Stalling-sudden-drop phenomenon

mommarnurse
mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
So, I've been losing since 11 months ago. I've lost 55lbs so far (equals out to 1.25lbs a week) which, for the first 6 months was pretty steady and predictable. However, my loss since then has been something like this: stall at same weight for up to a month then sudden loss of 3 lbs in a day or two. Lose a couple more lb over the next week, then stall again for 2 weeks or more. The only coinciding factor I've managed to deduce is that when that started happening, I also sarted integrating a lot of strength training (not just cardio).

Does this happen to anyone else? It's frustrating to not understand the physiology of it and the internet has not sourced me an answer.
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Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited May 2015
    This content has been removed.
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
    It really messes with your mind, doesn't it? I wonder if it's because our bodies just do not want to give up the weight. Or maybe it's some water conversion increased muscle mass combo thing going on. Water molecules somehow are attatched to muscle.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    It's common, just about everyone who monitors closely observes it. It seems to be variations in water retention as the body uses fat stores. It's commonly called a "whoosh" by people who observe it.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    I read that this might have something to do with the use of glycogen. For every gram of glycogen, your body holds three grams of water. When your glycogen levels drop, your weight drops quickly. As they rebuild, your weight climbs or stalls.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    edited May 2015
    What I find strange is when the scale doesn't move for 2+ weeks but you lose a pants size. And then 2-3 pounds fall off as described above with NO change in clothing or appearance.

    also, when I started strength training, I actually gained water weight and hung onto it for a while.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited May 2015
    Not to be pedantic but I've always seen 4g water to g glycogen

    But yes OP ...stall then whoosh is pretty common

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/

    I'm not sure this is how it works in reality but it's a nice graphic

    481519_541350332560565_1344462761_n.jpg
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    What I find strange is when the scale doesn't move for 2+ weeks but you lose a pants size. And then 2-3 pounds fall off as described above with NO change in clothing or appearance.

    also, when I started strength training, I actually gained water weight and hung onto it for a while.

    Muscle repair
  • 85kurtz
    85kurtz Posts: 276 Member
    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    What I find strange is when the scale doesn't move for 2+ weeks but you lose a pants size. And then 2-3 pounds fall off as described above with NO change in clothing or appearance.

    It really IS wierd isn't it? I hate that it does this to me too.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    Me too. And yes, it messes with your mind until you get used to it.
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 602 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Not to be pedantic but I've always seen 4g water to g glycogen

    But yes OP ...stall then whoosh is pretty common

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/

    I'm not sure this is how it works in reality but it's a nice graphic

    481519_541350332560565_1344462761_n.jpg

    Love this. Thank you for posting.
  • LilannB
    LilannB Posts: 99 Member
    This is the way I lose weight. No more then a pound a week. Then I will stall for 2-3 weeks followed by a sudden weight loss of 3-4 pounds.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    I recently moved into a cycle of stall and whoosh that takes about 2 weeks. I wondered if it was because of the erratic spring weather with a few warm days, then a few cold days. I always tend to retain a little extra water when it is warm out. Whatever the cause, my monthly loss totals are still close to my "normal" pattern.
  • barbecuesauce
    barbecuesauce Posts: 1,771 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    What I find strange is when the scale doesn't move for 2+ weeks but you lose a pants size. And then 2-3 pounds fall off as described above with NO change in clothing or appearance.

    also, when I started strength training, I actually gained water weight and hung onto it for a while.

    Muscle repair

    I know, I should have finished my sentence to point out that OP is correct to tie her stall in with strength training.
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
    barbecuesauce wrote: »
    What I find strange is when the scale doesn't move for 2+ weeks but you lose a pants size. And then 2-3 pounds fall off as described above with NO change in clothing or appearance.

    also, when I started strength training, I actually gained water weight and hung onto it for a while.

    Yes! So true. (Or you notice an obvious change in some body shape, somewhere in your body but the scale doesn't match)
  • loratliff
    loratliff Posts: 283 Member
    This started happening to me about the time I really got serious about running and strength training. When I was sedentary (but simply limiting intake), I would lose 1-1.5 lbs. per week like clockwork. Once I started getting really fit, I'd fluctuate from my base weight upwards to 3 lbs. or so and then finally, one day it would be gone. Strange phenomenon, but there's definitely something to it! (I'm due for a whoosh soon!)
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Not to be pedantic but I've always seen 4g water to g glycogen

    But yes OP ...stall then whoosh is pretty common

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/

    I'm not sure this is how it works in reality but it's a nice graphic

    481519_541350332560565_1344462761_n.jpg

    Interesting. Thank you for that link!
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
    loratliff wrote: »
    This started happening to me about the time I really got serious about running and strength training. When I was sedentary (but simply limiting intake), I would lose 1-1.5 lbs. per week like clockwork. Once I started getting really fit, I'd fluctuate from my base weight upwards to 3 lbs. or so and then finally, one day it would be gone. Strange phenomenon, but there's definitely something to it! (I'm due for a whoosh soon!)

