this morning I was down 2.5 pounds.  If you use a tool to track your weight then you will see the nice steady downward trend with a few hiccups along the way.

I also find that I am very carb sensitive and if I have the same calories but had too many carbs (more than 35 for me) then I see an uptick for a few days.  Also sometimes our bodies stall.  I find this to be the case when I eat  the same thing (calorie, fat, protein, carb breakdown) everyday.  When I  up the fat up a bit that seems to keep me loosing.  You can try changing things up a little and see what happens. Track everything and see if you notice more salt in your diet.  Did you eat out or eat processed or canned foods?

Don't freak out.  THis is a long journey and the sleeve is a wonderful tool to help us get there.  

Hang tight and enjoy the ride on the skinny train. 

I've found, for example, that weighing myself everyday, at this stage in the game, isn't very good for me, because it makes me focus too much on the number and not the whole process. I've also seen that I hover in the same +2 to -2 area for most of the time, dropping usually once a week (now that the larger bulk of excess weight has come off). This may change for me, and I may find in the future that I need to weigh more frequently, but now I do it about every 3-4 days. I think each person finds the rhythm that is best, but it took me a few months to get there.

Someone ^ mentioned that carbs can make the scale stay still; I've seen this happen to me as well, even if the calorie count is the same. Sometimes, if I've been more active, and perhaps my muscle mass is up, then that can also make the scale stall. The factors are so numerous! 

My thought for you at the moment is that perhaps you should put the scale away for a few days as you continue on your program.  Don't worry too much about the scale for the moment, and just doing as best as possible on your plan.