A 'whoosh' and then gain

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NotSoPerfectPam
NotSoPerfectPam Posts: 114 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This happens almost every single month - I'll have a whoosh and lose three or four pounds, and then the next day, I will gain it all back plus more. A few weeks later, the weight will go back down to that previous low, and then I'll lose a couple more pounds, but the next day, back up again. It seems to happen more frequently when I work out a lot, and especially when I use weights. Any ideas? just water weight because of muscle damage?

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  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    edited June 2016
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    But is the trend overall going down? that is the main thing. That's why I use a weight trending app so I can see trends, even in maintenance I still track my weight, it helps me figure out how my body works and what causes spikes in my weight, it takes any needless fretting out of the equation :smile: .

    If you are maintaining your weight then you are eating maintenance calories, if you want to keep losing you need to shave some calories each day.

    The muscles hold on to extra water for repair when we've worked them hard, this can last for 3 or 4 days.

    If you consistently work out week in/week out then that initial water weight wont happen as much.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    NotSoPerfectPam wrote: »
    This happens almost every single month - I'll have a whoosh and lose three or four pounds, and then the next day, I will gain it all back plus more. A few weeks later, the weight will go back down to that previous low, and then I'll lose a couple more pounds, but the next day, back up again. It seems to happen more frequently when I work out a lot, and especially when I use weights. Any ideas? just water weight because of muscle damage?

    If it happens every month it's more likely water weight around ovulation and periods (although you do get water weight increases around change-up in exercise too)

    It is common to have water retention around both - can impact on weight by 3-4 lbs and mask loss

    The big question is what's your trendline over time

    eg if you look back 6 months around overall at a lower rate with the 3-4lbs natural flucatuations

    an app like Libra or Happy Scale or a site like trendweight.com would help you here.
  • NotSoPerfectPam
    NotSoPerfectPam Posts: 114 Member
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    My overall trend is down, but because of these fluctuations, I get frustrated and tend not to stay on track, which means I'm losing just a couple/few pounds a month, when I'd prefer more progress.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    Its good news that the trend is going down, albeit slower than you'd like at least in the right direction :smile:
    Try not to let fluctuations bother you. Stick with it and you'll get there :smile:
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    NotSoPerfectPam wrote: »
    My overall trend is down, but because of these fluctuations, I get frustrated and tend not to stay on track, which means I'm losing just a couple/few pounds a month, when I'd prefer more progress.

    If you have a better understanding now, you can maybe talk to yourself about staying more on track :)
  • Citycat2015
    Citycat2015 Posts: 86 Member
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    My body does this as well. One week I drop 3-4 pounds, then it goes up then levels by the end of the week. I just figured it is due to ovulation, TOM, etc and it doesn't bother me. Definitely not something to lose track over. If you are losing very slowly over all then perhaps tighten up your logging and check that you aren't eating more than you think.
  • st476
    st476 Posts: 357 Member
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    The same exact thing happens to me! tdjcfrrb1l7n.png
    I don't really let it bother me because the trend is downwards :smile:
  • olyrose
    olyrose Posts: 569 Member
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    Ugh, same thing here! It can be really discouraging seeing those significant fluctuations. You work so hard to drop a couple pounds, and then it's all back and then some overnight. For some reason I feel like my body gets really sensitive to food/drinks when I'm trying to lose weight. It seems like the fluctuations get a lot worse and anything not completely clean or homemade triggers a huge gain. Or maybe I'm just paying attention more... Either way, it's frustrating, even though I understand fluctuations are normal.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    That's how I lost my weight. Woosh the week after my period, then gain a bit until the next one. Every month.
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
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    My weight has been bouncing all over the place these last couple months. It helps that I weigh in at the doctor's once per month. My scale was showing gains and whooshes at home, and my weight today is only a pound lighter than it was 3 weeks ago (gains in between), but I was 10 pounds lighter than my last Dr. visit. There's my trend - down.
  • klrenn
    klrenn Posts: 245 Member
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    NotSoPerfectPam wrote: »
    Any ideas? just water weight because of muscle damage?

    It could be that, but you also have to think of your menstrual cycle - I see ups and downs all month long because of water weight.

    Please don't let it discourage you. We all have a weight range. Not a static number.

    Have you looked at trendweight or happy scale? I have trendweight and for a long while weighed daily. The app smooths out the scale readings so you can see your overall trend.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited June 2016
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    NotSoPerfectPam wrote: »
    My overall trend is down, but because of these fluctuations, I get frustrated and tend not to stay on track, which means I'm losing just a couple/few pounds a month, when I'd prefer more progress.

    Since you KNOW this is your pattern, accept it and stay on track. This is also my pattern, I can often predict my ups and downs. There is no value in trying to "fight" it. This is what "weight loss is not linear" means.

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