Water retention -weight drops in steps not gradually?

chrishg
chrishg Posts: 35 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All,

Before I started this serious weight loss effort, I had a preconceived idea of what I expected to see on the scales with each passing day ( i know...please, no sermons about weighing too often!). I assumed that a 2lb loss per week would manifest often in little 0.2 - 0.3lb drops each day (allowing for normal fluctuation) adding up to the grand total..... but this is not what I see.

My weight seems to drop in chunks. My weekly pattern involves recording a nice weight loss on Monday morning (hopefully). This is often followed by another nice 0.8 -1lb drop overnight into Tuesday. Then nothing - or a slight increase for the whole of the rest of the week. Strangely, my night time weight and my morning weights begin to be identical at this point. Then, all of a sudden over the weekend, I'll suddently drop 2.5lbs overnight and that is where my weekly loss comes from. And this weight stays off while the strange cycle starts again.

The net result is I lose a nice amount every week and plotting my weekly drops results in a nice straight-ish downward curve. However, I'd love to know why my weight drops in such a stepwise manner. I am presumably accumulating sufficient water as the week progresses to compensate for the fat burn - giving the impression of a static weight. Then, prompted but some as yet unidentified stimulus over the weekend, my body dumps all the water in time for my Monday weigh in (not a co-incidence. I've moved my weigh-in to Monday morning to co-incide with this phenomenon.)

Just wondered if anyone else had noticed a similar pattern?

Replies

  • cmacphee3
    cmacphee3 Posts: 278 Member
    Always! I weigh each day and I know which days I will gain/be highest and which will be lowest. I always have one or two days a week where I pee and pee and pee (TMI I know) and then BAM! Scale loss!

    Sometimes, I find the cycle is even longer and I won't lose for two weeks, then drop a large number of pounds right there!
  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,257 Member
    Not sure of the reasons, but mine also goes down in steps, nothing, nothing, bang a pound down [and sticks down] overnight. i just take it as it goes and am now used to it
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
    For me it's two steps forward and one step back.
  • Jamie_Lauren
    Jamie_Lauren Posts: 211 Member
    This is normal. It's hard to predict your weight fluctuations from day to day as there are so many factors involved!

    I have found that my weight loss in general has happened in steps. I will lose weight, then plateau,and then drop again. Just keep at it and try not to obsess over the scale, you will see results if you're doing all the right things :)
  • chrishg
    chrishg Posts: 35 Member
    The best theory I have at the moment is about fluid intake. I'm mindful at the weekends to drink loads and I don't mind doing that as I am at largely home and only a few steps from the comfort of my bathroom. At work it is a long walk to the water cooler and the restroom so my fluids are probably not so dynamic.

    The other thing that changes over the weekend is car journays. During the week I am immoble in the drivers seat for about 2 hours every day while, at the weekends I am more mobile generally - this could promote fluid retention?. I am exercising all through the week though so I would have hoped that this would compensate.

    It's really no big deal, as the fat is obviously coming off. It's just interesting....I must admit though, it'd be nice to see a more steady pattern as it would allow me to adjust anything that needs adjusting quickly rather than wait for the Monday verdict after the Sunday flush! But I guess nature doesn't work in that way.
  • CarrieStL
    CarrieStL Posts: 162 Member
    That is exactly how I lose too- in steps. nothing for a week or 2 then BAM... 2-3 lbs in a week.

    I too weigh every day- 1st thing in the AM at the same time. It isn't for everyone, but for me- keeps my head in the game and serves as motivation.

    When I look at the big picture though or weeks vs lbs lost- right on target with my goals. It averages exactly at a lb to 1.5 lbs/wk.

    I will NEVER understand how the body releases weight either. Totally odd...
    Hi All,

    Before I started this serious weight loss effort, I had a preconceived idea of what I expected to see on the scales with each passing day ( i know...please, no sermons about weighing too often!). I assumed that a 2lb loss per week would manifest often in little 0.2 - 0.3lb drops each day (allowing for normal fluctuation) adding up to the grand total..... but this is not what I see.

    My weight seems to drop in chunks. My weekly pattern involves recording a nice weight loss on Monday morning (hopefully). This is often followed by another nice 0.8 -1lb drop overnight into Tuesday. Then nothing - or a slight increase for the whole of the rest of the week. Strangely, my night time weight and my morning weights begin to be identical at this point. Then, all of a sudden over the weekend, I'll suddently drop 2.5lbs overnight and that is where my weekly loss comes from. And this weight stays off while the strange cycle starts again.

    The net result is I lose a nice amount every week and plotting my weekly drops results in a nice straight-ish downward curve. However, I'd love to know why my weight drops in such a stepwise manner. I am presumably accumulating sufficient water as the week progresses to compensate for the fat burn - giving the impression of a static weight. Then, prompted but some as yet unidentified stimulus over the weekend, my body dumps all the water in time for my Monday weigh in (not a co-incidence. I've moved my weigh-in to Monday morning to co-incide with this phenomenon.)

    Just wondered if anyone else had noticed a similar pattern?
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I have as well. Interestingly, when I'm on the 'losing' trajectory I can lose completely linearly for short periods. Last week I lost exactly 4 ozs a day. However, the prior week I dropped 2 pounds in a day after a 3 week plateau, then 8 ozs for each of two days. I had done the same thing back in August and before that in June.

    Short term, things like sodium levels, coffee, and, of course, bowel movements affect weight loss patterns.

    A colleague of mine studies weight loss and says that people talk about 'set points', where you body maintains homeostasis at a given level and essentially sheds excess calories and holds unto scarce calories to maintain that weight. Then it can reset, let a thermometer, and have a new level it sits at. In some ways that makes sense to me, as I have noticed that the same weights I sat at going down are the ones I maintained for quite a long time coming up.

