Why did the number on the scale go up this week? Here's why.

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  • Nikki_Lee12
    Nikki_Lee12 Posts: 45 Member
    This is super helpful and keeping me motivated!
    Thank you :)
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,771 Member
    orangegato wrote: »
    AliceDark wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    And if it goes up tomorrow it's totally worth it because I crumbled a serving of Do-Si-Dos on 1.625 servings of Blue Bell No Sugar Added Homemade Vanilla and STILL have a calorie deficit.
    I’m up 1.2 pounds since yesterday morning because yesterday I ran a 5k and then took the dog for a long walk (running always and forever causes a little bump on the scale for me), then had Thai food for dinner (a higher-sodium meal). I still hit my calorie goal for the day, and I knew that 1.2 pound bump was coming. Actually, I thought it would be more than that. It’ll be gone by Tuesday morning.

    I’m wondering why running causes a bump up on the scale?

    Bump in the scale could also be due to tissue inflammation from an excessively intense workout.
  • MelmothWanders
    MelmothWanders Posts: 47 Member
    AliceDark wrote: »
    If you’re doing daily weigh-ins, realize that you will almost never see the same number on the scale, so you need to be okay seeing that variability on a daily basis. If you’re doing weekly weigh-ins, you may just have caught yourself on a high day, so don’t freak out there either. As long as the overall trend line is going down, you’re losing weight. Just trust yourself and keep going.

    Great post, and this is pretty key right here for folks who are new.
    Chasing those losses feels great when the numbers consistently move down, but inevitably you're going to stall according to the scale. That doesn't mean you're not putting in good work or doing the right thing though. Weighing every day has been helpful for me, because it shows me exactly what a salty meal or a hard workout does in terms of weight, then you get less sensitive to the fluctuations. If you weigh frequently, try averaging out your results at the end of each week, that'll give you a good idea of your overall trend versus day-to-day variations.

  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    dns_hartley wrote: »
    Thank you so much for this. I have been mostly bedbound for the last 5 years. I am just getting my health to a place where I can exercise and focus on diet to lose some of excess weight due to extreme inactivity. I am slowly, slowly building low impact activity while intaking healthy calories. It's only been a couple weeks but the number on the scale has gone up and I felt distraught until I read this. Thank you again

    I am sorry you have been unwell. The good news is, as many of us can attest to, that to lose weight, you only need to eat fewer calories than you burn. Activity and a balanced diet are important for health, but calories are most important for weight loss. So even if you are extremely limited right now, you can still make good progress. :)
  • AuthorNinja
    AuthorNinja Posts: 69 Member
    BUMP :D
  • samiam1091
    samiam1091 Posts: 12 Member
    Great post. Bump.

    I just started working out again last week. I keep telling myself the one pound increase is me building muscle. The important thing is how your clothes feel, not the pounds on the scale.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    sdevio wrote: »
    Great post. Bump.

    I just started working out again last week. I keep telling myself the one pound increase is me building muscle. The important thing is how your clothes feel, not the pounds on the scale.

    Actually, that increase is due to water retention as your muscles repair from the increased activity. It takes a *long* time to build a lb of muscle, especially a woman eating in a deficit.
  • samiam1091
    samiam1091 Posts: 12 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    sdevio wrote: »
    Great post. Bump.

    I just started working out again last week. I keep telling myself the one pound increase is me building muscle. The important thing is how your clothes feel, not the pounds on the scale.

    Actually, that increase is due to water retention as your muscles repair from the increased activity. It takes a *long* time to build a lb of muscle, especially a woman eating in a deficit.

    Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    bump
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    uwn21.gif

    Bump

  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    Lol, I totally needed to be reminded of these things this week! I'm trying to gain at a controlled rate, and the scale fluctuations are making me slightly insane. Knowing this stuff and REALLY trusting this stuff are two different things :smirk:
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    AliceDark wrote: »
    Lol, I totally needed to be reminded of these things this week! I'm trying to gain at a controlled rate, and the scale fluctuations are making me slightly insane. Knowing this stuff and REALLY trusting this stuff are two different things :smirk:

    Same here. My pre-race weight was 214.6 lbs. Two Spartan Races later, some great pub burgers and high salt meals afterwards my after weight was 226.2 lbs. Note my calorie never went above maintenance so that's over 10 lbs of water & glycogen.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    justinkimcentral wrote: »
    AliceDark wrote: »
    At some point early when you start trying to lose weight, it’s highly likely that you’ll step on the scale one day and see that your weight is up. When this happens, people panic, get angry, get frustrated, or sometimes, give up. (It's heading toward late January, so a lot of people are hitting this point now or will be soon). The thing is, it’s absolutely normal to see your weight go down one day and up the next.

    Nobody has a definite weight; we all have a weight range. We don’t always know this until we start trying to lose weight, but your weight will always fluctuate up and down across some range. Your starting weight was really only your starting weight at the moment when you weighed in; an hour later, you would’ve probably seen a different number on the scale.

    Some of the most common factors that influence your weight range include:

    1. Hydration
    2. Sodium
    3. Sleep
    4. TOM
    5. The weight of food processing through your system
    6. Exercise (new/increased exercise can cause water retention, which can show up as a gain or stall on the scale)
    7. Time of day of your weigh-in

    If you’re seeing a bump up on the scale, the first thing to do is to be patient. If you’ve been trying to lose weight for less than 4 weeks or so, just ride it out and give your body time to adjust. (It might also be a good time to double-check your logging accuracy and see if something needs to be tightened up, but that’s not always necessary if what you’re seeing really is just a blip on the graph). If anything on the above list is different from your last weigh-in, just ride it out and give your body time to adjust.

    If you’re doing daily weigh-ins, realize that you will almost never see the same number on the scale, so you need to be okay seeing that variability on a daily basis. If you’re doing weekly weigh-ins, you may just have caught yourself on a high day, so don’t freak out there either. As long as the overall trend line is going down, you’re losing weight. Just trust yourself and keep going.

    Whats TOM

    Time of the month.
  • elimar105
    elimar105 Posts: 11 Member
    Thanks for the great thread!!! The scale "lies" especially when I know I've had a good week. The number on the scale does not reflect your hard work!!! Keep going!!!
  • kroe4
    kroe4 Posts: 111 Member
    Yesssss, just another reason for me to hate this awful heat! I never knew that could affect your weight.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Needs a bump :)
  • IndigoWest
    IndigoWest Posts: 118 Member
    BUMP :)

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