    Lol. I sure hope I'm due for a whoosh soon, too. I just tell myself that it's physiologically impossibly to have a consistent caloric deficit and stay at the same weight forever. But its so frustrating to bust your butt for weeks and see no change on the scale.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    I have the same thing, but it correlates to my monthly cycle. I generally lose 5lbs the first 2 weeks of my cycle. Then from ovulation to period, I fluctuate 2-3lbs above my lowest weight. Once my period starts I quickly go down 7-8lbs (2-3# above my last recorded low plus an additional 5ish).
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
    mkakids wrote: »
    I have the same thing, but it correlates to my monthly cycle. I generally lose 5lbs the first 2 weeks of my cycle. Then from ovulation to period, I fluctuate 2-3lbs above my lowest weight. Once my period starts I quickly go down 7-8lbs (2-3# above my last recorded low plus an additional 5ish).

    I'm going to start to record closer and see If it's related.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    It's was like this for me the two other times I got fat after having babies. Lost every pound gained in six weeks, with none of it in the first two and most of it in the last two. It worsened after I quit smoking in 2004 and actually gained serious weight. I've been losing and gaining ever since. I get discouraged and give up, gain another ten pounds, get mad and start killing myself, don't lose anything for weeks, then in a few weeks lose 15 pounds. Tell myself, okay, that was easy, then stop trying. Then gain 20 pounds. And the beat goes on.

    This time, I'm not stopping. I might stall a few times, but not stopping. Thank you MFP and all my friends here.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
    That's what I do, too.
  • haydiz70
    haydiz70 Posts: 56 Member
    Yep, I'm the same way. Woosh is a good way to describe how I lose weight. I have noticed I lose weight in a more linear manner by diet alone. Adding in exercise throws my weight loss for a bumpy ride. The weight still comes off but in a seemingly more unpredictable manner, which can be frustrating. I don't freak out anymore about temporary, small weight gains from exercise when I know I've been doing everything right. Ok, I do freak out a little but...I know in a few days, I'll see good results on the scale.
  • JanetMMcC
    JanetMMcC Posts: 410 Member
    I think the change in shape without change in weight is at least partly because muscle is denser than fat. As you build up muscle, you're also losing fat -- but the denser muscle keeps your weight constant.

    The last time I lost a bunch of weight, it was through Weight Watchers. The week I knew I'd be at goal, I wore my fat jeans over the ones that fit. After my weigh-in, I opened the belt and let the fat jeans fall to the ground without unbuttoning them.

    The group leader told us that it reminded him of another member. He was really frustrated because his weight had been staying the same for weeks and weeks even though he'd been following the plan.
    The GL said "There are other ways to measure success besides weight. Are there other signs?"
    The guy thought a bit and started smiling. Then he started laughing.
    "I work security at a grocery store. The other day, I saw a guy put some food in his pocket. I said 'Hey!'" (pointing) "and my pants fell down."

  • kellycasey5
    kellycasey5 Posts: 486 Member
    ME too. I just shake my head at those that lose 1-2 pounds each and every week. I am like 3 pounds or nothing, up a little, hold steady, hold steady, hold steady and REALLY getting frustrated, then boom 3 pounds down.

    Knowing is half the battle! Congrats on your success! Do you take measurements? I know when I held at 175 for almost a month I had lost about 4 inches overall....just a thought for when the scale doesn't agree with you :)


  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
    Yep, I have the couple of week stall and then the whoosh. I found it very, very frustrating until I realized that this is a pattern, and by the sounds of things a fairly common one! When starting out in weight loss, a lot of people (myself included at first) think that it should be a simple, linear process; losing pound by pound each week. Not seeing that is the reason some people give up after three weeks, or why we get so many people posting about how they have 'plateaued' after just a couple of weeks.
  • indianarose2
    indianarose2 Posts: 469 Member
    So glad to have found this thread. Waiting on my whoosh, swoosh whatever..
  • Fayeworth
    Fayeworth Posts: 60 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Not to be pedantic but I've always seen 4g water to g glycogen

    But yes OP ...stall then whoosh is pretty common

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/

    I'm not sure this is how it works in reality but it's a nice graphic

    481519_541350332560565_1344462761_n.jpg

    Is this really true? If so, it explains my weight loss patten to a T!! I only seem to lose once a month and it's normally quite a big drop, then nothing the rest of the weeks in the month.
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
    kellycasey5 wrote: »
    ME too. I just shake my head at those that lose 1-2 pounds each and every week. I am like 3 pounds or nothing, up a little, hold steady, hold steady, hold steady and REALLY getting frustrated, then boom 3 pounds down.

    Knowing is half the battle! Congrats on your success! Do you take measurements? I know when I held at 175 for almost a month I had lost about 4 inches overall....just a thought for when the scale doesn't agree with you :)


    No, I don't measure. I need to. Probably should have started that long ago, lol.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Yeah I lose this way. I actually gave up because I wasn't losing and went into maintenance, and then finally lost the couple pounds I was working on.
  • cmcdonald525
    cmcdonald525 Posts: 140 Member
    Finally had my first loss after starting strength training almost a month ago. Felt so good to see that number move, even if I could see changes in my body already! Even though I expected it, it still kinda messes with your head. Glad to know a lot of other people lose this way too
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