Weight Loss Change while Lifting

Penthesilea514

I started lifting a few months back. Previously, I was just doing cardio based workouts, and was losing weight, not linearly but consistently trending downward. After I started lifting, I knew I would retain water weight for a while and then I would start losing again (it took me about 4 weeks to have that happen). For the next 8 weeks, my weight plateaus for a few weeks, then whooshs down several pounds, then plateaus again, then whooshs down. My overall trend is still on track for my goals so I am not worried, but has anyone else had this happen to them when they started lifting? Or is it natural for the trending to change during weight loss, especially larger amounts spread over a long time?

quiksylver296

I did not notice this. As long as I am honest with my food, I lose pretty steadily while lifting heavy 5X week.

Penthesilea514

It's weird because my food logging is consistent and I have updated my goals to keep my calories in line, and my weight will drop like 3-4lbs in one week, so my trend is still at 1lb/week overall loss. I lift 3xwk full body and do 3 days LISS cardio *shrugs* maybe it is just a weird phase while I am still adjusting to my new(ish) schedule.

curlsintherack

my wife loses weight like this. it tends to come right along with her period. she can drop 3 to 4 pounds in a month then gain back a pound or 2 around her period then maintain for a couple weeks and drop again. I noticed this trend first because she charts everything on a calendar the old fashioned way.

theritestuff

Yup - for me the scales are not moving but I can see the difference. Without any doubt!

canadianlbs

Penthesilea514 wrote: »

It's weird because my food logging is consistent and I have updated my goals to keep my calories in line, and my weight will drop like 3-4lbs in one week, so my trend is still at 1lb/week overall loss. I lift 3xwk full body and do 3 days LISS cardio *shrugs* maybe it is just a weird phase while I am still adjusting to my new(ish) schedule.

that did happen to me quite a lot for the first year. i kind of miss it now, actually. it was entertaining because there was always the chance that this week i might spend half a night peeing and peel off a whole 6 or 8 pounds. but it seems like my body might have just reached some point of 'okay yeah, so now we got muscle' type thing, where me going out three days a week and using the muscle is no longer a great big surprise to my metabolism.

my worst problem with that year was that i'd get into this mental pattern of wanting to experiment with that whoosh button and see if i could get it to trigger more frequently. which in my metabolism basically meant a lot more giant meals than i would have been eating otherwise.

Cahgetsfit

yep happens to me too.

MichelleLaree13

I use a measurement tape too. I lost only 8 lbs after hitting the gym regularly but 3 inches off my hips and another 3 off my waist. I do see the scale stay stagnant for long periods at a time and then weight will come off pretty easily.

slinke2014

when I am consistant with my lifting I also experience 'whooshing' weight loss. that is normal for me.

kimkimcoleman

You guys are giving me hope. I'm on week 6 of strong curves and 2 runs a week. I've been fluctuating up and down the same 3-4 pounds. It's frustrating. I keep hoping I'm building muscle while losing some fat and it'll all show up on the scale eventually. Wish I'd get a whoosh lol!

me0231

I'm in the same boat @kimkimcoleman It's frustrating, but I can see muscles I never knew I had as well as my posture improving so I'm still very motivated. Just wish that I the scale would start pointing down again. I'm actually going to eat maintenance starting on Saturday for a couple of weeks and then get back in a deficit. I feel like I need a break mentally.

Penthesilea514

Thanks, everyone. I do other measurements too, so combined with my trends and losing inches, I am pretty okay with my progress. It is just weird that the losses shifted patterns when I started weight lifting compared to diet alone or diet/cardio. I am glad to know I am not the only one lol.

bizgirl26

I tend to have a bad week then a good week for weight loss . Track your monthly trend and as long as it is moving in the right direction I wouldn't worry about how it is coming off. So many things can play havoc such as too much sodium , bathroom habits etc that can change our weight

Penthesilea514

canadianlbs wrote: »

Penthesilea514 wrote: »

It's weird because my food logging is consistent and I have updated my goals to keep my calories in line, and my weight will drop like 3-4lbs in one week, so my trend is still at 1lb/week overall loss. I lift 3xwk full body and do 3 days LISS cardio *shrugs* maybe it is just a weird phase while I am still adjusting to my new(ish) schedule.

