The "whoosh"

kq1981

Hi guys, is this real or another disappointing fabrication?

JaydedMiss

iv had many where i dont lose for weeks and then suddenly lose 5 pounds.

Normally i feel bloated right before a whoosh, Sort of swollen all over. And my fat gets "squishy" And lumpy

BonnieDundee78

Yup. It's a real thing. Sudden drops, usually after a little stall.

kq1981

I no there's one out there somewhere for me. Thanks guys

DietPrada

Seems to be more common for women, because hormones I think. I'll generally steadily gain for most of the month, 100g or so every couple of days and then I'll lose like 3kg in 2 days. Then stay the same for a few days, and then start gaining again. I average 2lb a month weight loss so each "woosh" takes me a bit lower than the month before. So frustrating though.

Rushgirl82

It's real. i always lose via a whoosh!

Machka9

I never experienced it.

I lost 25 kg/55 lbs and not a single solitary whoosh among them.

24clouds

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.

TimothyFish

Weight loss isn't linear, so in that sense it is real. But some of the explanations for why it happens are complete nonsense.

Tacklewasher

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

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

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

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

Its for real 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)

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

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

It's very real.

andrea4736

For me, I've noticed it more when I weigh every day. I can go 13 days in a row and be within .01 of the same weight each morning and then on Day 14 I'm down 3 lbs. Clearly those 3 lbs didn't come off over night.

CattOfTheGarage

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

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

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

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.