Losing weight too quickly?

TLCFORM

Hi guys - I thought this would be the best place to ask opinions!

I am a 35 yo 5'4 female with a starting weight of 142 and aiming for around 125.

I have been calorie counting and following a low carb diet (1200/1300 calories and around 50g carbs per day - diet consisting of mostly protein) for almost 5 weeks now however unfortunately I have had a high carb day/blowout at least once a week. I thought this must have hindered my weight loss as I hadn't lost anything. For the past 7 days I have been on point with my calories and logging and sticking to around 30-50g of carbs per day and I have lost almost 5 pounds in one week (CW 136.5)!!

I'm obviously thrilled but also concerned that this isn't actual weight loss and I'm kidding myself - is it water or muscle that I'm losing? Also, if it makes a difference, i was doing around 4 hrs of cardio a week and in the past week I have dropped it to around 2hrs pw. Perhaps I was retaining water due to excessive exercise..... but will i have lost any actual fat?

Appreciate your thoughts - apologies if my post is rambling or a ridiculous question!

Thanks

Sunny_Bunny_

Some is water, no doubt. Water goes up and down so much every day. There's always a little water in every loss or gain explanation. I doubt any was muscle since you're getting so much protein. So, my bet is water and fat. And I'd also guess that the reduction in exercise helped by reducing some stress.
So here's the thing. You're close to goal and you just had an awesome week. And your brain is going to be wondering in the background when it will happen like that again. Or maybe it will bargain that maybe it will only be 2.5 lbs next week... Don't let it get you worked up by trying to predict the future. It's really hard to see the scale slow down, but that's probably the next thing to happen. It might even go up. Maybe even tomorrow. But, water will once again be the explanation. For the daily gains, it's pretty much exclusively water and gut contents. For losses, it's part water and gut contents, but fat too.
We are the same height and pretty much the same weight. I slowed down months ago after a really great start like you just had. It really got me down for a bit. Until I realized I was still losing. I just couldn't see it from one day to the next. Or even one week to the next. But, month by month, it's completely clear. Here's a 3 month look. Looks ok right? Going down.


Here's the current month view. Looks kinda scary, like I'm gaining. But, it happens like this every month. You can see it in that 3 month view too if you just look at 1 month at a time.


I just wanted you to be prepared so when it happens, it doesn't disappoint you.

TLCFORM

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive response, really appreciate it! Well I had a gain today so you were right but not too concerned after reading this. As long as I'm not losing muscle I'm happy..... And the scale eventually drops again! Thanks again.

camtosh

Yes, it is an up and down process for most of us. My avatar is a snapshot of my year of losing, lots of jagged bits! Just keep at it.

mlinton_mesapark

Wow, @Sunny_Bunny_, those are some nice graphs! And great work over the past 3 months, too. What are the vertical lines and dots, following the trend line? And the green/red sections? If you don't mind my asking, of course.

SamandaIndia

I am also 5ft 4 started at ~148pds now 121 pd. When I started my weight dropped some weeks multiple pounds, then flat lined or gained a little for a few weeks, step a pound or 2 down and low loss for a while (like my body has set weights it likes to maintain). Do not panic, your body will sort itself out.

TLCFORM

Thanks everyone! Feeling motivated by this drop whether its water or not and going to stay realistic with my expectations. My problem in the past has been staying consistent with my diet but if I sort this out I think I will be okay.

Sunny_Bunny_

mlinton_mesapark wrote: »

Wow, @Sunny_Bunny_, those are some nice graphs! And great work over the past 3 months, too. What are the vertical lines and dots, following the trend line? And the green/red sections? If you don't mind my asking, of course.

Each one of those green lines with a dot is what my weight was on that day. So, you can see that when it went up, it usually stayed up for several days or a week at a time before going back down for only a few days at a time.