Gained 2 lb in one day cycling 25 miles

[Roaders]

Hi all

I am a big Guy and cycle to lose weight. I need to loose about 4 stone in total but these last 2 weeks I have been aiming towards a target and have been trying to lose about 2 lb a day (more than I usually would). This is usually pretty easy when I cycle (25 mile return trip commute) and last week everything was going well.

This week on Monday I really pushed it on the way home as I was late for an appointment. I expected if anything to have lost more than 2 lb when I weighed myself on Tuesday. I only lost 1.2 lb though. I was fine with that as I know it's not an exact science. This morning however (Wednesday) I had gained 2 lb.

I can't figure out how I can gain 2 lb in one day when I cycled 25 miles burning aroung 1600 kcal (according to cycle computer).

At the moment I am only eating a bit of muesli and yogurt for breakfast, soup and a roll for lunch and chicken and salad for dinner.

I only started cycling again after the winter break last week so my legs have lost some condition. I am expecting to put some muscle on but 2 lb (or even 4 lb when you take into account normal loss) in one day? I'm sure that's not the reason.

I know this sort of thing fluctuates and I don't expect linear loss every day but to put 2 lb on is a bit too odd!

Any insights?

 

[Scotty_Dog]

How much liquid did you drink? Water weighs 8+ pounds per gallon.

 

[Roaders]

I try to drink 2l a day.
These are all first thing in the morning weights after peeing so I don't think that is the culprit.

 

[NoRacer]

Extra salt in your diet can increase water weight. Salt can come from many sources, not just what you pour from the shaker.

Since not all of your water is in your bladder, hitting the head in the morning is only going to get rid of one reservoir of water. Other sources (gut, blood, cellular, lymphatic, organs) are all susceptible to variance.

Up to about 6 pounds of weight loss in one day can be from water. It's better to use trend instead of daily variance.

 

[Icklehutch]

Forget the wieght !

Measure your bodyfat.

Weight can fluctuate a lot, so a better measure is bodyfat.

 

[64Paramount]

Roaders, my weight varies so much day to day that I only weigh once a week.

I try to weigh in at the same time of morning every Sunday after I void my bladder (and whatever else needs voided ) and that may not be a perfect way to do it, but I've found it works better for me than weighing daily.

 

[German26]

[lang=de]I already asked this on another thread, but didn't really get a reply to it (dont get me wrong, Im not blaming anyone, Im just still curious about it ;-)):

Are cyclists usually in really good shape in comparison to other people of their age group? (I dont mean professional cyclists, but people who "only" cycle an hour or two daily or a few hours every other day)

I've considered switching to cycling as the main workout of my future (I'm in good shape, now at 26 but would like to stay as I age )...and now I've realized that basically everyone who I see cycling in the street (who wears some kind of cycling outfit) seems to be in really great shape.

Of course I dont know how much these people cycle, though![/lang]

 

[Chavez]

Roaders, my weight varies so much day to day that I only weigh once a week.

I try to weigh in at the same time of morning every Sunday after I void my bladder (and whatever else needs voided ) and that may not be a perfect way to do it, but I've found it works better for me than weighing daily.

I'd agree with that. I need to drop body fat, but I don't really worry about hitting some target weight - if I look better and feel better, I figure Mission Accomplished.

 

[64Paramount]

I'd agree with that. I need to drop body fat, but I don't really worry about hitting some target weight - if I look better and feel better, I figure Mission Accomplished.

Yep, I think how I look and how my clothes fit me give me better feedback on my overall weight than the bathroom scale.

Usually when I'm losing my winter fat in the Spring, I'm also gaining muscle weight from doing weight training, so my overall weight can be misleading..

 

[2088bob]

Trying to lose 2lbs a day is a very unhealthy goal more like 2 lbs a week would serve you better and not impact on your general health


A few words given to me by a wise old doctor "you didn't put it on that fast so don't expect to take it off that fast
I have lost 104lbs it took me 17 months to achieve that

 

[onthelang]

Sounds like water weight to me.

 

[thekauz]

Go to a carbohydrate restrictive diet. Layoff the grains, white sugar, white root vege's, and no high fructose corn syrup. The grains are the big one. I started at 293 lbs and now I am at 215 a year later.