Today was weigh day for me and I could have cried because for the first time since I started this WOL I went up 3 pounds. I was afraid this would happen once I started back to work. I have no time for a workout or even a walk during the week - and despite keeping carbs down around 30 daily, my weight went up. When I get home from work, I am so exhausted that I don't even have the energy to saunter out. I had gobs of energy before this week - if only I was independently wealthy!
Donna

Don't worry, I'm sure it's just a tiny step backwards.....lots of people fluctuate three pounds day to day.

Working full-time and looking after a house is hard work....perhaps once you get back into the routine of work and everything you'll be able to get back into your exercise program. I know it's easy for me to say, "do it for yourself", but that's easier said than done.

I try and go to the gym also (not during the summer months though), and I know how hard it is to get there sometimes.....getting there is half the battle (at least for me).

Keep smiling...today will be a better day.

to gain actual body fat through exercise routine changes that amounted to three pounds, your old routine would have had to be the equivalent of running 100 miles a week! As good as exercise makes us feel, as much as it may protect against certain diseases, it really isn't a significant factor in the weight loss formula. Even training for a marathon will only shift weight about ten pounds over a year, in the absence of dietary change. So take heart--those three pounds are unlikely to be anything other than water weight gain.

Are you drinking less water because you are busy? Make sure you're carrying around a bottle as often as opssible. hang in there and the whoosh fairy will visit you one of these fine mornings

A person's weight fluctuates during the day. Until my boyfriend started this WOL I didnt realize just how much. He can gain 7 lbs from morning to evening and be right back down the next day. If he weren't so interested in how his metabolism was working and hopping on those scales at every opportunity I would find it hard to believe that there could be that big a change over the course of just a few hours. Drink your water and take some measurements, if you've been working out you could very well be gaining some muscle mass. And wait a week to weight yourself again. In the end the weight loss WILL catch up with you!

Hang in there!
Nat

I agree the weight regain is probably water. I have a sneaking suspicion that stress increases water retention, for me, anyway - as Razzle says, maybe through being busy and not drinking enough. Water weight comes and goes, especially for women. It came - it'll go!

Rachel

I often think, if I was independently wealthy, I would be able to hire a cook, housekeeper, chauffeur and Nanny. Then I could hire a personal trainer to keep me motivated and help me get myself looking as good as possible. You know--like all the Rich and Famous.

But the reality is that I have to do all those things and so life is a constant juggle of priorities because some things need to be taken care of RIGHT NOW and for many women, we get to ourselves last.

I am just a stay at home mum and I consider that I work 24-7. I have a lot of respect and admiration for all the mums out there who are doing the same job I am at home and then doing another job outside of the home.

Whenever I get discouraged that nothing seems to be happening or that I have gained a lb or 2 due to those dreaded TOM cycles, I get out a pair of the pre-LC WOL just to remind myself how far I've already come.

Just keep plugging away.

meant to say I try on a pre-LC WOL pants just to remind myself how far I've come

I agree that the 3 lbs. is more than likely water retention, due to any number of factors. Hang in there iteachca!

I do, however, disagree with razzle's statement:



While dietary control tis he most important component in a fat loss program, there is only one way to increase your body's metabolism ... and that is ... EXERCISE ... specifically, weight training.

There is alot more that I have to add to this subject, but I am really short on time right now. Stay tuned ...

I agree that the water weight explanation is likely. What I do is I weigh myself every day at the same time (first thing in the morning, after I go to the bathroom, before I take a shower or get dressed!) I record the weight - since I've been on this current diet, I use dailyrating.com - it keeps a graph of my weight for me. It's helpful to look at the graph of the past few months and see the weight fluctuations - some days up, some days down - and to see that the overall trend is down. This way, I have no surprises, and I know whether to take a weight gain seriously - if it maintains itself for several days - or to discount is as normal fluctuation. If I weigh myself in the evening, I am always a _minimum_ of two pounds heavier than first thing in the morning, sometimes more. I'm a teacher, too, and have just started back to work and being non-stop busy all day - it's a big change. I try to do my exercise before i go to work because I'm usually too tired in the evenings - fortunately i have a friend who'll meet me at 6:00 am, if neither of us oversleeps. Good luck, and I really recommend daily weighing!

Personally I am not one for weighing any more. I was obsessed with it when I started out but now I really have to make a conscious effort to remember to do it first thing in the morning before I eat or drink anything. It is often 2-3 weeks before I actually do it.

However I do like the idea of keeping a graph. I can see it might help me with a problem of mine to do that for a couple of months. But daily weighing ? .... seems too much trouble just now!

Exercise is definitely a great boost. I do feel better ('cos I am actually expelling all that stale air in my lungs) and it helps with keeping the metabolism high and the weight low...er.
Wish you luck. And Commitment.
Take care.