Lost 4lbs overnight... What happended?

hi there - I had a similar-ish thing happen. Weighed myself on the monday evening and then weighed myself on the Wed evening - same scale - and I'd lost 3kg....?! Another time it happened, my trainer couldn't believe it and asked everyone who was at the studio if they'd weighed themselves that day and if their weights accurate (which they were)
I just assumed it was a water/food thing so I look forward to hearing people's theory on this one too

I find NO pleasure or success when I weigh myself everyday. I weigh myself every two weeks. Fluctuation is a B!%^H and can be very discouraging.

Actually had a similar experience this week. I always weigh myself in the morning after I've emptied the processed food and liquid from the previous day (hope that's putting it delicately enough). On Wed morning I saw a difference of almost two pounds. I figure sometimes things process more quickly than other times and you'll see what seems like large bounds rather than small steps. I've been at this for almost three months and the most I lost in one week was 6 pounds.

I don't know what kind of scale you're using, but I know that my digital one will take different measurements depending on how I stand on it. It's kind of dumb, especially when the number seems particularly low. But I'll step on a few times over the course of the morning before I eat or drink anything and then average out the differences in the weight.

Four pounds in 2 weeks is right on the 2 pounds/week loss range that you want to be in, so that's perfection. Sometimes it takes a while for the scale to become convinced something has changed. Anywho, those are my guesses.

yep, the body can fluctuate up to 5 lbs above and 5 lbs below your "real" weight every day (even within a day) due to sodium levels, waste, muscle hydration levels, and food in your stomach and intestines. As cool as this sounds, I wouldn't put to much stock in it, it's just as likely tomorrow that it'll all be back. NOW if you checked your weight once a week for a month and still had this 4 lb loss, then I'd be more inclined to see it as real loss.

I know this sounds pessimistic, but I'm a realist, and I wouldn't feel right if I didn't give you the honest truth.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I realize now that I can't count is as a victory until I see it stick! I plan on staying off the scale for at least a week.

Interestingly enough I did drink a TON of water yesterday. Probably close to 12 cups. This is just motivation to keep at it.

the water probably flushed out some sodium from your system, which would in turn cause you to actually dehydrate a little. That's a guess, but quite possible.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I realize now that I can't count is as a victory until I see it stick! I plan on staying off the scale for at least a week.

Interestingly enough I did drink a TON of water yesterday. Probably close to 12 cups. This is just motivation to keep at it.

Good job with the water consumption! Keep it up and I believe you will see some great changes on that fickle scale! I think water is one of our greatest weapons in this battle!