getting leaner, scale going up

[LKvvvv]

So over the past few months i've been on really low carbs and my lowest weight was 151, naturally after I started to incorporate carbs into my cut my weight shot up again and I know it isnt fat of course because the glycogen is being replaced again. Now my diet is pretty consistent and I can feel and see myself getting leaner but 2 days ago I was 162 now i'm 165 after having fasted for 14 hours and being hungry as hell.
My diet is usually 1600 calories
20 oz of chicken, 3 tbsp honey mustard with some salad and lemon
2 cups of oats w 2 tbsp peanut butter, scoop of protein powder, cinnamon and some SF syrup
Also I drink like a 2L of coke zero a day

I lift 3x a week with 20-30 minute cardio after each time and I have a food scale etc, I was 165 when I started my cut but my body is a lot leaner since then. Should I just disregard this? I mean with the trend it looks like I could be 170 scale weight by next week sometime. I'm more flustered that I can't actually track my real progress from the scale since I don't even know what my starting weight is yet

[wanttolose485]

What about water? Could be water weight.

But... if you KNOW you're getting leaner, and can see it... who cares what the scale says? It's just a number. The important thing is the results in the mirror!

[LKvvvv]

What about water? Could be water weight.

But... if you KNOW you're getting leaner, and can see it... who cares what the scale says? It's just a number. The important thing is the results in the mirror!

ya, its water, all I wanted though was a starting point with my weight. It's been everywhere maybe i'll just measure my waist every week or so just to make sure i'm progressing.

[wanttolose485]

ya, its water, all I wanted though was a starting point with my weight. It's been everywhere maybe i'll just measure my waist every week or so just to make sure i'm progressing.

Well, if you drink water for a few days, you can regulate your water weight, and then get a good idea. Try drinking 100-110 oz of water or so throughout the day for the next... 4 or 5 days... and then you should see what your "baseline" weight is, without the water weight (if you drink water, your body will drop water, because it assumes you don't need to hold on to it). You can still drink the Cokes, just, do it IN ADDITION to the water! Good luck!

[csb5731]

Well, if you drink water for a few days, you can regulate your water weight, and then get a good idea. Try drinking 100-110 oz of water or so throughout the day for the next... 4 or 5 days... and then you should see what your "baseline" weight is, without the water weight (if you drink water, your body will drop water, because it assumes you don't need to hold on to it). You can still drink the Cokes, just, do it IN ADDITION to the water! Good luck!

While you tend to hold less water weight drinking large volumes of water, there really is not way around the "water weight" associated with storing glycogen. It pretty much has to happen, and it's not a bad thing by any means, no matter how much water you consume. (Water consumption seems to effect water held because of electrolyte concentrations - sodium, etc. intake - not so much IMO water associated with glycogen storage).

What happens to a lot of people as they get lean, if they have been on a low carb diet and start eating carbohydrates, they of course start storing glycogen and a considerable amount of water inside the muscle. Some of this water often comes from water stored in the less flattering places. Combined with the "inflated muscles" from the glyogen/water, this can make a person APPEAR quite a bit leaner yet be ~5% heavier.

[Fatissimus]

What's more important to you, being visibly slimmer or weighing a little less. For me, I could care less what my weight does as long as I continue slimming down. This is why I value the measuring tape much more than the scale.

[Former300lber]

If your looking leaner, who cares? I hate cutting because I hate watching the scale go down, I like saying I weight 200lbs, if I could maintain 200lbs and get leaner, that would be fantastic.

[Fatissimus]

If your looking leaner, who cares?

Bingo.

[MrM27]

If your looking leaner, who cares? I hate cutting because I hate watching the scale go down, I like saying I weight 200lbs, if I could maintain 200lbs and get leaner, that would be fantastic.

I agree with this^^
Last cut I was obsessing over hitting a certain weight but this time it's more about look.

On your diet, it looks very boring and bland. You need to mix it up a little. You can't eat like that for the rest of your life.
Also, 1600 calories is to low.

[LKvvvv]

I agree with this^^
Last cut I was obsessing over hitting a certain weight but this time it's more about look.

On your diet, it looks very boring and bland. You need to mix it up a little. You can't eat like that for the rest of your life.
Also, 1600 calories is to low.

Thanks guys i'm deff gonna stop the scale obsession and yeah my diet is pretty boring and ill try to mix it up here and there but really for 5 "4" you think 1600 is too low? I only lift/ do cardio 3/4 times a week aside from that i'm pretty much sedentary.

[stingray72]

While you tend to hold less water weight drinking large volumes of water, there really is not way around the "water weight" associated with storing glycogen. It pretty much has to happen, and it's not a bad thing by any means, no matter how much water you consume. (Water consumption seems to effect water held because of electrolyte concentrations - sodium, etc. intake - not so much IMO water associated with glycogen storage).

What happens to a lot of people as they get lean, if they have been on a low carb diet and start eating carbohydrates, they of course start storing glycogen and a considerable amount of water inside the muscle. Some of this water often comes from water stored in the less flattering places. Combined with the "inflated muscles" from the glyogen/water, this can make a person APPEAR quite a bit leaner yet be ~5% heavier.

When you restrict carbs to the point of almost complete depletion there can also be a carbo loading effect where you can hold more carbohydrates than normal but this usually happens when a lot of carbohydrate are consumed in a short period of time. How long I dont remember because my memory is still affected from a toxic build up i was just in the hospital for recently but I figured id mention it just in case it applies.