Losing weight but it fluctuates?

SaraLynnFiske

I started on the 11th at 250.5 pounds, and weighed myself last night at 7PM and it said 245.5lbs. I then checked this morning and it said 246.5lbs. My period started 2 days ago so I feel like period fluctuations will have already been in place? I don't know why it's going 245-247, I feel discouraged, like I'm not even losing weight at all.

Jadub729

your weight fluctuates period or not, probably even more so on your period. You gain/lose weight all day due to several reasons, one of which the actual weight of the food you're still digesting. It is super frustrating but our bodies are not exact. You just started literally 5 days ago, give it a few weeks. Here are my weigh ins the last couple weeks, it annoys me that its gone up and down but I can see I started at 169 and am now 166...its going down...

166
167
167
168
169
167
166
167
166
167
168
169

seska422

First off, weight yourself once a day, at most, at the same time with the same amount of clothes. I weigh in the morning, after using the toilet and before eating or drinking.

Second, weight fluctuates. That's what it does. Don't attach meaning to any single weight. Instead, look at your weight trend over months to see if you are trending downward. I can see when I ovulated by looking at my weight graph.

Here's an example where I was at or below my calorie goal every day for 3 months. My weight, and even my trend, went up and down but my overall trend was downward:




Don't set goals based upon things you can't directly control such as what the scale says. My goal is to follow my eating plan. If I do that consistently over time, the weight result will eventually show on the scale.

jgnickel

You will fluctuate. Weight loss is not linear, it won't just go down, you will see up and down. I go up 2-4pounds than I'll drop it. Weigh at the same time of the day, I do in the morning before my shower in a t-shirt.

Drink lots of water, log accurately, and give it time. I've lost 20 pounds in 4 months and it has been up and down the whole way.

cwolfman13

SaraLynnFiske wrote: »

I started on the 11th at 250.5 pounds, and weighed myself last night at 7PM and it said 245.5lbs. I then checked this morning and it said 246.5lbs. My period started 2 days ago so I feel like period fluctuations will have already been in place? I don't know why it's going 245-247, I feel discouraged, like I'm not even losing weight at all.

This is what weight loss looks like...



The red trend line is the important one.

Your weight fluctuates for a myriad of reasons, not just your cycle. Your body is comprised of roughly 55-65% water, so that's always going to be in flux. You're always going to have varying amounts of waste in your system. Hydration and dehydration. It's normal and you need to wrap your head around it or maintenance is going to drive you bat *kitten* crazy.

You've only been doing this for 5 days...you need to look at trends over weeks and months and possibly years, not a handful of days.

0426Jamie

I would also like to point out that you have a 5 lb loss in less than a week, that is definitely a loss! It might mostly be water weight, but your weight is trending in the right direction. Losing weight is a marathon, not a sprint, you gotta be ready to handle daily fluctuations. I also second only weighing yourself once a day, first thing in the morning.

SaunaSuit

I ignore the fluctuation, I wake up, use the ladys room, then weigh myself. Now if I have to use the ladys room again with in 30min of being awake (2nd pee). I do weight my self again. Other then that it is only once a day. I seem to be a 3 days person. I stay the same weight, then I drop 3 to 5 lbs, then stay that weight for 3 days.

260
260
260
257
257
257
252
252
Ect. ...

Its just how my body loses weight I was 327lbs in January and I am today 257lbs. Looking forward to that 252 this weekend.

HOW? I eat oatmeal at 6:30am/ Lunch 11am (soup) veggies, fruit/ 2:20 my last meal for the entire day (Salad, Soup, veggies, fruit, flat bread, rice or noodles 1/4 cup). I drink 14glasses of water a day and 3 with each meal to flush out all the foods so it will digest in my stomach faster. I exercise first thing in the morning, either a mile jog outside or a 5mile walk in place watching tv at 5am. Mid morning arobics, Mid afternoon, Dance to music for a hour. Mid evening, Qi-gon, eveing meditaion. Bed 7:30pm. Not really a life but its not about that its about losing weight and getting to my long term goal. 163lbs. By next Birthday.

