Does anyone lose weight then gain it right back on a day to day basis?

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indigorays
indigorays Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been logging on MFP on and off for about 4 years now. I initially lost around 30 pounds in 2012 my first time logging, which was great! I fell off that wagon and gained 40 back since then. I've been trying to get that weight off, but it's hard lol! Well, I've been on a streak- 5 days that is. And my initial loss was great (1.5 lbs). But today yesterday I stepped on the scale and I had gained 1 lb back. Today I stepped on it again and I had gained it all but .2 back. What gives? Anyone know how to combat this? I feel like it happens every time I get serious about losing weight...then I get discouraged! Let me know your story and how you successfully beat this phenomenon :#

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  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    It's 100% common. Daily fluctuations happen to everyone, for some people as much as 7,8, even 10 pounds! It depends on many factors - or a combination of them - such as if you ate a high sodium meal recently, if you've added or changed your exercise routine at all, how hydrated you are, when the last time you pooped was, and as a woman, where you are in your menstrual cycle makes a difference as well.

    If seeing fluctuations on a daily basis makes you discouraged, then don't weigh daily! If you can't handle the "up 0.7, up 1 lb, down 1.5, up 2.6" nature of the daily weigh in, you'll be much better served by weighing in only weekly or even less often.
  • hazleyes81
    hazleyes81 Posts: 296 Member
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    I weigh everyday (some people say not to, but its about what works for you). Generally my weight follows a trend of holding for a few days, then going up, before finally showing my weekly loss, sometimes in increments over the next couple of days. Then repeat. My weight graph looks like stair steps with a slight hump at the end of each step, if you can imagine. In the past week I went from 143 to 145 to 141 (my loss is two pounds for week, so I am where I expect to be).

    Water, constipation, inflammation from a hard workout...a lot of variables can change what the scale says from day to day. Take it with a grain of salt and don't let it get to you. If you are doing everything you should be (carefully and accurately logging your food and not overestimating your activity or cheating/rewarding yourself too much) the scale will catch up to your efforts.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Normal daily fluctuation-totally normal.
  • Phoenix_Down
    Phoenix_Down Posts: 530 Member
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    Yes. Sometimes, I even gain water weight for a few days depending on what I've eaten or done on a particular day. You're looking for a downward trend over weeks, not days because yes, your weight will not be the exact same or always go down every day
  • jpaulie
    jpaulie Posts: 917 Member
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    if it is bothering you, don't weight daily, weigh weekly, more accurate
  • Mitchbay91
    Mitchbay91 Posts: 8 Member
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    When I weigh in I compare that weight to the same day of the week prior. I feel that is the best indicator.

    If you've recently starting losing weight again and tightened up your diet chances are you've lowered your daily carbohydrate and sodium intakes. Both of these contribute to water retention within your body and hence your initial loss may have been misleading.

    Weight loss is a long term process. One day of poor diet and exercise is not going to ruin your process just like one day of amazing diet and exercise is not going to guarantee instant results.
  • bigwill5
    bigwill5 Posts: 77 Member
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    Just saw some new research that came out saying that after examining 1000's of participants they find the best day to take your weight is Wednesday. Most people tend to gain on the weekend and level out through the week. Interesting stuff
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
    edited January 2015
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    I wanna show you something about daily weight:

    fi4k1wjsycdt.jpg

    The blue dots are my daily weights (I weigh every day).
    The red line is a smoothed curve based on a ten day weighted average. Basically, I consider this my "real" weight loss. The green line is what would happen if I were steadily losing at a pound a week (my weight loss goal). The black line is a simple linear trend line.

    What you DO daily matters, certainly. (The recent big weight bounce was a week of eating too much for Christmas.) But what you do not get is a 1:1 correlation between daily weight and daily calorie consumption, even if you are exact about tracking (most people aren't). That is far too granular a feedback for a system as complex the human body!

