No. That weight on the scale is mathematically impossible

2

Replies

  • NevSylar
    NevSylar Posts: 3 Member
    Don't weigh in so much. Try to only weigh in once a week. I'm doing once every other week because I used to obsess with the scale and felt just like you when there was no loss or even a gain and it's frustrating and discouraging as hell. So this time I'm focusing more on long term goals than short and trying not to stress too much about the scale. Keep your eyes on the prize. Don't let it knock you down!! Good luck!!
  • MonicaA2013
    MonicaA2013 Posts: 753 Member
    I weigh daily. But i knew that your weight "changes" daily so it was not much of a shock when i saw the up tick instead of the down on some days. What i was hoping for in the beginning was that "instant gratification" loss. Was a bit upset that it didn't start till almost a month in before i really got some loss on the scale. It does take time for the body to adjust to the changes that we are putting it through. And as others have said if you are adding different or more exercise then that will affect it as well. Just give your body time to react to the changes and things will start going the right direction for you. Good Luck
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    Can't tell you how many times I've gotten all excited at the scale telling me I suddenly gained a pound or more of LBM... Only to realize later that it was just poop. Unlike some posters here, I weigh in EVERY day. But I don't care what the scale says today. I watch the trends over time. Seeing how much my weight varies from one day to the next has helped me take the scale less seriously. It's hard for me to imagine basing one's progress on a single weekly weigh-in.
  • xoeva
    xoeva Posts: 209 Member
    I agree it's frustrating that the weight just doesn't go down down down down... This morning I weighed 162 and 2 hr later (after breakfast) I weighed 159 (the # I've been for a while now..) weird... also, water retention sucks.... AND perhaps after so much exercise you are gaining muscle which weighs more?
  • ProgressNotPerfection32
    ProgressNotPerfection32 Posts: 1,155 Member
    I don't have much to add. I used to weigh once a week and obsessed all week, ALOT the day before weigh in day.........lead to all sorts of bad habits that I will not mention.........SO after much prodding from a fellow MFP bestie, I started weighing DAILY. My Aria scale syncs with a nifty app that graphs my weight. After being PROMISED for weeks that I would, in fact, have to weigh daily for a few months, I WOULD see an overall downward trend. Even though I lose half a pound or less a week (average) I have my sanity back and what do you know.....my bestie was right! It fluctuates like crazy within a 3-5 lb range, but I see normal trends that happen on a monthly basis (aside from the obvious). *i should mention that my friend is obsessed with numbers, she's some crazy science loving goof who knows a thing or two ????

    Good luck. Got to find what works for you and allows you to keep your sanity in tact.
  • Ejourneys
    Ejourneys Posts: 1,603 Member
    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

    A graph after my own heart. Here's mine from 2001-2002, when I weighed myself daily and took weekly averages. Note the way the averages smooth out the fluctuations:

    8058380998_ed08a62411_b.jpg

    Patience and perseverance will get you there. Keep on keepin' on.
  • NRSPAM
    NRSPAM Posts: 961 Member
    This is hilarious!!! Yes, throw his a&* out the window....or maybe it's a her. Lol. The increase could be due to a high sodium meal, or swollen muscles from lifting, or a million othe reasons. F the scale!!!! Try measuring once a month, instead, or maybe not weighing so often. I know, it's easier said than done. I'm addicted to weighing too. I've noticed that when I don't get stressed out about the scale though, that's when I lose most. I really think the stress levels keep me from losing. I'm waiting for the whoosh too. ;) And it is a thing, but I forget the "science" behind it. Lol. ;) I actually considered hiding my scale in my son's room, and telling him not to let me have it tonight. Bahahahaha.
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
    Just thought I would keep this thread updated with my near term weight fluctuation and how that's going. So without further adue.

    Update!!: I weighed in today and was the same low I was on Sunday. 237. So at least I'm not up to 238 or 239 right? But the interesting part came in the form of a metric I normally never give a damn about. Inaccurate bf percentage calculated by my "smart scale". I never pay attention to it. It fluctuates just as much as my weight does so I never even look at it but I did notice that the bf% was down 5% since last Sunday. What does that mean? Who knows. I don't believe I'm really down 5%. But the fact that it's consistently down makes me think maybe the scale deep down knows that I'm having a weight fluctuation and is hinting at me "hey dude. You're really a lighter weight but I can't show you just yet! So here's a hint".

    Just made me think. Will keep this thread updated just for the hell of it. Mathematically I should weigh 235 on Monday. If I come back on Monday and weigh that, well then....we're back in business baby!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,989 Member
    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
    Weight loss isn't linear and small variances in your hormones and water make a difference.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
    Wow, this is usually a girls reaction.

