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

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  • fortysixpounds
    fortysixpounds Posts: 419 Member
    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.
  • NWalerys1
    NWalerys1 Posts: 16
    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.

    Seriously... 2200 calories a day isnt a binge. It is like 600 cals over. To add on, the days that I did go over, I did not "fail" and crave and eat sweets. I ate healthy foods. Those would be the days that I didn't have school, wasn't working, and had nothing to do all day.
    I am not talking about day you ate 2250. I'm talking about the fact that you net 500 and below on other days. That not good. Not good.
    Keep in mind though, while I have been eating probably a little lower than I should have been, I HAVE been really working hard, biking, swimming, running, for about an hour and a half a day, sometimes less, sometimes even 2 hours. I have been putting in the hard work.
    Eating lower than you should is not made any better by you working out an hour and a half to 2 hours. It's actually worse.

    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.

    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.
  • NWalerys1
    NWalerys1 Posts: 16
    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.

    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.
    [/quote]

    I appreciate your input. I have a smaller frame and everyone's bodies are different. I like where my body is right now. If i go up to 132, I look chubby and feel chubby as well because the first spots i gain in are my cheeks and stomach.
    When I was going through my really early years until about 13 years old, I had a very low BMI (I was still in a healthy range) and was just naturally very slim. I feel that that is the normal me and that is where I will be happiest at.
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  • justcat206
    justcat206 Posts: 716 Member
    Just be sure you really are keeping your doctor up to date. Several hours of exercize a day and a relatively low calorie intake are the biggest red flags of anorexia - I've been there and it's very easy to justify an eating disorder as "just being healthy" or "just losing a couple pounds." I had no idea how thin I'd gotten until my doctor told me that my caloric intake and output would put me in the "high risk" range for my pregnancy.

    Anyway, to answer your question - yes - I'm 3 lbs lighter this morning than I was yesterday morning. It happens.
  • RonnieLodge
    RonnieLodge Posts: 665 Member

    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.
  • shayjay91
    shayjay91 Posts: 20
    Sounds like your not eating enough. You should take time to see your doctor and go over these numbers.
  • Asherah29
    Asherah29 Posts: 354 Member
    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.
  • ceimi
    ceimi Posts: 25
    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.
  • Asherah29
    Asherah29 Posts: 354 Member
    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.
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
    I appreciate your input. I have a smaller frame and everyone's bodies are different. I like where my body is right now. If i go up to 132, I look chubby and feel chubby as well because the first spots i gain in are my cheeks and stomach.
    When I was going through my really early years until about 13 years old, I had a very low BMI (I was still in a healthy range) and was just naturally very slim. I feel that that is the normal me and that is where I will be happiest at.

    Newsflash: AT THIRTEEN YOU WERE A CHILD.

    You are not a child any more. You are a young woman. Your body shape and composition is TOTALLY different to when you were a child!

    You should NOT be aiming to hit your 13 year old body. You really need help. Pronto.

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