    I also find it interesting, but am not a physiologist.
  • fizzletto
    fizzletto Posts: 252 Member
    The same thing happens to me. Sometimes I'll go 3 weeks with no change in the scale at all and then suddenly drop 4lbs overnight (and proceed to keep them off).

    From the language you're using you seem to be some kind of statistician - human bodies don't work in the same way that mathematics does... you don't see a consistent small loss each day. Weight can fluctuate rather frequently. As long as over, say, a month, you have experienced a net loss, all is well.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    BTW, I AM a developmental psychologists. Babies grow the same way. You know how it looks like they grow overnight? They actually do. They will be the same size for two weeks and grow an inch in a day. Teenagers during puberty too.
  • chrishg
    chrishg Posts: 35 Member
    BTW, I AM a developmental psychologists. Babies grow the same way. You know how it looks like they grow overnight? They actually do. They will be the same size for two weeks and grow an inch in a day. Teenagers during puberty too.

    Fantastic point. Child growth and fat-adult shrinkage all occuring rapidly once a biochemical threshold is reached and then the triggered biological processes happen quickly. Wow....if we could make a drug that kept those processes switched on :)
  • 3Athlete
    3Athlete Posts: 7
    I weigh myself almost daily as well... which is at times frustrating and other times rewarding.... it still helps keep me motivated to try and stay on course a little better because discipline is definitely not one of my strong suits. However, if I don't lose or go up one day it motivates me to work a little harder.

    Just keep working hard and you'll hit your goal.... weight loss is like life..... it may not be easy... but it's worth it!!

    P.S. - try to make sure you're drinking water throughout the day, every day.... that will net your best results.... once you start increasing the water on a regular basis... the trips to the bathroom won't be AS often. I drink 18-24 glasses of water a day and it's not a problem :smile:
  • Nicolao2762
    Nicolao2762 Posts: 27 Member
    Yep, I've certainly experienced this. Also Lyle McDonald has discussed this here:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html
  • LovePBandJ
    LovePBandJ Posts: 288 Member
    As you've experienced, weight loss is not linear -- but it does happen if one keeps up the diet and exercise routine. Also, our bodies are complex and use the food and water to perform all kinds of tasks. In my own experience my weight will actually GO UP the morning after a heavy weight lifting session. From what I've learned around here, which seems to hold true with my own body, our muscles are holding on to water (and nutrients) to repair the damage done.

    If one puts too much stock in the scale, it can be frustrating. Measuring with a tape is going to give the most accurate portrayal.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    I think my weight loss runs in cycles over a few weeks. I couldn't stand the fluctuations of looking at it every week, it was just like this WWW, then a drop. That's why I decided to weigh once a month on a day I believe I'm not retaining water or constipated. I hope I see a loss most months as long as I keep doing the right things.
  • Lyssa62
    Lyssa62 Posts: 930 Member
    I drop about 1/4 of a pound a week for awhile...then last week I lost 5 lbs ..and this week I've just stayed the same. I'll probably stay like this for a couple weeks and then drop 5 more. That seems to be my pattern
  • willwillywilson
    willwillywilson Posts: 229
    Mine comes in spurts too. I usually have a bigger week (2-3lbs down) then an off week (.5-1lbs down).
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    My only thought is: OP you weight yourself far far too much :laugh:
  • repmlrs
    repmlrs Posts: 154
    i dont weigh everyday because for scales are innacurate. you can gain like 20lbs in 20 minutes if you drink water and eat somthing wth salt so how would weighng be accurate? use some fat calipers instead. this is just my opinion about scales
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
    You just proved the point of why not to weight yourself every day. You see a straightish weekly like, which is really the best you can hope for. There's really no point to wondering why.
  • chrishg
    chrishg Posts: 35 Member
    You just proved the point of why not to weight yourself every day. You see a straightish weekly like, which is really the best you can hope for. There's really no point to wondering why.

    If nobody ever wondered "why" we'd still be scraping animal hides with flint tools! The universe is full of wonders waiting to be discovered and understood....even the wonder wobbling aroung your waist ;)
  • Siege_Tank
    Siege_Tank Posts: 781 Member
    You just proved the point of why not to weight yourself every day. You see a straightish weekly like, which is really the best you can hope for. There's really no point to wondering why.

    If nobody ever wondered "why" we'd still be scraping animal hides with flint tools! The universe is full of wonders waiting to be discovered and understood....even the wonder wobbling aroung your waist ;)

    I agree, humanity was meant to crave to know more. When the electron was discovered by JJ Thompson in 1897 there was no use for it, now we have an entire civilization built upon electronics. Discovery leads to more discovery, and learning the mechanics behind how our bodies lose weight in SUCH a non-linear fashion could prove most interesting.
  • CarrieStL
    CarrieStL Posts: 162 Member
    Interesting!

    A colleague of mine studies weight loss and says that people talk about 'set points', where you body maintains homeostasis at a given level and essentially sheds excess calories and holds unto scarce calories to maintain that weight. Then it can reset, let a thermometer, and have a new level it sits at. In some ways that makes sense to me, as I have noticed that the same weights I sat at going down are the ones I maintained for quite a long time coming up.

    I also find it interesting, but am not a physiologist.
  • clafarge
    clafarge Posts: 13
    I'm inserting myself in this conversation to ensure that when -we- create this pill, I'm not only on the list for early access, but hopefully listed on the patent application as well.

    I generally observe the same, but spend a lot of time going over what I ate in the periods before the weigh-ins. As you've noted previously in catching me while carbo-loading right before bed, I make terrible dietary decisions when left to "wing it".

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