Realistic expectations?

KirstyBabesX

I've come back to lose weight now that my son is a year old. I started at 90kg and am just under 85kg now but have only just started logging consistently this month. My net calories work out just below 1200 a day but I'm finding that the number on the scales is fluctuating and is a bit disheartening when I've been focusing so much on getting fit and eating well.

Is this quite normal to go up and down?

After I weigh and don't see a loss it tends to really get me down. How often should I weigh?

Did it take a while for others to see a significant loss in the beginning?

Lietchi

Weight fluctuations are perfectly normal, no-one loses weight in a linear fashion.

You might want to read this:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

And you might want to download a weight trending app like Libra or Happy Scale which show your weight trend beyond the daily fluctuations.

I weigh daily because I like the data. I can see the impact of, for example, a high sodium day or a heavy workout on my water weight level. Your weight trend will be most accurate if you weigh daily at the same moment of the day and under the same circumstances. But if you can't 'handle' that, weighing weekly might be an option. Watch out though, even weighing weekly there might still be weeks where your weight hasn't gone down, which might be even more 'worrying' (higher expectations after a whole week).

This is a randomly chosen period in Libra last year with my daily weigh-ins being the dots and the weight trend is the line (in kg, so multiply times 2.2 for the equivalent in lbs) :

ReenieHJ

Try not to be discouraged. I know it's hard. I don't have as much to lose as I used to so don't see a lot of progress over the course of a month. I weigh once a week, same day/time. Some weeks I'll stay steady and not drop an ounce. Three weeks later I might lose 1.5 lbs.
Have patience, keep to the course and you will get where you want to go. Good luck!!

KirstyBabesX

Thank you Lietchi. You're reply is reassuring, I might look at getting that app.

Thank you ReenieHJ. I definitely need to be more patient. I must remind myself that if I am eating well and exercising then I am helping myself to get closer to my goal by being consistent.

LiveOnceBeHappy

Down and up and down and up. I weigh every day, but I understand now that I didn't gain 1/2 a lb overnight! It's just an imperfect system. I am no longer discouraged when I see it because I know in 2 days, I will weigh less.

kshama2001

KirstyBabesX wrote: »

I've come back to lose weight now that my son is a year old. I started at 90kg and am just under 85kg now but have only just started logging consistently this month. My net calories work out just below 1200 a day but I'm finding that the number on the scales is fluctuating and is a bit disheartening when I've been focusing so much on getting fit and eating well.

Is this quite normal to go up and down?

After I weigh and don't see a loss it tends to really get me down. How often should I weigh?

Did it take a while for others to see a significant loss in the beginning?

For others who don't use metric - 85 kg is 187 pounds.

I weigh every day. My weight fluctuates wildly, so I use the Happy Scale weight trending app and focus on the trend rather than the daily number.

How tall are you and what is your goal weight?

Unless you are really really short, you can lose weight just fine on more than 1200 calories. In fact, if you are undereating, the stress of that can raise cortisol, causing temporary water retention that masks fat loss on the scale.

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dietary-restraint-and-cortisol-levels-research-review.html/

...a group of women who scored higher on dietary restraint scores showed elevated baseline cortisol levels. By itself this might not be problematic, but as often as not, these types of dieters are drawn to extreme approaches to dieting.

They throw in a lot of intense exercise, try to cut calories very hard (and this often backfires if disinhibition is high; when these folks break they break) and cortisol levels go through the roof. That often causes cortisol mediated water retention (there are other mechanisms for this, mind you, leptin actually inhibits cortisol release and as it drops on a diet, cortisol levels go up further). Weight and fat loss appear to have stopped or at least slowed significantly. This is compounded even further in female dieters due to the vagaries of their menstrual cycle where water balance is changing enormously week to week anyhow.

And invariably, this type of psychology responds to the stall by going even harder. They attempt to cut calories harder, they start doing more activity. The cycle continues and gets worse. Harder dieting means more cortisol means more water retention means more dieting. Which backfires (other problems come in the long-term with this approach but you’ll have to wait for the book to read about that).

