Great Q&A - Weight Fluctuation

Mindful_Trent

Very well written summary of why you see frequent (and sometimes dramatic) short-term fluctuations in weight.

From: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/expert.q.a/10/08/water.weight.fluctuates.jampolis/index.html

How is it possible for my weight to fluctuate so much?
Panzene, Ocala, Florida

I've noticed that I gained what I'm assuming to be water weight. I gained four pounds in a 24-hour period. I recently started a lot of exercise and weight training and was told that I'm not drinking enough water. I took two days of drinking at least three liters of water and just doing cardio and noticed that I went from 169 to 163, but the third day I checked my weight again and was back to 168. How is this possible?


Diet and Fitness Expert
Dr. Melina Jampolis
Physician Nutrition Specialist

Expert answer
Hi Panzene -- First of all let me congratulate you on beginning what sounds like a great exercise and strength training program. You are absolutely correct in your assumption that your weight fluctuations are mostly due to water weight.

Basic laws of physics would not allow you to gain four pounds of fat in such a short period unless you ate an extra 14,000 calories (each pound of fat contains 3,500 calories). Mild dehydration may cause fluid retention, which can increase scale weight, which may be one of the reasons your weight dropped with increased water intake.

Another reason may be due to the fact that training muscles, especially if you are new to weight lifting, causes micro tears in the muscle, which is how muscle is built. This can lead to fluid retention in the muscle itself for a couple of days.

I'm not sure if you trained with weights or dropped your water intake on the third day, but this could have led to the increase or may just represent your stabilized weight (which would indicate a one-pound loss in three days, which is great).

Your weight can also be affected by carbohydrate consumption, so if you decreased your carbohydrate intake during the initial two days and then had a high-carbohydrate dinner the evening before the third day, this could have led to water loss and then gain because stored carbohydrates, like muscle, also hold water. This is why low-carb diets seem to work so dramatically in the early stages -- stored carbohydrates and water are lost in addition to fat and muscle.

Daily water fluctuations, which are more common in women because of hormonal changes throughout the month, are one of the main reasons that I tell my patients not to weigh themselves every day, especially if they are just starting an exercise program. I prefer that they track their measurements regularly, which are a much better indicator of fat loss and muscle gain.

If you are starting an exercise program and find that you are steadily continuing to gain weight over time, evaluate your diet closely for hidden or extra calories. Some people find that exercise increases their appetite, so they may be consuming even more calories than they are burning thereby gaining muscle and fat at the same time. I find sports drinks and energy bars to be common sources of extra calories that may be getting in the way of fat loss.

It is important to remember that most people cannot gain more than one to two pounds of muscle per month, so the increase in the scale in 24 hours could not represent actual muscle gain.

Other potential causes of short-term weight gain are increased sodium intake (eating a salty dinner the night before can cause a jump in scale weight), constipation and even long-distance travel, which may cause fluid retention and dehydration. So my advice is to stop weighing yourself daily, watch your calorie consumption, and focus on inches rather than pounds for now.

melodyg

Great article, thanks for reposting!

tammietifanie

****bump*** Thank you for sharing this

qwho

not sure why, but my weight does not flucuate, never more than one pound from one day to the next.
I think it made my losing weight easier, as the scale would show a steady weight loss each week
and every few days I would record a new weight loss and then perhaps a day after I would be a
pound higher, but then the new weight would lock in and never move again until the next loss.
Never retained water either, not even when pregnant.

cbirdso

This concerns so many people on MFP, thanks for posting. My weight can fluctuate by more that 5 pounds in one day and knowing why has kept me from becoming discouraged when I weigh myself to check for progress.

cbirdso

not sure why, but my weight does not flucuate, never more than one pound from one day to the next.
I think it made my losing weight easier, as the scale would show a steady weight loss each week
and every few days I would record a new weight loss and then perhaps a day after I would be a
pound higher, but then the new weight would lock in and never move again until the next loss.
Never retained water either, not even when pregnant.

I am so envious! It sounds like you are aware of how lucky you are! When I was pregnant with my son (21 years ago!), I gained over 70 pounds of water weight and developed preclampsia. The bad news is that water weight gain looks and feels like fat, with all the associated negativity, but the good news is that within a month after his birth, I peed away 60 pounds of it.

qwho

I do realize how lucky I am. I had big babies, my son ws 9 lbs 3 oz and my daughter an amazing 10 lbs 14 ounces, but never retained water even then, no swollen ankles etc (no stretch marks either) but if it helps, I have varicose veins, lol never had to deal with much in the way of pms either (or apparently) menopause

AnnaPixie

great reminder - thanks Trent :bigsmile:

kaddie125

This is all great info, thanks for sharing!

But I've always had issues water-wise. I've always understood that not drinking enough water can cause water retention and weight gain, but I find that even when I drink my eight glasses a day, I'm larger on the scale. And when I lay down or walk around I can feel the water I've drank just moving around in my tummy. ( Sorry if this is TMI) It's like I gain water weight either way!
Does anyone else get this?

cbirdso

This is all great info, thanks for sharing!

But I've always had issues water-wise. I've always understood that not drinking enough water can cause water retention and weight gain, but I find that even when I drink my eight glasses a day, I'm larger on the scale. And when I lay down or walk around I can feel the water I've drank just moving around in my tummy. ( Sorry if this is TMI) It's like I gain water weight either way!
Does anyone else get this?

Yes, I have this problem too and for me, drinking MORE water just adds to my problem. I still think it is important to drink around 8 glasses of water for many other health reasons, but it is not helpful for water retention in my case. I had to look at what was causing this inflammation. It is probably different for other people, but the triggers for me are gluten, corn products and their derivatives (like malto dexitrin, etc), milk, additives like salt, MSG, preservatives, and hard to digest foods like fried foods. Stress and over exercise also causes inflammation for me. I am not allergic to the above items, but if I ingest them in large enough quantities, I will notice the scale vary by more than 5 pounds.