Weight fluctuation is it normal?

bhavitchhatralia

As the title indicates i've had some weight fluctuations during my calorie deficit.
Last week or two has been a bit up and down although calorie deficit has been pretty consistent between 1300-1500 calorie intake, where i've been up down +-1KG

For more context
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Height: 168CM (5ft'6)
started 28/02/24 - starting around 96.5 KG
Lost around 4-6 KG in the first 5 weeks.
Last 2 weeks have been +- 1KG.

Currently sitting at 89.9KG (weight this morning) which i'm happy about as hit my first mini goal of sub 90KG



Above shows the weight i've been tracking started off in the first 4/5 week as weekly and recently been doing daily readings.

I've increased exercise mainly bodyweight stuff, sit-ups, squats, press ups, seated dips.

Just wondering about the lack of weight loss in relation to initial quick weight loss, normal? expected? Of course it's a journey and it'll take time to lower weight not expecting it to vanish overnight, just more curious as to does that stagnation around the last week or two look right?

Apologies if posting in the wrong place or better suited else where

lisakatz2

Daily weight fluctuations are perfectly normal. The spikes are probably due to water retention, but I see a downward trend, which is the most important thing.

As an aside, I think 1300-1500 is quite low for a man, but that's just my opinion.

Leo_King84

@bhavitchhatralia

Fluctuations are normal. Carbohydrates get converted to glycogen which sit in your muscles waiting to be used. They bind to water, don't quote me on this but from what I remember it was like a 4:1 of water:glycogen.

As glycogen levels are going to fluctuate based on carb intake and exercise levels so will these water levels.

bhavitchhatralia

lisakatz2 wrote: »

Daily weight fluctuations are perfectly normal. The spikes are probably due to water retention, but I see a downward trend, which is the most important thing.

As an aside, I think 1300-1500 is quite low for a man, but that's just my opinion.

Thanks for the insight.

as for the low intake, it's based on a calculator to consume average of 1413 cal daily to get to 67KG by December but not strictly followed as i'm not concerned about time frame just about lowering the weight gradualy, and as my BMI began at 34.2 it was justified (large amount of fat), very much mangeable for myself don't feel hungry and drink plenty of water throughout the day. But noted none the less, as the weight drops it'll decrease the deficit as well due to maintaince becoming lower.

Thank you though for putting my mind at ease

ddsb1111

Despite your reasoning for such a low amount of calories on being over weight, you need a certain amount of calories for health. MFP recommends nothing less than 1500 calories for men. In terms of fluctuations, absolutely normal, and the main focus should be on the trend. I would spend some time reading through the boards and seeing other weight loss graphs. Most of them have spikes all the way down.

Are you using MFP to set up your goal and logging here? Since timing doesn’t matter to you, I would stick to one platform and choose a reasonable deficit and focus on that. The other source has you eating too little and losing too much too soon IMO.

spiriteagle99

A large initial loss is also pretty typical, especially if you are eating fewer carbs. That is mostly water loss, though the fat loss catches up sooner or later. When I was doing very low carb, I lost a lot of weight in the first 2 weeks, then nothing for the next month or more.

As to the daily fluctuations, that is also very normal. If you eat more salt or sugar your body retains water. If you do more exercise, your muscles retain water to repair the damage. If you eat something that has more bulk, digestion may take a couple of days. Alternately, some foods pass right through you, and may clear out your colon, causing a drop in weight. Pay attention to the overall trend over several weeks, not the daily ups and downs.

kshama2001

For those of us who don't use metric, the OP has averaged a loss of 1.21 pounds per week over 12 weeks for a total of 14.5 pounds. That's a fine rate of loss for someone who wants to lose another 50 pounds.

@bhavitchhatralia while you should indeed have a goal of eating more than 1300 calories, in fact you probably are, as if you were truly averaging 1400 calories you would have lost faster.

Please don't take this personally - logging errors are extremely common. We can help you spot them if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

You could tighten up your logging and increase your calories, or carry on with your reasonable rate of loss. Either way, do get a weight trend app.

PAV8888

Weight trend app: great idea.

Rate of loss and change of rate of loss make perfect sense and are reasonably expected especially with change in exercise.

To repeat what @kshama2001 said: the calories SOUND low; but, weight change indicates a not un-reasonable rate of loss given starting and current weight.

I would personally not be surprised to see your speed of weight loss decrease further when your energy reserves get depleted to what would be compatible with mid-overweight (BMI 27-ish) territory. This could happen at a higher or lower actual BMI given relative muscle mass.

bhavitchhatralia

@kshama2001 Updated the diary settings, i'd say the average is much closer to 1500 but as it's very much a managable amount for myself i'm happy to stick with it, and weight is dropping at a steady pace 0.1kg/0.22 pounds per day last 3 days. (very much choose a lazy way for food intake)

Thank you to all that have provided insight, much appreciated

xbowhunter

Mine typically goes up on the weekends form too many calories and alcohol. Usually by Thursday its back to normal.