    I cannot encourage people enough to be diligent about calorie tracking and relaxed about weight, but just track it daily and then use some software like The Hacker's Diet (if you're not an Excel or data tracking expert).

    Daily weight bounces around too much to worry about, but overall trend over time? THAT is much more important!
  • jakicooke
    jakicooke Posts: 149 Member
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    bigwill5 wrote: »
    Just saw some new research that came out saying that after examining 1000's of participants they find the best day to take your weight is Wednesday. Most people tend to gain on the weekend and level out through the week. Interesting stuff
    ooo for once it seems ive done something right ha ha

  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
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    I remember that 3500 calories ~= 1 pound. So when the scale jumps from x to x+8 in less than 24 hours, I can be pretty confident that I did not consume 28,000 calories in one day without somehow noticing (that is, like, five entire birthday cakes. With frosting). After that experience, I keep track of day-to-day changes more for personal amusement. It's the trends over 3-4 weeks that matter.

    And yes, it often takes me that long to see a real change. Nothing nothing nothing FWOOM, here are five new pounds or there five pounds went. That's a little tougher to deal with when I'm trying to drop some weight, but since I know it's how my body works, I can convince myself to stick with what I'm doing.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    I weigh daily, but take a weekly average. If my average is lower than last week, I lost weight. It can be hard to see on the day to day basis due to the fluctuations, which is why I average them out. It helps smooth out the trend for me to see and is more accurate than just picking one weight that week to use since it's more representative of the entire week.

    Here's an image of the last 6 months for me:
    k8e6qbji2ulp.jpg

    As you can see, the daily weights go up and down constantly. The weekly average helps me to see if I'm really gaining or losing. Look especially at November. It was a tough month for me. I started a new strength training program and wasn't losing as fast as I normally do. The daily fluctuations were all over the place. I would have never been able to tell what was going on if I didn't smooth it out.

    In the end, your perspective on your weight loss needs to be on the long game instead of the short game. Worrying about day to day fluctuations is really not seeing the forest for the trees. You need to look at long term trends to see your true progress.

  • runslf
    runslf Posts: 5
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    This has been a very interesting thread to read - as I have the same frustrations with daily weigh in - feels like I work so hard to only go up / down / up / down and at the end of the week only have a very small loss. I too, lost 30# pounds 5 years ago (my pic is me at my ideal weight - a reminder of where I want to go back to!) and have gained 40# over the years - stressful job, reduction in exercise, not as good with diet, more eating out.... etc etc etc and I am back on the long road to fitness and weight loss. I keep telling myself I don't ever want to be be back in this position again! But for some reason, it is harder this time - much slower progress. Being in my mid 40's I'm sure is a factor!! I really appreciated the graph shared above - that was really enlightening - and I loved how she tracks the overall loss, not the ups/downs.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    edited January 2015
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    jakicooke wrote: »
    bigwill5 wrote: »
    Just saw some new research that came out saying that after examining 1000's of participants they find the best day to take your weight is Wednesday. Most people tend to gain on the weekend and level out through the week. Interesting stuff
    ooo for once it seems ive done something right ha ha

    Interesting stuff indeed! When I was in WW, we weighed in on Tuesdays at noon and that felt just about perfect. It was just close enough to the weekend to encourage me to not splurge too much. I'd also make sure I didn't workout on Monday as to avoid any water weight gain from activity.

    I love all the graphs!! Also have to say, I really don't get why people say to weigh less often. Whether you weigh daily, weekly or monthly, you still might not see the progress you expect if you've had a high sodium day or a hard workout a few days before a weigh in. Once you know why fluctuations happen, you can look at them in a logical way instead of getting all wound up about them thinking you've somehow failed.

    ETA: I checked out the last few days of OP's diary and didn't see any glaring issues so I wanted to add this advice.. It could be that your logging isn't as accurate as you think. Try measuring foods (weighing is best but cups, Tbsp, etc will do) and double checking the food's nutritional info either against the product label or an online source. I really like the USDA database, see link below:

    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/

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