Dont lose weight...
DangerousDUCK
Posts: 181 Member
Lose FAT,
Any rise in the scale numbers we tend to always assume is a fat gain,
In reality, fat is lost and gained at relatively slowly. For people on the leaner side(for heavier folks 2-3lbs is excessive) a half to 1 pound per week change in fat(Up or Down) will be all you can get.
To gain 1-3 pounds of actual fat would mean you've consumed 3500-10,000kcals over what you've burned during the week, which means approx 500-1500kcals over per day.
While it is possible to eat that much, it’s extremely unlikely if on any sort of "diet". It’s even less likely that you're eating that much EVERY day.
So a dramatic swing in weight on the scales in a few days must be something else.
- Muscle? unlikely as like fat its gained and lost relatively slowly.
- A full stomach? this can be partly to blame as a full hearty dinner definitely will temporarily add to the scale weight. Test it yourself, weigh yourself then gulp down 2 litres of water instant over 4lbs gain!
-Carbs? can also affect scale weight as they are stored as glycogen and bring with them 3 x their weight in water as part of their processes
-Sodium, creatine and Stress levels also cause your body to retain water thus meaning the change in scale weight can be drastic in just a few days, when all that is taken into account, your scale weight can vary by potentially as much as 10lbs!
So while checking your weight can be important it is by no means the full story.
Record your body measurements before starting a diet or take average weight numbers across a week to get a clearer picture of your overall progress.
Thanks for reading this an hopefully next time you wont beat yourself up or lose motivation because you gained a pound over the weekend!
Terry
Any rise in the scale numbers we tend to always assume is a fat gain,
In reality, fat is lost and gained at relatively slowly. For people on the leaner side(for heavier folks 2-3lbs is excessive) a half to 1 pound per week change in fat(Up or Down) will be all you can get.
To gain 1-3 pounds of actual fat would mean you've consumed 3500-10,000kcals over what you've burned during the week, which means approx 500-1500kcals over per day.
While it is possible to eat that much, it’s extremely unlikely if on any sort of "diet". It’s even less likely that you're eating that much EVERY day.
So a dramatic swing in weight on the scales in a few days must be something else.
- Muscle? unlikely as like fat its gained and lost relatively slowly.
- A full stomach? this can be partly to blame as a full hearty dinner definitely will temporarily add to the scale weight. Test it yourself, weigh yourself then gulp down 2 litres of water instant over 4lbs gain!
-Carbs? can also affect scale weight as they are stored as glycogen and bring with them 3 x their weight in water as part of their processes
-Sodium, creatine and Stress levels also cause your body to retain water thus meaning the change in scale weight can be drastic in just a few days, when all that is taken into account, your scale weight can vary by potentially as much as 10lbs!
So while checking your weight can be important it is by no means the full story.
Record your body measurements before starting a diet or take average weight numbers across a week to get a clearer picture of your overall progress.
Thanks for reading this an hopefully next time you wont beat yourself up or lose motivation because you gained a pound over the weekend!
Terry
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Replies
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All very true! People fret hard when they see the scale leap, but it's so rarely an issue- A full stomach? this can be partly to blame as a full hearty dinner definitely will temporarily add to the scale weight. Test it yourself, weigh yourself then gulp down 2 litres of water instant 2lbs gain!
Actually, it will be a 2kg/4.4lb instant gain! 1 litre of water weighs a kilo 0 -
cheers, was a bit of an off the cuff comment.
p.s I corrected it now. thanks again0 -
I pretty much agree with all of this. Maybe the exception being, it's not all that hard to eat a few thousand over maintenance in a week. But yeah, I still mostly agree.0
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DangerousDUCK wrote: »-Sodium, creatine and Stress levels also cause your body to retain water thus meaning the change in scale weight can be drastic in just a few days, when all that is taken into account, your scale weight can vary by potentially as much as 10lbs!
Queen of this part!0 -
So totally agree with this, we know that a muscle is less dense than fat so we can be the same weight but actually be smaller in size - I continually have arguments with my husband over this, he tells me that he's still ok because he hasn't put on weight and I tell him that he may not have put on weight but he is losing his muscles and gaining fat through poor food choices, too much alcohol and little to no exercise, therefore his body is getting bigger.
People get so hung up on how much weight they've lost when inches is actually a better way of looking at it - unless they're going to be a hardcore body builder - after all I don't go into a shop looking for clothes that fit someone who weighs 12st 5lb (errr I wish!), no I go looking for my actual size as determined by inches/cm or whatever it is!0 -
DangerousDUCK wrote: »Lose FAT,
Any rise in the scale numbers we tend to always assume is a fat gain,
In reality, fat is lost and gained at relatively slowly. For people on the leaner side(for heavier folks 2-3lbs is excessive) a half to 1 pound per week change in fat(Up or Down) will be all you can get.
Yer funny, Bro.
Many of us had no problems going far, far,over.
I was perfectly comfortable doing 3,000 over a day on a regular and continuing basis. The one I noticed first was a particularly bad vacation to The Black Hills a few years back. 23 pounds gained in 28 days. And it was easy - all too easy to do.
