WHY did i lose weight?

sarah307
sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I usually only weigh myself on Mondays, in the morning. (I try to, anyways) But..

Wednesday I went to the Dr. and they weighed me and I was 126 - Yay, I was excited.

Then the rest of Wednesday, Thursday, and today.. I was over my calorie goal (which I recently (last week?) switched to 1500 instead of 1300)...THEN...

tonight, I was like..."Dang, this is just going to be a maintenance week I guess.. and out of curiosity, I weighed myself at 9:30 at night. Why did I do this?! And I weighed 124.8. I weighed myself again to make sure my scale isn't tricking me and it said 124.8 again.

now, why did I lose weigh despite increasing my calories AND eating over my goal.. accidentally?
Is it because my body is catching up from last weeks workouts and stuff.. and then next week my body will possibly gain because of this week??

THANKS. any replies are appreciated!

Replies

  • Bigpelly8
    Bigpelly8 Posts: 504 Member
    Maybe you haven't been eating the right calories....or....sometimes a shock to the system and being over cals can work wonders too!! But, what do I know :-)
  • Lexino
    Lexino Posts: 153 Member
    It could just be because its a different scale...My doc's scale is about 4 lbs different then the one I have at home!
  • gaeljo
    gaeljo Posts: 223 Member
    When your metabolism increases you get to eat more. Pretend your metabolism is a fire the more logs u throw on it the hotter it burns.
  • alexbowser
    alexbowser Posts: 322 Member
    That's happened to me several times after holidays. It's good to keep your body guessing and shake up your calorie intake sometimes.
  • lizzil0
    lizzil0 Posts: 181 Member
    It's a mystery- I had the same kind of thing happen this morning. I got a cold 2 days ago so stopped daily exercise and upped my calories to maintenance. Last weighed myself 4 days ago and was 130, today I was 127.5! How does it work?
  • skinnyjeanzbound
    skinnyjeanzbound Posts: 3,932 Member
    Yes--what gaeljo said--when you eat more it increases your metabolism--your body has to actually work harder to burn the extra fuel.
  • brneydgrlie
    brneydgrlie Posts: 464 Member
    Check out the MFP posts about zig-zagging calories. Many people do purposely what you did accidentally. :happy: It's supposed to help prevent plateauing.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    It could just be because its a different scale...My doc's scale is about 4 lbs different then the one I have at home!

    see, thats what i thought at first.. but like three days before i went to the doctor. i was 126.8 on MY scale. so i went down there too.hmm.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    Check out the MFP posts about zig-zagging calories. Many people do purposely what you did accidentally. :happy: It's supposed to help prevent plateauing.

    haha! that's hilarious! because I was thinking about researching more about zig-zagging calories since I am only 5 pounds away or so from my goal.. that's funny. i think i seriously zig-zagged accidentally!
  • bigalfantasy2004
    bigalfantasy2004 Posts: 176 Member
    If you're eating things that are natural diuretics like Green tea, Cranberry juice, Apple cider vinegar, watermelons, or cucumbers you're body will naturally lose water weight.

    Or the following foods will speed up your metabolism: Asparagus, Brussels Spouts, Beets, Oats, Cabbage, carrots, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Horseradish, raw onions and radish.

    Any combination of those can lead to a short term weight loss.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    It's a mystery- I had the same kind of thing happen this morning. I got a cold 2 days ago so stopped daily exercise and upped my calories to maintenance. Last weighed myself 4 days ago and was 130, today I was 127.5! How does it work?

    haha it is a mystery!!! LOL. maybe i'll ask my anatomy teacher :):) haha
  • Azuleelan
    Azuleelan Posts: 218 Member
    The metabolism comments are right, but metabolisms don't switch like that in a few days... the simplest answer is that you STILL burned more than what you ate.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    If you're eating things that are natural diuretics like Green tea, Cranberry juice, Apple cider vinegar, watermelons, or cucumbers you're body will naturally lose water weight.

    Or the following foods will speed up your metabolism: Asparagus, Brussels Spouts, Beets, Oats, Cabbage, carrots, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Horseradish, raw onions and radish.

