fat vs water weight?

Well, if you didn't eat 3,500 calories over your maintenance calories...it's not fat.

Jonestiarra2013 wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

Well, if you didn't eat 3,500 calories over your maintenance calories...it's not fat.

Well I've been losing about a pound a day

So there's water weight coming off. You're not losing a pound of fat a day. I assume you just started with your weight loss?

Jonestiarra2013 wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

Well, if you didn't eat 3,500 calories over your maintenance calories...it's not fat.

Well I've been losing about a pound a day

Even with a consistent calorie deficit, water weight comes and goes within a reasonable range. It might fluctuate up or down by as much as 5 or 6 pounds (in my experience), but it will present itself as noise in an overall trend of weight loss or gain.

If you're losing a pound a day, you're almost certainly pretty early on in your weight loss efforts? It is common to drop a bunch of water weight initially (especially if you are consciously low-carbing it or just reducing carb intake as a result of your calorie restriction). Don't get discouraged if the pace slows down; don't get discouraged when you add some water weight back after a sodium-rich or carb-rich day; and, looking way out, don't get discouraged when you reach a goal weight, up your calories a bit, and seem to add scale weight (i.e., water) out of proportion to your calorie intake.

Leslierussell4134 wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

Leslierussell4134 wrote: »

The simple way is to only weigh yourself once per week or once each 2 weeks. As long as you don't have a fluid retention issue and you're not dehydrating your body to see loses, this interval should work well to determine the difference.
1 liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs. It is unsafe to lose and gain more than 2 pounds of water per day regularly, it messes up the electrolytes in your blood stream; potassium, sodium etc. Focus on consuming the recommended water each day and on days that you weigh, make it the first thing in the morning at the same time, with the same cloths on or naked, after your morning bathroom visit. I'm a nurse and this is how we weigh people in the hosptial when we are monitoring their fluids.

Sorry but none of that has anything to do with distinguishing fat loss from water loss. Weighing once a week or every other week tells you nothing. Also, your patients aren't running on treadmills or lifts weights. Real life works different than an in hospital setting.

I won't argue because you won't understand it likely.
However, for this poster, if you consume enough water...continue to pee...and are not dehydrated...and continue to lose weight...you're either losing fat or muscle...there is nothing else it could be.
And the great thing is "healthy bodies" tend to work mostly the same. No one will ever be able to lose a pound a day consistently...that's water and you will die...period. You're probably letting go of some excess water, don't worry, it will level out. Again, if you have no medical problems and aren't doing any of the other things I mentioned.
Good luck!!!

OMG. "I won't argue because you won't understand it..."

Wow. Just wow. The only people who refuse to defend their position are people who can't because their facts are lacking.

Th only people who I've ever met who advertise themselves as nurses (publicly and to strangers) are CNAs or SNs. And you know what they say, students know nothing and nursing students know double nothing.

MrM27 wrote: »

Leslierussell4134 wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

Leslierussell4134 wrote: »

The simple way is to only weigh yourself once per week or once each 2 weeks. As long as you don't have a fluid retention issue and you're not dehydrating your body to see loses, this interval should work well to determine the difference.
1 liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs. It is unsafe to lose and gain more than 2 pounds of water per day regularly, it messes up the electrolytes in your blood stream; potassium, sodium etc. Focus on consuming the recommended water each day and on days that you weigh, make it the first thing in the morning at the same time, with the same cloths on or naked, after your morning bathroom visit. I'm a nurse and this is how we weigh people in the hosptial when we are monitoring their fluids.

Sorry but none of that has anything to do with distinguishing fat loss from water loss. Weighing once a week or every other week tells you nothing. Also, your patients aren't running on treadmills or lifts weights. Real life works different than an in hospital setting.

I won't argue because you won't understand it likely.
However, for this poster, if you consume enough water...continue to pee...and are not dehydrated...and continue to lose weight...you're either losing fat or muscle...there is nothing else it could be.
And the great thing is "healthy bodies" tend to work mostly the same. No one will ever be able to lose a pound a day consistently...that's water and you will die...period. You're probably letting go of some excess water, don't worry, it will level out. Again, if you have no medical problems and aren't doing any of the other things I mentioned.
Good luck!!!

Go ahead and try to explain it to me I'm pretty sure I'm going to have no problems understanding whatever points you attempt to make. Try your best.

And as far just one of the last things you just said, "you're either losing fat or muscle...there is nothing else it could be", I understand you might be trying to over simplify the process for the OP but you shouldn't present inaccurate information like that. You should know that a person losing weight can lose fat, lbm, glycogen, water. We won't be retaining the same exact amount of glycogen day in and day out and it will vary based on activity, intake and how much muscle you actually have. Then you have undigested food and not to mention cortisol which will also affect water retention.

