how do you deal with weight fluctuations?

LydiaShackelford

I have a good cry

This. HAHAHA

cwolfman13

There's nothing to "deal" with...they're completely normal and largely out of your control. I've been maintaining for 5 months...I can swing a good 2-5 Lbs day to day depending. If I worried about that I'd drive myself crazy...probably need counseling or something. It's normal...just ignor it and look at the general trend of things. I track daily, so I plug it into another app with better graphs...it goes up and down and up and down and up and down...but if hit average, it will draw a line through my graph right at around 182ish.

Just ignore it...stop obsessing about some arbitrary number...or put the friggin' scale away if you can't. Those little fluctuations don't change the way you look...don't change the way your clothes look, etc...just stop obsessing about some arbitrary number on the scale that is representative of so many things.

btwinkles

Fluctuations are totally normal and can be for many reasons. I weigh myself every day out of habit, and the daily ups and downs don't bother me and rarely make "sense". I can be under goal the night before, plenty of water, no where near TOM, whatever, and still be up the next day - not a big deal. I know I didn't gain a pound or two of fat overnight. If it bothers you, then don't weight daily, but once a week or twice a month, etc, and track the trend.

Also a good idea to get your tape measure out and start tracking measurements, and take progress photos as well. You will often see progress there that doesn't show on the scale. Last year I went about six months with the few pounds up and down on the scale, but during that time I lost fat and inches, and dropped a full size. Had I just been relying on my scale I might have been upset, but I laughed at my scale and went out and bought new jeans. :bigsmile:

you laughed at your scale!!! I totally LOVE that!!!:laugh:

bcattoes

Weight fluctuations often have nothing to do with diet or exercise. There is more involved in "weight" than just fat and muscle. Water is the biggest cause of fast weight gain/loss. Sometimes it's caused by eating too much sodium, sometimes by medications, sometimes by hormones, sometimes something else.

If you can't ignore it, I'd suggest only weighing once a week or even every other week. No matter how strictly you stick to your plan, it's unrealistic to see a loss every single day.

MuseofSong

Fluctuations are totally normal and can be for many reasons. I weigh myself every day out of habit, and the daily ups and downs don't bother me and rarely make "sense". I can be under goal the night before, plenty of water, no where near TOM, whatever, and still be up the next day - not a big deal. I know I didn't gain a pound or two of fat overnight. If it bothers you, then don't weight daily, but once a week or twice a month, etc, and track the trend.

Also a good idea to get your tape measure out and start tracking measurements, and take progress photos as well. You will often see progress there that doesn't show on the scale. Last year I went about six months with the few pounds up and down on the scale, but during that time I lost fat and inches, and dropped a full size. Had I just been relying on my scale I might have been upset, but I laughed at my scale and went out and bought new jeans. :bigsmile:

Everything she said! I weigh every morning and check in with losses and gains because I want to see the trends. Sometimes it was due to high sodium, sometimes it's something as simple as TOM, and sometimes it's something annoying like constipation. Drink, drink, drink water (at least 2-3 glasses above your normal daily water intake) and most of the time it resolves the bloat from those three issues.

I do like to whinge about it when it happens though. But, I can look at my calorie intake report and see that I did not eat 3500 extra calories per lb, so I know it's not fat, it's just my body being retentive. Hopefully you can do the same, if you're regularly tracking your food intake.

rduhlir

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1082957-what-it-looks-like-to-weigh-yourself-everyday-for-180-days

ShannonMpls

(1) Do not weigh daily

(2) If you do weigh daily, keep track of your weight on an excel spreadsheet. Record your overall losses as an average every week, two weeks, or month. Then if you have ups and downs, you can look back and realize that they're normal but your overall losses are still right on target.

lmlmrn

I have an app on my phone called Happy Scale. You input your weight daily and it gives you a "predicted" weight that evens out the crazy fluctuations. I don't know what the algorithm is but earlier this week my weight went up and the weight on Happy Scale went down. Today I suddenly lost and am now a fraction of a pound below. It seems fairly accurate.


I understand about why you should not weigh daily. I understand about weight fluctuation. But I want to weigh daily.

I am going to have to look for this app.....I understand the normal ups and downs and in my past have kept a spreadsheet but this seems so much easier. Thanks

mushroomsontoast

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1082957-what-it-looks-like-to-weigh-yourself-everyday-for-180-days

Thanks for finding that rduhlir, was looking for it myself

candytag

I use the fit bit scale. It records every time I step on the scale you cannot ignore what the scale says it records it automatically on here. Its great it shows a graph and I can really see what is happening. Love it. Now if the two pounds I lost this last week comes back on I will cry for real.

