Monday Weigh-In & Thoughts - July 19th Edition

So I'm a little confused & irritated by the scale this morning. It's showing a 1lb gain for this past week. I'm now at 239.5. I've been trying to figure out WHY and I still can't come up with a clear-cut answer.

Food - I stayed within my 1500-1800 calorie range. My carb ratio was fine, though my fats & proteins were a little off. Even though my carb ratio was OK, I didn't do as well in the types of carbs I consumed. This was definitely a mashed potates, rolls, & cereal kind of week. I even broke down and drank a soda on Saturday night...my first one in a month.

Perhaps all the sugary carb consumption led to a little water retention?

Exercise - I was on the treadmill 3 days for 30mins each with the 2.5/2mph intervals at a 5.5 incline. I did 2 20-minute calisthenic workouts of push-ups, sit-ups, etc. I also had my regular 2-hour swim on Saturday. I did skip 2 days of treadmill work because I've been having some back pain & I hoped resting a bit would help.

I was also really tired this week. I'm usually eager for my lap swimming, but it was a struggle to get it done. I also slept for almost 12 hours Saturday night.

Maybe the extra calisthenics workout helped build a little muscle? Maybe my body is becoming more efficient at burning calories with the exercises I am doing?

Mood - It was a crummy & stressful week. We had issues with unemployment, ex-wives, jobs, etc. I hit a low point on Sunday that I haven't seen in over a month.

Sundays are usually low days for my mood, though they have been improving thanks to therapy & the exercise. But yesterday was just awful. I didn't want to move, I didn't want to do anything. I felt tired but not sleepy, bored but not sure what to do, and just plain BLAH. And I also felt like tearing up at any moment, though I wasn't depressed about anything.

The stress & crummy feelings probably led to the sugar cravings. But I tried to be careful with those cravings & indulge when I needed to, but stay within my ratio & calorie limits, so I'm not sure what would've caused the problem.

So could stress have halted the weight-loss?

As you can see, I have suspicions, but nothing that fully explains it. To truly have gained a pound, I would've had to been off my calorie deficit by 1500 almost every day. There is no way that could've happened.

So it sounds like a combination of water-retention & building muscle.

Regardless, I've got to push on. This week I'm laying off the mashed potatoes & rolls (& no more sodas).

Here's hoping next week brings better results.

Calories: 1500-1800

Treadmill
30 mins 3 days
Week of 7/19: 6 incline, 2-2.5mph intervals (M,W,F)

Old Tae-Bo tape (just to mix it up)
30 mins 2 days
Week of 7/19: Beginner

Yoga Stretch DVD (just to mix it up)
30 mins 2 days
Week of 7/19: Beginner

Swimming
2 hours 1 day
Week of 7/19: 36 laps, 12 freestyle, 12 backstroke, 10 paddleboard

Resistance Training
Situps (l,m,r)
Push-ups (floor,wall)
Leg Lifts (f,b,s,both)
Lunges
Chair pull-ups
20 mins 2 days
Week of 7/19: 2 sets 10

I'm also going to try weighing in daily. Maybe getting used to seeing fluctuations due to water retention & such (but with a downward trend) will help cut out the stress & anticipation of the weekly weigh-in.