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how long for your body to register weight loss??

Aleciarose123
Aleciarose123 Posts: 44 Member
edited January 15 in Health and Weight Loss
so do any of you guys have an opinion on how long you think it takes for your body to register weightloss?? I have always wondered after a really good weekof eating well and working out, when I could see it reflected on the scale...

Replies

  • tatd_820
    tatd_820 Posts: 573 Member
    I have often wondered this, too! Say I eat good all week an then have my Friday night splurge meal...when does that meal add on to my weight? LOL!
  • Aleciarose123
    Aleciarose123 Posts: 44 Member
    Exactly!! Hopefully someone here has some insight, because Im always wondering about this!
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Weight loss isn't a linear process, so it's difficult to predict exactly how much and when it will register. There are too many other factors which can potentially mask weight loss (exercise, water balance/retention, hormonal issues (especially for women), glycogen status of muscles, how much food and/or waste is in the body, etc.). It's not like the body pauses at the end of the day/week/month, calculates everything and decides whether to register a gain or loss - it's a continually ongoing process and fluctuations are part of the game. My weight this morning was over 4 lbs. less than yesterday morning, which was over 2 lbs. higher than the day before, etc. The best strategy is to not worry about short-term fluctuations and just keep an eye on the overall trend.
  • Aleciarose123
    Aleciarose123 Posts: 44 Member
    Good advice...I sure wish it was the other way though. The fluctuations are what kill me!!
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Good advice...I sure wish it was the other way though. The fluctuations are what kill me!!
    If the fluctuations bother you that much, it would probably be advantageous for you to weigh less often - maybe every two weeks or once a month rather than daily/weekly (not being sarcastic or condescending here, honestly trying to be helpful). Many people get discouraged by the daily fluctuations and it affects their ability to adhere to their diet/fitness routine (there have been a LOT of threads about this very topic in the past). If that's the case, there's no sense driving yourself nuts with it.
  • volume77
    volume77 Posts: 670 Member
    the scale is honestly useless. id take measurements and go by the mirror
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    the scale is honestly useless. id take measurements and go by the mirror

    Even that can be complicated if you lose weight unevenly, and I think most people do. I went a long time thinking I wasn't making significant progress until one morning when I got in my car to drive to work and realized the seat was set too far back. My first thought was "who the #@%$# has been driving my car!" Then I realized it was me.... with a fatter rump. I think I lost a pound that week, but it was a pound that "registered" in the real world for a change.
  • Aleciarose123
    Aleciarose123 Posts: 44 Member
    the scale is honestly useless. id take measurements and go by the mirror

    Even that can be complicated if you lose weight unevenly, and I think most people do. I went a long time thinking I wasn't making significant progress until one morning when I got in my car to drive to work and realized the seat was set too far back. My first thought was "who the #@%$# has been driving my car!" Then I realized it was me.... with a fatter rump. I think I lost a pound that week, but it was a pound that "registered" in the real world for a change.

    Yeah Ive noticed that in the past too...sometimes it seems like nothing changes for a long time, then BOOM. I try not to get discouraged while Im waiting for my body to catch up...This hard work has to pay off at some point, right?!
  • baca511
    baca511 Posts: 1
    I know this goes against what most trainers, etc. say but I weigh myself everyday and I truly feel the food that was consumed the day before seems to reflect on the scale every morning. I weigh myself daily because I can do a lot of damage in one week and if I don't catch weight gain early on then I can't nip it in the bud. That's just me though.
  • tatd_820
    tatd_820 Posts: 573 Member
    Great replies that all make perfect sense. Weighing daily is not healthy if its all you think about. I weigh about every other day just to see but I don't let it really get me down and out if it's not what I expected to see. I'm 4 lbs away from my goal so I'm so excited to hit it that I am checking more frequently. When I did weigh daily or sometimes twice a day it would be all over the place. I now weigh same time of the day which is after I've woken up and gone potty. That is the weight I go with.
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