Experience with the "whoosh"?

firstsip

I've heard about it, read about it, researched it...

What is your personal experience with the "whoosh": what did your body look like, how did you feel, is this even real, etc.?

Note that this is a more precise post than my mistaken thought that people called it "fat flush" :laugh:

cedarghost

There's been a few threads on it the past few days, but yeah. It is actually called dieter's edema and it's pretty common and the reason weight loss is non-linear. I personally only show a loss about every three weeks to a month where I will drop 2 or 3 pounds at once.
What happens is as your body begins to empty fat cells, it replaces the lost fat in the cells with water, in anticipation of replenishing your fat supply. Because building new tissue is hard work for the body (even fat cells, believe it or not) it will attempt to keep the cells as long as possible by filling them with water.
At this point is when people notice their fat feels "squishy" or "chunky" or "dimpled" or....you get the picture.
As we stay consistent on our routines, our body has no choice but to relinquish the water and fat cells eventually and when it does, we experience the "whoosh" effect.
This can take a widely varied amount of time from person to person. My "whoosh clock" (for lack of a better term) runs 3 weeks to a month before resetting. It has run as long as 6 weeks depending on what type of exercise I do. If I am heavy lifting, it tends to run longer. I believe this is due to my sore muscles hoarding water as well!
When we take diet into consideration, things like sodium intake can cause variations in the Whoosh Clock as well.
I have read online that you can actually force the whoosh effect with certain types of exercise and diet, but I haven't tried it.

Amberonamission

I woke with a woosh today. Put up a 3 pound loss. I only weigh myself when I wake up and feel the woosh. 10 days ago I had another woosh after not feeling one for a month. That was a 8 lb loss. I love the woosh.

maruby95

Just experienced this today. I have noticed the fat on my belly getting really 'squish' and looking different. And I had been the exact same weight for 8 days, and within a pound of that for week before. Then this morning, 2 pounds and .5 inch gone overnight with no change in diet/ exercise. Gotta love it. And I'm eating at TDEE!!! Bonus!!

commandax

This is how it works for me. I go two or three weeks holding pretty steady, going up or down a pound or so day-to-day, then one day I wake up and have lost 3 or 4 pounds seemingly overnight. Often I lose a few pounds more later in the week, then go back into stasis for a couple of weeks. I do notice that I seem to pee a lot the day before this happens, so I think the cell-flushing theory makes a lot of sense.

firstsip

Thank you guys; this is beyond helpful.

I have literally not lot a pound in over a month (though I've lost plenty of inches), with really only a one pound loss since September... but plenty of inches, my clothes are falling off, etc.

The last few days, I've been so oddly squishy in my stomach and almost bloated? My water's been high, I dropped off ingesting so much fiber (minus yesterday), my sodium is low (and anytime I go over, it's still not OVER... I have my sodium set lower than suggested), etc.

I was all firm and ready to show off in front of family on Thanksgiving... than I got this weird squishyness?! I'm nowhere near my period, too! I'm hoping this is what it is and I'll FINALLY notice a scale change for once :laugh:

SageGoddess320

hmmm. Very interesting. How have I never heard of this before? I'm going to have to start paying more attention.

slkehl

What happens is as your body begins to empty fat cells, it replaces the lost fat in the cells with water, in anticipation of replenishing your fat supply. Because building new tissue is hard work for the body (even fat cells, believe it or not) it will attempt to keep the cells as long as possible by filling them with water.
At this point is when people notice their fat feels "squishy" or "chunky" or "dimpled" or....you get the picture.
As we stay consistent on our routines, our body has no choice but to relinquish the water and fat cells eventually and when it does, we experience the "whoosh" effect.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like BS to me. I haven't heard anything like this in my major classes and wasn't able to find any credible information about it online. Do you have any good links I could take a look at?

