Losing 1 lb or more in 24 hours

elavetti1

I think it is good advice for normal individuals to weigh themselves less frequently (if at all). Making judgments about progress based on a mirror may be more beneficial, especially if the individual isn’t monitoring all of the changes in their body composition and focusses solely on weight. I have had daily weight fluctuations close to the 10lb mark, especially if I would “carb-up” while creatine loading during an otherwise low-carb diet. This sort of weight swing could potentially be psychologically detrimental to someone monitoring their weight only and who isn’t cognizant of how these dietary alterations may affect water retention.

Regarding the addition or burning of 1+lbs of body fat a day, it is probably not going to apply to most individuals (especially those dieting moderately), however, it is certainly not impossible. Here is an extreme scenario: a large framed, obese 17yr-old male who has never exercised before and starts exercising heavily while eating ridiculously low calories comprised of mostly protein (super low carbs/fats) and using high doses of clenbuterol and androgens. While this person is probably asking a heart attack and possibly destroying his endocrine system, the stars are all aligned for him to lose more than 1lb fat/day. We see this with extreme deficits (though clearly less extreme than my scenario above) such as those created through rigorous dieting and exercise (i.e., Biggest Loser contestants) and while it is true that only a portion of extreme weight loss will be adipose tissue, it is certainly feasible that it may be at or above 1lb fat/day (at least for a short while).

Back to the topic of normal individuals dieting and seeing a weight fluctuation of 1lb or more in a day, so many factors can affect water retention. Hormonal fluctuations, macronutrient distribution, electrolyte balance, other drugs/supplements being taken, water intake, perspiration, metabolic rate or changes, etc., can all have dramatic effects on daily weight fluctuation. Most of the time, following a moderate diet with calories set to an appropriate level (i.e., creating a caloric deficit), it is not unusual to reach a plateau or even gain some weight occasionally. Fat loss is usually not linear (Google the term “whoosh”). The important thing, which I think was captured in the original post, is not to let these fluctuations deter you.

TL:DR
Most scenarios will not accommodate 1lb or more of actual body fat being burned or accumulated a day, however, this is not impossible. Daily weight fluctuations are not uncommon and should not be used as any kind of benchmark for dietary/exercise plans as fat loss is not necessarily linear. Don't let these types of fluctuations deter you from your goals.

robbielagard

Thank you for the "honest" info. I know this journey is not easy for any of us here, but when I receive info like this, it motivates me even more to make healthier food and lifestyle choices. While some may not appreciate the cold hard truth, I am one of those that do. This info is appreciated by me. Thanks again.:drinker:

Xstitcher74

Thanks for the info. Very helpful.

roguestates

Thanks for writing up this post!

Wetterdew

Over three weeks I lost 12 pounds, but I still looked pretty much the same. I'd like to think I lost some weight, but I can't imagine it was much more than a pound or two of fat. Maybe I lost some muscle mass. Maybe most of it was water. After those three weeks, I pigged out for 3 or 4 days and regained most of the weight. So I guess it wasn't permanent at all. (Now I'm losing it again, with more weight training so I don't lose muscle mass.)

Anyway, thanks for posting this. People need to know.

MissMormie

Now, I just checked out the numbers, and found that 1 pound of water is 500 mL (or 0.264 Gallons, for you American folks). That's a mere 2 cups. Less than 2 glasses.

Just for clarification on this (I'm not contesting the figures BTW)

500ml of water will weigh 500g (1.1lb)

As a an added help for the calculations.

A container of 10cm *10 cm * 10 cm (or 10^3) is exactly 1 liter. (slightly temperature dependant)
1 liter of water is exactly 1 kilo (ok, it also depends slightly on temperature, but nothing your bathroomscale will pick up).

A lot of drinks are almost the same weight as water, so if you don't have a measuring cup you can just weigh the drink and translate that to ml.

1 ml drink = 1 g

deevatude

water does take up a significant amount of space in ur body right????

obeserat

My first week I lost 5 kilos, stayed still for a some days then lost another 5kg
this weight stayed off , after 2 weeks I lost another 5kg in 7 days, weight loss
seemed to stand still for a while then I lost another 4 kg in 5 days.

I have lost a total of 40lb mostly in the spurts of 4-5 kg in 7 day cycles , so it would seem
it is possible to lose more than a kg per day , the weight loss so far has been over 4 months
with plateaus in between rapid weightloss. I was advised to drop my calories to 1200 and not
to eat back exercise calories by a specialist doctor , at more than 300lb at the time and 6 foot tall
this didn't seem like good advice , I have lost half the weight so far the MFP way and half as advised
by the doctor. I still have about 100lb to lose

obeserat

I weigh myself daily as I find it motivates me if I haven't lost anything to examine what I am doing and make changes.
Or its motivates me when I do show a loss

OliveCarsey

Ok I get what you are saying, and thank you for posting it. This is all very new to me- I've never seriously tried to lose weight, giving only a half hearted attempt for 3-4 days then quitting (only day 2 today) but this time I am not trying some fad diet but rather eating healthy foods I like and limiting the bad ones or making better choices. My question- How often should I weigh myself, and how often should I post my weigh in? I bought a scale for the first time in my adult life yesterday and have already noticed in under 24 hours my weight cab be as high as 281.8 or as low as 278.6 depending on clothes, or what time of the day it was.

ObtainingBalance

I think it's funny when people say they ate a slice of cake and gained 3 pounds. I always get this visual in my head about what 10,500 calories worth of cake looks like, and then I start laughing to myself because that's just so much cake!

LOL!!

ObtainingBalance

I know this is an old post, but I just saw it. Great information, thank you!

tinytasha7

I agree with you here...I see major fluctuations depending on time of day, month and what I've eaten. Excessive weight gain/loss is nearly always consistent with my sensitivity to sodium. My current diet precludes as much as I can (ie, no added), and that problem is mostly under control.

It takes work to lose fat permanently. I fully expect that while I may lose a lot of weight fairly quickly on, (I have 150 to lose), the amount lost will average over about a year to year and a half before I am at the right weight and fitness level for me.

mojox2003

Like

Calif_Girl67

Great post,

I weigh in daily as well, creature of habit Lol and i hate when the scale jumps but now i don't feel so bad as I know its water.

So with that being said.....

How do we keep the water off and stop the scale from jumping 2-4 pounds and really lose weight ?

My scale has a thing on it that shows the % of water in my body, should I be watching that % and if so what should it
be at to lose the water if anyone knows ?

Thanks, feel free to add me as well