I lost 4lbs in a day...?!

betsyellens22
betsyellens22 Posts: 23 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi! *disclaimer: I am new to posting and being a part of the community! Feel free to add me, I need some buddies!!* Ok so basically I started my low sodium, calorie deficit, water only, and no fast food diet yesterday. I also went out and bought Hydroxycut (I know its not a miracle pill, i've taken it before, and I love the energy it gives me). But I only had time to take 1 pill with my last meal of the day, because that was just the time of day I bought it. I stepped on the scale this morning and went from 170.5lbs to 166.4lbs! And yes, i always weigh myself in the morning before anything else and after i use the bathroom. Can anyone explain this? Is it a bad thing? I have the weight watchers scale and i know nothing is wrong with it. And I cut my calories down from about 2800+ to 1200. :o

Replies

  • debsdoingthis
    debsdoingthis Posts: 454 Member
    Water weight
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
    edited June 2015
    Water, a hefty bowel movement and/or scale error. Nothing too unusual. I can make myself gain or lose 5 lbs by shifting an inch or so on my scale, and it's not a cheap one. You'll probably bounce back 3.9 lbs of that 4.2 in another twelve hours or so. It's the long-term trend that matters.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    edited June 2015
    I started my low sodium, calorie deficit, water only, and no fast food diet yesterday.
    You lost a little water because you cut back on sodium, a little water because you didn't eat your fast food yesterday.
    And then normal monthly/daily/hourly fluctuations.
  • betsyellens22
    betsyellens22 Posts: 23 Member
    flaminica wrote: »
    Water, a hefty bowel movement and/or scale error. Nothing too unusual. I can make myself gain or lose 5 lbs by shifting an inch or so on my scale, and it's not a cheap one. You'll probably bounce back 3.9 lbs of that 4.2 in another twelve hours or so. It's the long-term trend that matters.
    yeah, plus i would have been excited with just a half pound difference. So i freaked out. BUT i also checked 3 times and again an hour later

  • spinneyhex
    spinneyhex Posts: 54 Member
    I've had this quite a few times. My weightloss isn't linear at all. Enjoy it :)
  • betsyellens22
    betsyellens22 Posts: 23 Member
    spinneyhex wrote: »
    I've had this quite a few times. My weightloss isn't linear at all. Enjoy it :)
    not really sure what you mean. Tell me about your experience!

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Weight loss is not linear. The red dots are actual weigh scale results.

    JKTrendWeight.JPG

    When tracking weight loss, follow the blue line (trend).
  • MtnGirl38
    MtnGirl38 Posts: 37 Member
    I've had it happen the other way too if I go overboard on sodium, sugary treats or other processed carbs (like chips, baked goods, etc.)....the scale can show a 3-5lb gain overnight. Luckily when I get back on track it's gone in a few days!
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I usually weight 8lbs heavier when I go to sleep as compared to the same morning. Usually go from 172-173 to 180-181 in the evenings. That's with a consistent diet. Cutting out fast food and sodium would make you lose a lot of water weight. Completely normal.
  • mousie1973
    mousie1973 Posts: 438 Member
    water weight

  • AmeliaCarranza
    AmeliaCarranza Posts: 4 Member
    I don't think checking the scale on a daily basis is reliable or a good idea. Maybe once a week at the most, the same day every week at the same time. I do it first thing in the morning after I pee but before I drink or eat anything. And once a month. I've read that you can lose max 2 lbs of fat per week. Anything more is either water or lean body mass (muscle).
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Losing a pound of fat requires a 3500 calorie deficit. Multiply that times 4 and you would have had to eat 14,000 calories less than you burned yesterday to lose 4 pounds of fat. Since we know that didn't happen, it was water loss.

    Water retention occurs when your sodium/potassium balance is heavy on the sodium, when your muscles are repairing themselves after a strenuous workout, due to hormonal balance issues (menstrual cycle, etc.) and so on. Since you drank only water and avoided the sodium that was apparently a normal part of your diet one can easily infer that your potassium/sodium balance is leaning a little more to the potassium side today and you therefore shed a bunch of water.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    betsyellens22 wrote: »
    Hi! *disclaimer: I am new to posting and being a part of the community! Feel free to add me, I need some buddies!!* Ok so basically I started my low sodium, calorie deficit, water only, and no fast food diet yesterday. I also went out and bought Hydroxycut (I know its not a miracle pill, i've taken it before, and I love the energy it gives me). But I only had time to take 1 pill with my last meal of the day, because that was just the time of day I bought it. I stepped on the scale this morning and went from 170.5lbs to 166.4lbs! And yes, i always weigh myself in the morning before anything else and after i use the bathroom. Can anyone explain this? Is it a bad thing? I have the weight watchers scale and i know nothing is wrong with it. And I cut my calories down from about 2800+ to 1200. :o

    Most people can fluctuate a good 3-5 Lbs day to day. Your weight isn't static. You have water retention/release, more/less waste in your system at any given time, etc.

    I've gained almost 3 Lbs since yesterday and I can assure you that I didn't eat 10,500 calories over maintenance...because that would be like 13,500 calories total and I'd puke and probably pass out before I ever got there.
  • losergood2011
    losergood2011 Posts: 172 Member
    I weigh every day - I used to freak but it has been interesting to watch the trends. It is not linear (meaning a straight line) it goes up and down and zig zags! If I always want to show a minus I have learned teusday am is the best day. A gain sunday am is the best day. Probably due to increased sodium and water from what I gather. Tuesdays I have been back on track a while. shrug - interesting and now I don't 'freak' at a 4lb gain or loss. Just find it interesting.
  • betsyellens22
    betsyellens22 Posts: 23 Member
    Thank you everyone!! I agree that is is water weight, a change in sodium intake, and that weight is usually not measured in a linear pattern because it just always depends. I weighed myself again when I woke up today (i have a weird schedule, i work nights and sleep during the day!). I lost another .2lbs. So from 170.5 to 166.4 to 166.2lbs. I guess I just really needed to lay off all the crap and flush my system out!!
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  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    If you are not eating it's mostly glycogen depletion. It will mostly all come back as soon as you eat again. Once I fasted for 3 days and lost 10 pounds. Then I ate and gained 9 pounds overnight.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    OP - like everyone else said it is water weight. oh, and ditch the hydroxy cut that is a waste of money.
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  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Just be aware that people often lose a lot of water weight when they first change the way they are eating. After a little while (1-3 weeks) your body will go "oops, I need some of that water back" and you will either stall for a couple of weeks or even regain some. As long as you are eating in a deficit, you will still be losing fat the whole time.

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