I just don't understand how fat could feel "squishy" from some parts of the body. I mean, when you lose a couple pounds, it's not concentrated in one place, so it's hard for me to imagine that any momentary change it's "squishyness" it would be noticeable.

marathon_mama

Cedarghost---Why don’t professionals know this? I am of the eat less, move more mindset. So, it bothered me that I was working my butt of and stalled for 2 weeks. I went to see a Registered Dietician and she gave me a diet/workout and said you WILL lose 2lbs this week on this. I did it to the letter and still nothing. She questioned me about condiments …like was I getting too much sugar from ketchup, pickle relish, etc….she even asked me if I ever notice a mess in the kitchen like was I sleep walking and eating in my sleep!!! So, why wouldn’t she assume it was dieter's edema? Apparently, me eating in my sleep is more probable than dieters edema??

your nutritionist sounds like a condescending b*tch. Get a new one

firstsip

What happens is as your body begins to empty fat cells, it replaces the lost fat in the cells with water, in anticipation of replenishing your fat supply. Because building new tissue is hard work for the body (even fat cells, believe it or not) it will attempt to keep the cells as long as possible by filling them with water.
At this point is when people notice their fat feels "squishy" or "chunky" or "dimpled" or....you get the picture.
As we stay consistent on our routines, our body has no choice but to relinquish the water and fat cells eventually and when it does, we experience the "whoosh" effect.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like BS to me. I haven't heard anything like this in my major classes and wasn't able to find any credible information about it online. Do you have any good links I could take a look at?

I just don't understand how fat could feel "squishy" from some parts of the body if it comes off from all over. I mean, when you lose a couple pounds, it's not concentrated in one place, so it's hard for me to imagine that any change it's "squishyness" it would be noticeable.

Really? I learned about the fat cell shrinking business in high school A&P (or AP bio... it's been awhile...), just not necessarily in the context of the "physical" symptoms (aka, squishy fat, an increase in noticing it right before the "whoosh").

cedarghost

Cedarghost---Why don’t professionals know this? I am of the eat less, move more mindset. So, it bothered me that I was working my butt of and stalled for 2 weeks. I went to see a Registered Dietician and she gave me a diet/workout and said you WILL lose 2lbs this week on this. I did it to the letter and still nothing. She questioned me about condiments …like was I getting too much sugar from ketchup, pickle relish, etc….she even asked me if I ever notice a mess in the kitchen like was I sleep walking and eating in my sleep!!! So, why wouldn’t she assume it was dieter's edema? Apparently, me eating in my sleep is more probable than dieters edema??

No kidding......weight loss can be soooooo frustrating because of all the "bro science" out there. An honest nutritionist would tell you, "Hey, I don't know everything about this game because everybody is different."
And none of them want to admit that they don't know everything.
As for the sleep walking thing......wow....

Klopford

This sort of thing happens? Heh, that makes me feel better about not consistently dropping 2lbs a week like I'm supposed to be... XD

cedarghost

What happens is as your body begins to empty fat cells, it replaces the lost fat in the cells with water, in anticipation of replenishing your fat supply. Because building new tissue is hard work for the body (even fat cells, believe it or not) it will attempt to keep the cells as long as possible by filling them with water.
At this point is when people notice their fat feels "squishy" or "chunky" or "dimpled" or....you get the picture.
As we stay consistent on our routines, our body has no choice but to relinquish the water and fat cells eventually and when it does, we experience the "whoosh" effect.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like BS to me. I haven't heard anything like this in my major classes and wasn't able to find any credible information about it online. Do you have any good links I could take a look at?

I just don't understand how fat could feel "squishy" from some parts of the body if it comes off from all over. I mean, when you lose a couple pounds, it's not concentrated in one place, so it's hard for me to imagine that any change it's "squishyness" it would be noticeable.

Google would work, but here you go:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html
http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-deal-with-water-retention-part.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...uishy-fat.html
http://viralfit.blogspot.com/2012/06/whoosh-fat-yesterday-lean-tomorrow.html
I read MANY more articles, but those were some that stood out.