    No this is a persons reaction. Women are just allowed to express it in our society. The posters gender has nothing to do with the frustration they feel while trying to lose weight.

    Yeah, when I read that comment all I could think was "Well you're annoying, go away."
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
    OP - quit weighing yourself everyday. You'll drive yourself nuts. Weigh at most once a week and get that tape measurer out!
  • missomgitsica
    missomgitsica Posts: 496 Member
    Are you weighing yourself same day, same time. You can fluctuate up to 5 pounds or more in 1 day.

    This. And also, this is why the scale shouldn't be your only measurement of how you're doing. Take your measurements. There have been weeks where I'll gain a pound but lose an inch on my waist and I still consider it a win.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    search for the internet article on whooshes and squishy fat... kinda makes sense. this happend to me the entire time i was activley losing. id go 2 or even 3 weeks with no loss, and then boom, in one day i would have a 6 pound loss... just keep going!!!
  • olivia_june
    olivia_june Posts: 111 Member
    Is it possible that you aren't eating enough or your exercise calories are inaccurate? Do you have a FitBit or something that measures you specifically?
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
    Is it possible that you aren't eating enough or your exercise calories are inaccurate? Do you have a FitBit or something that measures you specifically?

    Yep! Got a fitbit one and wear that thing religiously. It says I usually burned just over 3000 calories daily and I usually eat between 1800-2000 calories. Sometimes less. And I've stuck to perfectly counting for awhile now, so the math says I should be lighter. So really. My scale is just a little douche bag
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
    Are you weighing yourself same day, same time. You can fluctuate up to 5 pounds or more in 1 day.

    This. And also, this is why the scale shouldn't be your only measurement of how you're doing. Take your measurements. There have been weeks where I'll gain a pound but lose an inch on my waist and I still consider it a win.

    This sounds like what I'm going through. I was just staring at myself in the mirror like a weirdo today for a couple minutes and thinking "it could be my imagination, but I feel smaller". My pants feel a bit loose and my chest looks more sucked in. But my face feels bloated. Isn't that weird how that works? Feels like all my fat and bloated ness went straight to my fat head. Maybe it's just going there temporarily as a pit stop before it disappears altogether? A man can dream
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
    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
    Weight loss isn't linear and small variances in your hormones and water make a difference.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    This...totally makes me sympathize with people that see a disappointing number on the scale and then decide to give up on dieting. I feel their pain. I can completely understand why someone would feel defeated. I don't. But I can see why they would. I know logically I'm moving in the right direction

    You sound smart. I like you. Can you tell me more about hormones and how it affects weight loss? I'm doing some googling at work right now. Interesting stuff
  • eyleene
    eyleene Posts: 264 Member
    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

    I am always tempted to take mine out the back and kill it with a brick .........
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    Don't eat anything salty for a few days and you'll see a whoosh.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    Is it possible that you aren't eating enough or your exercise calories are inaccurate? Do you have a FitBit or something that measures you specifically?

    Yep! Got a fitbit one and wear that thing religiously. It says I usually burned just over 3000 calories daily and I usually eat between 1800-2000 calories. Sometimes less. And I've stuck to perfectly counting for awhile now, so the math says I should be lighter. So really. My scale is just a little douche bag

    Aren't those numbers a bit weird? 3000 daily burn? Does that mean your netting minus 1000 calories?
    Ps I haaaaaaaaate my scale. I need to be proud that my measurements are the same as when I was 5lb lighter but noooooo!
    Scales are so 1983. Let's all move on ffs!
  • GagaForever
    GagaForever Posts: 4
    This happens to me at least once every two weeks. I'm losing and then all of a sudden I'm up 2 to 3 pounds.
    It drives me insane, to the point where my boyfriend will put up the scale so I don't get on it. Haha.
    I measure myself about once a week, everywhere. It makes me feel better to see inches here and there vanish.
    Just keep hanging in there. Also, on days that that does happen I drink a lot of green tea, it seems to help me lose whatever those mystery pounds are. I'm guessing mine is mainly water weight.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Is it possible that you aren't eating enough or your exercise calories are inaccurate? Do you have a FitBit or something that measures you specifically?