Jadub729

SaunaSuit wrote: »

I ignore the fluctuation, I wake up, use the ladys room, then weigh myself. Now if I have to use the ladys room again with in 30min of being awake (2nd pee). I do weight my self again. Other then that it is only once a day. I seem to be a 3 days person. I stay the same weight, then I drop 3 to 5 lbs, then stay that weight for 3 days.

260
260
260
257
257
257
252
252
Ect. ...

Its just how my body loses weight I was 327lbs in January and I am today 257lbs. Looking forward to that 252 this weekend.

HOW? I eat oatmeal at 6:30am/ Lunch 11am (soup) veggies, fruit/ 2:20 my last meal for the entire day (Salad, Soup, veggies, fruit, flat bread, rice or noodles 1/4 cup). I drink 14glasses of water a day and 3 with each meal to flush out all the foods so it will digest in my stomach faster. I exercise first thing in the morning, either a mile jog outside or a 5mile walk in place watching tv at 5am. Mid morning arobics, Mid afternoon, Dance to music for a hour. Mid evening, Qi-gon, eveing meditaion. Bed 7:30pm. Not really a life but its not about that its about losing weight and getting to my long term goal. 163lbs. By next Birthday.

Why would you want to "flush food out faster"?? I'm not sure water does that any how...

PAV8888

Jadub729 wrote: »

SaunaSuit wrote: »

I ignore the fluctuation, I wake up, use the ladys room, then weigh myself. Now if I have to use the ladys room again with in 30min of being awake (2nd pee). I do weight my self again. Other then that it is only once a day. I seem to be a 3 days person. I stay the same weight, then I drop 3 to 5 lbs, then stay that weight for 3 days.

260
260
260
257
257
257
252
252
Ect. ...

Its just how my body loses weight I was 327lbs in January and I am today 257lbs. Looking forward to that 252 this weekend.

HOW? I eat oatmeal at 6:30am/ Lunch 11am (soup) veggies, fruit/ 2:20 my last meal for the entire day (Salad, Soup, veggies, fruit, flat bread, rice or noodles 1/4 cup). I drink 14glasses of water a day and 3 with each meal to flush out all the foods so it will digest in my stomach faster. I exercise first thing in the morning, either a mile jog outside or a 5mile walk in place watching tv at 5am. Mid morning arobics, Mid afternoon, Dance to music for a hour. Mid evening, Qi-gon, eveing meditaion. Bed 7:30pm. Not really a life but its not about that its about losing weight and getting to my long term goal. 163lbs. By next Birthday.

Why would you want to "flush food out faster"?? I'm not sure water does that any how...

I have to both congratulate and caution you.

While what you're doing will probably work without too many adverse reactions while you're still morbidly obese, by the time you get into the obese/high overweight category I seriously suggest you start eating at least what you will be eating at your estimated maintenance weight and slow down your weight loss to within 0.5% to 1% of bodyweight a week. And also start figuring out how you will eat and live in the future. Do that before you reach your goal weight. Weight control does not have a pre announced time limit...

CSARdiver

My water weight fluctuates by ~5 lbs throughout the day. 16 oz of water weighs about 1 lb.

Any hormone shift will result in increased cellular uptake - water weight. This is a necessary defense mechanism and nothing to be concerned about. You're not focusing on weight reduction. You are focused on fat reduction.

SaraLynnFiske

Thank you all so much! I was going crazy, thinking I wasn't making any progress at all, but I guess that's just beginners fear

Jadub729

SaraLynnFiske wrote: »

Thank you all so much! I was going crazy, thinking I wasn't making any progress at all, but I guess that's just beginners fear

someone suggested I download Happy Scale app on my phone, it's a good way to keep track of your fluctuations

cbohling1987

I stepped on the scale 3 times yesterday and once this morning (I am a 30-year-old man, all weighings were without clothes)

Yesterday morning - 155.6 lbs
Yesterday afternoon after doing heavy squats and deadlifts and then running 6 miles - 151.2 lbs
Later that evening after eating a big plate of spaghetti and steamed broccoli - 155.2 lbs
This morning - 153.4 lbs

Takeaways - yeah your weight can fluctuate quite a bit based on activity, eating, sweating a bunch, etc. Also the scale is not necessarily going to be perfectly accurate either. These fluctuations are normal. It will always fluctuate, but if you eat at a deficit, you will lose weight and fluctuate around a lower number.