No. That weight on the scale is mathematically impossible

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Losingthedamnweight
Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This...is so frustrating. Isn't this frustrating? Grrrr it's frustrating!! Why can't weight be more linear? Why can't I burn 3500 calories and boom plow see a pound gone on the scale? Instead, almost a week later not only do I not see a pound or two lost. I gained 2 lbs? That's mathematically not possible! After burning 1000-12000 calories a day in deficits? How does that even happen? The scale is a big fat dirty liar and I want to chuck his *kitten* out the window.

Ugh. I'm telling myself to just have faith in the numbers and maybe I'll see a whoosh or something. This happen to anybody else? Seeing an impossible weight on the scale? I can see why people get discouraged after looking at the scale and just give up on counting calories and doing everything right. But I won't. I'm not going back to being that depressed fat guy with no hope of ever being fit. I'm going to lose this damn weight if it's the last thing I do
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Replies

  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
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    Are you weighing yourself same day, same time. You can fluctuate up to 5 pounds or more in 1 day.
  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
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    That's mathematically not possible! After burning 1000-12000 calories a day in deficits? How does that even happen? The scale is a big fat dirty liar and I want to chuck his *kitten* out the window.

    You're so much more eloquent than I was about this.

    Waiting for the Whoosh (is that a movie? Anyway, others have mentioned it, so it is apparently A Thing)
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    1. I like you.
    2. If you just started a new workout routine, you may see a gain due to water and glycogen stores, which will go away soon. That isn't to say your scale isn't a no-good filthy liar. That *kitten*'s days are numbered and he will get his comeuppance.
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
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    Are you weighing yourself same day, same time. You can fluctuate up to 5 pounds or more in 1 day.

    I weighed myself on Sunday and I was 237. Then weight myself yesterday at the exact same time of the day and was 237-238. Then I weighed myself today and I'm 239! Ahhhh! I'm going in reverse here. And I have been weighing the same time everyday. This is weird as hell. The scale must have something against me
  • mmcdonald700
    mmcdonald700 Posts: 116 Member
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    Keep going! It's probably just water. Like previously stated, if you started a new workout routine your body will sometimes plateau/look like it gains for a week but then it will drop back down. If you gain another 2 lbs next week, then maybe take a second look at your math ;)
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Water weight.
    Undigested food.
    Glycogen stores.
    Evil spirits....
  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
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    Are you weighing yourself same day, same time. You can fluctuate up to 5 pounds or more in 1 day.

    I weighed myself on Sunday and I was 237. Then weight myself yesterday at the exact same time of the day and was 237-238. Then I weighed myself today and I'm 239! Ahhhh! I'm going in reverse here. And I have been weighing the same time everyday. This is weird as hell. The scale must have something against me

    Lol... are you weighing right in the morning after the bathroom? Otherwise you could have all this random junk in you weighing you down differently
  • jurbi
    jurbi Posts: 25 Member
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    could it be muscle gain?? I joined the army in 2003 having never worked out in my life, after 4 months of basic training and working out EVERY DAY i gained 16 lbs of muscle.... my eating was better also because at that point i was eating take out 2 times a day then in basic it was 3 square meals of healthy food every day...
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
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    Happens to me too. Darn math just doesn't work sometimes. I'll lose two pounds after a day when I was in a surplus and gain 5 after a day when I was in a deficit. For me, most of the time, it's the sodium, but other times it's inexplicable. You just have to step back and take a longer view of things. As long as you're trending downwards, you're fine.
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
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    Sadly you don't get immediate feedback. The data you have are worthless, at least with respect to knowing if what you're doing is working. It isn't fat retention or fat loss. It isn't muscle gain or muscle loss.

    You have to stay on the horse for a little while. Your weight will fluctuate.

    downtrend-trend-line.png
  • brad81684
    brad81684 Posts: 27
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    Remeber the scale is just a number. Keep at it, it'll go down as long as you eat at a HEALTHY deficit. Plus if you're weightlifting your body stores water to hydrate and heal.
  • mgorham13
    mgorham13 Posts: 168 Member
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    Pick one day a week to weigh yourself preferably in the morning after you pee. Wear your boxers or whatever you wear or raw dog.
    Once a week that's it or you will be going nuts for the next few months
  • Mav3rick54
    Mav3rick54 Posts: 180 Member
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    It's normal. Weight loss graph is a lot like the stock market. There are going to be ups and downs. Over time you just want a downward trend. You will be fine. Just keep at it.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Are you weighing yourself same day, same time. You can fluctuate up to 5 pounds or more in 1 day.

    I weighed myself on Sunday and I was 237. Then weight myself yesterday at the exact same time of the day and was 237-238. Then I weighed myself today and I'm 239! Ahhhh! I'm going in reverse here. And I have been weighing the same time everyday. This is weird as hell. The scale must have something against me
    My guess is that you have not gained actual weight, but that the increased scale number is either water retention or just a natural fluctuation.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
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    I don't even use the scale really anymore. I just go by my measurements and my body fat percentage, as well as how my clothes fit. I have lost 3 sizes and almost no scale weight in the last year. I lost a bunch of scale weight and then plateaued but I have had major body recomp.
  • 1ZenGirl
    1ZenGirl Posts: 432 Member
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    Day to day the scale can easily go up while fat mass goes down. Which is why it's a terrible tool for gauging progress over short periods of time.

    ETA credit for this quote: Steve Troutman
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
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    Get a tape measure!! It'll keep you sane, promise.
  • AlwaysInMotion
    AlwaysInMotion Posts: 409 Member
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    Stop weighing daily. Keep eating healthily (i.e., don't dip below BMR cals), keep working out. Stop beating yourself up. Chill. Enjoy the journey. Check back in 7 days. Even better, 14.
  • Nikiki
    Nikiki Posts: 993
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    I weigh in on Wednesday mornings, before eating and after *ahem* potty time. I find that Wednesdays are a good middle ground day for me because I tend to be lightest on Friday morning after eating clean all week long and heaviest on Mondays after a weekend of eating out a few times so by Wednesday any extra sodium I ate over the weekend will have flushed out of me but I don't get too excited (and promptly disappointed) by the lovely Friday number.

    Also I try on my skinny jeans about every other week on Friday mornings, because my weight does crazy freakish maddening things depending on what I eat (regardless of the total calories) and how strenuous my workout is but the skinny jeans don't lie (unless I try them on on a Sunday night in which case they are vicious lying *kitten* and should be cut up and used for rags... but that might just be the beer & french fries from Saturday talking...)

    I'm really trying to get better at just weighing in once a month so I don't make myself crazy if the number doesn't move quick enough but I'm not very good at that.
  • 04ward
    04ward Posts: 196 Member
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    I tried this plan last year and had the same issues. FOUR MONTHS with no weight loss then BOOM the scales started moving. (But then like a fool I quit). I just started again 10 days ago, I have had a deficit of 8462 calories tracking with both MFP and Fitbit, logging every little bite of anything I put in my mouth and this morning, only a .6 pound loss. :( BUT, this time I will not quit. You need to use a tape measure and you WILL see a difference even if the scales do not reflect it. In those 10 days, I've lost 4 inches! It takes time for your body to realize you mean business before it starts letting go of that excess fat. :) Keep it going!

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