    Any combination of those can lead to a short term weight loss.

    I copied and pasted the list of foods that speed up your metabolism for later reference :) haha!
    Anyways, you also said 'short term weight loss' .. did you mean i lost weight in a short amount of time, which is what happened... or that i will gain my weight back after a while because this is just water weight>
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    The metabolism comments are right, but metabolisms don't switch like that in a few days... the simplest answer is that you STILL burned more than what you ate.

    SWEET!!! :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,461 MFP Moderator
    You body notices you are taking in more food and it speeds up your metabolism. In fact, when you try to lose that last five pounds, you will more than likely have to increase your calorie intake. Many people under eat what they should and suffer from it. so when they accidently zig zag or increase your cal intake, the body favorably loses weight. Heck, every time I hit a plateau, I just eat 200 more calories to see if it's the answer. So far, it has worked 3 times over the past 2 months. And heck, starting Sunday, I iwll be increasing my calories from 2800 to 3000. I expect the same result.
  • bigalfantasy2004
    bigalfantasy2004 Posts: 176 Member
    If you're eating things that are natural diuretics like Green tea, Cranberry juice, Apple cider vinegar, watermelons, or cucumbers you're body will naturally lose water weight.

    Or the following foods will speed up your metabolism: Asparagus, Brussels Spouts, Beets, Oats, Cabbage, carrots, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Horseradish, raw onions and radish.

    Any combination of those can lead to a short term weight loss.

    I copied and pasted the list of foods that speed up your metabolism for later reference :) haha!
    Anyways, you also said 'short term weight loss' .. did you mean i lost weight in a short amount of time, which is what happened... or that i will gain my weight back after a while because this is just water weight>

    Water weight loss is very short term, especially if you eat foods that are high in salt content and then drink a lot of water afterwards. The problem with diuretics and diuretic foods though is that if you eat too many of them you could possibly harm your kidneys since your kidneys need water to work properly.

    Metabolism boosting foods can cause lots of intestinal discomfort because of the fiber content so I would eat all of these in moderation.
  • lclarkjr
    lclarkjr Posts: 359 Member
    For me, I don't count any weight loss as being official unless I weigh in using the same scale. It's not uncommon for different scales to fluctuate by a couple pounds. Not to say that your scale is more accurate the the Dr's scale, but I think scale consistency matters when trying to keep track of weight loss.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,461 MFP Moderator
    ps- just like the tide of the ocean, your body goes through cycles. This occurs during the day and throughout the week. Also, weather plays a huge role. When it's warmer outside your body will dispose of the water weight. If you want a more accurate picture of where you stand, get your body fat tested (with calipers not the machine) or measure the inches around your body.
  • maggie4097
    maggie4097 Posts: 156 Member
    Check out the MFP posts about zig-zagging calories. Many people do purposely what you did accidentally. :happy: It's supposed to help prevent plateauing.

    haha! that's hilarious! because I was thinking about researching more about zig-zagging calories since I am only 5 pounds away or so from my goal.. that's funny. i think i seriously zig-zagged accidentally!

    I've read about the zig zagging, and it seems so complicated! But, I think I have also accidentally zig zagged, and lost weigh as a result. I chalked it up to confusing my metabolism, I guess. I'm a fan of anything that allows me to eat more--even sometimes :-)
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    You body notices you are taking in more food and it speeds up your metabolism. In fact, when you try to lose that last five pounds, you will more than likely have to increase your calorie intake. Many people under eat what they should and suffer from it. so when they accidently zig zag or increase your cal intake, the body favorably loses weight. Heck, every time I hit a plateau, I just eat 200 more calories to see if it's the answer. So far, it has worked 3 times over the past 2 months. And heck, starting Sunday, I iwll be increasing my calories from 2800 to 3000. I expect the same result.

    Wow, thanks for that post! Yes, I think I will try this more often! who wouldve thought that increases calories for a little bit can get you off a plateau .. !
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    For me, I don't count any weight loss as being official unless I weigh in using the same scale. It's not uncommon for different scales to fluctuate by a couple pounds. Not to say that your scale is more accurate the the Dr's scale, but I think scale consistency matters when trying to keep track of weight loss.

