Just a coincidence?
Sunny_Bunny_
Posts: 7,140 Member
i had been at a stall for over 3 weeks that started just as I joined the August active challenge. It seemed like the exercise was the culprit at first. Then I thought maybe I wasn't eating enough consistently. Then a couple of days ago, I noticed my total carbs had crept up. Not too high for Keto, but higher than I had been having. Now, the net carbs were often not too bad. Many of the higher carb days had 10+ grams of fiber.
Anyway, I dropped the carbs back down and next thing you know, I drop .4 lbs.
During this time my activity, walking, was almost doubled. However my goal was only 6000 average by the end of each week. I made the goal once and have been very close other weeks. Not tons of new, hard exercise.
Also, TOM paid a visit during this time, but I'd never had more than a couple pound gain for a few days in the past.
Anyway, I dropped the carbs back down and next thing you know, I drop .4 lbs.
During this time my activity, walking, was almost doubled. However my goal was only 6000 average by the end of each week. I made the goal once and have been very close other weeks. Not tons of new, hard exercise.
Also, TOM paid a visit during this time, but I'd never had more than a couple pound gain for a few days in the past.
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So I have a question - how did you get your MFP data into your Health App on your iPhone? I am new to iPhone and really want to do this too. Is it possible to have MFP feed into the Health App?0
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Yes. You set it in the health app tab in your phone settings.0
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Don't know, but I think you need to charge your phone.
Seriously, the day-to-day stuff is water. I know you know this. If lowering your carbs made you less hungry, then it'll help you lose weight.0 -
Nice - THANKS!0
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Don't know, but I think you need to charge your phone.
Seriously, the day-to-day stuff is water. I know you know this. If lowering your carbs made you less hungry, then it'll help you lose weight.
I felt the same. Just went from showing a loss consistently every 4-5 days at most to a 3+ week stretch. I can't accept that there isn't an explanation so I keep looking for one. Lol0 -
FWIW, my losses also slow when I exercise more, and my weight fluctuates like mad even during a single day. I still do it for the muscles, though. I don't want to be skinny-fat. 0
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I have had a 5.7 pound drop on one 45 mile ride. Two days later all that was back plus 3 in swollen leg muscles.
The scale is not a good indicator of fat like a tape measure.
Today I am up 3 pounds but I put 140 miles on my bike this week. So when that water goes away I expect a 1 pound fat loss to show up.
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I know how the scale fluctuates. But the tape measure didn't budge in the last 3 weeks either. I didn't check measurements today. Maybe tomorrow I'll do that.0
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I'm going to guess hormones. If you weren't eating enough consistently, if you added exercise(even a slight-moderate increase in overall activity), if you added carbs(even from fiber), it can effect your hormonal cycles and levels enough to throw you into a bit of a rut. 3 weeks of nada and then a .4 lbs drop isn't all that strange for me, and it's directly tied to my hormones.0
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I suppose that makes sense. It is nothing like what I had experienced the previous 3 months. I had a very consistent fluctuation and steady loss until then. Hopefully, I can get back into a rhythm.0
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I have the same thing going on. Won't budge at all then a large drop. It's a lot less steady than when I had more to lose. I usually assume it's hormones at play or extra fluid retention from whatever reason. It's a lot harder to stay motivated now than it was before because it's not as easy to measure the changes, make sure to keep accurate measurements and pictures help a lot0
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Hidden carbs might've been the culprit, hopefully tomorrow will shed more light on the situation to see if it was the carbs or not.0
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »I suppose that makes sense. It is nothing like what I had experienced the previous 3 months. I had a very consistent fluctuation and steady loss until then. Hopefully, I can get back into a rhythm.
As you get closer to goal weight things just slow down.
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0,4 lbs drop in scale weight could be anything. Including just a bit more dehydrated, TOM bloat on decline or any other detail. It's very often that people "stall" when they start exercising, even if it's not very intense, because the body is not used to that exercise. As soon as the body adapts to said protocol, it suddenly starts to feel easier and less water retention for repairs, because you're no longer challenging the body. Then the cycle starts again, up the ante on exercise, more waters etc, etc.
I can fluctuate up to 7-8 lbs if the variables are maxed out: carbs, exercise, TOM, BM, fluids. For example step on scale it shows let's say 122 lbs. Drink a big glass of water and having dinner and it's +2 lbs...
If you're able to recreate what you think is a pattern multiple times, then it might be a pattern for your body. I'm not dismissing it could be, but since you started exercising, I'd guess it's related to that and not a very minor increase in carbs. Unless you're extremely carb sensitive ofc. I could be wrong 0 -
The scale would go up and daily from 1-4 lbs. the fluctuation is nothing new. But I had been achieving a new low weight consistently and that's what stopped. I had definitely had more than .4 lb loss from one day to the next during that 3 weeks but that was from a higher weight point already. Does that make sense?