The rest is Good Stuff, but that first part I quoted is Malarkey for many of us. Too many of us.
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So totally agree with this, we know that a muscle is less dense than fat so we can be the same weight but actually be smaller in size - I continually have arguments with my husband over this, he tells me that he's still ok because he hasn't put on weight and I tell him that he may not have put on weight but he is losing his muscles and gaining fat through poor food choices, too much alcohol and little to no exercise, therefore his body is getting bigger.
People get so hung up on how much weight they've lost when inches is actually a better way of looking at it - unless they're going to be a hardcore body builder - after all I don't go into a shop looking for clothes that fit someone who weighs 12st 5lb (errr I wish!), no I go looking for my actual size as determined by inches/cm or whatever it is!
We certainly don't know that. In fact, most of us *know* the opposite. Muscle is MORE dense than fat.
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Thanks for posting Dangerous Duck. Good to keep in mind.0
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This is why taking measurements beyond just scale weight can help paint a more complete picture over time.0
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Timely; I'm fighting misery over weight gain. Trying hard but not seeing much in the way of loss. Very useful - thanks.0
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This should be flagged and highlighted or whatever the term is to make this the top link in this forum!0
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Last thread not go so well?0
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Lyle McDonald also mentions that increased cortisol levels can cause massive water retention. This can happen when people eat too little and do a lot of cardio apparently, so it looks like they are not losing when in fact they are. At least, that's the theory he has.0
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Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Lyle McDonald also mentions that increased cortisol levels can cause massive water retention. This can happen when people eat too little and do a lot of cardio apparently, so it looks like they are not losing when in fact they are. At least, that's the theory he has.
Cortisol is the "stress" hormone so if someone is severely stressed out their body will produce high levels of cortisol . I believe I read somewhere that malnutrition can trigger it too. I'll have to see if I can find the link.0 -
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I've lost 120 lbs. I find that now the inches are coming off quicker, they are more of a motivation. At the beginning I had to lose over 10 lbs per inch. Now it's closer to 2" for 10 lbs. I couldn't get calipers, and couldn't afford a DEXA to get an accurate idea of my body fat %. At the beginning, at least, the scale was more motivating than the measuring tape for me. Learning about water weight helped me understand what was going on with the scale, though. You forgot one important determinant of water rentention - HORMONES!0
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prattiger65 wrote: »
The one @DangerousDUCK started about girls and lifting weights, in which he pissed off nearly everyone.0 -
0somuchbetter0 wrote: »prattiger65 wrote: »
The one @DangerousDUCK started about girls and lifting weights, in which he pissed off nearly everyone.
Yeah I went and read some of that. It was funny to me.....went along for two pages with quite a bit of commentary from women and the OP that seemed just fine and all of the sudden a few people, both men and women decided to be butt hurt and raise a stink where none was needed and it went downhill from there. And I see the butt hurt couldn't stay in that thread, some had to drag it into this one. Got it. Just another day on MFP.0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »So totally agree with this, we know that a muscle is less dense than fat so we can be the same weight but actually be smaller in size - I continually have arguments with my husband over this, he tells me that he's still ok because he hasn't put on weight and I tell him that he may not have put on weight but he is losing his muscles and gaining fat through poor food choices, too much alcohol and little to no exercise, therefore his body is getting bigger.
People get so hung up on how much weight they've lost when inches is actually a better way of looking at it - unless they're going to be a hardcore body builder - after all I don't go into a shop looking for clothes that fit someone who weighs 12st 5lb (errr I wish!), no I go looking for my actual size as determined by inches/cm or whatever it is!
We certainly don't know that. In fact, most of us *know* the opposite. Muscle is MORE dense than fat.
eeeek, sorry about that, wasn't concentrating properly at the time - I meant more dense, makes me look like a total noob!
Thanks for picking it up.0 -
prattiger65 wrote: »0somuchbetter0 wrote: »prattiger65 wrote: »
The one @DangerousDUCK started about girls and lifting weights, in which he pissed off nearly everyone.
Yeah I went and read some of that. It was funny to me.....went along for two pages with quite a bit of commentary from women and the OP that seemed just fine and all of the sudden a few people, both men and women decided to be butt hurt and raise a stink where none was needed and it went downhill from there. And I see the butt hurt couldn't stay in that thread, some had to drag it into this one. Got it. Just another day on MFP.
Seems like you're doing your share of dragging0 -
Good read. Thanks DD.0
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I've lost 120 lbs. I find that now the inches are coming off quicker, they are more of a motivation. At the beginning I had to lose over 10 lbs per inch. Now it's closer to 2" for 10 lbs. I couldn't get calipers, and couldn't afford a DEXA to get an accurate idea of my body fat %. At the beginning, at least, the scale was more motivating than the measuring tape for me. Learning about water weight helped me understand what was going on with the scale, though. You forgot one important determinant of water rentention - HORMONES!
Ah yeah very true.0
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