NOT working out = Weight Loss?? Or Does the Scale Lie?

Phillips28

Hello everyone! Something strange happened to me this past weekend....This entire weekend I wasn't able to workout like usual. We were out of town at a family thing. So no working out Friday, Saturday, OR Sunday. Which usually I try to work out 6-7 days a week. Anyway, on Friday I weighed 145 and then yesterday I weighed 140? Is my scale playing tricks on me?? I mean, I was very happy...but I just hope it is right. Today the scale said the same. I just keep thinking...what made that happen? Is it possible to loose 5 lbs in a couple of days? I always try to stay at my goal calories of 1,200 and just recently some WONDERFUL friends here on MFP were kind enough to try to explain to me to try to eat back some or all of my exercise calories, which I have been doing. I feel like I made good healthy choices all weekend...I packed a cooler and brought all good stuff and surprisingly was able to say no to all the pizza, fries, pop, and candy at the party. That in itself was hard! Anyway, any thoughts? Thanks and Happy Tuesday!

ican♥and♥iwill

Maybe you're body just needed a rest and thanked you graciously?! )

In all seriousness, I have no clue and I look forward to other's input!

lilchino4af

Did you happen to be coming off your TOM? That will drop you anywhere from 3-5 lbs because of bloating (water retention).

Either way, MFP has you set for a calorie deficit such that if you don't work out but stick to your calories, you'll lose weight. Working out is a bonus and highly recommended for overall health, but not factored into the equation for weight loss.

And you know what? Even though you didn't work out, if you were more active than normal and didn't log it and therefore eat those extra calories, but stuck to what MFP says to eat, then you could've created a little extra deficit. Granted, not 5 lbs, but still...

karmasBFF

Your muscles need water to repair themselves from working out. It could be a combination of eating more and not working out...I know, crazy right???

I stopped working out and, voila! Lost 4 lbs!

I'm sure its just the water my muscles were holding onto so they could recover nicely.

Either way, congrats on the loss!

lotusfromthemud

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/cms/index.php?itemid=87

The scale doesn't lie...but it doesn't tell us the entire truth. The above article explains it pretty well.

Weight loss doesn't equal fat loss.

Phillips28

Hey, thanks for your comments. Surprisingly it isn't around my TOM? But we were walking around a lot...we went to my nephew's birthday at a indoor waterpark...and I have two little girls...so I guess it was hard, especially holding my youngest, which is 31lbs..she is only 17 months! haha. Maybe I burned more calories than I thought just by holding her?! :P

♥seoid♥

i never (hardly ever) workout

lina1131

This happens to me all the time. I most always lose my weight on days I do not workout. I think our bodies just need time to catch up while we've slowed down.

lilchino4af

Your muscles need water to repair themselves from working out. It could be a combination of eating more and not working out...I know, crazy right???

I stopped working out and, voila! Lost 4 lbs!

I'm sure its just the water my muscles were holding onto so they could recover nicely.

Either way, congrats on the loss!

That would definitely do it! Your muscles retain water to help them rebuild after strenuous workouts so by not working out and giving your muscles a break, your body didn't need all the water it was holding on to for muscle repair and let that water go. That's a huge amount of weight!! (16 ounces of water = 1 lb)

karmasBFF

Your muscles need water to repair themselves from working out. It could be a combination of eating more and not working out...I know, crazy right???

I stopped working out and, voila! Lost 4 lbs!

I'm sure its just the water my muscles were holding onto so they could recover nicely.

Either way, congrats on the loss!

That would definitely do it! Your muscles retain water to help them rebuild after strenuous workouts so by not working out and giving your muscles a break, your body didn't need all the water it was holding on to for muscle repair and let that water go. That's a huge amount of weight!! (16 ounces of water = 1 lb)

So perhaps there is an added benefit to taking a day or two off from excercising! :flowerforyou:

lt_mrcook

6-7 days too many...your body needs a change to recover, repair damage, and flush waste products. 5 maybe 6 if you're in great shape...then about every 4th week cut your time in half and use the reduced workload to allow your body to recover.

P.S. The scale never lies. It will always tell you WHAT you weigh....but it will never tell you Why...;)

Phillips28

Hey thanks for the link to that article. That was a really good one...very interesting!

I never thought of my body needing time to recover or knew that muscles retain water. It just seemed like 5 lbs was a lot. I did eat a lot of protein this weekend. I wonder if that had anything to do with it?

I love this website...I feel like I am learning so much and have so much more to learn!!!

CSimpson

Consider yourself lucky. I stop working out, eat my daily calories and gain weight. Every body is not created equal.

FabulousFifty

Change is good. Sometimes our bodies need us to shake things up so our metabolism will kick into gear again. Your body obviously is thanking you for giving it a break. It sounds like you get your weight lifting in just carrying around your wee ones! Enjoy the loss but get back into your exercise routine. Remember, muscle builds more than fat. Have a great week.

Check out my blog: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/FabulousFifty/view/official-order-of-protection-easter-bunny-20059

FAB

KatWood

You are weighing yourself too often. Your weight will naturally fluctuate up to 5lbs so it is hard to say what caused the difference. However it is unlikley you lost 5lbs of fat in 3 days. I'm not saying you didn't make progress. I'm just saying the scale isn't a perfect way to measure progress especially when you are looking at a small timeframe. I do agree though that it is important to allow your body some time to rest, especially between particularly intense workouts and weight training sessions where you have completely exhausted your muscles.

Phillips28

Thanks KatWood. You are probably right. I do tend to weigh myself every morning....bad habit.

toots99

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/cms/index.php?itemid=87

The scale doesn't lie...but it doesn't tell us the entire truth. The above article explains it pretty well.

Weight loss doesn't equal fat loss.

Good article, very informative.

Azdak

It may just be that the 145 number was the outlier.

It is easy (and usually counterproductive) to overthink these transient scale changes and give them more significance than they deserve. We start to associate random results with other random actions and then randomly decide that they have a cause and effect relationship.

Come to think of it, that's how most religions get started.