Explain this? Low cals + weight, high cals - weight?

kekagel

The other day I got up super late, skipped breakfast and wasn't all that hungry. I netted maybe 1,000 calories and drank at least 96 ounces of water. I weighed myself the next morning and I was up 2 pounds.

So yesterday I ate pretty well during the day and binged at night. No clue how many calories as I didn't count, but it had to be a lot. I barely drank 48 ounces of water. I weighed myself this morning, down 2 pounds.

I'm confused.

marinebiologist_girl

Water weight flux.

kekagel

I understand water can cause weight differences, but how do I ever know if I've truly lost weight or it's just water?

judykmmg

It could be water weight. I was also told by a friend of mine who works for a weight loss Dr. that it takes 4 days for the calories to show up - either plus or minus. What did you eat 4 days ago?

judykmmg

Weigh once a week first thing in the morning with nothing on. That way you have all the same variables. It's hard not to weigh everyday. Sometimes I do - even though I know better.

JesterMFP

I understand water can cause weight differences, but how do I ever know if I've truly lost weight or it's just water?

Pay attention to the overall trend of your weight over time. You'll never know exactly how much fat is in your body, or how much of a drop on the scale is fat loss. Over time though, it will (hopefully) trend downwards. If you take measurements of your body, that can help too. If you've lost inches, that's a good indication that you've lost fat.

kuger4119

You can't look at a 24 or 48 hour window and make too many judgments. What did you do the day earlier? Lifting the day before is a good way to retain water the second day (especially if you drink a bunch) but it will go away in day 3. Could depend on what you ate the day before. Could be a lot of things. Most people say that you should only worry about weekly weight trends instead of daily trends. Personally, I tracked daily even though I knew it wasn't a good idea but it really is more important to look bigger picture.

judykmmg

Another thing, If I do weigh myself and I have gained 2 pounds or less, I do not report my weight at that time. I give myself a few days of increasing water to help just in case it is water gain. So far, the weight has gone back down after doing this.

californiagirl2012

The other day I got up super late, skipped breakfast and wasn't all that hungry. I netted maybe 1,000 calories and drank at least 96 ounces of water. I weighed myself the next morning and I was up 2 pounds.

So yesterday I ate pretty well during the day and binged at night. No clue how many calories as I didn't count, but it had to be a lot. I barely drank 48 ounces of water. I weighed myself this morning, down 2 pounds.

I'm confused.

Binging is a bad sign, your body is telling you something.

Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others and it is not right or wrong. If someone can handle a large deficit without binging because their hormones are in a state they can do this it is not wrong. Some people have emotional eating disorders and it comes into play. Even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such and everyone is different.

If you binge you are going backwards. If you up your calories to a sustainable level for yourself then you go forwards. Some people need a break from the deficit for periods of time and this is NOT going backwards, it's staying neutral and it's healthier in the long run and might be a good strategy, then a nice shallow deficit for a period if you can handle it. If you have a lot of stress it is going to turn on your hunger hormones more, and if you have emotional eating issues this needs to be addressed and you will need to have a smaller calorie deficit to be sustainable.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

maricash

I understand water can cause weight differences, but how do I ever know if I've truly lost weight or it's just water?

Record you weight every morning. Graph it in Excel and add a trendline to the graph. If you are really losing, the overall trend will be down. You can also take a five or seven day running average, which will give you the same idea. I sometimes "gain" or "lose" 2-5 pound overnight. I don't worry about it when it's up or celebrate when it's down, because in either case there is no way to know if it's a true loss or gain. I do celebrate my total loss (33 pounds since starting MFP) though, as I am fairly positive it's not just a water fluctuation!

anifani4

It is confusing until you understand that it is normal for weight to flex up or down by 1 to 3 pounds (some people it's 5 or 10) daily.
If you can't handle the ups and downs, don't weigh yourself every day. Once a week is plenty, even better is every 2 weeks.
There are a couple of stradegies you might use if you want to get on the scale every day: 1. take the average of 3 days for your "official weight"....and log it once a week. 2. Ignore the numbers except for seeing them as a learning process. After watching for several weeks you'll know what activity or food causes some of the ups an downs and log only once a week on MFP (pick a day and a time and stick to it). For me it's easier to weigh less often...once every 2 weeks or so usually. Meanwhile.....stick to your food and exercise plan to the best of your ability....everyone goofs now and then....just can't be a habit. Good luck. Ani

onyxgirl17

Yea it's not fat loss or gain. Definitely water weight.

WinnerVictorious

The other day I got up super late, skipped breakfast and wasn't all that hungry. I netted maybe 1,000 calories and drank at least 96 ounces of water. I weighed myself the next morning and I was up 2 pounds.

So yesterday I ate pretty well during the day and binged at night. No clue how many calories as I didn't count, but it had to be a lot. I barely drank 48 ounces of water. I weighed myself this morning, down 2 pounds.

I'm confused.

you can't track weight loss on a day to day basis. it just doesn't work like that. pick a longer interval (like once a week or once every 2 weeks) and then you can see it on the scale. but your weight fluctuates from day to day for lots of reasons. put the scale away and focus on completing each day knowing you at your calorie goals and not in excess of them and that you put in the required exercise.

kekagel

Thank you all for your replies. My official weight is only once per week, however I weigh myself a lot each day just because I like to see the numbers.

cmriverside

Thank you all for your replies. My official weight is only once per week, however I weigh myself a lot each day just because I like to see the numbers.

Then you will have to learn to live with the numbers. Binging and several-times-a-day weighing is a little over-the-top, but if you are going to do it, you'll have to control your emotion about it, or be ruled by it.