Sickness and weight loss

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mkh858
mkh858 Posts: 93 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Well I got the wonderful flu this past week and lost almost 4 pounds. I know most of its water weight, and will regain it back. My question though is when? It's very frustrating thinking I could wake up and be back to the weight I was before I got sick. When I first started my weight loss journey I lost 9lbs like nothing cuz it was mostly water, but I never gained it back. I'm just wondering will it this time? Thanks

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  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
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    Hard to say. But if you were eating in a deficit while you were sick, you will likely not gain it all back, perhaps just a portion of it.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    I would quit concerning myself with day to day and week to week fluctuations in weight. They are all but meaningless and are caused by a myriad of factors. Instead I would weigh myself daily. I would pay zero attention to the actual numbers other than to record them. After a week I would average the daily weights, again paying little attention to the numbers. After 1 month's time I would compare these weekly averages to each other. This is telling of actual fat loss. There should be a downward trend in your averages. If there is not, you are not achieving a calorie deficit and need to evaluate the accuracy of your logging and the calorie/macronutrient goals.
  • mkh858
    mkh858 Posts: 93 Member
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    vismal wrote: »
    I would quit concerning myself with day to day and week to week fluctuations in weight. They are all but meaningless and are caused by a myriad of factors. Instead I would weigh myself daily. I would pay zero attention to the actual numbers other than to record them. After a week I would average the daily weights, again paying little attention to the numbers. After 1 month's time I would compare these weekly averages to each other. This is telling of actual fat loss. There should be a downward trend in your averages. If there is not, you are not achieving a calorie deficit and need to evaluate the accuracy of your logging and the calorie/macronutrient goals.

    Thanks.
    I may try this. Do I weigh myself in the morning?
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
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    mkh858 wrote: »
    vismal wrote: »
    I would quit concerning myself with day to day and week to week fluctuations in weight. They are all but meaningless and are caused by a myriad of factors. Instead I would weigh myself daily. I would pay zero attention to the actual numbers other than to record them. After a week I would average the daily weights, again paying little attention to the numbers. After 1 month's time I would compare these weekly averages to each other. This is telling of actual fat loss. There should be a downward trend in your averages. If there is not, you are not achieving a calorie deficit and need to evaluate the accuracy of your logging and the calorie/macronutrient goals.

    Thanks.
    I may try this. Do I weigh myself in the morning?

    Yes, for the most consistency you should weigh in the morning right after getting out of bed and after going to the bathroom. Vismal's advice is solid, averaging over a week and comparing the averages is the way I would recommend as well. Its basically a moving average on the data to smooth out outliers and day to day fluctuations.
  • khhregister
    khhregister Posts: 229 Member
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    mkh858 wrote: »
    vismal wrote: »
    I would quit concerning myself with day to day and week to week fluctuations in weight. They are all but meaningless and are caused by a myriad of factors. Instead I would weigh myself daily. I would pay zero attention to the actual numbers other than to record them. After a week I would average the daily weights, again paying little attention to the numbers. After 1 month's time I would compare these weekly averages to each other. This is telling of actual fat loss. There should be a downward trend in your averages. If there is not, you are not achieving a calorie deficit and need to evaluate the accuracy of your logging and the calorie/macronutrient goals.

    Thanks.
    I may try this. Do I weigh myself in the morning?

    I use this technique, and it has really helped with the annoyance I used to feel at the occasional fluctuations caused by eating out or monthly water retention from my period. I use "TrendWeight.com" and it gives you a nice trend line graph which is so much more satisfying than focusing on the jagged ups and downs.

    I do weigh myself in the morning, after going to the bathroom and before eating or drinking anything. I do this just to make the conditions as constant as possible.

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