how do you deal with weight fluctuations?

rosemary98
rosemary98 Posts: 632
in Health and Weight Loss
I know they are normal, but emotionally, when i know i have eaten below maintenance and I gain a pound the next morning, i find it very difficult to deal with. Just curious how you deal with it? I try to justify most times...maybe i should not have eaten pickles before bed, it is my TOM, etc. Why are the fluctuations happening when i truly am not over eating the day or two before? Could it be that eating above maintenance a couple days this week just caught up to me this morning? My weight has been consistent and low this whole week.

Please no judgment. If someone has some personal experience, advice or information about weight fluctuations, I would like to hear about them.
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Replies

  • angelatjones16
    angelatjones16 Posts: 34
    At certain times, our hormones are doing their own thing. So, I just take a deep breath & weigh in again the next week.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Fluctuations are totally normal and can be for many reasons. I weigh myself every day out of habit, and the daily ups and downs don't bother me and rarely make "sense". I can be under goal the night before, plenty of water, no where near TOM, whatever, and still be up the next day - not a big deal. I know I didn't gain a pound or two of fat overnight. :tongue: If it bothers you, then don't weight daily, but once a week or twice a month, etc, and track the trend.

    Also a good idea to get your tape measure out and start tracking measurements, and take progress photos as well. You will often see progress there that doesn't show on the scale. Last year I went about six months with the few pounds up and down on the scale, but during that time I lost fat and inches, and dropped a full size. Had I just been relying on my scale I might have been upset, but I laughed at my scale and went out and bought new jeans. :bigsmile:
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    I have a good cry
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    I ignore them. :)

    My weight can swing though a 5+ pound window in a day. I lose 4 to 5 pounds of water swimming.
    Weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day. First thing in the morning after the morning "constitutional" is the best time.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Ditto to ALL of what AmyRhubarb said!
  • lastspen
    lastspen Posts: 106 Member
    This is the reason why it's suggested that you not weigh yourself every day. The scale is a liar and you shouldn't be focused on a number. Instead focus on how your clothes fit and how you feel on a day to day basis. I have set up fitness goals for myself rather than weight goals (i.e. Run 1 mile without stopping) that way the weight loss is more of a bonus rather than my sole focus.

    My weight fluctuates anywhere from 1-5 pounds on a daily basis and I always tend to be high around TOM. Don't sweat it and just keep on doing what you're doing.
  • TheBraveryLover
    TheBraveryLover Posts: 1,217 Member
    Take measurements. That's how you'll know you didn't gain fat.
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    I have a good cry

    You can use my shoulder anytime... just sayin' :wink:
  • shortcake333
    shortcake333 Posts: 1
    I always hate seeing if I've gone back up on the scale, so I started tracking measurements too. If I see I've gone back up I become really conscious of what I'm eating and what I'm doing for exercise. If I know I've been doing my best as far as diet and exercise and my measurements haven't gone up too, I also have lovely friends that remind me that the weight gain could be muscle which eventually will burn more calories to maintain and that I'm more than just that number on the scale.
  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
    I genuinely don't care at all, I see daily differences on myself anyway so the scale makes no difference to me :)
  • rosemary98
    rosemary98 Posts: 632
    Thank you for all the sincere replies. I know I should not be so scale focused. Right now, I am focused on maintaining for the most part. Sadly, I do not get nearly the amount of exercise I should. I hope to change that.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
    I usually cry, smash the scale, then I eat a gallon of ice cream.
  • fougamou
    fougamou Posts: 200 Member
    I have an app on my phone called Happy Scale. You input your weight daily and it gives you a "predicted" weight that evens out the crazy fluctuations. I don't know what the algorithm is but earlier this week my weight went up and the weight on Happy Scale went down. Today I suddenly lost and am now a fraction of a pound below. It seems fairly accurate.


    I understand about why you should not weigh daily. I understand about weight fluctuation. But I want to weigh daily.
  • bob_day
    bob_day Posts: 87
    The more you standardize your diet the less your weight
    will fluctuate. With a very regulated diet, you can see how
    your weight is trending over every two or three days.

    But if you have confidence that your diet is a weight losing
    diet, my advice is to have faith in that and not to worry about
    daily fluctuations. You might weigh yourself once a week to
    make sure you're on course.
  • pavs100
    pavs100 Posts: 16
    I weighed myself yesterday morning and it came in at 119 when the day before I was 117 ... I felt sorry for myself then weighed myself again to double check and the scale was saying 117 again!! So don't let it get you down!!
  • Pangea250
    Pangea250 Posts: 965 Member
    I weigh pretty much every day, so I'm very used to daily weight fluctuations. In fact, I tend to go 2 or 3 weeks at a time edging around a particular weight, and then lose 2 or 3 lbs in a few days. It's just the way it is. I know it happens, so I have learned to roll with it. Plus, I know I'm doing the right thing on a daily basis. I eat well and exercise. Whatever the scale shows, it's just a long-term indicator of how healthy I am becoming.
  • hananah89
    hananah89 Posts: 692 Member
    I deal with it by weighing monthly. At the end of every month I weigh 2 or 3 days in a row and basically average them out.
  • rosemary98
    rosemary98 Posts: 632
    I usually cry, smash the scale, then I eat a gallon of ice cream.

    I know you are trying to be funny and make light of my question, but that is exactly what some people do. well, perhaps not smash the scale, but get very upset and binge eat.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
    I usually cry, smash the scale, then I eat a gallon of ice cream.

