Normal weight fluctuations or do I need to buckle down?

bear2303

So I'm in the tail end of my weight loss journey. My ultimate goal is only about 5 lbs away but I cannot seem to get there!!! I feel like I've been stuck at my current weight for about a month and anytime the scale seems to budge down it springs right back up in the next day or two.

Some background, I'm female early 30s and definitely still have the weight to lose. I'm 5' 3" and currently weigh between 141-143 lost about 38 pounds so far.

I guess I'm just wondering if my weight fluctuating is normal and I just need to give it more time or if i need to change something up and be more strict now that the end goal is so much in sight. To answer some questions preemptively; I haven't gotten lazier about tracking, i've always been a moderately accurate tracker but i haven't loosend up my standards or gotten more strict. I also still exercise the same amount/types that I have my entire journey.

Is my body just tired? is it holding on to the weight? Do I just need to be patient?

puffbrat

Do you use a weight trending app? Is it possible you are actually losing very slowly?

fitpal4242

My stats are similar to yours, and I do notice fluctuations. I’m down 18lbs & want to lose another 10. I weigh myself on the same scale at my gym all the time- usually at around 6am, and I eat/drink the exact same thing in the mornings every day.
In the last couple weeks or so, it was-
Friday- 147
Saturday- 144.6 (yay! This was a rare afternoon weigh-in- about 1pm)
Monday-149 (eek!)
Tuesday- 147
Wednesday- 146.2
Friday-148
Saturday-146.2
Thursday (today)- 147

I did get my period yesterday, so I think time of the month stuff has an impact on water retention. I’m continuing to eat in accordance with plan and with the exercise. If I don’t bump back down under 145 soon, I may try adding more walking into my schedule (I live in a walking city- can just take a detour on my way home) and/or add another 10-15 minutes of cardio to my morning routine (I typically run 10 minutes and then take a 45 minute cardio/weight classes that are pretty intense).

Keep us updated on how it goes for you!

pinuplove

Maybe a bit of both. I'm 5'2 and started the year at 135. I'm now 128, with lots of ups and downs along the way. It just takes a while when you're already pint-sized

pinuplove

puffbrat wrote: »

Do you use a weight trending app? Is it possible you are actually losing very slowly?

Can't recommend a weight trending app enough! It's saved my sanity (and headed off re-gain) so many times.

bear2303

puffbrat wrote: »

Do you use a weight trending app? Is it possible you are actually losing very slowly?

I don't use a weight trending app! Going to look in to this!! Do you have one you recommend?

AnnPT77

bear2303 wrote: »

puffbrat wrote: »

Do you use a weight trending app? Is it possible you are actually losing very slowly?

I don't use a weight trending app! Going to look in to this!! Do you have one you recommend?

Libra for Android, Happy Scale for iOS, Trendweight, Weightgrapher are some options to consider.

From the perspective of maintenance (where I've been for about 4 years), the slower your weight loss, the more that normal, healthy daily fluctuations can obscure what's really going on.

Think about it: When one is losing 1-2 pounds of (mostly) fat per week, that's going on in the background as we fluctuate up and down. It sort of makes the daily fluctuations appear smaller, or sometimes hides them entirely, The slower the fat loss, the more the daily changes are obvious. Late in weight loss, loss tends to be - possibly should be - slower.

Also, as you get closer, and are losing slower, those smaller discrepancies in logging have more impact. If my logging is +/- 150 calories of accuracy when my deficit is 1000 calories daily (2 pounds a week), that's not going to show up very much. As I get down to 250 calories deficit (half pound a week), that same 150 starts being a really big deal. It may be a random 150 up/150 down and anything in between, but to the extent that several days in a row may randomly be on the high-intake side of that error range, the more it's going to wipe out fat loss progress. It's just arithmetic.

So: It could be either or both of these factors, for you. If you've been calorie-limiting for a very long time, it could even include a cumulative subtle fatigue pulling your daily-life activity (NEAT) down a bit, and costing you a few dozen calories worth of daily burn. It's hard to tell.

Your options are tightening logging, pushing your daily activity more aggressively, and tracking more attentively with a trending app. (http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/ for the daily activity ideas.)

But you'll get there, with persistence!