The "whoosh"

kq1981
kq1981 Posts: 1,098 Member
edited November 16 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys, is this real or another disappointing fabrication?
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Replies

  • Rushgirl82
    Rushgirl82 Posts: 223 Member
    It's real. i always lose via a whoosh!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,689 Member
    I never experienced it.

    I lost 25 kg/55 lbs and not a single solitary whoosh among them.
  • 24clouds
    24clouds Posts: 74 Member
    I find I only loose weight across 2 weeks of a month which is so frustrating. At the moment I'm on a standstill week and even now realising my pattern I'm In the biggest strop as daily I have no loss.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Down 1.8, 1.7 and .9 over the last three days after at least a week and a half hovering at one weight. Some guys get it as well.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    edited March 2017
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    Weight loss isn't linear, so in that sense it is real. But some of the explanations for why it happens are complete nonsense.

    This, exactly. My weight fluctuates at random by about 3lb, so it's quite possible for me, if I lose 1lb a week of fat, to see no difference on the scale for 3 weeks because I'm gaining water at the same time for whatever godforsaken reason. Then when the water goes, hallelujah! I've lost 3lb in one go. I don't call it a "whoosh", just weight fluctuation, but it definitely happens. It affects some people more than others.
  • MeganCannon
    MeganCannon Posts: 29 Member
    I will typically have a slight gain or stall out for the week before lady time and then loose 1.5 to 2 pounds daily over the next week.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    edited March 2017
    As far as I know, all the evidence we have for it is anecdotal--no scientific studies that I've been able to find. But it does happen to me. My scale moves about once a month, and moves down several pounds. This has happened throughout the 2+ years I've been losing weight. The most plausible explanations I've seen have to do with water retention. It seems to happen more often to women, so perhaps hormonal cycles that affect water retention have something to do with it.

    Edit: I also have what I call the rubber band effect--after a "whoosh," I'll gain a pound or so back for no apparent reason. There's still a net loss, but it's frustrating. Maybe something to do with the body trying to re-balance water/electrolytes? But all of the explanations so far are just speculation.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Its for real :smile: I used to go 3 weeks sometimes without losing despite doing everything correctly..and sure enough on that one week I would lose 1 to 1.5 pounds (I didn't have much to lose from the start hence no huge amount but still, it was a whooosh) :smile:
  • ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
    ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken Posts: 1,530 Member
    Depends on whom you ask. Ask me and I will tell you it is as real as the sun in the sky. I don't lose small bits of weight, it usually suddenly comes off. There have been a few other threads around here with links to explanations of this. Maybe do a search and check those out. (Disclaimer: I am not saying this post should have been avoided and a search done instead, I just don't have the time at this moment to go searching for that myself!)
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    It's very real.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    apullum wrote: »

    Edit: I also have what I call the rubber band effect--after a "whoosh," I'll gain a pound or so back for no apparent reason. There's still a net loss, but it's frustrating. Maybe something to do with the body trying to re-balance water/electrolytes? But all of the explanations so far are just speculation.

    I think this is just regression to the mean - in other words, you just hit the low end of your weight fluctuation range and so you are likely to see an upward movement back to what you could think of as your "average weight" - the middle of the range.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »

    Edit: I also have what I call the rubber band effect--after a "whoosh," I'll gain a pound or so back for no apparent reason. There's still a net loss, but it's frustrating. Maybe something to do with the body trying to re-balance water/electrolytes? But all of the explanations so far are just speculation.

    I think this is just regression to the mean - in other words, you just hit the low end of your weight fluctuation range and so you are likely to see an upward movement back to what you could think of as your "average weight" - the middle of the range.

    Could be. I'd love to know why it happens, though. It's not fat--we don't gain or lose fat that quickly, and I'm in a deficit. I wish there were studies on this! It bothers me to not know how it works.

  • jordyngiulio
    jordyngiulio Posts: 157 Member
    I really only see the scale move about every two weeks and always on a Friday. I weigh daily and will be within 2 pounds for 2 weeks and then, always on a Friday, I'll get on the scale to a 3-5 pound loss. Sometimes I'll see some smaller dips before then, but typically not.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,600 Member
    I've been on MFP for almost 2 years now. Watching MFP friends' progress, it certainly appears that some people plateau then "whoosh", and others lose a bit more steadily (I did - still not linear, but just a gradual, slightly bumpy progress line, with an overall downward trend).

    I haven't seen any real pattern as to why: The "whoosh"-ers don't necessarily have more cheat meals, don't seem to have any particular specific eating or exercise patterns in common, may be of either sex, etc.

    Some people who lose in "whooshes" see a pattern in their own experience . . . but that pattern reported isn't necessarily the same from one friend to the next.

    If you're consistent, you'll soon learn how your body works, and what to expect.
  • labblb86
    labblb86 Posts: 28 Member
    When I was losing weight, I would "whoosh" every month if I was consistent with eating within my points (on Weight Watchers). I would lose .6 one week, then gain 1.2, then lose 3.6 and then lose another 3.4!
  • kq1981
    kq1981 Posts: 1,098 Member
    Thanks everyone for your help:-) I'll keep plodding along
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »

    Edit: I also have what I call the rubber band effect--after a "whoosh," I'll gain a pound or so back for no apparent reason. There's still a net loss, but it's frustrating. Maybe something to do with the body trying to re-balance water/electrolytes? But all of the explanations so far are just speculation.

    I think this is just regression to the mean - in other words, you just hit the low end of your weight fluctuation range and so you are likely to see an upward movement back to what you could think of as your "average weight" - the middle of the range.

    Could be. I'd love to know why it happens, though. It's not fat--we don't gain or lose fat that quickly, and I'm in a deficit. I wish there were studies on this! It bothers me to not know how it works.

    It's called water and waste.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    I lose my weight only twice a month in two big whooshes. Last month one of them was 3lbs which considering I'm 140lbs is a lot. My deficit is such that I should be losing 4lbs a month which I do but only in a couple of big chunks.
    Very weird.
  • Makeitso39
    Makeitso39 Posts: 51 Member
    I have this. Stall for 2 maybe 4 weeks (despite consistent deficit), body looks lumpy and fat feels more flabby, then whoosh 2-4 pounds go.
  • AvsFreak
    AvsFreak Posts: 152 Member
    Pretty good article by Lyle McDonald about whooshes.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    My experiences are anecdotal, and I don't do daily weight tracking (although I weigh daily as a checkpoint mentally). It seems one week a month (maybe during ovulation, not right before TOM), I kind of hold on to some of the weight and I either maintain or lose very, very little. Then the following week, it's back to business as usual and I make up for the week before plus the weight loss for the current week. I don't know why it's that way, it just is.

    I try to remind myself not to get frustrated during "fat week" and that it's just a part of the process. I am 99.9% at a deficit every day (no real "cheats" or unaccounted food, an occasional day at maintenance or slightly over every few MONTHS), so there's no real reason why I wouldn't continue to lose.
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