Weight Loss *REALLY* Isn't Linear - Some Evidence

seantnash

I have produced a little graph to provide evidence to support the statement weight loss isn't linear.



I weigh myself every morning, at the same time in the same condition. The line represents my daily weight. Nowhere near a linear journey.

Apart from one odd day, I have always eaten less calories than I've burnt. Despite this, some mornings I've still gained weight. And trust me when I say I am meticulous with my food tracking.

So, whilst I weigh myself every day, I don't invest in the result emotionally. The only weigh-in that really counts is my weekly weigh-in on a Saturday.

Penthesilea514

Thanks for sharing- the body does weird stuff sometimes weight-wise. Remembering that weight loss isn't linear, and that measurements and other NSVs can measure success beyond the scale is important.

seantnash

Yeah every 3 weeks I take my body measurements and progress photos too so I can see the changes in black and white and visually too.

conniehv40

This is a great post! I woke up yesterday on a Monday and 1st of May with the goal of losing 5 pounds in May. I do the same that you do, weigh every day, same condition. so, this am, I had lost .2 pounds. I started doing the math-"if I lose .2 every day...." then I realized, I can't do this to myself--it isn't linear and I will get disappointed when, tomorrow, I could go up a pound!!! Thanks for this!! Good luck

megdnoorman

I weigh everyday in the same condition etc as well. Then, I take the average of those weights and consider that my "weight for the week". This helps to sort of downplay the fluctuations and give me a clearer idea of how much my weight is changing (or not) from week to week.

trigden1991

seantnash wrote: »

So, whilst I weigh myself every day, I don't invest in the result emotionally

Quoting and reiterating the above because it is extremely important and many people on here could do with reading it.

inertiastrength

This was the best lesson I learned. It's easy to see 1-2lbs ^ and feel like your hard work has been wasted. Glad you came to the same conclusion and kept at it. That is a beautiful downward trend

AnvilHead

I weigh daily as well (same time, same conditions) and the results are logged into Trendweight (a web-based app) and uploaded to MFP - so every day is a "weigh-in" day. Here is a chart showing my progress over the past year (the gray line is my daily scale readings and the red line is the overall weight trend):






For a more granular look, here is a chart showing my progress over the last three months (this time the black dots are daily scale readings and the red line is the overall trend):



Most definitely not a linear process.

quiksylver296

Yep, and usually even more un-linear (dis-linear? not linear?) if you are female.

Tried30UserNames

It's definitely less linear if you are female. I've always tended to lose about every other week. It'll be no loss one week, -2 lbs the next, gain a couple ounces the next, lose 2 1/2 the next, etc.

terryt1992

Here is done solid proof. This is one year. I've lost like 83lbs as of now I've been up to 87 lost but I have ups and downs but am always trending down.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I have a similar chart going back to 2010.

A_Rene86

I know this is true, but sometimes I need a reminder and today was one of those days! I went back to crossfit last week and I've been up 3 lbs all week, which has been driving me crazy!! So thank you for posting this

ccsernica

In retrospect, it was a mistake to only record my weight lows, since I don't have this kind of demonstration to show off. I'll be moving to maintenance in a day or two if my new low holds up tomorrow morning, so it's too late now.

Eh. It's not the worst mistake I've made through all this.

DamieBird

I love this reminder! I was up 1.4 today, but I'm not fussed about it. It's coming up on TOM, and I just remind myself that even if I "gain" on the scale, the high fluctuations are still lower than they were last month . Plus, I cut off 50 seconds on my 3 mile run yesterday (a new post surgery PR), so the scale weight really was no big deal today .

DietPrada

BlueSkyShoal

Thanks for the timely reminder, I needed that!

vanmep

I've lost 26 pounds but I'm pretty sure that I have actually lost 50 because I've lost most of those pounds twice just because weight loss is not linear LOL

DenaManning

Thank you for your charts, gals and guys. I am still somewhat new to this and felt like I worked really hard this week and the nsv shows a smaller waist line and more energy but the scale showed +3 lbs. I am just hoping it's muscle gain and next week will show more fat loss. Either way, I needed to see that I'm not nutso and I just gotta keep goin'!

DamieBird

DenaManning wrote: »

Thank you for your charts, gals and guys. I am still somewhat new to this and felt like I worked really hard this week and the nsv shows a smaller waist line and more energy but the scale showed +3 lbs. I am just hoping it's muscle gain and next week will show more fat loss. Either way, I needed to see that I'm not nutso and I just gotta keep goin'!

Awesome job on getting more energy and a smaller waistline (woohoo!!).

I just want to clear something up for you that may help with your expectation going forward, since you say that you are new.

The +3 isn't muscle (sorry ). It is VERY difficult to build muscle in a deficit, and 3 pounds in one week just isn't possible unless you're a freak of nature ( in a good way). What you're likely seeing is water weight from increased workouts. The cool thing is that IT WILL GO AWAY, and probably in just a few days . As women, we get the brunt of the water weight bad news wagon. Not only do the normal things like excess sodium and new workouts cause it, but so does ovulation and menstruation. So, depending on where you are in your cycle, you could be seeing that, too. It's frustrating for sure - but it doesn't mean that you aren't losing fat!

Keep at it and don't get discouraged. A huge part of fat loss is just sticking to your plan, and having patience .

lisawadeson

This is so helpful and such and excellent reminder

pdelozier76

Thank you so much for this post. I started back at it a month ago and lost 12 pounds and for the first time I haven't lost a pound this week. I just need to be patient. I'm under my calorie goal every day.

I only log my weight when I lose something. Should I log everything? I weigh myself every morning naked at the same time.

Great post.