The FastDay Forum

So after losing 12lbs in 3 weeks I was really aiming for 2lbs this week to round up to a lovely stone. I had wine at the weekend, and have eaten more bread this week (I love a cinnamon bagel for breakfast) but fasted Monday, definitely did not overeat Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday and have fasted again today. I have taught dance three times this week and been for a run.

What I did NOT expect was to gain 3lbs! I refused to believe it so weighed myself again, moving position in the room, This time it said I had gained 2lbs.

I would normally then accept it, but my husband, who is also following 5:2, apparently also gained 2lbs.

We don't have scales in the house (don't want my toddler to start weighing herself) so we use the wii fit. Thing is, I know it weighs 7lbs under actual weight, because when I started SW years ago I was devastated to find that in 30mins I had gained 7lbs in the time it took to get to the class! So I always add 7lbs onto whatever it says.

However, I may just be in denial. I'm trying to not let it bother me too much, but t'other half is really pissed off about it and is in a 'this diet is rubbish I may as well eat a cake' kind of mood.

I've not logged my gain in the progress tracker- I'm going to wait another week and see what happens.

Why don't you wait until the morning after your fast ie tomorrow and see what the scales say then? I am always heavier in the evening regardless of what I eat during the day.
And maybe you gained muscle? This leads to longer term weight loss.

Don't despair whatever you do, the scales will always move in the right direction in the end xx

[wildmissus]

Don't be so hard on yourselves. You've lost a huge amount of weight in 3 weeks. I'm no expert but I'd say your 'balancing out'. Your first few weeks weight loss is mainly water anyway. Take a look at my progress chart - there are quite a few ups and downs and in May/June a plateau of 7 weeks, last week 2lb on. The gains are a bummer but still, since the beginning of the year I have lost 2 stone. Now on any other diet that would be a very lose loss but I know that this weight will stay off. Please be kind to yourselves, be patient and persist.

Don't worry fifipye, it can take a few weeks for the weight loss to settle down. What you lost initially was probably mostly water, and now your body is rebalancing. I would expect next week to show a loss again.

I can put on 6lb from morning to evening. Water retention, food in the gut still making its way around your insides, or having heavier clothes or a myriad of other excuses.

Or the WII fit scales not being on exactly the same place on the floor can cause this problem, having had a WII fit in the past and having had this problem myself. I would say the WII fit as your hubby had exactly the same increase. I doubt very much if you and your hubby ate exactly the same food, exercised exactly the same amount and put on exactly the same weight.

So chill, take the WII fit readings with a pinch of salt, use a tape measure or the fit of your clothes to judge your weight loss. Give it a month and if the trend is still upward and your clothes are getting tighter then look into your average weekly calories and see if there is anything wrong there.

Thanks, I know you're all right.
I don't get weighed in front of my daughter so can't do mornings, but I know you're probably right about the evening gains. We try to weigh ourselves prior to our evening meal, but I know about weight fluctuations.
I do feel really annoyed though because I was convinced I would get my stone tonight!
I have drank LOADS of water, green tea etc today so I'll put it down to that. I'll stick at it, because its been the easiest 12lbs (refusing to acknowledge the gain) I have ever lost!

Thanks for the support.

[Betsysgr8]

I have drank LOADS of water, green tea etc today so I'll put it down to that. I'll stick at it, because its been the easiest 12lbs (refusing to acknowledge the gain) I have ever lost!

Thanks for the support.

LOL! Have you ever weighed a glass of water? It's HEAVY! You probably are down but water you drank today is making it seem like a gain. Isn't there anyway to get yourselves weighed in the morning?

No, it's such a pain in the arse getting the wii fit out and I have to set off for work at 7am, having already dressed and breakfasted the family- not a lot of time for a sneaky weigh in!
I'll just stay good this week and pretend this weigh in never happened!

Could you leave the WII fit set up from the night before and do a quick dash down stairs and weigh yourself after going to the toilet but before getting dressed or eating?

You've lost loads - well done!

Forgive me for repeating this folks, but I think it's worth repeating every time the monster scales appear to misbehave - I now call it "the V&P vary fairy" on my journal:

We humans are about 2/3 water. Each of us contains about 40 liters (or quarts) of the stuff, and each liter weighs a bit over 2 pounds. Our bodies effectively regulate fluid balance by adjusting urine output and sense of thirst, but this is done within a 2-liter range. Within this range, your body doesn't really care if it is up to a liter above or below its ideal fluid level.

What this means is that we all live inside a 4-pound-wide grey zone, so that from day to day we fluctuate up or down (i.e. plus or minus) 2 pounds. This happens more or less at random, so with any one weight reading you don't know where your body is within that fluid range. Your weight can be the same for 3 days in a row, and the next morning you wake up and the scale says you've 'gained' 3 pounds for no apparent reason. For people who weigh themselves frequently, this can be maddening. Volek and Phinney, 2011 (my emphasis)

Again, congratulations! FatDog.

It happens sometimes. Forget it and keep up the good work trust me the weight will keep coming off. There are so many variables. Perhaps it's not what your fast day but the feast days. Example, processed food it loaded with salt and sugar. Also, it seems odd but if you don't eat enough calories on the feast days you won't lose either.

Thanks for the replies- I am not letting it bother me too much as I know I have lost a lot in a short space of time. Haven't reweighed, I'll just leave it another week. If the wii fit is still not my friend I may have to invest in some decent scales, or take a trip to my local Boots every now and then.
Drank lots of wine last night, but went for a 5k run this morning to blow away the cobwebs, so feeling good!

Let's see. 12 pounds in 3 weeks. 4 pounds a week. 14,000 calories out of your diet each week? With just two days of fasting?

The average weight loss with 5:2 is about a pound a week.

Here is a post on what you might expect going forward: 5-2-diet-chat-f6/topic6491.html

And here is basic weight loss math to help with your understanding of how 5:2 works: 5-2-diet-chat-f6/topic6600.html

Don't give up. Good Luck!

Hi fifipye,
My 5p worth - well done on loosing that much so fast, but it was never going to continue at that rate without some serious misery on your part, re scales, get a set and keep them in your bedroom (in the wardrobe if you prefer) that way you can weigh first thing without your daughter seeing.
You ran 5km this morning great !!! was it a parkrun? do you know about parkrun?
Here's a link to their website http://www.parkrun.org.uk/ it is a free, timed, measured 5km run in parks (doh!) all over the UK at 9 AM every Saturday. There is a thread called "Are there any runners here" which is where I first learnt of it.
(I do tend to pop into any possible thread to publicise parkrun )

Hi Fifipye,
I agree with Sian- maybe buy some scales and leave them in your bedroom or the bathroom cupboard. If that suits you. Good luck!!!!