I guess I just can't understand why for 3 straight weeks not the scale nor measurements had any decrease. I knew the exercise could stall the scale, I had this happen every time I did any hard work. Then it would result in a good new low weight within a few days.
I sort of thought my measurements would show something, but as of a couple days ago, not so much as a quarter inch anywhere...
I'll keep it up, of course. But I would like to know my extra efforts are going to show some fat reduction soon.
Darn finicky body needs to get with the program!0 -
Exercise progress is very slow compared to weight loss progress, but worth it IMO.
I've taken a week off from exercise and dumped a ton of water. Well, not a ton, but about 10lbs. I'm now at my lowest weight in 30 years, but more importantly, I'm at the lowest BF% I can remember.0 -
Exercise progress is very slow compared to weight loss progress, but worth it IMO.
I've taken a week off from exercise and dumped a ton of water. Well, not a ton, but about 10lbs. I'm now at my lowest weight in 30 years, but more importantly, I'm at the lowest BF% I can remember.
So, being an exercise newby, is it a good idea to take time off for maybe a week each month or something? Would there be any benefit to taking breaks like that?0 -
Muscles retain water so yes, the scale could be stagnant due to that.0
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Exercise progress is very slow compared to weight loss progress, but worth it IMO.
I've taken a week off from exercise and dumped a ton of water. Well, not a ton, but about 10lbs. I'm now at my lowest weight in 30 years, but more importantly, I'm at the lowest BF% I can remember.
So, being an exercise newby, is it a good idea to take time off for maybe a week each month or something? Would there be any benefit to taking breaks like that?
If the scale is your main metric, then a break will probably help. If fitness is your goal, then I'd try to keep a steady course.
For me, the hardest part was getting to the point where exercise was a consistent habit rather than a sporadic effort, so I think maintaining momentum is important.
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My point was that scale weight is a very bad metric for tracking miniscule changes. Because it can be any other very plausible explanations than a plateau. Really, don't worry over minor changes Peace of mind is better!
Scale weight fluctuations are also a VERY imprecise metric for fat loss, which is what we really want. I maintained scale weight since the winter, but I LOST 2 SIZES
Going from size L to size S.
Skinny jeans never lie.0 -
A diet that does not move the scales cut cuts inches of fat still amazes me. I just keep eating LCHF and let my body manage my weight/size and not worry about how it all works.0
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Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Exercise progress is very slow compared to weight loss progress, but worth it IMO.
I've taken a week off from exercise and dumped a ton of water. Well, not a ton, but about 10lbs. I'm now at my lowest weight in 30 years, but more importantly, I'm at the lowest BF% I can remember.
So, being an exercise newby, is it a good idea to take time off for maybe a week each month or something? Would there be any benefit to taking breaks like that?
If the scale is your main metric, then a break will probably help. If fitness is your goal, then I'd try to keep a steady course.
For me, the hardest part was getting to the point where exercise was a consistent habit rather than a sporadic effort, so I think maintaining momentum is important.
Losing fat and fitness is definitely the goal, and I struggle with making exercise a habit, so I better not schedule any breaks.0 -
Exercise progress is very slow compared to weight loss progress, but worth it IMO.
I've taken a week off from exercise and dumped a ton of water. Well, not a ton, but about 10lbs. I'm now at my lowest weight in 30 years, but more importantly, I'm at the lowest BF% I can remember.
Congrats on the 30-year low @wabmester! That's quite a milestone. Were you already at maintenance, or was this something you set out to achieve?Foamroller wrote: »My point was that scale weight is a very bad metric for tracking miniscule changes. Because it can be any other very plausible explanations than a plateau. Really, don't worry over minor changes Peace of mind is better!
Scale weight fluctuations are also a VERY imprecise metric for fat loss, which is what we really want. I maintained scale weight since the winter, but I LOST 2 SIZES Going from size L to size S.
That's amazing--L to S--it's more than two numeric sizes down. I find it hard to fathom that I could go from XL when I started to M at some point in the future, but you give me hope that it is possible. (I'm M for tops, L for bottoms, which is the smallest I've ever been as an adult.)
@Sunny_Bunny_ , I'm experiencing a similar stall, I think. Not a stall from day to day, but over the course of the past few weeks the fluctuations have become less and less dramatic. I'm wondering if I'm starting to bottom out for the current way I'm eating and exercising, what changes would be required to lose more weight... And whether I'm willing to go that extra mile just yet. Keep us posted on your progress, please.0 -
Foamroller wrote: »My point was that scale weight is a very bad metric for tracking miniscule changes. Because it can be any other very plausible explanations than a plateau. Really, don't worry over minor changes Peace of mind is better!
