Huge jump in weight loss in 3 days?

Julie_Donahue

I started January 1st at 306. All month I've been doing roughly the same things. Calories around 1800. (Occasionally eating back 2-300 exercise calories). Walking about 2 miles most days (for a total of 50 miles walked).

3 weeks ago, I added Zumba 2 times a week.
I've completed 4 days of C25K.

Each Tuesday, my weigh in showed about a 2 pound loss. (Total of 8.4 pounds in 4 weeks.)

Normally I only weigh in on Tuesday. Tuesday's weigh in was 297.4.

I decided to weigh in today so I could have a total for the month. The scale read 291.8. I got off and move the scale around and tried again. (I know sometimes the scale may be off balance on the corner of a tile.) Every time (at least 6 times) the scale read 291.8. That is 5.8 pounds. In 3 days. With no major changes. (Well, I did C25K 2 days this week--the first two days had been a week apart).

Is my body finally catching up? Or is the running spurts helping that much?

2credneck208

I wish I had that problem!! Embrace the weight loss!

T1mH

Weight loss is not linear. Sometimes you will see big drops remember these because you will have weeks where you don't lose and you may even gain with no reasonable explanation. Like you stayed under your calorie goal and you did your usual exercise and no loss or even a gain. That is very discouraging when it happens. Just keep going it will even out in the end.

Edit: Also depending on what your weekly weigh in day is weighing on a different day can be different. Like if you eat out on the weekends and your sodium intake goes up or you had alcohol(even staying under your calories) this can cause water retention. If your normal weigh in is after a workout day or after a rest day. These can all cause fluctuations. This is why it's recomended to consistently weigh in at the same time on the same day to minimize how much it will drive you crazy. Me I weigh in every day, sometimes more than once, it helps give me an understanding of the fluctuations and what causes them. Though sometimes the weight goes opposite of what you expect which gets frustrating.

nsapp

I agree with T1mH. Enjoy those weeks of more loss because there will be those other weeks that you start questioning yourself.

fourpairs

Darn I am impress - and yes that does happen some times it is like your body catches up with what you have been doing that is also why people get stuck on those plateaus - the body is adjusting. Nothing I understand but weight lose does not seem to be a steady progress forward, but a set of peaks and valleys. I am very proud of all you do I wish I had the drive to work out as hard as you do> YOU GO GIRL!!!:drinker:

now_or_never13

It could be due to a lot of things. See what it says on Tuesday when you do your weigh in again and log that. Sometimes I weigh mid week and see either large drops in weight or gains but on my actual weigh in day the weight shown is different.

A lot of things change what your weight is... it might be something that sticks, it might just be a fluctuation.

TammyKeaten

That happened to me too and then I gained some back and haven't seen a loss since. Enjoy it though, it will feel great! Just don't get discouraged in nothing happens for a couple of weeks.

JamieM8168

Congrats! The same thing happened with my dad. He will not lose for a few days then he'll lose 4 or 5 lbs in a matter of 2-3 days.

cwolfman13

I agree with T1mH. Enjoy those weeks of more loss because there will be those other weeks that you start questioning yourself.

Agreed...also, the more you have to lose, the bigger fluctuations can be day to day...I used to fluctuate a good 5 Lbs day to day...now it's more like 2 Lbs fluctuation day to day since I've gotten smaller. Day to day body weight fluctuations are completely normal and are due to water retention and the timing of food/liquid input/output.

Friday morning is my official weigh in, though I weigh myself daily. For whatever reason, I'm usually lightest on Thursdays and Fridays. Here's an example of my week from last Friday through this morning:

Last Friday: 187.9 (official weigh in logged)
Sat: 191.3
Sun: 193.1
Mon: 190.2
Tues: 189.5
Wed: 192.6
Thur: 187.3
Fri: 187.4 (official weigh in logged)

It's pretty much been like that for the last few months I've been doing this with 20 Lbs dropped total and 13 since joining MFP 3 months ago. As an overall trend I average about 1 Lb per week. This past week I only dropped .5 Lbs but last week I dropped 1.6 Lbs.

ejay90

ive lost 7lbs in 5 days before.... lost about 10/12 lbs in a week and a half... not complaining

Corkline

Your body catching up! Yay!

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

"after fat cells had been emptied of stored triglyceride, they would temporarily refill with water (glycerol attracts water, which might be part of the mechanism). So there would be no immediate change in size, body weight or appearance. Then, after some time frame, the water would get dropped, the fat cells would shrink. A weird way of looking at it might be that the fat loss suddenly becomes ‘apparent’. That is, the fat was emptied and burned off days or weeks ago but until the water is dropped, nothing appears to have happened."

And why it gets worse before it gets better:

" The skin and fat cells that are left will often change appearance and texture. It will look dimply (as the fat cells which are supporting the skin shrink and the skin isn’t supported) and feel squishy to the touch. This is bad in that it looks really weird, but it’s good because it means that the fat is going away. I have nothing truly profound to say about this topic, just realizes that it happens and usually indicates good things are happening."

* Edit for horrible spelling*

Julie_Donahue

Thanks for the encouragement. Believe me, I am happy to claim those pounds gone. I have just never had a big drop like that. We'll see what Tuesday says on the scale!