Question for those who know lots about the body and nutrition...

[HEyHEY]

Last week or so work has been insane. So, I've not been eating well. Usually by two in the afternoon all I'd had was a granola bar and two bananas.
Then some rather crappy food for dinner. I.E. fried shit, but not insane portions. I haven't had much water, but lots of coffee.
Yet, I seem to have gained two pounds.

Anyone?

[begin_within]

1. Must mean you haven't burned off the calories contained in what you ate.

[flvegan]

2. Did you weigh yourself on the same scale at the same time

in comparison for those 2 pounds?

For example, people can weigh themselves first thing in the am and again at 4pm and have gained 2 to 4 pounds.

[pagerbear]

5. Good advice!

I always try to weigh myself at the same time of day, same scale--usually before breakfast but after....er....shedding excess weight.

[HEyHEY]

6. Really?

I don't remember what time I weighed myself. But usually it's in the morning.

[flvegan]

8. To accurately weigh yourself

to get actual gain/loss amounts, one needs to use the same scale, be wearing the same thing (or nothing) and do so at the same time each day. The best time is when the body is "clean" which is first thing in the am after getting out of bed.

[YankeyMCC]

3. My guess is the percentage of fat calories

and lack of exercise. Granola bars do have medium to high fat levels (although not so much of the 'bad fat' like in fried foods of course but still fat does add up) and even a little fried food has a high percentage of fat. Sounds like you're eating as many calories as you normally would but taking in a lot more fat as a percentage of the calories you take in.

And being so busy you're probably not exercising as much as usual (if you do). Should be no big deal since it sounds like you're at least getting some fresh fruit and it's short term.

[pagerbear]

4. Could be because you're eating more in the evening?

Someone once said the way to lose weight is to eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a pauper for dinner. (Wish I could follow that advice!)

[MissMillie]

7. even small portions of fried shit contain a lot of calories

not only that, but your body's metabolism may be messed up because you're not eating regularly scheduled meals and snacks.

[supernova]

9. You could also be dehydrated

from all the coffee and no real water to speak of.

Not having enough fluid in your system can slow down the metabolism too.

[denverbill]

10. You gain a pound of fat by consuming 3500 calories more than you burn.

Since it's almost impossible to consume 3500 calories more than you burn in one day, it's almost impossible to lose 1 lb of fat in a day. For me, it would require me to consume 5500 calories (that's like eating a Double Quarter pounder with cheese combo, super-sized (1710 calories) for breakfast, lunch and dinner and 3 beers). Losing a pound of fat in a day is even more difficult. That would require you to run about 5 hours on a treadmill and eat absolutely nothing.

If you consume 500 calories less than you burn every day, after a week, you'll have lost a pound of fat. But you might weigh 2-3 lbs more. That's because your weight depends not just on your fat, but on what you've eaten, how full your bowels are, and how hydrated you are. If you weigh yourself, then drink a pint of water, and weigh yourself again, you'll weigh 1 lb more. Last Sunday morning, I weighed 170. Monday, I weighed 173, even though I'd only consumed about 2500 calories the previous day. Why? The 170 weight was probably low (I was dehydrated). I drank several margaritas with lots of salt on Sunday (salt increases water retention). My bowels were probably more empty Sunday than Monday also. It took me until today to reach 170 again.

You can't judge success one day at a time. It's best to log your weight and watch the long term trend. Here's a free web site if you are interested: http://www.calorie-count.com/

[seemunkee]

11. poopage factor?

Fried shit and not much water can cause you to retain liquids. Your body is preparing for a drought.

[u4ic]

12. Prolonged stress can do that to some people, too

I'm one of them.