Amberonamission

What happens is as your body begins to empty fat cells, it replaces the lost fat in the cells with water, in anticipation of replenishing your fat supply. Because building new tissue is hard work for the body (even fat cells, believe it or not) it will attempt to keep the cells as long as possible by filling them with water.
At this point is when people notice their fat feels "squishy" or "chunky" or "dimpled" or....you get the picture.
As we stay consistent on our routines, our body has no choice but to relinquish the water and fat cells eventually and when it does, we experience the "whoosh" effect.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like BS to me. I haven't heard anything like this in my major classes and wasn't able to find any credible information about it online. Do you have any good links I could take a look at?

I just don't understand how fat could feel "squishy" from some parts of the body if it comes off from all over. I mean, when you lose a couple pounds, it's not concentrated in one place, so it's hard for me to imagine that any change it's "squishyness" it would be noticeable.

Maybe it is a big person thing. Cuz, this happens to me before every loss. 44 lbs to date. You may have so little to lose that this is less noticed. Just a guess.

slkehl

^That is a good point. And I do realize that fat tends to come off where you put it on last so it could be somewhat concentrated in an area. Still trying to picture what that would look like in my head from a physiological point of view. Would love to see a mechanism for it!

What happens is as your body begins to empty fat cells, it replaces the lost fat in the cells with water, in anticipation of replenishing your fat supply. Because building new tissue is hard work for the body (even fat cells, believe it or not) it will attempt to keep the cells as long as possible by filling them with water.
At this point is when people notice their fat feels "squishy" or "chunky" or "dimpled" or....you get the picture.
As we stay consistent on our routines, our body has no choice but to relinquish the water and fat cells eventually and when it does, we experience the "whoosh" effect.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like BS to me. I haven't heard anything like this in my major classes and wasn't able to find any credible information about it online. Do you have any good links I could take a look at?

I just don't understand how fat could feel "squishy" from some parts of the body if it comes off from all over. I mean, when you lose a couple pounds, it's not concentrated in one place, so it's hard for me to imagine that any change it's "squishyness" it would be noticeable.

Google would work, but here you go:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html
http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-deal-with-water-retention-part.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...uishy-fat.html
http://viralfit.blogspot.com/2012/06/whoosh-fat-yesterday-lean-tomorrow.html
I read MANY more articles, but those were some that stood out.

None of those are credible sources though. Google will give me plenty of info about the benefits of raspberry ketones and detox baths as well.

kenazfehu

I'm sorry, but this sounds like BS to me. I haven't heard anything like this in my major classes and wasn't able to find any credible information about it online. Do you have any good links I could take a look at?

I just don't understand how fat could feel "squishy" from some parts of the body if it comes off from all over. I mean, when you lose a couple pounds, it's not concentrated in one place, so it's hard for me to imagine that any change it's "squishyness" it would be noticeable.

I can tell you from previous experience that my fat does not come off evenly from all over. I have always gone through a stage where I looked dimply and weird because the fat seems to come off in pockets here and there. My body will look so weird it almost derails me; I look better evenly fat. (I'm too soon into weight loss to see that yet)

Eric53066

That's crazy. I've never even heard of it, let alone been in tune enough to notice the pattern of it. What do you guys look for? I wonder if that's why some days I have what I call "thimble bladder" where it seems like I'm peeing every 10 minutes. lol

WendyTerry420

Cedarghost---Why don’t professionals know this? I am of the eat less, move more mindset. So, it bothered me that I was working my butt of and stalled for 2 weeks. I went to see a Registered Dietician and she gave me a diet/workout and said you WILL lose 2lbs this week on this. I did it to the letter and still nothing. She questioned me about condiments …like was I getting too much sugar from ketchup, pickle relish, etc….she even asked me if I ever notice a mess in the kitchen like was I sleep walking and eating in my sleep!!! So, why wouldn’t she assume it was dieter's edema? Apparently, me eating in my sleep is more probable than dieters edema??

That is really interesting. I wonder about dietitians sometimes, just like doctors.

drmerc

take a shot of hard liqueur
I've been able to force the woosh that way

TrishDLish81

Interesting. I've been sitting w/o a real loss for almost 3 weeks now despite all my hard work (I do weigh every day but only record on Mondays, and I've been fluctuating within 2-3 pounds of the same number with no downward trend and no new lows), and as I was getting dressed this morning I happened to look at my thighs and I noticed how chunky they looked (not that they're smooth usually, I have a decent amount to lose, but it was certainly more so than usual). I'll be interested to see if a "whoosh" follows in the next few days.

It should be noted that as you gain and lose weight, fat cells do not increase or decrease in number, they simply increase or decrease in size, if I remember correctly. I guess it may make sense that the fat cells absorb water to retain their size in anticipation of replacing the actual fat that was burned/released (triglycerides, is it? I'm most certainly not a dietician, haha).

I'm going to have to pay closer attention and see if this holds true for me.

dare2love81

Interesting. The only "whoosh" effect I've ever felt is typically in the form of gas. I'll have to start paying closer attention to this squishy fat business and then get on the scale the next day. I have seen large losses overnight...however that usually has to do with a crazy intense workout from the day before - a.k.a. water weight, and that always returns the following day.

cedarghost

FitandFab33

Just wanted to throw out there- fat cells don't just disappear... They first "empty" their store of tryglycerides and flatten- and a lot of times this is how they stay, just flat storage cells waiting to be filled up again. When this happens the cells stop producing leptin (hormone that tells yor brain you're full) and then that ravenous hunger thing kicks in.You have to push through it and then..... apoptosis, or cell death, sometimes occurs at a later point- generally with a very hefty weight loss (> 10% of body weight lost).

That's the issue with overeating and gaining a lot of weight in a short amount of time- hyperplasia (proliferation) of fat cells occurs. And once the cells are there they are a B**** to get rid of, if you cn get rid of them at all.

julimonster

There's been a few threads on it the past few days, but yeah. It is actually called dieter's edema and it's pretty common and the reason weight loss is non-linear. I personally only show a loss about every three weeks to a month where I will drop 2 or 3 pounds at once.
What happens is as your body begins to empty fat cells, it replaces the lost fat in the cells with water, in anticipation of replenishing your fat supply. Because building new tissue is hard work for the body (even fat cells, believe it or not) it will attempt to keep the cells as long as possible by filling them with water.
At this point is when people notice their fat feels "squishy" or "chunky" or "dimpled" or....you get the picture.
As we stay consistent on our routines, our body has no choice but to relinquish the water and fat cells eventually and when it does, we experience the "whoosh" effect.
This can take a widely varied amount of time from person to person. My "whoosh clock" (for lack of a better term) runs 3 weeks to a month before resetting. It has run as long as 6 weeks depending on what type of exercise I do. If I am heavy lifting, it tends to run longer. I believe this is due to my sore muscles hoarding water as well!
When we take diet into consideration, things like sodium intake can cause variations in the Whoosh Clock as well.
I have read online that you can actually force the whoosh effect with certain types of exercise and diet, but I haven't tried it.

This makes so much sense! Why hasn't anyone told me about this before? I get sooo frustrated with the plateaus, but then I notice my loss seems to come all at once.. Thank you for posting this!

tyrantduck

That's crazy. I've never even heard of it, let alone been in tune enough to notice the pattern of it. What do you guys look for? I wonder if that's why some days I have what I call "thimble bladder" where it seems like I'm peeing every 10 minutes. lol

Same here! I'll spend all week consistently chugging 9-12 8oz glasses of water and then all of a sudden, one day it seems like I'm constantly in the bathroom... to the point where I see more of the bathroom than my own desk at work. It usually does it for about 24 hours then goes back to normal. I wonder if this is along the lines of our bodies ditching the excess water?

