No weight loss then all of the sudden lose 5 lbs? Does this happen to anyone else?

Beck2288
Beck2288 Posts: 16 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
I know I shouldn't but I have a horrible habit of weighing myself daily. Recently I've noticed that there is no change on the scale for a while (like around a little more than 2 weeks) then one day there's like a dramatic drop (5 or 4 lbs). It stays that way it's not dropped water weight or anything. Is this normal? does anyone else experience this? Should I go see my doctor about it? I'm just a little thrown for a loop considering when I first started It was just steady weight loss, I saw 1 lb or 2 lbs lost at the end of the week. So this is kind of strange for me.
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Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited October 2014
    Normal

    It's not linear

    Happens to me a lot now 5 months in ...I can put on then stay at that weight a couple of weeks,,,then whoosh 4lbs

    I put it down to water ...from hormones, exercise, sodium
  • opalsqueak007
    opalsqueak007 Posts: 433 Member
    I have lost all my weight in this way - in big and sudden drops. 28lb so far.
  • lorib642
    lorib642 Posts: 1,942 Member
    It's normal. The technical term is "Whoosh!" Lol I haven't seen anything that dramatic but my scale will fluctuate between a few numbers for a while before dropping. Someone with more experience can explain it better
  • Beck2288
    Beck2288 Posts: 16 Member
    Thanks for all your responses! I wonder why it happens. It's a little more reassuring knowing that others also have the whole "whoosh!" thing going on :)
  • amehh91
    amehh91 Posts: 1,282 Member
    I haven't been at this long but last weeks weigh in was like this, the previous week I lost nothing then that week 4lbs was gone! I weigh daily out of curiosity (but only count it one day a week) and so far this week it doesn't look like I'll lose much, if any, so I'm curious to see if it does it again next week.

    I guess it just takes the body a while to catch up :)
  • Solar_Cat
    Solar_Cat Posts: 188 Member
    It's totally normal, and as long as you remember that, then weighing yourself daily isn't a horrible habit at all. It's fun.

    I like to chart my daily weights at WeighTracker, which uses some secret formula to calculate a "true weight" based on daily weigh-ins. It's free and has nice charts too. (Not my site, no affiliation. I just like it.)
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    Beck2288 wrote: »
    Thanks for all your responses! I wonder why it happens. It's a little more reassuring knowing that others also have the whole "whoosh!" thing going on :)

    Part of the reason for women can be that water retention during part of their menstrual cycle (often the week before and the week of the flow, but YMMV) masks their fat loss on the scale, so when they lose the water, two weeks of fat loss is suddenly revealed on the scale.

    Similar things can happen with exercise. You start an ambitious new program and your body needs to hold on to more water for muscle repair, then after a couple of weeks you take an extra rest day or two off, or you fail to increase your workout effort enough to continue stressing your muscles, and whoosh, there goes a lot of water, and masked fat loss is revealed (I'm being a bit optimistic here saying fat loss; more likely it's a mix of fat and muscle loss).

  • GoneGirl50
    GoneGirl50 Posts: 65 Member
    I'm glad you posted this because I just experienced the same thing, and wondered if my scale is faulty, or what... It helped to look at my weight loss over 30 days because then I saw a pattern of two weeks with little or no loss, then Whoosh!, a 2 - 3 lb drop. kind of gross, but maybe the body holds onto potential nutrients longer to protect against famine/starvation.
  • MamaRiss
    MamaRiss Posts: 481 Member
    As I get closer to my goal this tends to be how my loss goes. I stay steady for about a week, then 1-2 pounds over night, steady for a week, then another pound, steady for a week, 3 pounds. And so on. I like to weigh daily, but only log a few steady days after a loss, just to be sure it's staying off
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I'm another who tends to lose in clumps. No changes for a long time, then lose several pounds within a week (though never all in one day.) My fat always loosens up first. Feels like melting jello in there, almost separate from everything else. And then...WHOOSH. .8 gone, .4 gone, .6 gone, .6 gone again. All bing-bang-boom, in a week.

    Some people say they never plateau, but have consistent and small losses.

    Bodies are different. I don't think the researchers have come up with reasons some people lose consistently and others whoosh. It will be fascinating to hear when they do know.

