Weight loss patterns - drop, stop and roller coaster

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Replies

  • aserranzana16
    aserranzana16 Posts: 43 Member
    I'm glad you did too! I bet you see a drop any minute now.

    Yep. This morning I woke up 2 pounds less than my weight two days ago, right on schedule. Whoosh!

    That's amazing! Congratulations!!!!!!!!
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    so weight loss isn't linear - but progress can be consistent
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/asciiqwerty/view/so-not-linear-but-the-trend-looks-good-655024
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/asciiqwerty/view/tracking-progress-654183
  • ThatLadyJ86
    ThatLadyJ86 Posts: 112 Member
    I'm glad I found this thread because I've been having the same issues. I started losing consistently and all of a sudden it started going up and down. It's even gotten so bad that I weighed myself yesterday, two pounds heavier than the day before. I'm learning to stop obessessing over the scale because I'm doing very well..... Yes I have bad days, but overall I do great!!
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    I lifted weights after work yesterday, when I woke up this morning, I weighed almost a full pound more. Not only that, since I started (yesterday was my 3rd time) I have been retaining water and glycogen, part from weights, part because I raised my calories although I am still in a deficit.

    All of that said, I am learning not to be attached to the number on the scale. Between weight lifting, T-Tapp and Pilates, and some cardio although that is not my priority, I was looking in the mirror at my abdomen this morning (swollen or not) and thinking, darn woman look at that muscle tone!

    My priorities are health, strength, and of couse looking hot in a bikini, but seriously, the number on the scale is just that.

    You lose 30% muscle on average when you lose weight, the only way to lower that percentage is strength/resistance training, so that is where my focus is, scale schmale.
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    Those are called natural body weight fluctuations and are as a result of water retention/release, timing of food and beverage in/out, more or less waste in your system, etc. That is why everyone says weight loss isn't linear...when you get to maintenance you will also find that your body weight isn't static and you will have a range of weight due to the above factors among other things.

    I've been maintaining for a year now and my weight can swing 3-5 Lbs day to day. Example, on Monday morning I was 186.4...Tuesday I was 182.3 and this morning I'm 183.1. My average over 12 months is right around 183 Lbs which is what I consider my "true" weight to be.

    Regardless of your weight control goals, you have to view things as a general trend, not a linear function...which is difficult because most of use tend to be linear thinkers.
    ^ this ^
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    Daily weigh-ins are tricky.. They can be very discouraging when you get stuck on the numbers.. Weight can be from water retention, hormone-related, the amount of sodium in your food, food allergies..etc. I think a once a week weigh-in regimen might put your mind at ease:smile:

    Yeah, I've considered moving to weekly weigh-ins. It's difficult though - I've got a compulsive streak in me that needs to step on the scale every day...I just have to keep reminding myself that it's the overall weight loss that matters.
    I weigh myself every morning, just to make sure there is nothing amiss, but I expect the 3-5 lb. fluctuations, although I find if I weigh myself in the morning, they are not usually more than a couple of pounds as long as I have been regular...but at night, forget about it, even before dinner they can be over 5 lbs. Seriously, get in your underwear and take a good long look in the mirror, I do that at least a few times per week. Pinch all the areas that you hate the fat on, love handles, inner thighs...etc. and see the difference, take a look at your overall muscle tone. I look at that and I don't give a darn what the scale says, I can see how well I am doing, even though I still want to lose 25 to 30 more lbs., or the equivalent in fat, whichever comes first. I have realized that there are much more important things to focus on, like keeping the muscle and burning the fat.
  • aserranzana16
    aserranzana16 Posts: 43 Member
    I'm glad I found this thread because I've been having the same issues. I started losing consistently and all of a sudden it started going up and down. It's even gotten so bad that I weighed myself yesterday, two pounds heavier than the day before. I'm learning to stop obessessing over the scale because I'm doing very well..... Yes I have bad days, but overall I do great!!

    Yeah, I think that's the right attitude. At first, it was great motivation for me to weigh myself every day because the number was consistently dropping and that felt amazing and made me want to continue. But I think once we all establish a healthy pattern of eating and working out regularly, it's a good idea to maybe institute the once or twice a week weigh-in.
  • aserranzana16
    aserranzana16 Posts: 43 Member
    Daily weigh-ins are tricky.. They can be very discouraging when you get stuck on the numbers.. Weight can be from water retention, hormone-related, the amount of sodium in your food, food allergies..etc. I think a once a week weigh-in regimen might put your mind at ease:smile:

    Yeah, I've considered moving to weekly weigh-ins. It's difficult though - I've got a compulsive streak in me that needs to step on the scale every day...I just have to keep reminding myself that it's the overall weight loss that matters.
    I weigh myself every morning, just to make sure there is nothing amiss, but I expect the 3-5 lb. fluctuations, although I find if I weigh myself in the morning, they are not usually more than a couple of pounds as long as I have been regular...but at night, forget about it, even before dinner they can be over 5 lbs. Seriously, get in your underwear and take a good long look in the mirror, I do that at least a few times per week. Pinch all the areas that you hate the fat on, love handles, inner thighs...etc. and see the difference, take a look at your overall muscle tone. I look at that and I don't give a darn what the scale says, I can see how well I am doing, even though I still want to lose 25 to 30 more lbs., or the equivalent in fat, whichever comes first. I have realized that there are much more important things to focus on, like keeping the muscle and burning the fat.

    I want to be more like you! 42 lbs lost is amazing. It's still hard for me to look in the mirror, but it's important to be realistic about where I am and how far I've come, and to be happy with the fact that, with MFP, I've managed to lose weight in a more healthy way than I have ever.
  • ThatLadyJ86
    ThatLadyJ86 Posts: 112 Member
    I'm glad I found this thread because I've been having the same issues. I started losing consistently and all of a sudden it started going up and down. It's even gotten so bad that I weighed myself yesterday, two pounds heavier than the day before. I'm learning to stop obessessing over the scale because I'm doing very well..... Yes I have bad days, but overall I do great!!

    Yeah, I think that's the right attitude. At first, it was great motivation for me to weigh myself every day because the number was consistently dropping and that felt amazing and made me want to continue. But I think once we all establish a healthy pattern of eating and working out regularly, it's a good idea to maybe institute the once or twice a week weigh-in.

    I agree!! Not to mention it gets a little depressing watching the ups and downs of those numbers. Either way I'm gonna keep going. I'm not giving up on my weight loss journey this time!!
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    Probably the best thread I've been involved with!!

    It seems so many of us have the exact same pattern, and there is always strength in information. I just had another 'whoosh' after stalling for nearly two weeks, I have dropped 3 lbs in a few days.

    Keep it up people, good things are happening
  • ronrstaats
    ronrstaats Posts: 294 Member
    weight-loss.jpg
  • zenhiker2014
    zenhiker2014 Posts: 84 Member
    Great graphic, ronrstaats!
  • lazydaisy88
    lazydaisy88 Posts: 32 Member
    Drop and stop is totally my pattern. Grrrr. :grumble:
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
    My typical pattern is

    lose two, gain one, pause.
    lose two, gain one, pause.
    lose two, gain one, pause.


    Ehhh, there's an overlying trend of loss. It's slow, but it's happening.
  • aserranzana16
    aserranzana16 Posts: 43 Member
    New development: same pattern, just more dramatic.

    I commented before that I I had stalled out for more than a week and that I finally dropped a couple of pounds.

    Since then, I dropped another couple of pounds in a matter of days (4 lbs in the span of 5-6 days), came back up 2 lbs, and have been hanging out here for a couple of days.

    It's fine because I'm down 2 lbs overall, but man, talk about emotional roller coaster!

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