So like I said, feel free to explain what you think I won't understand, you might be surprised.

Critical thinking cannot be explained in a blog post. If you want to know what I meant you can ask your doctor. Last I checked we don't pee out glycogen...we pee out glucose...and not by itself...Ouch that would hurt right!! Pee and every thing that can come out with it comes out in the typical yellow stuff we see on the toilet...called urine. You are throwing our things you'd see in unhealthy people...my comment clearly said healthy. If you have issues or concerns and are not healthy please go see a doctor quickly. I'm just a nurse...what do I know.

MrM27 wrote: »

Leslierussell4134 wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

Leslierussell4134 wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

Leslierussell4134 wrote: »

The simple way is to only weigh yourself once per week or once each 2 weeks. As long as you don't have a fluid retention issue and you're not dehydrating your body to see loses, this interval should work well to determine the difference.
1 liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs. It is unsafe to lose and gain more than 2 pounds of water per day regularly, it messes up the electrolytes in your blood stream; potassium, sodium etc. Focus on consuming the recommended water each day and on days that you weigh, make it the first thing in the morning at the same time, with the same cloths on or naked, after your morning bathroom visit. I'm a nurse and this is how we weigh people in the hosptial when we are monitoring their fluids.

Sorry but none of that has anything to do with distinguishing fat loss from water loss. Weighing once a week or every other week tells you nothing. Also, your patients aren't running on treadmills or lifts weights. Real life works different than an in hospital setting.

I won't argue because you won't understand it likely.
However, for this poster, if you consume enough water...continue to pee...and are not dehydrated...and continue to lose weight...you're either losing fat or muscle...there is nothing else it could be.
And the great thing is "healthy bodies" tend to work mostly the same. No one will ever be able to lose a pound a day consistently...that's water and you will die...period. You're probably letting go of some excess water, don't worry, it will level out. Again, if you have no medical problems and aren't doing any of the other things I mentioned.
Good luck!!!

Go ahead and try to explain it to me I'm pretty sure I'm going to have no problems understanding whatever points you attempt to make. Try your best.

And as far just one of the last things you just said, "you're either losing fat or muscle...there is nothing else it could be", I understand you might be trying to over simplify the process for the OP but you shouldn't present inaccurate information like that. You should know that a person losing weight can lose fat, lbm, glycogen, water. We won't be retaining the same exact amount of glycogen day in and day out and it will vary based on activity, intake and how much muscle you actually have. Then you have undigested food and not to mention cortisol which will also affect water retention.

So like I said, feel free to explain what you think I won't understand, you might be surprised.

Critical thinking cannot be explained in a blog post. If you want to know what I meant you can ask your doctor. Last I checked we don't pee out glycogen...we pee out glucose...and not by itself...Ouch that would hurt right!! Pee and every thing that can come out with it comes out in the typical yellow stuff we see on the toilet...called urine. You are throwing our things you'd see in unhealthy people...my comment clearly said healthy. If you have issues or concerns and are not healthy please go see a doctor quickly. I'm just a nurse...what do I know.

Well you can take the approach that somehow I don't understand what you might try to explain and attempt to mask it with humor. The fact that you think I said anything about peeing out glycogen is a clear demonstration that you're not ready to get into a back and forth of how things work. At any point you're more than willing to attempt to demonstrate how dumb I am by explaining what it is I don't know. Feel free.

And just so you know, being a nurse validates your statements by no factor. Don't overstate how much you think you might know. You know and I know that we work with many nurses that are clueless when it comes to things like this.

I didn't get into nursing to argue back and forth, it doesn't work like that. I never said you were dumb, how could I? I don't even know you nor would I ever say such a thing even if I did.
The point is, part of the work nurses and doctors do is critical thinking, not taught in books, rather a compilation of knowledge and interpretation of information to a specific situation. Meaning it can't be discribed in a paragraph on a blog post.
If you're interested, maybe pursue the information yourself and go from there.
This conversation reminds me of what to focus on in my practice, thank you for that. I need to present the information to people and let them do with it what they wish and only hope it triggers a thirst for them to know more.
I don't know you, you don't know me but through sites like this we should encourage each other and offer helpful hints that one could learn from or disgaurd if they wish.
That's all I'd like to say to you.
To the OP, always seek the information yourself and do what works for you. Listen to what your body, often it tells you what's wrong or where to start when looking for a cause. No one person knows it all, but we have the ability to learn for a lifetime. Cheers!