Is this how weight loss works normally? Scale broken?

liveandlove788
liveandlove788 Posts: 15
in Health and Weight Loss
When I came home in early May I realized that I had gained 5 pounds since Christmas time. I figured that it was due to bad eating habits and stress from finals week. So I began working towards loosing it and another 10-15 pounds. 3 weeks later after I came back from a family vacation I found that I was 5 pounds lighter and down to 140 (May 21st).

So I kept up with things and found different programs and such to help me along. However, things didn't seem to be changing. Since then my weight would fluctuate between 140 and 143. It's been a week since I last weighed myself, (I was at 140 again) and the scale said 136.6! This was an hour after dinner too!

I'm too amazed to the point where I'm not sure if my scale is right or not. Is this how weight loss works...you'll see nothing change and then boom...you lost almost 5 pounds?

Replies

  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    It can be spikey like that for me. I don't know if we're camels or what.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    I wish my scale were truly broken then I could justify why I am not losing weight...I weigh the same every time...even on those days I feel lighter and my pants are much looser...
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    Yes it can be that way. I was.lucky and had fairly linear weight loss at 1.5 lbs/week, but toward the end of my 40lbs, I had a couple of those flat for two weeks, then "whoosh" 2-3 lbs gone.
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
    My weight fluctuates on average 4lbs. in any 24-48 hours window. I weight daily and almost always lose my weight in a chunk. Since I weigh daily (after morning bathroom) and sometimes just for the heck of it, I learned my range...so when I drop below it, I notice and know I have lost weight. After a while I also noticed a pattern in the fluctuations.

    Fluctuations are caused by sodium, hormones, water weight, workout, digestion and many other things.
  • liveandlove788
    liveandlove788 Posts: 15
    It can be spikey like that for me. I don't know if we're camels or what.

    hahaha who knows...with the tendencies of water weight I wouldn't rule that out
  • SamiDee12
    SamiDee12 Posts: 16 Member
    I seem to have this issue too! I went a month with no substantial fluctuation in my weight at all, and I was following my diet and exercise regimen as closely as possible. Then I went for a vacation for about a week, and my diet took a break too. Then miraculously, a few days after coming back from vacation, I dropped around 5/7 lbs! It's a mystery.
  • Dr__Girlfriend
    Dr__Girlfriend Posts: 100 Member
    ".I weigh the same every time... even on those days I feel lighter and my pants are much looser... "

    Don't let an arbitrary number determine how you feel about yourself. Water, the physical amount of food in your body, your hormones, and your inflamed muscles from workouts holding onto water, can all affect your weight. Your hair, your bones, your organs - everything is weighed when you step on that scale.

    I cannot advocate ENOUGH for measuring progress with pictures, how your clothes feel, and a measuring tape. The scale is not your friend. Case in point, you felt thinner until you weighed yourself.

    I legit smashed my scale with a sledgehammer when I had gained 5 lbs but lost 2 inches in my waist. Never been happier. Still making great progress:)
  • SIMAKRA
    SIMAKRA Posts: 97 Member
    Yes it can be that way. I was.lucky and had fairly linear weight loss at 1.5 lbs/week, but toward the end of my 40lbs, I had a couple of those flat for two weeks, then "whoosh" 2-3 lbs gone.

    Same here
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    ".I weigh the same every time... even on those days I feel lighter and my pants are much looser... "

    Don't let an arbitrary number determine how you feel about yourself. Water, the physical amount of food in your body, your hormones, and your inflamed muscles from workouts holding onto water, can all affect your weight. Your hair, your bones, your organs - everything is weighed when you step on that scale.

    I cannot advocate ENOUGH for measuring progress with pictures, how your clothes feel, and a measuring tape. The scale is not your friend. Case in point, you felt thinner until you weighed yourself.

    I legit smashed my scale with a sledgehammer when I had gained 5 lbs but lost 2 inches in my waist. Never been happier. Still making great progress:)

    I know I know but I just can't justify why downward trend never happens, not even once for me~
  • sabinekiwi
    sabinekiwi Posts: 23 Member
    sometimes it's hard for me to stay motivated. I get fit, I am shaping up, my trousers are loose but the scales ... :mad:
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    sometimes it's hard for me to stay motivated. I get fit, I am shaping up, my trousers are loose but the scales ... :mad:

    i know the feeling~ :brokenheart:
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    sometimes it's hard for me to stay motivated. I get fit, I am shaping up, my trousers are loose but the scales ... :mad:

    i know the feeling~ :brokenheart:
    Please take this as a compliment but you don't look like you have much fat to lose. That could be why you're struggling.
  • defauIt
    defauIt Posts: 118 Member
    1) Step on the scale, record the weight.

    2) Drink a bottle of water.

    3) Step on the scale again, compare to previous weight.

    Assuming you didn't do much else in between steps 1 and 3, you'll have found you just "gained" a pound, despite consuming exactly 0 calories. The issue is that the scale doesn't differentiate between what you weigh and what the extra food and water you're temporarily carrying around in you weighs.

    To avoid this sort of issue, you should always weigh yourself under exactly the same conditions each time. The most common set of conditions I see are right when you wake up, after going pee and in your underwear. This still won't catch changes in water weight from increased/decreased sodium or starting a new exercise program, but it will be a lot more consistent than comparing weights from different times of day under different conditions.
  • simbersea
    simbersea Posts: 1,248 Member
    OP - I think your experience is common with a lot of us - no change, no change, then the whoosh, you lose a big amount :) keeps you motivated though, because you dont know when those lovely days will show up. But just a warning, whoosh days are often followed by "boings", where you go back up a smidge before settling at your new steady. Just keep working, sounds like you are doing great :drinker:
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    sometimes it's hard for me to stay motivated. I get fit, I am shaping up, my trousers are loose but the scales ... :mad:

    i know the feeling~ :brokenheart:
    Please take this as a compliment but you don't look like you have much fat to lose. That could be why you're struggling.

    if 5-10 pounds were gone, I wouldn't miss it. :)

    I just want to be lighter so I can run faster and do more pull-ups...

    and thank you~:flowerforyou:
  • liveandlove788
    liveandlove788 Posts: 15
    OP - I think your experience is common with a lot of us - no change, no change, then the whoosh, you lose a big amount :) keeps you motivated though, because you dont know when those lovely days will show up. But just a warning, whoosh days are often followed by "boings", where you go back up a smidge before settling at your new steady. Just keep working, sounds like you are doing great :drinker:

    Good to know. Thanks for you input/warning haha...I'm just taking it one day at a time :)

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