Why? Why? Why?

1Jac · January 2015

ive had my my second weigh in since my starting weight. Week 1 I lost 6.5lb this week I've gained 1.5lb and I'm gutted. I can't understand why as I have been really careful all week. I truly believed that I would have lost at least one lb. and although haven't as of yet, I have been so tempted to go off track. Why can we gain weight even tough we feel as if we are in control etc?

queenliz99 · January 2015

Weight loss is not linear.

kommodevaran · January 2015

Because weight loss isn't linear, or, rather, bodies consist of more than fat.

Laurend224 · January 2015

It's a normal fluctuation. Probably water weight. It happened to me too. I'm pretty sure it happens to all of us. You are doing good, don't give up!

jakicooke · January 2015

try not too fret about it you lost a lot that first week and that's great. you have to believe in this and stick at it. I can go up by having Chinese (even if its within my calories) just because of the salt etc in it. I regulary lose for 2 - 3 weeks and then either maintain or go up a pound the next week. as you do this more you will start to see patterns in how what you eat can affect you. please don't get disheartened

Ninkyou · January 2015

You need to reset your expectations and understand that your body weight fluctuates. Also, weight loss isn't a straight line down. It's more like a bumpy road with ups and downs.

pants77 · January 2015

You've averaged 2.5 lbs lost over the last two weeks. That's a very aggressive pace. Your week 1 loss certainly included a lot of water and bloat - that's the "Week 1 Bloat" falling off.

Do your clothes fit better? Do you feel better? Those are better benchmarks. Don't obsess over the scale. If you're doing the right things, the scale will bear that out over time.

khaleesikhaleesi · January 2015

Girllll, I can range anywhere from -5 to +5 pounds in any given day. No worries. By next weigh-in, you'll be set.

RinnyLush · January 2015

Think of it this way... First you were down 6.5lbs, then you were up 1.5lbs. That's a total net loss of 5lbs in two weeks! I would say that's pretty stellar.

Just keep at it.

Paul_Collyer · January 2015

This is the problem with weekly weighing. If you weigh on a fluctuation day you have a week to sweat over it.

Do it every day or most days and plot the trend, IMHO.

ASG_21 · January 2015

As the above posters said.

Think of it this way: 6.5 lbs is a LOT of weight to lose in a week, and most of it wouldn't be fat. Much of it would be water. Say you an actual fat loss of 2 lbs (depending on your deficit), and the rest was mostly water. If you ate some higher sodium foods, especially on the day leading up to your weigh in, you could have piled on some weight that's just... you guessed it... Water! That's one of the major players in weight fluctuations.

So, keep trucking along, weigh again in a day or two and the water should have reduced (again, it does somewhat depend on how much sodium you're consuming and how much water you're drinking... So don't fret about it too much! Just watch the general trend over the next few weeks)

All the best!

52cardpickup · January 2015

Paul_Collyer wrote: »

This is the problem with weekly weighing. If you weigh on a fluctuation day you have a week to sweat over it.

Do it every day or most days and plot the trend, IMHO.

Good tip. Or, if you find yourself obsessing over it (or being crushed by the numbers if they go up marginally) switch to every other week, or once monthly. Photos and measurements are what I'd go by, if I got upset over what the scale says.

asciident · January 2015

Your first week was not 6.5 lb of fat loss. You lost water weight in addition to whatever fat loss you had. Similarly I feel confident in saying you didn't put on 1.5 lb of fat this week. It's probably mostly water weight. As others have pointed out, weight loss is not linear and weight loss is not synonymous with fat loss. Keep at it. This is a long-term commitment, and how you measure progress should be over time in weight averages (i.e. your weight trending downward over many weeks), in measurements (inches or sizes, although the latter is less reliable), blood test results, and how you feel.

aliciahollinger · January 2015

I had the same thing! Week 1 I lost 6 pounds, this week, I'm up 1/2 pound. I've always been at a deficit, worked out 4 times, got in my water and sleep. I feel the same, ANGRY, BROKEN!! WTF is wrong with my body!!! I sympathize with you so much! My husband and I have been eating almost the same and working out, he lost 12 his first week and I'm sure at least 4-5 this week, he weighs in tomorrow... Sad...

sjaplo · January 2015

Here is 1 year for me, weighing daily and recording changes - not linear at all.

carolynmo1969 · January 2015

Take your measurements and track those as well. Some weeks when the scale hasn't budges, you may find that you've lost inches/centimeters. It's not just about the number on the scale.

DeeTee68 · January 2015

try monthly weigh in instead, I lost nowt for two weeks then BOOM 1.5kg lost.

BoxerBrawler · January 2015

I agree with the others. I used to be obsessed with weighing myself every morning and it just doesn't make a lot of sense. I now go by my measurements. Plus depending on what you're doing for exercises you probably gaining muscle so while your measurements are getting smaller your weight is going up. That's not a bad thing! I have a weigh in every three weeks... we do 6 week challenges and weigh in on week one, then half way through and then at the end to see where we are... then start over in either the same direction or a different direction. Some of us work on weight, others on measurements, some want to gain muscle, some want to lose fat. It depends on what you're trying to achieve first. It helps if you break things down into short realistic attainable challenges for yourself. Scales are BS. I could weight myself five times in a day and come up with five different weights! Don't sweat it... you're losing. Some weeks will be a lot other weeks not so much. Just keep working toward your goal and don't give up!

emalethmoon · January 2015

This is my last year. Up and down and up and down and....you the the idea!

csmullins78 · January 2015

I completely agree with weighing myself daily. Bear in mind, I don't have an eating disorder and I do this for the data and to keep myself on track.

Since I dropped off the calorie counting and tracking wagon last year, I gained 2/3 of my weight loss back. (Ugh, but at least I got back on track before I gained it all back plus some!)

Anyway, it was very helpful to look at the graphs I kept from when I began my weight loss journey in September of 2013. Consistently, my weight fluctuates by day. Yesterday, I was 1.2 pounds lighter than I am today. Come on now! That ain't a "real" weight gain! That's a fluctuation. Now, if I only weighed myself on Thursdays instead of every day, I'd never really understand that. (My weight today from last Thursday would be down .3 pounds in a week. If I look at last Thursday compared to yesterday, I was down 1.5 pounds this week...)

Just don't get discouraged! As long as you are logging your food and exercise properly, you'll get there!!

gobonas99 · January 2015

as others have said, weight loss is not linear. And by weighing only once a week, you lose over 85% of your data points. As long as you understand that your weight WILL fluctuate, both up and down, weighing daily and looking at the overall trend is the best option.

I log my weight in the fitbit app (free account, I don't even have a fitbit), which I have linked to trendweight.com - this is my graph for the past 6 months (been doing this for 2 years now, but you can see better on the snipped graph) - the thin gray line are my actual daily weigh-ins...the thick red line is my weight trend. Doing this has helped me see that I usually have 2-3 weeks where I don't lose, and may even gain...and then 1-2 weeks where I lose a lot...but the overall trend is still down, regardless of what my daily weight looks like.

Why? Why? Why?

Replies

Categories