Unexpected Weight Gain: Self-Esteem, Motivation & Numbers on the Scale

[skydivediva]

My mood was "okay", my self-esteem "medium" and my energy "medium" (even though I didn't really sleep last night and am very, very fatigued) at 0620. There is a full length mirror in my sister's house where I am staying and I thought, "I think my weight loss is showing. My waist is becoming visible again, my abdomen isn't as protruberant, my face is slimmer." I got on the scale @ 0621 expecting---based on both my appearance and the fact I've adhered pretty closely to my diet plan---to have lost some weight & expecting to have dropped below the 176# barrier. Instead, I GAINED 1.6# and now, at 0626, I feel "bad", my self-esteem is "low" and I am sapped of energy and want to go back to bed. I KNOW I didn't gain 1.6# of fat since yesterday. I know it's got to be, at least in part, "water weight". Even so, it deflates me. I hate that a number of a scale has such control over me. Hopefully, the weight is one of those "flukes"---fluid, gravitational pull, whatever---and things will be better when I  get on the scale tomorrow. I'm a pessimist, trying to imitate an optimist, but this "faking it 'til you make it" is growing tiresome.

[Barb135]

I had deleted this post; however, with skydivediva's permission, I reinstated it because I believe there's a good topic for discussion here, which I touched briefly on in the Sunday Weigh In post.

I tend to be a bit like skydive - if I don't weigh daily, I can't keep tabs on what's happening, yet I feel the same frustration whenever the numbers on the scale have gone the wrong way.

It's easy to get lax if we don't have our constant reminders.  I tried using the food diary as my reminder because I felt that having ready access to the number of calories I ate daily would give me a good idea of whether my weight should be going up or down.  

I do strongly recommend the food diary; however, in my case, I am not at a desk all day, so when I'd get home from work, I'd have to try to remember everything I ate, then spend an hour or more updating my diary.  I also tried getting a day planner that I could carry with me and that worked a bit better, but again, I didn't really have time to keep it updated.  

It's also easy to rationalize that it's okay to go off plan for a day, with the idea of being able to "make it up" later.  

I'm wondering what everyone else does to keep the reminders there.  Do you weigh every day?  If so, what are your feelings if the scale doesn't "cooperate".  

For many of us, it seems the scale is both "friend" and "foe".  

[skydivediva]

Thanks, Barb. I didn't mean to post my comments here---I intended to put them in my weight journal, but I guess I was so disappointed after my weigh in, that I lost track of where I was momentarily. Yes, you are right; this up & down frustration is a hazard of daily weighing, but unfortunately, I need the daily check in to keep myself in line. When I weigh in only weekly, I tend to get "lax" with my diet in between, figuring "it's Monday---I can have that hot fudge sundae & still burn it off by my next weigh in" or "Well, it's only W; even if this cheat makes me gain a few ounces, if I hang tough Th-Sa, it'll be gone by weigh-in"; or I let the weight creep back on in small increments and before I know it, I'm back at the beginning again.I don't know if you, as a mod, can delete my misplaced post. If so, please do. If not, well, maybe fate intended it to be here. Maybe someone else in a similar position will read my lament and not feel so alone & read your advice and do something positive to lift their spirits. I certainly appreciate your encouragement! Have a great day!

[Barb135]

Yes, I totally agree that you did not gain 1.6 lbs since yesterday.  You would have had to eat at least 3500+ calories (what it takes to make a pound) and not move a muscle.

This is one of the drawbacks of weighing daily.  In our mind, we know there's no way we could have gained that much weight (fat), yet, how can we argue with the scale?  

I'm sure you will be able to "kick" these feelings very soon.  Put on something that fits well, is comfy and makes you feel good about yourself -- no, silly, put those old sweatpants away!!  LOL    Get some makeup on, fix your hair, etc.   Then get moving; go have breakfast, go for a walk, have a laugh with your sister or anything else that makes you feel good.