Weight Fluctuation

nygr8guy

Yesterday I was down 5 lbs. Today I am up 2.7 lbs. Yesterday I was happy, today I am sad.
This happens quite often. On my up days I get discouraged, and all fed up because I ate good, and I exercised the day before.
I know I should only weigh once a week, but I have a Bluetooth scale that syncs with MFP, and it becomes a habit. If I don't weigh everyday I find myself not weighing in for a long time and gaining weight again.
I can't seem to regulate my weight loss.
Any suggestions?

Timorous_Beastie

It's normal. Fluid retention from exercise or sodium, undigested food in your intestines, hormonal changes, hydration, etc. can all influence the number on the scale. It makes no sense to be discouraged because you have a big poop on deck.

Stop tying your emotions to the scale. Make sure you track your progress through other means, too, such as fitness goals, how clothes fit, measurements.

If you know you're doing everything right and you're seeing progress in other metrics, laugh it off. I give my scale the bird when it fluctuates wildly.

Liftng4Lis

Stop weighing yourself everyday, because you're going to fluctuate regardless.

esjones12

This is why I don't weigh myself every day. Did you know that your body can range 3-5 pounds in a single day? If you insist on weighing yourself every day, then do it first thing in the morning after you go to the bathroom and before you eat anything. Even then it can range based on yesterdays diet and water intake. Looking at your weight over a few months is a better gauge at how successful your efforts are.

Weigh and measure your food. Log it. Eat a deficit. Exercise (if you choose to). Be consistent. And you will have success.

DemoraFairy

Everyone fluctuates. If you don't find that weighing less often works, you could weigh yourself everyday and track it, then you'll know when you're up that it'll come down again.

Here's my weight loss chart over the period of 7 months to demonstrate that everyone fluctuates:

flumi_f

You can weigh daily....I do. But then, don't let it make you crazy. Watch the trend from week to week...month to month. The daily values aren't quite as important.

Plus by weighing daily, I actually found out alot about my body, weight loss cycles and foods that cause me to retain water (thus up weight), etc. Not a bad thing. I can often predict the ups and the downs by looking at the foods on my list.

juliedee20

nygr8guy wrote: »

Yesterday I was down 5 lbs. Today I am up 2.7 lbs. Yesterday I was happy, today I am sad.
This happens quite often. On my up days I get discouraged, and all fed up because I ate good, and I exercised the day before.
I know I should only weigh once a week, but I have a Bluetooth scale that syncs with MFP, and it becomes a habit. If I don't weigh everyday I find myself not weighing in for a long time and gaining weight again.
I can't seem to regulate my weight loss.
Any suggestions?

I feel your pain! I lost a pound last week and was happy, gained 1/2 pound as of today's weigh-in and now I'm sad. I never had this problem when I was younger but now that I'm in my 50's, everything that passes my lips makes me gain weight and so now I've become obsessed with tracking everything: food, exercise, and weight. I don't want to be a slave to the scale and it's not emotionally healthy to be so obsessed with the numbers but I am. I am also keeping my measurements so it does help to balance out the anxiety-causing response to the scale so if I could offer any encouragement or suggestions at all, I would offer this (I feel like the blind leading the blind). I appreciate the ability to vent and get support on these forums, so thanks to all of you who chime in with helpful bits of info and encouragement! You are all a great resource!

SnuggleSmacks

I wonder why it's so easy to believe that a loss is water weight, but not a gain? We retain water for various reasons, including an increased consumption of sodium or carbs, hormonal fluctuations, and for muscle repair after a workout.

Timorous_Beastie

I weigh myself daily precisely because I understand fluctuations. Seeing the scale go up or down from one day to the next doesn't bother me. But if I only weighed once a week and happened to catch it on a high day, that might bring me down.