that did happen to me quite a lot for the first year. i kind of miss it now, actually. it was entertaining because there was always the chance that this week i might spend half a night peeing and peel off a whole 6 or 8 pounds. but it seems like my body might have just reached some point of 'okay yeah, so now we got muscle' type thing, where me going out three days a week and using the muscle is no longer a great big surprise to my metabolism.

my worst problem with that year was that i'd get into this mental pattern of wanting to experiment with that whoosh button and see if i could get it to trigger more frequently. which in my metabolism basically meant a lot more giant meals than i would have been eating otherwise.

I was just thinking about this a little last night if there was something that triggered the whooshes

Penthesilea514

kimkimcoleman wrote: »

You guys are giving me hope. I'm on week 6 of strong curves and 2 runs a week. I've been fluctuating up and down the same 3-4 pounds. It's frustrating. I keep hoping I'm building muscle while losing some fat and it'll all show up on the scale eventually. Wish I'd get a whoosh lol!

me0231 wrote: »

I'm in the same boat @kimkimcoleman It's frustrating, but I can see muscles I never knew I had as well as my posture improving so I'm still very motivated. Just wish that I the scale would start pointing down again. I'm actually going to eat maintenance starting on Saturday for a couple of weeks and then get back in a deficit. I feel like I need a break mentally.

It's good to measure progress in other ways while lifting (photos, measurements, etc) to monitor outside the scale to keep up the momentum. I also feel like my posture is improving too

Okiludy

I'm fairly new to lifting and diet, just going on 3 months, but I also have the whooshing effect. I am up to 36lbs lost but it comes off in stages. I'll go for a week or 2 hovering around the same weight. Then suddenly I'll drop 3-5lbs in next 2 weeks. I don't feel it's exercise related and my diet does not change drastically over that time. I just think some people are more prone to the effect.

R1rainbows

I first started exercise doing cardio only and I lost pounds like crazy, but I wasn't happy with just being a smaller version of fat me(if that makes sense lol)..so like you, I also started lifting heavy almost 3 months ago. It has been very difficult for me to not get defeated by the scale! My weight definitely plateaus a lot but it is trending down...just very slowly. Inches on the other hand, have been melting off-it's just hard to not get bummed out by the scale reading the same number for weeks in a row lol. I'm just hangin in there though, I love feeling and being stronger, and my body is slowly shaping up and changing too I suppose we just gotta keep at it and be patient (Edited because post got randomly cut off)

Penthesilea514

Okiludy wrote: »

I'm fairly new to lifting and diet, just going on 3 months, but I also have the whooshing effect. I am up to 36lbs lost but it comes off in stages. I'll go for a week or 2 hovering around the same weight. Then suddenly I'll drop 3-5lbs in next 2 weeks. I don't feel it's exercise related and my diet does not change drastically over that time. I just think some people are more prone to the effect.

Congratulations on your loss! Yeah, I have been reviewing my exercise and eating around the whooshes and honestly I am not sure that there is much of a pattern for me either.

Penthesilea514

reina1979 wrote: »

I first started exercise doing cardio only and I lost pounds like crazy, but I wasn't happy with just being a smaller version of fat me(if that makes sense lol)..so like you, I also started lifting heavy almost 3 months ago. It has been very difficult for me to not get defeated by the scale! My weight definitely plateaus a lot but it is trending down...just very slowly. Inches on the other hand, have been melting off-it's just hard to not get bummed out by the scale reading the same number for weeks in a row lol. I'm just hangin in there though, I love feeling and being stronger, and my body is slowly shaping up and changing too I suppose we just gotta keep at it and be patient (Edited because post got randomly cut off)

Yeah, I am loving the changes so I am happy- I just was not expecting my trends to shift so much ( I guess I thought I sort of knew how my body lost weight at this point) but that just goes to show how much I know I only have one pair of pants that fit me now (and they are loose after buying them just a few weeks ago) so I need to get some more shopping done (another Goodwill trip!). Congratulations on your success so far!