    I know you are trying to be funny and make light of my question, but that is exactly what some people do. well, perhaps not smash the scale, but get very upset and binge eat.

    Actually I have done exactly what I said before. I do binge eat, and it's why I'm back here after 2 years. I make light of it but my answer was very much on the line of truth.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    I know that weight fluctuations are especially for women normal and don't worry too much, because I know I stuck to my food and amount of calories and therefore know it's a fluctuation and not a true weight gain. It would be different if I would overeat, but since I don't , there is nothing to worry, or get emotional about.
    It also helps that I only weigh myself every two weeks....
  • ashandstuff
    ashandstuff Posts: 442 Member
    Fluctuations are totally normal and can be for many reasons. I weigh myself every day out of habit, and the daily ups and downs don't bother me and rarely make "sense". I can be under goal the night before, plenty of water, no where near TOM, whatever, and still be up the next day - not a big deal. I know I didn't gain a pound or two of fat overnight. :tongue: If it bothers you, then don't weight daily, but once a week or twice a month, etc, and track the trend.

    Also a good idea to get your tape measure out and start tracking measurements, and take progress photos as well. You will often see progress there that doesn't show on the scale. Last year I went about six months with the few pounds up and down on the scale, but during that time I lost fat and inches, and dropped a full size. Had I just been relying on my scale I might have been upset, but I laughed at my scale and went out and bought new jeans. :bigsmile:

    ^this
  • rosemary98
    rosemary98 Posts: 632
    I usually cry, smash the scale, then I eat a gallon of ice cream.

    I know you are trying to be funny and make light of my question, but that is exactly what some people do. well, perhaps not smash the scale, but get very upset and binge eat.

    Actually I have done exactly what I said before. I do binge eat, and it's why I'm back here after 2 years. I make light of it but my answer was very much on the line of truth.

    I have in the past as well...and the trigger has always been the scale or a perception that i over ate (even if i really didn't). I guess that is what makes the fluctuations difficult for me--they are a trigger for bingeing.
  • yamsteroo
    yamsteroo Posts: 480 Member
    I just move the scale to a different part of the bathroom floor until it reads lower .....

    But seriously - it might be hard to do but don't take it so seriously. If you weigh in weekly and it's showing a gain on top of a gain each week then maybe you need to tighten up on your food intake but if you're weighing daily (or multiple times a day!) then those blips don't count for anything :)
  • fougamou
    fougamou Posts: 200 Member
    I agree -- it is much easier to say "don't let them get to you" than to actually not let them get to you.

    Between the Happy Scale app and daily weighing, I have decreased my stress over the weight fluctuations. I consider the Happy Scale predicted weight to be my true weight so I only worry if that goes up. The daily weighing (knowing it is a datapoint in determining my actual weight and not my actual weight) is now useful in helping to understand what is causing the weight fluctuations ("Oh yeah, I had pizza yesterday, must be the sodium, better drink more water today")
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    I just brush it off because even if the scale is up a pound or two I know my clothes are still fitting me the way I want.

    It's normal to go up and down by a few pounds. And being a female myself I know that at certain times of the month that is especially normal.

    Just keep on trucking....
  • JustAnotherGirlSuzanne
    JustAnotherGirlSuzanne Posts: 932 Member
    I drink more water and eat smarter calories. I only get upset if it's up for a few days in a row. :)
  • kingtermite
    kingtermite Posts: 82 Member
    I have said for a long time that when it comes to weight you can have false weight gain, but not false weight loss.

    Hormones, water weight and a plethora of other temporary issues can make your weight higher than it "really" is. However, the law of conservation of mass in Physics makes it impossible to have fake weight loss. If that weight isn't being registered, it's not "hidden", it's not there.

    So truly, take the daily fluctuations with a grain of salt (another thing that can cause it), and don't worry about it unless that gain persists for a week or so. Otherwise, chalk it up to a "false positive" and move along ignoring it.
  • MissStatement
    MissStatement Posts: 92 Member
    Fluctuations are totally normal and can be for many reasons. I weigh myself every day out of habit, and the daily ups and downs don't bother me and rarely make "sense". I can be under goal the night before, plenty of water, no where near TOM, whatever, and still be up the next day - not a big deal. I know I didn't gain a pound or two of fat overnight. :tongue: If it bothers you, then don't weight daily, but once a week or twice a month, etc, and track the trend.

    Also a good idea to get your tape measure out and start tracking measurements, and take progress photos as well. You will often see progress there that doesn't show on the scale. Last year I went about six months with the few pounds up and down on the scale, but during that time I lost fat and inches, and dropped a full size. Had I just been relying on my scale I might have been upset, but I laughed at my scale and went out and bought new jeans. :bigsmile:

    QFT.

    There is a thread on here with a chart of a poster's daily weigh ins. It is very eye opening. Picture a stock chart - lots of little fluctuations, but a visible general trend. You could even plainly see when the poster had her TOM. There was no mistaking the overall downward trend though. If I can find the thread I will post it.
  • stetienne
    stetienne Posts: 560 Member
    I take it in stride and know if I'm staying pretty true to my goals, the weight will come around to where I want it to be.
  • gracielynn1011
    gracielynn1011 Posts: 726 Member
    Ignore it. Your weight will fluctuate up and down every day. I pick one day a week to log in, usually Sunday for me because I don't do heavy exercise the day before, so I'm not swollen or retaining water. If I'm up a little on that day, I review my habits for the week prior, it could be high sodium, too much junk, whatever. I don't stress about it unless it sticks around for the next weigh in.

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