Ldbg289

When I first started trying to get back to a healthy weight, I weighed daily(sometimes multiple times a day)but that drove me totally mad, I definitely had a love hate relationship with the scale then(ok mostly hate). It wasn't until someone brought up that maybe I was weighing too frequently because your weight does fluctuate that I kinda took a step back and realized that I was only hurting myself by weighing daily, putting unnecessary stress on my body which in turn caused me to hold onto weight even more. Anyway, back to the question, when my weight fluctuates I just kinda swallow and say, ok I did all I can do this week. By the way I only weigh myself on Fridays unless something unusual happens. So far the weekly weigh ins have worked for me better than the daily ones did, however just because that schedule works for me doesn't mean it will work for everyone. Just if you insist on weighing daily be prepared for a fluctuation as this is normal.

Ninkyou

Honestly, I like seeing the fluctuations. If the scale goes up, and I know I went over sodium yesterday, I know it's from that. I can now pinpoint most causes of my fluctuations. I find it fascinating.

floop1207

i hear you!! i've been weighing myself quite often so that i can try to gain an idea of 'trends' and see which foods seem to make me retain water (i don't eat many processed foods and have quite a low sodium diet). i 'overate' at the weekend. not hugely, just by around 500 cals on 2 consecutive days. scales went up a pound. so for 2 days i was very regimented with my intake and yesterday, 1lb had come off. today another 1lb had come off. now i know that's highly unlikely to be showing my true weigh loss - or gain - so rather than panic about it, i'm using it as a learning curve.

jennybennypenny

This is the reason why it's suggested that you not weigh yourself every day. The scale is a liar and you shouldn't be focused on a number. Instead focus on how your clothes fit and how you feel on a day to day basis. I have set up fitness goals for myself rather than weight goals (i.e. Run 1 mile without stopping) that way the weight loss is more of a bonus rather than my sole focus.

My weight fluctuates anywhere from 1-5 pounds on a daily basis and I always tend to be high around TOM. Don't sweat it and just keep on doing what you're doing.

I second the fitness goals. I only weigh myself once or twice a month, but that's because in the past I got obsessive about the scale when I was weighing myself daily. You could also be bloated, retaining water, building muscle, tons of reasons why your weight won't match up 100% with your calories.

alyhuggan

I usually cry, smash the scale, then I eat a gallon of ice cream.

Better be Ben and Jerrys!

Iron_Lotus

You take the good, you take the bad, you take em both and there you have, the facts of life…

sijomial

I weigh myself every morning and just think "that's what I weigh this morning" - nothing more, nothing less.
As long as the number is in the range where I want to be then it's just data with no emotional baggage.

If I'm consistently under or over my range then I will adjust my calorie balance accordingly.
Weight jumping around from day to day is completely normal.

dreamer12151

Like others have said - take it in stride. I "weigh in" only once a week, on Monday morning, but I usually get on the scale again Fri or Sat just to give me an idea of how I'm doing.

For instance, last week, I gained, but I put on a pair of pants & they were tight before & now they fit fine. No reason to beat myself up over the "gain" because there was a loss over all. Now, if there is a gain week after week, then there might have to be some revisions!

FearAnLoathingJ

Don't weigh everyday

toutmonpossible

I try to use them as a reminder to eat carefully today.

sunshine1082

I have an app on my phone called Happy Scale. You input your weight daily and it gives you a "predicted" weight that evens out the crazy fluctuations. I don't know what the algorithm is but earlier this week my weight went up and the weight on Happy Scale went down. Today I suddenly lost and am now a fraction of a pound below. It seems fairly accurate.


I understand about why you should not weigh daily. I understand about weight fluctuation. But I want to weigh daily.

Thanks for mentioning this app! I just downloaded it. I was thinking about starting a spreadsheet to average out my daily fluctuations, but this seems much easier.

Mr_Knight

I know they are normal, but emotionally, when i know i have eaten below maintenance and I gain a pound the next morning, i find it very difficult to deal with.

No judgement from here - I was the same way. For me it didn't change until I thought hard about what my actual goals are. And it turned out "weight" was not one of them. Slimming my body - getting physically stronger - improved cardiovascular fitness - those were really the things I was after. I, like many people, was using "weight" as a proxy for those other things I actually cared about.

So now the fluctuations don't bother me because my body is telling me through the mirror, through body fat measurement, and through performance in exercise that I am getting healthier.

joescarpete

Just weigh once a day. I see my weight fluctuate 5 lbs a day. Be stubborn. Get that end goal and most importantly wake up and make yourself a promise and keep your promise to yourself

rosemary98

thank you for all the feedback...i had been eating maintenance and my weight steady. then i ate 250 calories under maintenance and gained .6 pounds. obviously, it isn't fat that i gained. water retention, likely. but, again, still hard to see on the scale.