When what they should do is take a day or two off (even one day off from training, at least in men, lets cortisol drop significantly). Raise calories, especially from carbohydrates. This helps cortisol to drop. More than that they need to find a way to freaking chill out. Meditation, yoga, get a massage... Get in the bath, candles, a little Enya, a glass of wine, have some you-time but please just chill.

kittensden72

KirstyBabesX - I am in a similar weight loss situation as you are. I keep rocking back and forth between 191 lbs and194 lbs. I feel stuck.
So, while I can't offer you any magical or professional advice, I can offer you support. So," way to go" on what you've lost already! And hang in there!

cwolfman13

KirstyBabesX wrote: »

I've come back to lose weight now that my son is a year old. I started at 90kg and am just under 85kg now but have only just started logging consistently this month. My net calories work out just below 1200 a day but I'm finding that the number on the scales is fluctuating and is a bit disheartening when I've been focusing so much on getting fit and eating well.

Is this quite normal to go up and down?

After I weigh and don't see a loss it tends to really get me down. How often should I weigh?

Did it take a while for others to see a significant loss in the beginning?

Your body weight isn't some static figure. You don't actually have a "true" weight. The human body is comprised of roughly 55-65% water and that will always fluctuate naturally. You will also always have varying degrees of inherent waste in your system. To presume that weight loss would be linear because you're doing "everything right" would be to presume that the weight showing on a scale is comprised of only fat. Your weight is comprised of your skeleton, organs, muscle, fat, blood, water, etc.

It is best to look at weight loss as a trend over time. The individual data points are just noise. To perform proper analysis, those data points need to be looked at in the collective and as a trend. This is what weight loss looks like plotted on a graph. There are many weight trend apps you can use to provide yourself with this kind of much more informative analysis.



The red line over time is what is important...the individual data points are just noise. Block out the noise. Also, weight loss is a slow process...I'm not sure what you mean when you say "significant loss", as that is relative. I lost 40 Lbs in total 2012-13 and I'm working on losing the 20 Lbs I gained back during COVID 2020-2021...significant weight loss takes time. It took me about 6-7 months to lose 40 Lbs. It's slow...your expectations should reflect that fact. The only people who really lose a lot of weight quickly are very obese to morbidly so. Also people who do low carb because dropping carbohydrates results in a rapid loss of water...but that has nothing to do with fat loss.

Bridgie3

If you eat at a deficit to what you need, you have to lose fat. But that isn't always the same as losing weight. You might fluctuate 5 lb of water during the menstrual cycle, you might fluctuate 5 lb after a heavy workout (muscles retaining water to help heal).

Our water ups and downs can mask our fat ups and downs. Trust the process, and just wait for that big bang as you go through your cycle and lose water.

westrich20940

I know someone else already stated this but unless you are very short or have some sort of health issue that affects your ability to lose weight I'd think (*** just my opinion) that you'd be able to be in a calorie deficit on more than 1200 calories per day. It might make the weight loss journey easier/more enjoyable...but that's up to you.

As far as the scale going up and down -- there is NO avoiding this. I'd suggest that if it's going to make you feel bad -- switch to weighing yourself less often. Example: if you are weighing yourself weekly, it's very likely you will go up and down (even by a 'lot' of lbs --- I can swing like 4lbs sometimes). So switch to weighing every *other week or even just once per month. You are much more likely to be able to see the scale go down more consistently this way and then you won't have a bad mental day bc the number didn't go down.

Be aware that you still may fluctuate even if you weigh once per month...but you want to look more at your overall long-term trend...not what's happening daily or weekly. You're doing fine!

KirstyBabesX

Thanks everyone for your replies, you have all been very helpful.

I have downloaded the libra app and find it useful and it helps me to not get hung up on the odd fluctuations on the scale.

I am actually feeling very positive about my weight loss journey. I am generally staying within my calories but not depriving myself if I really want something, I just make sure it fits or that I work out a little more. I put on some trousers that I hadn't worn in 2 weeks and they felt looser and I realised that the most important thing is how I feel.