OP you didn't gain fat. You gained temporary water weight. It will go away. Don't stress it.

I suggest weighing everyday, but only looking at the trend on a weekly (or longer basis). This will help you understand normal fluctuations, but also give you a clear picture of where your overall body weight is trending.

1300 calories is insanely low for someone who is 5-6 and works out. Your metabolism is shot. Are you lifting weights?

I feel similar to you op but I don’t think I’ve ever only eaten 1300 calories a day. That would be quite difficult and I’d function poorly. Plus you’re working out 4 days/week. It seems like you’re busting your bottom to lose weight. It definitely seems extremely frustrating. At this point I think you need a nutritionist, or coach of some sort.

Yes-you had a normal fluctuation in weight. The disordered people above who say no more cheat meals can bite it.

You are fine. Your body has a happy weight that it likes. Don't worry about BMI-pay attention to health (numbers other than the scale-BP, Cholesterol) mobility, and fitness.

And of course, nutrition most of the time. A healthy, varied diet and do not freak out about 5 pounds overnight. That is impossible.

OP you need a lifestyle change. What you are doing is yo-yo dieting. No more big bbq cheat meals. That sounded like a massive meal, especially as I imagine your portions were "American" sized and probably not just a couple of ounces of each item. You need to rewire your mind of what a portion size is and what 1-2 ounces of food looks like.

I would just be okay where you are. Work to maintain and for health, but don’t stress about dropping—you probably won’t keep it off.

And the person telling you that a piece of bbq and 10 chips with guacamole plus vegetables is cheat meal is exactly why it’s not worth agonizing about the scale.

Anonymous wrote:That was a big cheat meal OP. In all honesty most women of your age who want to be thin eat much less.

NP. BBQ chicken plus a little guac and a small desert is a reasonable chest meal. I'd cut out the salad and veggies if there's a lot of dressing or sauce.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a big cheat meal OP. In all honesty most women of your age who want to be thin eat much less.

Eat much less than 1300 calories with a larger meal every couple of months? Really?

OP, you are coming across as a not reliable narrator. 1300 calories minus a glass of wine is 1000-1100 calories. Very few 5’6” woman can regularly eat this and work out hard and be at 155. I suspect you have more frequent “cheats” than your OP claims.

This is OP. I eat more than 1300 calories when I am trying to maintain weight loss. That is what I eat when I am trying to lose weight. But if seems like I can’t eat more than 1300 calories ever if I want to maintain because the weight just creeps back up. I don’t know how many calories I am eating when not in diet mode since I don’t want to log food for the rest of my life if I don’t have to.

OP, I highly recommend consulting a dietician. This is totally in their wheelhouse and they will have great advice about what it takes to maintain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was a big cheat meal OP. In all honesty most women of your age who want to be thin eat much less.

Eat much less than 1300 calories with a larger meal every couple of months? Really?

OP, you are coming across as a not reliable narrator. 1300 calories minus a glass of wine is 1000-1100 calories. Very few 5’6” woman can regularly eat this and work out hard and be at 155. I suspect you have more frequent “cheats” than your OP claims.

It was probably a really salty meal so most of the weight is most likely water weight. Just eat clean for a day and take some magnesium and you'll be right back to 148.

Anonymous wrote:That was a big cheat meal OP. In all honesty most women of your age who want to be thin eat much less.

Eat much less than 1300 calories with a larger meal every couple of months? Really?

That meal was fine for a special bbq. You aren't eating like that regularly. It was likely the salt.

At any rate: Maintaining is harder than losing. They say exercise doesn't really help you lose much, but it is critical to maintaining. I've lost a lot twice on WW and both times when I stopped counting points I gained it all back. This next time (I'm losing again), I will focus on serious exercise to maintain.

That was a big cheat meal OP. In all honesty most women of your age who want to be thin eat much less.

I am 44 and 5’6” and my body wants to weigh between 155-160. My doctor wants to see me under 150 since my BMI is on the upper end. I can lose the weight in 6-8 weeks by doing intermittent fasting and not eating more than 1300 calories per day, but the problem is that then it just creeps back up to 155-160 over the next 6-8 weeks.

I already work out 4 days per week and eat very healthy most of the time - lean protein, not many carbs, little sugar, tons of vegetables and some fruit. I drink maybe 2 glasses of wine per week total. Don’t drink any beverages with sugar. Don’t eat a ton of processed foods. I just don’t want to count calories for the rest of my life.

After being so good for a couple months I was down to 148. Last night went to a BBQ where I ate BBq chicken, salad, grilled veggies, plus maybe 10 chips with some guacamole and a small piece of pie. This morning the scale says 153!!! I know there are normal fluctuations but did I really gain 5 lbs overnight with one cheat meal?

Anyone have advice for maintaining weight loss?