    Yep! Got a fitbit one and wear that thing religiously. It says I usually burned just over 3000 calories daily and I usually eat between 1800-2000 calories. Sometimes less. And I've stuck to perfectly counting for awhile now, so the math says I should be lighter. So really. My scale is just a little douche bag

    Aren't those numbers a bit weird? 3000 daily burn? Does that mean your netting minus 1000 calories?
    Ps I haaaaaaaaate my scale. I need to be proud that my measurements are the same as when I was 5lb lighter but noooooo!
    Scales are so 1983. Let's all move on ffs!
    The 3000 is over the whole day, including his BMR, not like a heart rate monitor's estimate for his workout or something. So the numbers aren't weird at all. There is no 'netting' with Fitbit. It looks at the only two numbers that matter: Total intake, total burn.
  • mamma_nee
    mamma_nee Posts: 809 Member
    Your diary is not open so hard to find the problem . Did you maybe consume saltier foods the past few days?? If you did, It will take a few days for the body to rid itself of the water it is retaining.
  • Kimbie500
    Kimbie500 Posts: 388 Member
    I would like a wifi scale that has no display. I stand on it daily or weekly and it tells me nothing but transmits the number to an app. The app alerts me ONLY when my x-week average is over y. I bet the Withings wifi scales do that, don't they? Well, if you tape over the display.

    I want one of those, too!!
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    Is it possible that you aren't eating enough or your exercise calories are inaccurate? Do you have a FitBit or something that measures you specifically?

    Yep! Got a fitbit one and wear that thing religiously. It says I usually burned just over 3000 calories daily and I usually eat between 1800-2000 calories. Sometimes less. And I've stuck to perfectly counting for awhile now, so the math says I should be lighter. So really. My scale is just a little douche bag

    Aren't those numbers a bit weird? 3000 daily burn? Does that mean your netting minus 1000 calories?
    Ps I haaaaaaaaate my scale. I need to be proud that my measurements are the same as when I was 5lb lighter but noooooo!
    Scales are so 1983. Let's all move on ffs!
    The 3000 is over the whole day, including his BMR, not like a heart rate monitor's estimate for his workout or something. So the numbers aren't weird at all. There is no 'netting' with Fitbit. It looks at the only two numbers that matter: Total intake, total burn.

    Thanks! Still, he's burning 1000-1200 under tdee. Has he got a lot of body fat spare to do that?
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 535 Member
    Update 2 on my harrowing journey against thy enemy: THE SCALE. I could've updated yesterday since that's when I got the good news, but it's hard to type and do a happy dance at the same time, so I thought I would wait until a time my hands are more steady. The high from seeing a good number has worn off, so I'm ready. Are you? I know I left you with a cliffhanger a couple days ago. Will he lose the weight, or will he throw the scale out the window. What happened? Well I'll tell ya what happened.

    Frustration. Yesterday I got home from my night shift at work and did what any crazy person would do. Step on and off my scale about a thousand times until I got the freaking number I wanted. 237. No, 238. Noooo 236.9. No. Now you gained a pound. Now you're 238! Then finally....23-freaking-5. A number I was actually hoping to reach by Monday but instead, I made the scale so sick of me getting off and on, he gave up and surrendered the number I want to me. Life lesson here. Don't get what you want? Step on it. Again and again and again. Boss rude to you? Step on them. Someone cut you off in traffic? Pull them out of their cars and step on them. I will never NOT step on things to get my way from now on. My cat better not make me mad

    So I learned through my first successful weight loss that it's not linear, is frustrating annnnnnd sometimes it's better to just not check the scale and have faith. For anyone struggling with the scale while doing everything right. Give it time! It's just another exercise in believing in yourself. A couple friends on YouTube suggested I document what's going on with me and my weight loss on camera, so I may start putting up videos pretty soon. It's a good way to keep myself accountable without having to step on anything. Or anybody.
  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
    So much love for this thread. Totally thought about it while engaging my own scale today, with its ideas re: bf%, RMR, body age, etc.

    Pleased to see you got some better numbers, and hope the scale has learned its lesson!
  • aimeemarie150
    aimeemarie150 Posts: 354 Member
    in love with this thread. *bump*

    my scale gets kicked when it doesn't produce the numbers I like.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Thanks! Still, he's burning 1000-1200 under tdee. Has he got a lot of body fat spare to do that?
    Judging by his ticker I'd say so.

    OP- Thanks for the hilarious update. That's how I lose often... nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, 5 lbs. down.

    Kimbie500- I'm pretty sure a Withings scale would do that but I might just have to research it.
  • jv0898
    jv0898 Posts: 20 Member
    LOL...I too use to step on and off the scale repeatedly to see if I could get what I wanted for a number. Totally pi$$ed me off some days, so to keep my sanity I started stepping on it once (after I get up in the a.m. and pee) and have gone with the first number. Maybe this has been working for me because my number has been down (down 1.5 pounds today from yesterday and down 1 pound the day before).

    Been doing cardio faithfully around 4 p.m. the last 4 nights....not sure if that is pushing the scale down so quick or not, but I'll take it.

    Love this post!

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