Scale Fluctuation by 9 LBS

That happened to me once- my scale showed I had "gained" 7 lbs in 2 days. Turns out my scale was messed up! I'm sure that's the case for you too!

Happened to me last Monday. Scale went up 10 lbs (in words TEN!!!) Made me scream!
I checked my scale, I checked my diary to find an explanation for it and I found ... nothing. I have no clue why it happened. But the good thing is that the scale is moving downwards again in huge steps. The 10 lbs are gone again and it seems I will even get a good loss next to what I had put on at my next weigh-in on Monday. But Lord knows, something like this can scare you half to death, especially when you don't know why it happens.
Only possible explanation I could think of would be an extremely high sodium-intake combined with water retaining from TOM or beginning a new workout, although that's not what happened in my case. Sometimes our bodies seem to do strange things just to make us guess. LOL

Happened to me last Monday. Scale went up 10 lbs (in words TEN!!!) Made me scream!
I checked my scale, I checked my diary to find an explanation for it and I found ... nothing. I have no clue why it happened. But the good thing is that the scale is moving downwards again in huge steps. The 10 lbs are gone again and it seems I will even get a good loss next to what I had put on at my next weigh-in on Monday. But Lord knows, something like this can scare you half to death, especially when you don't know why it happens.
Only possible explanation I could think of would be an extremely high sodium-intake combined with water retaining from TOM or beginning a new workout, although that's not what happened in my case. Sometimes our bodies seem to do strange things just to make us guess. LOL

Galathea & MeLindadorman. I looked at both your food logs and saw what I thought I see. Mrs. Claus said it best when she told Santa Claus he need to gain weight to fit in that suit. I'll quote her incase you don't remember. Eat Santa Eat!
For the last week you both had a net calorie intake of about 600 -700 calories a day. That's not enough and your body may be in the initial stage of starvation mode. It could be the scale too but regardless of that you need to eat to lose weight. Sounds crazy but it's true. Yes, eventually you will lose weight but it's not health at all. You're not getting proper nutrients.
MFP sets a calorie deficit for you based on the questions you answered and you should stick to that and then eat your exercise calories. You should never be below 1200 unless under DR. orders and supervision.
Just me 2 cents.

http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=why_the_scale_goes_up_when_you_start_a_new_workout_plan

Read this article. Explains everything.

I found this article on another post (Skye76). I think it answers my above question.


Hello, all. Since I've been on MFP, I've seen quite a bit of pseudoscience (unfortunately, propagated by the site itself) that declares that the body will go into "starvation mode" if you do not eat X amount of calories per day. I don't know the origin of this myth, but here is an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition which puts the lie to the myth:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3661473

For those of us who don't wish to wade through the scientific and technical jargon, here's a summary. If a person goes without eating AT ALL for SIXTY HOURS, their metabolism will slow by roughly 8%. Until you hit the sixty-hour threshold, without having eaten at all, your metabolism remains unchanged. Should you reach that point of sixty hours without food, your metabolism will come back to normal soon after you begin eating again.

Two other studies (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405717 and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10837292) show that the metabolism actually INCREASES during periods of intermittent fasting, but at an equally negligible rate: 3.8 to 10%.

As well, it appears that the arbitrary number which has been chosen for "starvation mode" (1200 kCal) is the same for everyone, which makes absolutely no sense. Why would this threshold be the same for me, at 185 lbs., as it would be for someone who weighs 260 lbs., or even 110 lbs.?

So here's the science: "starvation mode" is a myth. There is danger in restricted-calorie diets, but it comes from the possibility of not getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs, not from a magical, instantaneous slowdown of your metabolism.

Edit: grammar error
Edited by Skye76 on Wed 02/16/11 05:37 PM

I used to regain 3 pounds every weekend, and I will lose it during the week, plus one or two more. This created a slow weight loss for me, which I wasn't proud of. Suddenly, around Valentine's Day I regained 8 pounds and it kept climbing to 11 pounds above where I had left off. I wasn't worried at first because I always lost the weight again, but the opposite is what happened to me. I have been in complete disbelief. My body decided to make this extra weight gain a new set point, and I am having to fight hard to lose the extra weight so I can be where I have left off. My pants originally wouldn't go past my thighs, I worked hard and got into them, then I was swimming in them, but now fit me tightly. All from 11 pounds regain!

Conclusion: I can no longer eat the same "not so healthy" foods that actually helped me lose weight originally. I have to cut down on fat and calories even more by chosing very healthy foods options (truly resisting temptation), vary my exercises and include more weight training, to break this set point and to eventually pick up from where I left off. This also meant no more restaurant foods on the weekend. Even the healthy options on the menu can be one of the worse for you because of the amount of sodium in them, or because of the extra time your body will take to digest them.

I have faith that if you stay consistent, eventually you'll reach your goal, even if it takes you longer than you anticipated. Don't let a set back get you down. Good luck!

I wouldn't recommend this for anyone, but my goal everyday for the last week has been for MFP to tell me i'm in starvation mode. I've lost 11 pounds in the last 5 days. I'm taking in plenty of vitamins and protein and exercising 90 minutes 6 days a week.

I definitely don't recommend this, this is just plan B while I learn how to eat healthy.

For me (and this is only my personal opinion and I don't ask anyone to believe in it) it is pretty simple: I don't believe in starvation mood the way it is explained here very often in the forums. I DO believe it is difficult to get a good nutrition, if you don't eat enough. And only this can do a lot of damage to your body, because you need carbs, protein and also fat, so your body can work properly. But if you get this nutrition at 800 cals a day or 1400 cals doesn't matter. The human body will do anything to survive. It is what it does since the day you were born (and even earlier). So if it doesn't get enough energy (and cals are nothing but a way to measure energy), then it will get it from somewhere else, which means your reserves.
Matter of fact is: If you make healthy choices, stay away from proceeded foods and just try to eat healthy, you won't need that much food to get a good nutrition in.
As I said, I gained 10 lbs without having an explanation for it. And this was the point where I decided to see what happens, if I don't eat my exercise cals. I was always told: Listen to your own body, before you listen to anybody else. And so far it has worked for me. We all are individuals. What works for me, doesn't have to work for someone in the same situation.
Isn't this whole weight losing thing not also about experimenting and getting to know your own body and how it reacts on the things you do?
Also, I don't think the scale is the only thing to relate on. I'm not walking around with a scale under my arm to show everybody how much I weigh. How I look in my clothes and how I feel in my body - this is what people see.
Anyhow, when I stepped on the scale this morning (inofficial weigh-in LOL), the 10 lbs were gone. So I just think it was a crazy water fluctuation. But of course it concerned me and I will even more listen to my body from now on.