Water weight & scales

OrangeBabelfish
OrangeBabelfish Posts: 67 Member
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
So, November was a reasonable month for me and I did appear to finally make a dent in some weight loss by upping my liquid intake drastically and being very committed to the gym.

However, I noticed last week that I don't seem to be drinking much beyond 5pm - so when I weigh myself first thing in the morning (every day) I think my weight loss may have been partly artificial since in those 14hrs it's likely that I will have got rather dehydrated.

I have now started drinking more in the evenings again and have immediately noticed after 2-3 days the scales have gone up by about 1lb or so. Since that is the only thing changed, I can reasonably safely assume this is water only that just hasn't left my body, and now I am on the non-dehydrated scales weight, if I burn more than I put in I should start losing again?

Unfortunately the number on the scales matters in my head, so I am trying very hard not to be put off by the gain but it's hard when you thought you'd done so well but it turns out to be partly dehydration that caused weight loss.... :(

Replies

  • DaniTronMcNally
    DaniTronMcNally Posts: 44 Member
    Don't worry, I'm the same, though I don't drink water after 5 because I'd have to get up and pee every 2 hours! The number matters too much to me too, I fit in to a pair of jeans I haven't fit in to for years the other day and was SO excited, but then I went up by half a pound on the scale and was a bit bummed. I know that's just silly and it shouldn't matter. Maybe it won't as much when I hit my goal, I'll just have to wait and see.
  • OrangeBabelfish
    OrangeBabelfish Posts: 67 Member
    Yeah I have a bladder the size of a peanut, it seems, so I'm preparing for lots of nightly trips to the toilet! It's crazy how the number matters so much, and how despite knowing this is pretty much 100% water weight and weighing myself not as dehydrated as before, I am still bummed out by it.... My goal is still quite a while off :(
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited December 2014
    errr ... I don't know how to answer this without telling you something you already know

    dehydration weight loss is not real weight loss - fat loss is weight loss

    your weight will fluctuate by a few pounds naturally

    so rather than looking at a number, look at a range - if you start focusing on the minutae and daily weight up and down you'll go bananas if you eat more sodium, change your exercise or have a hormonal water weight gain

    if it is at all helpful - over the last week my weight has gone up, down, up, down within the same 2 pound boundary which I think is due to a delayed period and associated bloating - I work hard at not letting it affect me because in a week I'll get a whoosh <fingers crossed>

    maybe you should only weigh weekly / 2-weekly
  • galprincess
    galprincess Posts: 683 Member
    I made the same mistake I now weigh fortnightly and have only seen 1 gain
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