We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

I lost 4lbs in a day...?!

betsyellens22
betsyellens22 Posts: 23 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hi! *disclaimer: I am new to posting and being a part of the community! Feel free to add me, I need some buddies!!* Ok so basically I started my low sodium, calorie deficit, water only, and no fast food diet yesterday. I also went out and bought Hydroxycut (I know its not a miracle pill, i've taken it before, and I love the energy it gives me). But I only had time to take 1 pill with my last meal of the day, because that was just the time of day I bought it. I stepped on the scale this morning and went from 170.5lbs to 166.4lbs! And yes, i always weigh myself in the morning before anything else and after i use the bathroom. Can anyone explain this? Is it a bad thing? I have the weight watchers scale and i know nothing is wrong with it. And I cut my calories down from about 2800+ to 1200. :o

Replies

  • debsdoingthis
    debsdoingthis Posts: 454 Member
    Water weight
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
    edited June 2015
    Water, a hefty bowel movement and/or scale error. Nothing too unusual. I can make myself gain or lose 5 lbs by shifting an inch or so on my scale, and it's not a cheap one. You'll probably bounce back 3.9 lbs of that 4.2 in another twelve hours or so. It's the long-term trend that matters.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,251 Member
    edited June 2015
    I started my low sodium, calorie deficit, water only, and no fast food diet yesterday.
    You lost a little water because you cut back on sodium, a little water because you didn't eat your fast food yesterday.
    And then normal monthly/daily/hourly fluctuations.
  • betsyellens22
    betsyellens22 Posts: 23 Member
    flaminica wrote: »
    Water, a hefty bowel movement and/or scale error. Nothing too unusual. I can make myself gain or lose 5 lbs by shifting an inch or so on my scale, and it's not a cheap one. You'll probably bounce back 3.9 lbs of that 4.2 in another twelve hours or so. It's the long-term trend that matters.
    yeah, plus i would have been excited with just a half pound difference. So i freaked out. BUT i also checked 3 times and again an hour later

  • spinneyhex
    spinneyhex Posts: 54 Member
    I've had this quite a few times. My weightloss isn't linear at all. Enjoy it :)
  • betsyellens22
    betsyellens22 Posts: 23 Member
    spinneyhex wrote: »
    I've had this quite a few times. My weightloss isn't linear at all. Enjoy it :)
    not really sure what you mean. Tell me about your experience!

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Weight loss is not linear. The red dots are actual weigh scale results.

    JKTrendWeight.JPG

    When tracking weight loss, follow the blue line (trend).
  • MtnGirl38
    MtnGirl38 Posts: 37 Member
    I've had it happen the other way too if I go overboard on sodium, sugary treats or other processed carbs (like chips, baked goods, etc.)....the scale can show a 3-5lb gain overnight. Luckily when I get back on track it's gone in a few days!
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I usually weight 8lbs heavier when I go to sleep as compared to the same morning. Usually go from 172-173 to 180-181 in the evenings. That's with a consistent diet. Cutting out fast food and sodium would make you lose a lot of water weight. Completely normal.
  • mousie1973
    mousie1973 Posts: 438 Member
    water weight

  • AmeliaCarranza
    AmeliaCarranza Posts: 4 Member
    I don't think checking the scale on a daily basis is reliable or a good idea. Maybe once a week at the most, the same day every week at the same time. I do it first thing in the morning after I pee but before I drink or eat anything. And once a month. I've read that you can lose max 2 lbs of fat per week. Anything more is either water or lean body mass (muscle).
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Losing a pound of fat requires a 3500 calorie deficit. Multiply that times 4 and you would have had to eat 14,000 calories less than you burned yesterday to lose 4 pounds of fat. Since we know that didn't happen, it was water loss.

    Water retention occurs when your sodium/potassium balance is heavy on the sodium, when your muscles are repairing themselves after a strenuous workout, due to hormonal balance issues (menstrual cycle, etc.) and so on. Since you drank only water and avoided the sodium that was apparently a normal part of your diet one can easily infer that your potassium/sodium balance is leaning a little more to the potassium side today and you therefore shed a bunch of water.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    betsyellens22 wrote: »
    Hi! *disclaimer: I am new to posting and being a part of the community! Feel free to add me, I need some buddies!!* Ok so basically I started my low sodium, calorie deficit, water only, and no fast food diet yesterday. I also went out and bought Hydroxycut (I know its not a miracle pill, i've taken it before, and I love the energy it gives me). But I only had time to take 1 pill with my last meal of the day, because that was just the time of day I bought it. I stepped on the scale this morning and went from 170.5lbs to 166.4lbs! And yes, i always weigh myself in the morning before anything else and after i use the bathroom. Can anyone explain this? Is it a bad thing? I have the weight watchers scale and i know nothing is wrong with it. And I cut my calories down from about 2800+ to 1200. :o

    Most people can fluctuate a good 3-5 Lbs day to day. Your weight isn't static. You have water retention/release, more/less waste in your system at any given time, etc.

    I've gained almost 3 Lbs since yesterday and I can assure you that I didn't eat 10,500 calories over maintenance...because that would be like 13,500 calories total and I'd puke and probably pass out before I ever got there.
  • losergood2011
    losergood2011 Posts: 172 Member
    I weigh every day - I used to freak but it has been interesting to watch the trends. It is not linear (meaning a straight line) it goes up and down and zig zags! If I always want to show a minus I have learned teusday am is the best day. A gain sunday am is the best day. Probably due to increased sodium and water from what I gather. Tuesdays I have been back on track a while. shrug - interesting and now I don't 'freak' at a 4lb gain or loss. Just find it interesting.
  • betsyellens22
    betsyellens22 Posts: 23 Member
    Thank you everyone!! I agree that is is water weight, a change in sodium intake, and that weight is usually not measured in a linear pattern because it just always depends. I weighed myself again when I woke up today (i have a weird schedule, i work nights and sleep during the day!). I lost another .2lbs. So from 170.5 to 166.4 to 166.2lbs. I guess I just really needed to lay off all the crap and flush my system out!!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    If you are not eating it's mostly glycogen depletion. It will mostly all come back as soon as you eat again. Once I fasted for 3 days and lost 10 pounds. Then I ate and gained 9 pounds overnight.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    OP - like everyone else said it is water weight. oh, and ditch the hydroxy cut that is a waste of money.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Just be aware that people often lose a lot of water weight when they first change the way they are eating. After a little while (1-3 weeks) your body will go "oops, I need some of that water back" and you will either stall for a couple of weeks or even regain some. As long as you are eating in a deficit, you will still be losing fat the whole time.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories