Experience with the "whoosh"?

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  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    I'm resurrecting this, because I went through this last cut, and ended up going too far into deficit, due to impatience and lack of trust of my numbers.

    It's happening again this cut. I know for sure I am in deficit, I have all the usual signs, sleeplessness, hunger etc, and I'm very sure about my numbers. Adding the fact that I am in a high exercise section of my triathlon periodization training with it's added water retention will explain why my weight is staying rock steady now for nearly 3 weeks.

    I am going to keep doing the same routine, same tiny deficit to melt fat, and learn to be patient.

    Hopefully someone else reads this and it stops them from cutting too far and potentially losing muscle and health.
  • Java286
    Java286 Posts: 2
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    I made the mistake of netting about 200 calories when I started working out intensely. It was a complete accident, I am not much of an eater. I just don't feel hungry! Anyway, I woke up in the middle of the night and my body went in to "oh ****!!!!" Mode. I thought I was going to throw up but fainted on the way to the bathroom. So Im scared straight now haha!

    I NEED a swoosh...I am down 10 inches and no pounds. I'm doing a lot of strength training so I am sure my muscles are holding water but really? 10 inches and no pounds? Gr. I wouldn't care so much had I not invested $30 into DietBet. I am going to look into this "refeed" business.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    Glad this got resurrected...it's a good point.

    I find it happens a lot with "people who lift heavy"...

    I haven't had a "big" woosh, usually just a couple of pounds after no loses for weeks...

    2lbs after weeks of nothing, my goal is 1/2lb a week..

    I have also had a big woosh after vacation gains...3lbs in one week...
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Bump for those struggling with this- needed to read this apparently this week.

    I KNOW weight loss isn't linear but my brain is arguing with my body about what's happening- was nice to read as a reassurance. LOL

    that and I've been feeling uber fat this week for some reasons- so yeah- needed the mental moral pat on the back!
  • daw0518
    daw0518 Posts: 459 Member
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    Wait, this is a thing?! So good to know - I always just thought my body was weird because I lose weight in spurts. I stay at the same weight for what seems like eternity, then one day notice that clothes are fitting better and my body looks different, & then in a few days time I drop 2-3 lbs. & then the cycle starts again, with me staying at a particular weight for weeks on end before dropping some weight and inches.

    I always think I'm not losing at the rate I want to be, but when I look back at the weight I've lost in the amount of time I've been doing this [18lbs since January 3rd] I realize it's almost perfectly 1 lb a week. Really interesting.
  • Josalinn
    Josalinn Posts: 1,066 Member
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    So saw the post read all the old posts and started poking my jiggly fat. I would like a whoosh. I would really like one....but I am currently in stress mode with finals so I think retention will continue.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
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    The one thing I've found to help with the whoosh -- or avoiding the water retention that leads to the whoosh -- is having a refeed day. One day where I eat more carbs than normal (as I usually restrict them) and eat maintenance level calories. When I didn't do this, I did hit a wall which lasted nearly 4 weeks, then the whoosh happened. I read on leangains that one of the methods to induce the whoosh was a refeed day. Since implementing it, I haven't had any stalls of water retention -- just a nice consistent loss.
  • Sinisterly
    Sinisterly Posts: 10,913 Member
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    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

    Today is my day... :huh:
  • lorigrocks
    lorigrocks Posts: 123 Member
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    Bump for later
  • trishfit2014
    trishfit2014 Posts: 304 Member
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    Interesting. I always lose really quickly when I start a diet. I have lost 4 lbs in 4 days. I only want to lose 10 maybe. (I am not overweight this is vanity weight). I always get frustrated as after the first week I stall so then I almost always overeat for a week or two and ditch the diet. I am going on vacation in two months and am trying to stay on course.
  • zenhiker2014
    zenhiker2014 Posts: 84 Member
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    Bump to bookmark - so I can remind myself to be patient, because my weight loss definitely follows this pattern and even though I know the drop will come eventually it's hard to wait!
  • PINKinquisition1908
    PINKinquisition1908 Posts: 180 Member
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    I had a baby whoosh this morning....after losing several inches a few days ago. My whoosh was only .8lbs. But my math says I should be looking at the 3lb weight loss. I'm hoping the rest will follow soon--however, I've been doing a lot of resistance training, so I know my legs are holding lots of water.
  • steinzeit
    steinzeit Posts: 18
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    I am so glad I found this thread. I think I had many wooshes in the past without realising it. And what is the worst,
    I think I have always given up far too early... I will definitely monitor this as I believe it fits my weightloss pattern to a t.
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
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    I'm amazed by this thread. Is this actually a medically recognised phenomenon?
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
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    I'm not sure it's a "medically recognized" phenomenon, but the sudden drops in weight after a period of stasis is pretty common and recognized by many that track such things. Lyle does a good job of explaining it, though he freely admits that he has no idea if this is what is actually happening -- that he once heard a professor speak of it, but couldn't find any other scientific literature on it. But, he says that the weight loss pattern of periods of stasis and then drops in weight is pretty commonly seen and experienced by many.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,435 Member
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    Does this really exist? The last two days have been really weird, and a bit scary for me. My weight has been rather steady, and then I constantly ran to the toilet (thought of an infection) and two days later I'm about 1.5kg lighter. And my weight, I'd like to add is normally not really fluctuating from one morning to another - maybe thanks to the pill. Btw, I don't want to lose a lot. Just get into a 'normal' weight range and see if that has some influence on high triglicerides (eveything else is normal, btw. Maybe the quick test was dodgy to start with)

    Actually, I hope it is. I'm currently in a region where I had weird weight-loss experiences before: a few years back I lost 6kg in 6 weeks without any diet, and only really regained them when I moved back home. On a vacation in the region I started losing my trousers after just a day of local food.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I didn't know there was a name for it, but this TOTALLY happens to me!

    Fat gets all loose and then I drop a bunch of weight really quickly.

    I do nothing differently. It's weird.
  • steinzeit
    steinzeit Posts: 18
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    It has just happened over night. Today I am 1.5lbs lighter, before the weight went up a little, I drank a lot of water, I had to go to the toilet quite often and my belly fat was squishy for about a week. This morning the stomach has tightened up as if by magic over night. OMG I love the Woosh ! Now that I understand what's happening... LIKE:love:
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I'm amazed by this thread. Is this actually a medically recognised phenomenon?

    I don't think it's even a phenomenon. Two years later, I'm pretty sure the "whoosh" is just a pattern of weight loss. I think everybody has at least one sort of "surprise!" weight loss when eating at a deficit, and it got a FUN NAME.
  • michail71
    michail71 Posts: 120 Member
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    What often triggers it for me is a big reload day or some heavy drinking.

    It does seem to occur more the leaner I get. I can also see visible changes in abs and vascularity that correspond with the whoosh.