Scale weight fluctuations are also a VERY imprecise metric for fat loss, which is what we really want. I maintained scale weight since the winter, but I LOST 2 SIZES Going from size L to size S.
Skinny jeans never lie.
The scale isn't the main thing for me either. But there has been no further change in measurements during the same time. So far for me, the scale and tape measure were pretty in sync. Well, they still are actually. They both stopped moving.
I'm going to keep things the same for a bit longer and see what plays out.0 -
GaleHawkins wrote: »A diet that does not move the scales cut cuts inches of fat still amazes me. I just keep eating LCHF and let my body manage my weight/size and not worry about how it all works.
I had not lost from the scale or measurements for just over the 3 weeks, until yesterday showing the first loss since 8/1. Getting kinda tired of it at this point. I hope I've broken the stall.0 -
mlinton_mesapark wrote: »Exercise progress is very slow compared to weight loss progress, but worth it IMO.
I've taken a week off from exercise and dumped a ton of water. Well, not a ton, but about 10lbs. I'm now at my lowest weight in 30 years, but more importantly, I'm at the lowest BF% I can remember.
Congrats on the 30-year low @wabmester! That's quite a milestone. Were you already at maintenance, or was this something you set out to achieve?
Thanks! I've been on maintenance for a couple months, but I'm still lowish-carb, so I just follow my hunger. No calorie/carb counting, no specific goals, just the magic of lowish-carb and exercise. No idea when the fat will stop melting, but I suspect I'm getting close due to the slowing loss rate.
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mlinton_mesapark wrote: »Exercise progress is very slow compared to weight loss progress, but worth it IMO.
I've taken a week off from exercise and dumped a ton of water. Well, not a ton, but about 10lbs. I'm now at my lowest weight in 30 years, but more importantly, I'm at the lowest BF% I can remember.
Congrats on the 30-year low @wabmester! That's quite a milestone. Were you already at maintenance, or was this something you set out to achieve?Foamroller wrote: »My point was that scale weight is a very bad metric for tracking miniscule changes. Because it can be any other very plausible explanations than a plateau. Really, don't worry over minor changes Peace of mind is better!
Scale weight fluctuations are also a VERY imprecise metric for fat loss, which is what we really want. I maintained scale weight since the winter, but I LOST 2 SIZES Going from size L to size S.
That's amazing--L to S--it's more than two numeric sizes down. I find it hard to fathom that I could go from XL when I started to M at some point in the future, but you give me hope that it is possible. (I'm M for tops, L for bottoms, which is the smallest I've ever been as an adult.)
@Sunny_Bunny_ , I'm experiencing a similar stall, I think. Not a stall from day to day, but over the course of the past few weeks the fluctuations have become less and less dramatic. I'm wondering if I'm starting to bottom out for the current way I'm eating and exercising, what changes would be required to lose more weight... And whether I'm willing to go that extra mile just yet. Keep us posted on your progress, please.
I hope I unlock the secret to making decent progress again. I don't care if it's scale or tape. I just want something to happen.
Believe me, everyone will know when I am back on track! 0 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Foamroller wrote: »My point was that scale weight is a very bad metric for tracking miniscule changes. Because it can be any other very plausible explanations than a plateau. Really, don't worry over minor changes Peace of mind is better!
Scale weight fluctuations are also a VERY imprecise metric for fat loss, which is what we really want. I maintained scale weight since the winter, but I LOST 2 SIZES Going from size L to size S.
Skinny jeans never lie.
The scale isn't the main thing for me either. But there has been no further change in measurements during the same time. So far for me, the scale and tape measure were pretty in sync. Well, they still are actually. They both stopped moving.
I'm going to keep things the same for a bit longer and see what plays out.
I forgot to mention that my measurements haven't changed so much compared to the weight loss phase either. Just a few cm in over 6 months. The hip bones are the width they are, can't change that. But the bum is more muscular. Because of this I can now use size XS (size 0 in usa?) in undies, a size I previously haven't used.
So my advice is to use all available metrics to detect change: take pics each week or fortnight, try on goal clothes. Look in mirror in unflattering lights. The body also sheds from different areas. Maybe you lost from the back?
How far from GW are you? If within 10 lbs, you really can't expect the scale weight losses as before. If you are having big losses when already quite lean, then the risk of losing precious muscle with it increases. Balance and patience
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I'm 14 lbs from the goal I set but I. May adjust it down a couple more pounds.
I take measurements in about a dozen different places. I definitely have not just overlooked any loss. I guess the changes I had made just kind of put the breaks on. I hope the .4 lb loss that finally showed up this week is a sign. That things will continue again. Slow loss doesn't bother me. No loss for almost a month is a bummer.0 -
Galehawkins--I just keep eating LCHF and let my body manage my weight/size and not worry about how it all works.
But Gale..what would people waste spend precious time on if not worry over water ups and downs daily?0
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