    The scale not moving does suck. But the whoosh is so fun, so it's worth it. :)

    I, too, use WeightTracker for my dailies. When I have a new low, I enter it here.
  • amcook4
    amcook4 Posts: 561 Member
    Very normal. Our bodies are super weird. Congrats on the loss!
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Normal for me, too.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/
  • Beck2288
    Beck2288 Posts: 16 Member
    Thank you for all the responses. I might look into WeightTracker. I love that there's so much support on this site. I was expecting to not get any responses honestly lol
  • Beck2288
    Beck2288 Posts: 16 Member
    amcook4 wrote: »
    Very normal. Our bodies are super weird. Congrats on the loss!
    Thanks so much! You too!
  • Beck2288
    Beck2288 Posts: 16 Member
    WalkingAlong wrote: »
    Normal for me, too.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/
    I was hoping to get others who were experiencing the same thing and someone who could provide a scientific explanation for it. that link is about the closest I've gotten to the later. Thank you
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    If you already enter your weight at Fitbit.com (or have a scale that does) there are several sites that will read it from there and give you charts with averages. Trendweight and Weightgrapher are two.
  • JustAnotherGirlSuzanne
    JustAnotherGirlSuzanne Posts: 932 Member
    Mine does that too. I usually bounce around the same weight and even back up to my weight from weeks ago and then "whoosh" I lost a half a pound or so. I wish I could lose 4-5 lbs at a time... lol
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    Beck2288 wrote: »
    Thanks for all your responses! I wonder why it happens. It's a little more reassuring knowing that others also have the whole "whoosh!" thing going on :)

    Part of the reason for women can be that water retention during part of their menstrual cycle (often the week before and the week of the flow, but YMMV) masks their fat loss on the scale, so when they lose the water, two weeks of fat loss is suddenly revealed on the scale.

    Similar things can happen with exercise. You start an ambitious new program and your body needs to hold on to more water for muscle repair, then after a couple of weeks you take an extra rest day or two off, or you fail to increase your workout effort enough to continue stressing your muscles, and whoosh, there goes a lot of water, and masked fat loss is revealed (I'm being a bit optimistic here saying fat loss; more likely it's a mix of fat and muscle loss).

    This is exactly what I came here to say.

  • shireeniebeanie
    shireeniebeanie Posts: 293 Member
    My whoosh is usually 2 lb or less, but yup, that's how it works! Keep drinking lots of water to help it along.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    opalsqueak007 wrote: »
    I have lost all my weight in this way - in big and sudden drops. 28lb so far.

    This, and 80 pounds!
  • GrandeHombre
    GrandeHombre Posts: 7 Member
    edited November 2014
    I started out strong, losing 5-10 lbs. a week but I am bigger than most. I started in Jan. 28th and have had a few plateaus and am now in the phase where I go 2 or 3 weeks with little to no loss and then have a 5lb. + loss. My last two big weeks were 10 and 7 lbs with little to no loss in between. I am hoping to lose 150 by the end of the year but will be closer to 130. I'll take it.
  • justalittlecrazy
    justalittlecrazy Posts: 88 Member
    edited November 2014
    My body is so stinking weird! I try to weigh myself once a week but very consistently I gain 4-5 lbs of water weight between weigh-ins. I will give it a day or so (after I can tell I've dropped the water weigh) and I will have lost the water weight plus a few pounds. The first 2 times it happened, I was really upset. Now I realize that, weird as it is, its the way my body works.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    I tend to stay still for a little while and then "whoosh." It's pretty consistent (i.e. not just around ovulation and/or PMS, but rather, probably every 8-10 days I'll whoosh).
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  • WhoWasGivenToFly
    WhoWasGivenToFly Posts: 64 Member
    same here, I weigh myself daily because this works best for me personally. In Oct I went 2 almost 3 weeks with nothing them the scale started moving again and I am down 4 lbs.
  • tracyamituanai
    tracyamituanai Posts: 1 Member
    I just started myfitnesspal properly this week and feeling very discouraged. Need to get rid of this baby weight. Lost 1kg one day put on 1kg the next. I drink at least 2l of water a day and go to the gym 4 times a week. Lift heavy weights. Sooooo frustrating as the weight should be falling off. Eating 1200 cals of clean food. So sad
  • clarebear230786
    clarebear230786 Posts: 30 Member
    Happens to me all the time! I weigh weekly but I can still go 4 weeks with nothing then I have a woosh! :) this is where a lot of people give up, before the woosh!
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    Totally happens to me. I think the more fat you have the more likely it is to happen.
  • GoneGirl50
    GoneGirl50 Posts: 65 Member
    I just read an article on DOMS, and it fits with my pattern. I actually gain a pound or so before the whoosh. I think it has to do with the muscles retaining water after a weight lifting workout. I don't like to log those gains because it is discouraging. http://www.livestrong.com/article/393797-water-retention-after-resistance-training/
  • Philp0718
    Philp0718 Posts: 136 Member
    This is me. I've lost 20lbs so far and it shows on the scale in "bursts". I hover in a 3-5lbs range for about 2 weeks, then drop and hover at a lower range for a while, it's a little frustrating at times (I weigh in every single morning), but hey, its working in the long-run! :)

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