Can someone explain this?

the body's weight loss isn't linear... I don't know the exact reason behind it. You could put on 2-3 lbs in water weight and lose the fat over the week and it wouldn't show on the scale. then the next week, you lose another couple pounds AND the water weight goes away... WHOOSH, a large drop in weight.

Thats how I understand it, maybe someone else will chime in. But either way, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE GREAT PROGRESS!!!

msujack wrote: »

the body's weight loss isn't linear... I don't know the exact reason behind it. You could put on 2-3 lbs in water weight and lose the fat over the week and it wouldn't show on the scale. then the next week, you lose another couple pounds AND the water weight goes away... WHOOSH, a large drop in weight.

Thats how I understand it, maybe someone else will chime in. But either way, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE GREAT PROGRESS!!!

This is my understanding of it as well after spending countless hours researching it. Measurements should be taken with fat calipers to track fat loss. The water weight fluctuates too randomly and often to use a weight scale successfully on a daily basis.

Eating at a calorie deficit is about fat loss. Body weight is composed of more than fat. Water is usually the culprit in fast weight gain or loss.

weight loss isn't a linear function, it is a general trend over time. equally important is understanding that body weight in general is not static.

Water retention isn't a linear function either, for young females. You can expect regular stalls and whooshes at different times of the month.

I've also noticed this. I really started watching my calories and stuff September 16. First week I was going down everyday. (I do Wii fit, so it says a body test should be done daily. It's a routine now really.)
And then randomly I kept waking up and losing like 2 pounds a day.
And then without changing anything I was just continuing I started going up by 0.2 or 0.4 pounds and then dropping 1 pound and then a random 4 pound gain, and then a loss etc. It's very random, but over the course of 2 weeks it has gone down from the starting number.
You gotta kinda just go with it with no harsh expectations. Numerous times I've woken up feeling great and thinking I've definitely gone down a bit because I don't feel bloated or anything, and I gained .5 of a pound.
Just go with the flow, and do your best!

Yeah, it's just how weight loss is.

Basically, remember your body is mostly water. Your body needs to maintain osmolarity (basically, the concentration of "stuff" dissolved in the water of your body). So if you gain "stuff" - this could be sodium or potassium, it could be glycogen, the short-term energy stores of your liver and muscles, etc. - for each molecule of "stuff" it has to have a certain number of water molecules too to keep the osmolarity of your blood and cells correct.

Your kidneys manage the water balance of your body by either making your urine more concentrated (conserving body water) or dilute (expelling excess water). You gain water both by eating and drinking, as well as by burning calories - for example, all carbohydates ultimately break down into water + carbon dioxide + energy. Your body cycles through about ten pounds of water per day - most expelled by urine, but some in sweat or as water vapor in your breath.

There are so many factors that influence water weight, it may as well be random. How much sodium and potassium you eat, how much you exercise (can cause muscle cells to swell with excess water), how stressed you are, what your hormone levels are, if you're slightly dehydrated versus slightly overhydrated, etc. all play roles.

You care about long-term trends, not short-term.