Weight Fluctuation

My weight is fluctuating day to day like crazy. Four days ago I weighed 153, this afternoon I weighed 156 and tonight I weigh 159. A few days before the 153, i also weighed 158ish. If I were just going up and up, I'd say I was being inaccurate with my calorie counting, but I am also going down, as well. After losing weight consistently from 174 in August until now, I'm deathly afraid of gaining, and of course, Xmas is around the corner. I'm just really angry and anxious at the same time. Any advice, been there/done that?

Replies

  • kcb0308
    kcb0308 Posts: 73 Member
    It is more than likely water retention. It is really unlikely that you'd gain or lose 3-6 pounds in a few days time. If you are lifting weights, then your muscles may be retaining more water to heal with, or check your sodium levels. I think this is a normal process of weight loss, just hang tight and look down the road a bit for motivation.
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
    I had a similar question and concern. Let me find the thread and you can peek it out.
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
    I see you been here for awhile so I think you already know this and your situation is probably different....
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    My weight is fluctuating day to day like crazy. Four days ago I weighed 153, this afternoon I weighed 156 and tonight I weigh 159. A few days before the 153, i also weighed 158ish. If I were just going up and up, I'd say I was being inaccurate with my calorie counting, but I am also going down, as well. After losing weight consistently from 174 in August until now, I'm deathly afraid of gaining, and of course, Xmas is around the corner. I'm just really angry and anxious at the same time. Any advice, been there/done that?
    My only advice is to stop weighting yourself so often and at different times a day. Weight naturally fluctuates.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    I downloaded one of the free apps just to record my daily weight. It gives me a detailed graph and as long as the overall trend is downwards it's all good. I only record losses at MFP, because it shows up in my friend feed and my ticker and I don't want to spam peoples news feed.
  • cingle87
    cingle87 Posts: 717 Member
    Water weight is a ***** when it comes to weigh in, for example on thursday morning I weighed myself and i was 14stone 2 no change in a week, but i then weighed myself the day after i had a rest day from lifting and I weighed in at 13stone 13 meaning i lost 3lbs overnight, this is why I try to weigh fortnightly over once a week at most.

    If you can't handle seeing your weight fluctuate then the only option would be to weigh less often or just live with the knowledge that weight can fluctuate ive heard upto 6lbs a day purely down to water.
  • I only weigh myself once or twice a week. Always at the same time of day - get out of bed, go to the bathroom and weigh in before eating or drinking anything. It gives me much more accurate results.
  • vickylhutton
    vickylhutton Posts: 7 Member
    My weight can go up and down a lot I try not to take notice and just do a weekly record. I may weigh in every day but I don't count the results until weigh in day iykwim. So Sunday morning first thing is the day I record. Try not to weigh yourself so much maybe once a week or every two.
  • js8181
    js8181 Posts: 178 Member
    Thanks! I did know that, in theory, water retention changes weight, but there's one poster on the one you gave me that says we move 8lbs of water per day! That explains a lot.
  • bonjalandoni
    bonjalandoni Posts: 136 Member
    Basing at your profile pic, that is normal. Once you are near your "normal" weight the effect of water retention is higher. Meaning it can fluctuate by as much as 5 lbs depending on your activity level and hydration. (boxers can lose by as much as 10 lbs during the weigh ins and gain it all back and then some the next day) The higher the activity level and hydration, the higher is the fluctuation. Other people who are on the heavier side can see a consistent loss of weight due to a higher fat loss. What you need to see is the trend. If the trend is going down, then youre doing good.