WendyTerry420

What happens is as your body begins to empty fat cells, it replaces the lost fat in the cells with water, in anticipation of replenishing your fat supply. Because building new tissue is hard work for the body (even fat cells, believe it or not) it will attempt to keep the cells as long as possible by filling them with water.
At this point is when people notice their fat feels "squishy" or "chunky" or "dimpled" or....you get the picture.
As we stay consistent on our routines, our body has no choice but to relinquish the water and fat cells eventually and when it does, we experience the "whoosh" effect.

I'm sorry, but this sounds like BS to me. I haven't heard anything like this in my major classes and wasn't able to find any credible information about it online. Do you have any good links I could take a look at?

I just don't understand how fat could feel "squishy" from some parts of the body if it comes off from all over. I mean, when you lose a couple pounds, it's not concentrated in one place, so it's hard for me to imagine that any change it's "squishyness" it would be noticeable.

Google would work, but here you go:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html
http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-deal-with-water-retention-part.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...uishy-fat.html
http://viralfit.blogspot.com/2012/06/whoosh-fat-yesterday-lean-tomorrow.html
I read MANY more articles, but those were some that stood out.

None of those are credible sources though. Google will give me plenty of info about the benefits of raspberry ketones and detox baths as well.

Actually bodyrecomposition.com is a very credible source. It is Lyle McDonald's website. It's full of scientifically accurate information. (I have not visited the other sites.)

iWaffle

I'm sorry, but this sounds like BS to me.

I agree. When you lose fat the fat cells just release their contents like someone opening a zip lock bag full of water. That doesn't mean that the fat cell itself goes away but that it's storing less and less.

Remember that as your body breaks down fat, the number of fat cells remains the same; each fat cell simply gets smaller.
- Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/fat-cell3.htm

NCchar130

I experienced this for the first time a couple weeks ago. Weekly weigh-in at the same weight as the week before, the next week down 0.6, the week after, down 5 pounds. When I woke up that morning, I kind of thought maybe it was going to happen finally because I felt sort of deflated lol when I felt my stomach and I looked in the mirror and wondered where my boobs had gone.

Oh and during the weeks of no change, I had no real change in measurements either, not until the whoosh.

FitandFab33

Cedarghost---Why don’t professionals know this? I am of the eat less, move more mindset. So, it bothered me that I was working my butt of and stalled for 2 weeks. I went to see a Registered Dietician and she gave me a diet/workout and said you WILL lose 2lbs this week on this. I did it to the letter and still nothing. She questioned me about condiments …like was I getting too much sugar from ketchup, pickle relish, etc….she even asked me if I ever notice a mess in the kitchen like was I sleep walking and eating in my sleep!!! So, why wouldn’t she assume it was dieter's edema? Apparently, me eating in my sleep is more probable than dieters edema??

That is really interesting. I wonder about dietitians sometimes, just like doctors.

Dietitians are just like every other professional- they are only as good as their diligence. Nutrition is arelatively new "focus" field (really picked up around the 1980s) and there is new information out there all the time. Though registered dietitians go through a fairly rigorous (ADA regulated) education, followed by an active real-experience internship, AND have to complete x amount of hours each year to stay registered, a lot of them fall off and do the minimum as far as research and continued education.
Don't get me started on doctors- most medical school programs require only ONE nutrition course. Seiously? With approx. 1/3 of cancer incidences, as well as heart disease, diabetes, and the slew of other ailments that have been PROVEN to be preventable through proper nutrition you'd think more emphasis woul be placed on it. And... now I shall step off of my soap box.

cedarghost

That's crazy. I've never even heard of it, let alone been in tune enough to notice the pattern of it. What do you guys look for? I wonder if that's why some days I have what I call "thimble bladder" where it seems like I'm peeing every 10 minutes. lol

That's EXACTLY one of my signs that I have one is coming or happening. If I can't stay out of the bathroom. Also, for me, I tend to get "squishy" or sometimes will get "dimply" in some areas. Then "Whoosh" I am more toned and less squishy and lighter.

MeDoula

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