Salty Gains

jsae06

I'm so discouraged. I've been doing so good with tracking and have been down 0.5 to 1lb every morning when I weigh myself. Between Monday and Wednesday I had some salty foods but stayed within my calories except Monday when I had a little extra but no where near enough to gain 3lbs. How long before all the salt is flushed from your body? I'm getting super discouraged seeing these extra 3lbs on the scale and not moving.

rainbowbow

I would switch from weighing daily if it is driving you crazy or to worry about normal fluctuations.

cmriverside

You know it's water, so it will take as long as it takes. Salt isn't the enemy.

Drink a little more water than you usually do, eat a bunch of vegetables.

It usually takes 3-4 days for me to overcome - but I eat a lot of salt and drink quite a bit of water on a daily basis and don't have big water shifts.

janejellyroll

You aren't going to lose weight every single day.

If you're going to be discouraged by daily variations on the scale, maybe weighing less frequently would help. Or you can just remind yourself that it can take several days for temporary water weight gain to diminish and expecting not to see a temporary scale change on Thursday from what you ate Monday-Wednesday doesn't make much sense.

GauchoMark

Its water weight - both the increase and the 0.5 - 1lb/DAY that you were losing. Losing fat that fast is not sustainable and unless you are extremely overweight, is probably not possible - it is a mix of fat, muscle, and water.

Weigh every day and just trend them - that is the only way weighing really helps.

demorelli

Body weight fluctuates. As long as you stay on track, occasional slip ups aren't going to hurt your long term progress. Don't obsess over your scale. It's very normal to have a few pounds difference day to day, and maybe even more during certain times of the month

AnnPT77

Steadily losing one pound a day might be a healthful goal if you weigh more than 700 pounds. Losing 0.5 pounds a day might be OK temporarily if you weigh more than 350 pounds.

If you're lighter than that, it would be a good thing if your weight loss is slowing down. In order to stay healthy & strong, it's best to lose no more than 1% of your body weight per week - maybe less if you have any negative symptoms (fatigues, irritability, weakness, etc.) or are less than 50(ish) pounds above a healthy goal weight.

For me, water weight takes a few days to drop off, but what folks above said about time of month is potentially relevant (the time the gain happens varies by woman). There are other things that can make your body hold onto a few pounds of water weight (more carbs than normal, even if a healthy amount; new workout routine; injury or illness; and more).

They're also right to mention that weight loss isn't linear in general.

So, patience is probably the right answer in all respects. And, after the first couple of weeks of weight loss when there can be a larger drop, please, please don't lose weight too fast. You want to stay strong, healthy and attractive-looking while you lose, right? Losing too fast can sacrifice those things!

TimothyFish

How long salt stays in the body is dependent on a number of things. If you are exercising you may sweat it out. If you are eating enough potassium then the salt may stay around, but the water won't.