Is it possible to lose 3.5 pounds in 12 days??

Thanks for your input. i don't know much about water weight. So a 5'6" female like me, at around 120 pounds... How much do you believe my water weight could fluctuate in pounds? 1? 2? 3?

I can't know how your body responds, but at a guess I'd say at least 3. I know I can gain or lose 3 or 4 in a couple of days without even trying. All it takes to gain is eating more than maintenance calories plus lots of salt. Losing it is the opposite.

Me, I can fluctuate in water weight up to 20lbs, and it often has nothing to do with eating over maintenance or eating salt. Exercise can generate water gain. Hormones can generate it. Lazy days can generate it. Simply eating more than your standard intake can do it. Our bodies will hold onto water in order to dilute and filter the foods we eat, and the best way to assist in general is keep the water intake ample. If you think it's salt related, make sure to incorporate potassium-rich foods, because unlike many people think, salt is voided from the body by binding with potassium, not simply by being flush by water.

12 days ago i weighed in at 124. Today I weighed in at 120.6... I don't really understand how this happened. For that first week I was eating in at about 1000 calories a day and was exercising around 500 calories off. Then the last 5 days, I was sometimes eating around 900-1000 cals a day, exercising 750 off. I did though, have about 3 or 4 days in that 12 day period where I didn't binge, but just ate around 2250 cals a day and did a little bit of exercise, so I don't think my body is in 'starvation mode' if it even exists.
Is it possible that I lost this weight? It can't be just water weight because I always drink a lot and yesterday I rested and drank a lot. I have been eating very healthy these past few weeks. No added butter, no added salt, no takeout or restaurant eating, only one day where I ate some unhealthy sugary high calorie food. Been eating protein - cereal, fish, meats, and many vegetables
I haven't pooped in a couple days. Maybe I haven't been eating enough to even poop.
I do feel 'slightly' weak but can still function perfectly fine. Maybe I should be eating a little bit more.
I do look 'slightly' slimmer but i hope it isn't just muscle that I am losing... please help me determine how I lost this weight?

As you were typing out that line you should have realized what you are doing is no good.
You are weighing in at 120, how tall are you?

It is the average that matters though.

If she is averaging, say, 1500, by eating 1000 some days and over 2000 other days, then all is good.

Sorry but netting so few calories then going on a binge for days is not "all good". It's basically an eating disorder.

I was responding to her following clarifying post where she says she varies between 900, 1000,and 2200.

I don't think that is such extreme differences as to be seen as a deprive and binge cycle.

Such variation with a appropriate average, of, say , 1500 seems fine to me and not an eating disorder at all.

You're 5'6" and 120 lbs. Honestly, you should not even be trying to lose any more weight. With your low calories and over doing it on cardio, you are the perfect candidate for losing lbm.
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I agree. I'm only 1" taller and although I'm quite big boned (broad shoulders and hips) and relatively fit (regularly horse ride and cycle) anything less than 140lb makes me look emaciated! When i was younger (post kids but before middle age spread LoL) i got down to 135lb and was nagged by my husband and mother to put some weight back on, and if I now look at photos of me back then I'm embarrassed because you could see every rib and protruding bone! Be happy but not if it makes you feel even slightly weak - that is never healthy.

12 days ago i weighed in at 124. Today I weighed in at 120.6... I don't really understand how this happened. For that first week I was eating in at about 1000 calories a day and was exercising around 500 calories off. Then the last 5 days, I was sometimes eating around 900-1000 cals a day, exercising 750 off. I did though, have about 3 or 4 days in that 12 day period where I didn't binge, but just ate around 2250 cals a day and did a little bit of exercise, so I don't think my body is in 'starvation mode' if it even exists.
Is it possible that I lost this weight? It can't be just water weight because I always drink a lot and yesterday I rested and drank a lot. I have been eating very healthy these past few weeks. No added butter, no added salt, no takeout or restaurant eating, only one day where I ate some unhealthy sugary high calorie food. Been eating protein - cereal, fish, meats, and many vegetables
I haven't pooped in a couple days. Maybe I haven't been eating enough to even poop.
I do feel 'slightly' weak but can still function perfectly fine. Maybe I should be eating a little bit more.
I do look 'slightly' slimmer but i hope it isn't just muscle that I am losing... please help me determine how I lost this weight?

As you were typing out that line you should have realized what you are doing is no good.
You are weighing in at 120, how tall are you?

