bouncing around

meridianova

One of the patterns I've noticed, other than ridiculously sluggish weight loss, is that I'll lose a couple of pounds and then spend the next 2-4 weeks bouncing around within that old weight/new weight range. I weigh daily,so a lot of times the bounce up will be overnight and then take several days to go away. The pattern will repeat until I finally get down to a new low, then I'm back to losing the same 2-3lbs over and over again.

Is there a way to prevent this? It seems to me like if I'm re-losing the same couple of pounds each week, that energy could be better spent losing new pounds, not the same ones over and over and over again.

I stay hydrated with lots of water (minimum of 80oz on a normal day), I increase the intensity of my workouts by small increments (one weight peg up on the circuit machines or a few more reps within the timeframe, one half percent increase of incline and/or one tenth of a mile speed increase on the treadmill) each week or 10 days, or whenever I feel like that setting is getting easier.

Before the Tier 1 Tech Support comments kick in... everything I eat is measured by kitchen scale or liquid measure and logged with the correct entries (sometimes verified by packaging or online nutrition data). It's logged correctly. Only in 5 of the last 34 days have I gone over my calorie threshhold, which is set at a deficit for 1lb per week loss... so even on the days I'm over, I'm still in a deficit as per MFP's calculations, just not as big a one as I normally create. My food diary is open to friends.

For as much as what's in my own control, I try very hard to stay consistent. My body has other intentions, so I'm wondering if there's a way to prevent this ongoing cycle.

WhatAnAss

You're first problem is weighing daily! That will drive you nuts! You really need to try and only weigh yourself every couple of weeks. Lots of water is good and def watch your sodium intake too.

iheidibefitt

If you let weighing that much get you down, don't do it. Try eating more cleanly...fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh cut meats. Buy in bulk as much as possible, weigh your food, and then freeze it and thaw out as needed. Try to avoid anything with added sugar or processed. Make it a slow transition so you don't let headaches or cravings get the best of you. You can do it!! Also, try changing up your exercise.

shabaity

Weigh only once a week it won't seem as bad. I enjoy watching the numbers bounce around that way however those numbers in no way affect my daily life except for that time I sprained my knees and the time I over did it on squats and I used those numbers as a general guess as to how long I was going to swell or have doms.

meridianova

You're first problem is weighing daily! That will drive you nuts! You really need to try and only weigh yourself every couple of weeks. Lots of water is good and def watch your sodium intake too.

If you let weighing that much get you down, don't do it.

i don't know that it necessarily gets me down, but it's confusing. when i see the scale bounce up, i remind myself that there is no way i ate 7,000 calories over my TDEE yesterday (sundays are our days to be family couch potatos, and have netflix binges or movie marathons). considering that this is more of a battle than a process, i'm trying to stay vigilant and ensure i'm doing good things for my body. i kind of view those bounces as my body reacting negatively toward something, so i'm trying to eliminate as much of that as possible.

acollis1

Hey, I agree with not weighing yourself everyday, I know it made me nuts! I weigh once a week, same day same time. I also agree with watching sodium and trying to stay away from processed foods. You eat alot of sausages and bacon and food from restaurants. I know you have a cretain way you eat that works for you but I definitely think monitoring your sodium may help.
It also looks like you eat only one or two big meals a day, try spreading out your caloires to 4 or five smaller meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism going.

meridianova

Try eating more cleanly...fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh cut meats. Buy in bulk as much as possible, weigh your food, and then freeze it and thaw out as needed. Try to avoid anything with added sugar or processed. Make it a slow transition so you don't let headaches or cravings get the best of you. You can do it!!

i'm already pretty heavily into fresh produce, homemade stuff rather than canned, and my costco membership gets a good workout for whole cuts of meat. when i cook, i weigh everything (spices get a pass, but they're the only thing), write it down, and then create recipes with the appropriate date. i'm already low-carbing so i keep sugar as far away from me as i can.

Also, try changing up your exercise.

any suggestions? my normal routine is circuit/weight training daily, alternating whole body and focused ab work, then 30-35 minutes on the treadmill. i have problems with my knees, so anything that's knee-flex-dependent gets dangerous.

meridianova

Hey, I agree with not weighing yourself everyday, I know it made me nuts! I weigh once a week, same day same time. I also agree with watching sodium and trying to stay away from processed foods. You eat alot of sausages and bacon and food from restaurants. I know you have a cretain way you eat that works for you but I definitely think monitoring your sodium may help.

i think you're right on that one... i kind of wish that MFP had another macro slot, because i'm under doc's recommendation to watch dietary cholesterol at the moment. i'd like to be able to watch sodium too without losing the other macros.

It also looks like you eat only one or two big meals a day, try spreading out your caloires to 4 or five smaller meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism going.

have you ever run into issues with overeating or over-obsessing about when you could eat again using that method? if so, how did you get past it?

AliceDark

Is your overall trend line going down? If so, you're fine. Everyone's weight varies from day to day -- those little bounces are totally normal. If you only weigh once a week or so, you don't see that variation, but it's still there. If you want to weigh in more frequently, you'll see the little ups and downs, so you'll need to figure out a way to deal with them.

meridianova

and bacon is a staple in our house. my husband and i joke that running out of coffee or bacon is a divorceable offense, on either side :laugh:.

acollis1

Gotcha on that bacon, LOL. I have never had a problem with eating several small meals daily. I actually sometimes eat one a little late, or by the time I eat dinner I don't eat everything I allowed myself because I'm just not THAT hungry. Takes some tweaking to find out what foods to use at what times of day. Ex; I recently discovered that if I have a protein shake as my 3:30 "meal" I do MUCH better in the evenings and barely have any cravings for sweets
And if you are using the MFP phone app, go to your diary, then click on the "more" icon at the bottom, choose "nutrition" and then a list of ALL your macros comes up I wish they had that feature on the website, but I make sure to keep my eye on that as well

mccindy72

Seriously, everyone's weight fluctuates up and down a few pounds. Mostly it's water retention caused by changes in diet (carbs and sodium being the primary culprits) or changes in exercise (lifting weights or a new exercise that causes minute muscle damage causes water retention for repair). Hormone fluctuations cause it too. You'll drive yourself crazy if you worry about by weighing yourself and worrying about a pound up and down here and there. As long as your overall trend continues downward, you're fine.