I love the lifestyle but am stressing out over some weight GAIN!!! page

[primal hunter]

I am ending my 5th week of primal living. I had dropped 17 lbs and in the last week alone I am back up 5lbs...WTF??? I have started light jogging this week in my VFF and loved every second of it. I have added some nuts and heavy cream/half and half this week. I have been doing differnt body weight exercise 3-4 times a week. Nothing really has changed to cause any type of weight gain, my energy levels are through the roof and I do feel leaner and stronger but can anyone help out with the weird weight gain this week. My main goal is to lose weight, Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[iniQuity]

1- Don't stress.

2- You feel good, you're energized, you feel leaner and stronger, those are all GREAT not good but GREAT things, keep at it.

3- You lost 17lbs! that's awesome, great job.

4- I love that you said nothing has changed but you "started" to jog, you've been doing BW training 3-4x a week, those contribute to muscle gain, I bet that 5lb "gain" is muscle (well, not all of it)

5- I can understand you wanting to lose numerical weight, I was on that boat too, but now I understand that it really doesn't matter much (unless you're obese I suppose) I don't know how much you weigh, but unless you're training for a meet, or any type of event where you MUST weigh a certain number, why stress it? Focus on the other positives you're experiencing.

6- I'm not a nut eater, never go out of my way to eat them, but I have seem many posters say they're heavy calorie wise, and it's very easy to over indulge since you can pop them indefinitely, it IS possible that you've been getting in a lot of extra calories without realizing. However, don't be like me back in my early primal days and cut everything that you think is hindering your progress out (I for instance, cut out all greens except the dark leafy kind, and though I didn't mind it, I do think it was very excessive and reintroduced some vegs and now my plates are once again colorful and shockfull of nutrients) but maybe watch how many nuts you're eating.

Keep going man/woman! Sorry, don't know your gender ... You're only just starting week 6, relax! I didn't lose a pound going from my 3rd to 4th month, not one, but my body composition was still changing and I could see my abs by the end of that month while working only BW (lack of gym, not an aversion to weights, I love and miss weights) so the numbers don't ever tell the full story. Focus on the positives! weigh yourself once a week or something. Relax above all.

[yodiewan]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Weight can naturally fluctuate within a pretty wide range (at least +/- 5 pounds). And if the weight was regained within one week, it almost has to be predominately fluid. Maybe you're retaining some more water for some reason. Anyway, if you're still eating right, I wouldn't sweat it too much. Your weight will probably swing back down soon (if you have more weight to lose that is).

Increased sodium intake can cause you to retain some extra water. Also, increasing carbs (especially in a carb loading fashion) can increase muscle glycogen stores. 4 grams of water are stored with each gram of glycogen, so that can add up to a good deal of weight.

[Bostonbully]

Also what everyone has to realize is that this is a life style. I'm not sure how old you are could be 20 could be 50 but either way you have a LONG time to live. Mark looks amazing but he has been doing this now for I think 15 years. You have to look past the scale, and keep your eye on the mirror. If you are feeling good inside, and looking good out side who cares if your 100 pounds or 1000. Keep your head up and good luck!

[batty]

body change progress is never linear! some weeks you'll be down 5 lbs, then shoot up 7, then down 8. pay attention to weekly progress, but then make a point to measure it over a longer time span. i think the hacker's diet shows this best:



if the overall trend is still losing weight, then dont worry about a 5 lb fluxuation here and there.

however!

my energy levels are through the roof and I do feel leaner and stronger

this is the most important part. like others have said, focus on making this a *sustainable* lifestyle change, everything else will fall into place.

[Joe G]

I've dropped about 20 lbs since going primal 2/14, most of it in the first few weeks. Then experienced a long plateau. But here's something I thought I'd share. After a while, I stopped getting on the scale too often and just listened to how my clothes fit and what the mirror told me. (And when that didn't work, just reminded myself "I feel better, and am getting stronger, so something positive is happening, even if it's not reflected in the mirror this week.) Then I had an epiphany as a result of going on vacation -- mirrors lie! The mirrors in my house weren't registering much change (that I could see) but when I took my shirt off at our vacation rental I looked ripped! So my point is: It might help to wean yourself off the external barometers of progress and focus more on the subjective/introspective ones. (i.e. How you feel, exercise performance, muscle functionality, perception of overall wellness, etc.) For what it's worth.

[Daemonized]

It could be the nuts that are causing your weight gain there as well. Nuts are very calorie dense and it's easy to go a little overboard with them. What I've learned is that if you're going to get nuts get the ones in the shell. That way you can't just grab a handful and them maybe another handful, but if you want some you'll have to work a little for them.

[AppalachianMatt]

The most important thing is what you already posted. My energy levels are through the roof and I do feel leaner and stronger. As someone mentioned earlier this is a lifestyle not a diet. The word diet associates so many negatives things and the word lifestyle fits this better. I wouldn't worry aboutt he numbers but moreso with how you feel. If you feel healthier, more agile and are in generally better moods than this is already a success for you. The weight loss will eventually happen but your body needs time to adjust to a different way of eating and exercising. Probably not what you wanted to hear but from you own words you're already successfully living this lifestyle.

[primal hunter]

This is exactly what I needed to hear!! Thank you all SOOOO much, this is a great support group we have here. For what its worth, I am a 31 y/o male and started at 270 lbs and dropped to 254 then back up to 259 this morning and I freaked out. I do know and understand the fluctuations but I do find myself getting a little too focused on the numbers on the scale. You guys are great and i am thankful for your advice and insight. I will keep you guys posted of my progress and I look forward to watching your progress too.