Fall Bulk Day 18
Weight easily gained is weight easily lost – and why calories/macros are only part of the equation.
The significant increase in body weight from the previous three days has all but evaporated today, and my weight dropped by 1.8 lbs in one day.
This is a significant decrease, especially considering I had a 5% calorie surplus the day before and consumed over 300 grams of carbs.
Here are my nutrition numbers for Day 18.
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Protein | 230 g (32%) |
| Carbs | 311 g (44%) |
| Fat | 76 g (24%) |
| Calories In | +2,848 |
| Calories Out | -2,723 |
| Calorie Surplus | +125 (5%) |
The saying goes something like money quickly gained is money quickly lost. The same goes for gains on the scale; a big jump is more likely to be temporary fluff than hard-earned muscle.
In my case, something other than diet and exercise flushed out the fluff or water weight. This was not a positive day for me and involved a personal loss. So it seems that stress caused the weight loss.
The lesson to be learned here is that many factors outside of calories and macros can affect your progress. Our diet and exercise do not exist in a vacuum of constant conditions.
This is why optimizing your sleep, recovery, and stress levels is so critical. But life will always find a way to throw a wrench into your optimization efforts.
Sometimes, it’s the proverbial one step forward, two steps back. All we can do is focus on what we can control and keep walking diligently toward our goals.
As usual, I will monitor my weekly average weight to determine if and when adjustments are needed. So, we will see how my body responds in the next couple of days.