R1rainbows

Penthesilea514 wrote: »

Yeah, I am loving the changes so I am happy- I just was not expecting my trends to shift so much ( I guess I thought I sort of knew how my body lost weight at this point) but that just goes to show how much I know I only have one pair of pants that fit me now (and they are loose after buying them just a few weeks ago) so I need to get some more shopping done (another Goodwill trip!). Congratulations on your success so far!

That is awesome- we just gotta stick with it, it's obviously working!! Personally I'm thinking I'm going to swear off the scale except for once a month lol. That way I won't get all depressed if it's not moving how I want it to. Just keep building weights up for lifting and magic will happen!! We got this!!!

ttippie2000

Yep, my weight comes off after a rest day when doing heavy powerlifting. I am not a sports physiologist, so take with a grain of salt, but I figured I had some localized swelling while the muscles I had worked were recovering.

Now that I'm doing more triathlon and circuit training the weight loss seems to be more constant.

firef1y72

When I'm on my lifting programme (taking a break during school holidays) I'll steadily put on weight over the 3 heavy weeks until I'm around 2lb heavier than I was at the beginning of the cycle and then during deload week I'll drop that couple pound water weight plus any actual weight loss that's been masked, generally ending up a couple of pound down (sometimes more) overall.

pilarslayer

I have the same issue. it seems my body is ok with losing 14lbs during a cut but, then I have to stop the cut and start again for it to break through. it's is very upsetting because I can see more vascularity in my arms and clothes fit better but the laughs at me.
I am very encouraged to see I'm not the only on though. thank you all for the motivation to keep on going and awesome job guys!

me0231

I'm so glad I'm not the only one struggling with this. I'm only two months in my lifting program and I generally look at the weekly and monthly averages. I'm 1.5 pounds heavier than a month ago and it's so frustrating. Although for the first time in these two months I noticed my clothes feeling differently. I know for a fact that the pants from when I was 1.5 lbs lighter fitted tighter than they do now, so my body is changing whether the scale reflects it or not.

I'm taking a diet break now so I think I might just skip the scale for those 14 days while I diligently keep counting and weighing. No need to drive myself crazy.

me0231

Weighing food that is.

heybales

Are you perhaps not weighing on a valid day to minimize known water weight fluctuations?

Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

me0231

heybales wrote: »

Are you perhaps not weighing on a valid day to minimize known water weight fluctuations?

Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

Not sure if this is addressed at me or the OP, but I weigh myself daily and then average it out for a weekly weight.

heybales

OP, but if it applies - it's for you too.

It's much easier to hold on to for instance sodium induced water weight for longer than it takes to lose it.

Even daily averaging can be more prone to inflated.

Better to average valid days.

Or use trend weight and expect a month to pass before you can discern anything through all the noise of invalid data.
At least constant direction is good indicator.

canadianlbs

reina1979 wrote: »

I first started exercise doing cardio only and I lost pounds like crazy, but I wasn't happy with just being a smaller version of fat me(if that makes sense lol)..

i just wanted to shout out for this, since you've finding it hard to keep your nerve with the new approach that you're taking instead. i totally know what you mean about the 'smaller-me' thing. that happened to me as well.

Penthesilea514

heybales wrote: »

OP, but if it applies - it's for you too.

It's much easier to hold on to for instance sodium induced water weight for longer than it takes to lose it.

Even daily averaging can be more prone to inflated.

Better to average valid days.

Or use trend weight and expect a month to pass before you can discern anything through all the noise of invalid data.
At least constant direction is good indicator.

I weigh in (almost) daily on Happy Scale so I can watch trends overall, I really like the app. That's how I know that my overall weight loss is still on track for my projections- it was just interesting to me to see the change in the graph trending after I started lifting. I only have one true rest day a week, unless you are counting my LISS cardio days as valid, I prefer to weight in daily (almost) and accept that some days, it just is going to go up (sometimes, my sodium intake is to blame, sometimes its TOM, sometimes it's something else) versus weighing in once a week which, for me, was not as helpful (again, for me personally I know some people are different).

It's not that I am not losing weight per se, it's that the overall shape of my trends changed, even after the beginning water retention from lifting (from my original post)- and that change is one I didn't realize would happen, and I am glad that I am not alone with that