    Yeah! Thanks! Like i said before.. Sunday i weighed myself on MY scale and it was 126.8, Wednesday at the Dr. it was 126. then back at home on MY scale .. in the NIGHT lol.. 124.8..

    so obviously, i did lose -- according to my scale. But yes, I need to start getting my body fat % actually measured at the gym.. i mean, i work at one, why not!? haha. cause the online ones are just not accurate really.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    Just wanted to say thanks for everyone who replied and helped me solve the mystery :)

    Looks like i'm going to be looking into zig-zagging calories ;)
  • chizzledfrmstone
    chizzledfrmstone Posts: 58 Member
    This might also have something to do with the fact all Calories aren't the same. Thermodynamically the amount of energy needed to burn 2,000 kcal is always the same but the affect different macronutrients have on metabolic pathways is different. They have different physiological responses. A good example is when people do ketogenic diets if they consume unsaturated fats more than saturated fats they increase thermogenesis. Different rates of B-oxidation going on. You can definitely see this physically if you centrifuge a blood sample after a person eats fruits compared to a cheeseburger (with 56g or whatever of fat). You will see a nice thick layer of chylomicrons on top.

    Maybe zig-zagging calories isn't the culprit here but nutrient partitioning. When you zig-zag calories with a deficit and surplus the overall net calories will dictate the result...

    I hope that made sense and I didn't sound like an idiot.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
    This might also have something to do with the fact all Calories aren't the same. Thermodynamically the amount of energy needed to burn 2,000 kcal is always the same but the affect different macronutrients have on metabolic pathways is different. They have different physiological responses. A good example is when people do ketogenic diets if they consume unsaturated fats more than saturated fats they increase thermogenesis. Different rates of B-oxidation going on. You can definitely see this physically if you centrifuge a blood sample after a person eats fruits compared to a cheeseburger (with 56g or whatever of fat). You will see a nice thick layer of chylomicrons on top.

    Maybe zig-zagging calories isn't the culprit here but nutrient partitioning. When you zig-zag calories with a deficit and surplus the overall net calories will dictate the result...

    I hope that made sense and I didn't sound like an idiot.

    so are you saying it could be WHAT i ate instead of the zig-zagging thing. cause i sure as hell didn't eat nice and clean when i went over :) haha! I really would like to be able to see a NET calories for the week. and also diagrams on net calories each day of the week.. so i can tell if i accidentally zig zagged or not.
  • chizzledfrmstone
    chizzledfrmstone Posts: 58 Member
    This might also have something to do with the fact all Calories aren't the same. Thermodynamically the amount of energy needed to burn 2,000 kcal is always the same but the affect different macronutrients have on metabolic pathways is different. They have different physiological responses. A good example is when people do ketogenic diets if they consume unsaturated fats more than saturated fats they increase thermogenesis. Different rates of B-oxidation going on. You can definitely see this physically if you centrifuge a blood sample after a person eats fruits compared to a cheeseburger (with 56g or whatever of fat). You will see a nice thick layer of chylomicrons on top.

    Maybe zig-zagging calories isn't the culprit here but nutrient partitioning. When you zig-zag calories with a deficit and surplus the overall net calories will dictate the result...

    I hope that made sense and I didn't sound like an idiot.

    so are you saying it could be WHAT i ate instead of the zig-zagging thing. cause i sure as hell didn't eat nice and clean when i went over :) haha! I really would like to be able to see a NET calories for the week. and also diagrams on net calories each day of the week.. so i can tell if i accidentally zig zagged or not.

    If you go to the top and click on the reports tab you can get a nice graph of your net calories for the day. I'd be interested in knowing if it was WHAT you ate as opposed to the zig-zagging.

    If you have the time feel free to keep my updated.
  • JenKoz4
    JenKoz4 Posts: 37 Member
    It happened to me yesterday, I've been eating like crazy but the weight is still dropping off. I'm not taking it as a sign that my 300 over eating calories should be done every day, but more like "you're doing the right thing, but you should stay on track."
This discussion has been closed.

Categories