It is the average that matters though.

If she is averaging, say, 1500, by eating 1000 some days and over 2000 other days, then all is good.

Sorry but netting so few calories then going on a binge for days is not "all good". It's basically an eating disorder.

I was responding to her following clarifying post where she says she varies between 900, 1000,and 2200.

I don't think that is such extreme differences as to be seen as a deprive and binge cycle.

Such variation with a appropriate average, of, say , 1500 seems fine to me and not an eating disorder at all.

It is never ever acceptable to net so few calories. Period. Feel free to defend it all you want.

And yes, when you really look at what the OP is doing and that she is trying to lose weight even at her low weight, it's a problem. And help might be in order.

I agree OP may have an eating disorder, based on her current weight and goals.

I don't agree that it is never ever acceptable to net fewer calories if that is balanced with higher calories other days and the average is on target.
Many people eat less on some days than others, due to various forms of short term fasting or different circumstances.
Am not talking huge deprivation/binge cycles but things like varying between 900, 1000, 2200 - ie the post I was addressing with my comment.

Well I think yes and no.

It may have been gradually happening and it has now tipped that point on your scales. Your body will fluctuate back and forth before sticking with a number. The scales often goes up after big workouts but it doesn't mean youve gained weight. Even if your body was like a calculator and you input exercise and got immediate output (it isn't), you'd still have trouble measuring it because a scales is not totally accurate. People often get hung up on what a scales says but in reality unless you have a team of physicists coming into your house and calibrating your scales at regular intervals, the scales is really only an approximation. Thats not to say you haven't lost the weight but just that the scales may only be detecting it now or the the scales may be fluctuating itself due to external factors. A person's weight fluctuates on a scales throughout the day, a woman's weight will fluctuate at different times of the month and the accuracy of the scale itself will fluctuate.It can even depend what surface your scales is on, all sorts of things make it harder to measure small amounts accurately. It is more accurate to note consistent changes over a period of weeks and months as opposed to days. I remember when I was trying to hit 140 and I saw the number pop up on a Thursday but weigh in day was monday, well I did everything right but by Monday I was tipping 143 and it was about 5 weeks before I saw 140 again. Over time is the most accurate way to record change and combine it with tape measurements to compare, sometimes you may appear to gain on the scale but have lost inches on the tape so its good to do both to keep yourself encouraged. A weight loss doesn't happen over night or instantly even though the way we monitor it,it might appear that way. It will have been happening consistently over time but lactic acid or fluid might interfere with the readings.



Edit: op I know this is besides your question but I would worry about you eating too few calories. It would be better for your body to eat more.

Everybody's goals and bodies are different. I am still in a healthy weight range and want to lose a few more pounds. I have my own goals, I share them with my general doctor, and I know what my body looks like and how I want it to look.

Please get your GP to explain the dangers of osteoporosis. Replacing one of those hours a week of cardio with weight lifting or body weight exercises would help - and will do more for getting your body how you want it to look. I promise you won't get bulky or overly muscly.

At 5'6" and 120 pounds you should be eating at least 1300 calroies a day... and according to the stats which you supplied your BMI is 19.37 which is just shy of being underweight.

If you are not happy with your body starving yourself is not the way to get the results that you want. A good diet and exercise and a body recomp using weights would be the best way to achieve a slimmer look.

Everyone assumed she was trying to lose weight in her OP. Why? She just asked what could be the possible cause of her weight loss. Maybe she's just been exercising so much to put on muscle and tone, and inadvertently lost weight. OP, as others have mentioned, I believe it's water weight as well. Make sure that you're drinking water, and also it's probably a good idea to also take some pedialyte or gatorade to replenish the salts and minerals your body has sweat out. It will help retain water so that your weight doesn't fluctuate so drastically. It could also be a combination of fat or muscle loss, along with some water loss. It's almost impossible to tell what the 3.5lbs lost came from. Add in some carbs like a potato or some rice as a side dish to your meals to add in some extra calories. Don't forget that your body can fluctuate anywhere from 1-5lbs or even more every day, and what you weigh in the morning may not be the same as what you weight later on in the day. Add some more calories to your diet and you'll put on muscle faster with the amount of exercise you're doing.

Her ticker shows that she wants to get down to 118 pounds which is the absolute lowest healthy weight for her height on the BMI chart.

Plus... eating 900 calories a day is no way to maintain weight.