Losing more weight when taking a day or two off logging... anyone else

Blondieeee26
Blondieeee26 Posts: 12 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I was logging meticulously.. then for two days I was so busy I had no time to log ( or eat) and just ate whatever felt right without paying attention to approx calories or content. I ended up losing my 3lbs for the week in one day! I've been on here a month and avg 3lbs a week.. but when I chilled with the logging it came off faster.. I'm even down weight right now and it's nighttime. I just backlogged my calories right now, the site says I'm "over"
But I've been rediculously active (2-3 hours a day of gym time plus other things...) and here I am. I'm going to keep logging since it's teaching me a lot about nutrition and calorie counts. I just thought the last few days were interesting considering how little I cared XD

Also waist is down to just under 26 inches from the usual 27" woo

Has anyone else found it beneficial to take a day or two off logging? Sometimes the stress of logging everything makes me want to overeat lol

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    What are your stats? Three pounds a week is pretty extreme outside of the first week or two.

    If I took a day off from logging I'd eat way more than I shoud.
  • Blondieeee26
    Blondieeee26 Posts: 12 Member
    I wasn't trying to say anything. I was just wondering if anyone ever takes time off from tracking and if so what are the results FOR THAT PERIOD OF TIME. I was looking to compare to other people across any period of time.. days or weeks or months.. I believe however, taking weeks or months off will obviously result in weight gain. I just noticed that when I take a day off it helps me be less stressed and in turn even on those couple of days off, I follow the plan or at least stay in deficit.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited November 2016
    How long have you been logging in MFP or moreover eating in a calorie deficit? What is your deficit and how much do your currently weight??

  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    Ive taken days off from logging. I always try to do my best to enter it after the fact. I have experienced whooshes after so I think there may be some merit to reducing stress affecting the scale. If anything I think I retain less water when Im not stressed though and dont think I lost more fat during those times.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    I've logged everything for 574 days.

    I don't take days off logging because I value my MFP data. /datanerd
  • edena001
    edena001 Posts: 137 Member
    It's probably because you're busy. Yesterday I had a very busy day so didn't end up eating my first meal to very late, but went to the gym and had an active day.
    So you're not thinking about food, having to eat then log your food just gets you thinking about food again, thinking if that's okay or when you can have your next snack or how many calories is in something, there's just food in the back of your mind always!

    Also be wary that you're weighing yourself a bit too often for it to be accurate. Stick to weighing yourself same day each week at the same time, as depending on the time your weight can fluctuate I think (well mine does!) so check at the end of the week if you ended up losing 6lbs or if you just noticed your 3lb weight early and didn't lose any more
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    My experience is that there is a lag time between changes in my diet or activity (whether purposeful or accidental) and when I see an effect on the scale. It's definitely not the next day, usually a week or often either two... it's part of the reason why I look at weekly calories/deficit (when I was losing, I'm currently maintaining)

    Are other people's experiences similar?
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    edited November 2016
    I don't stop logging but I do a "refeed day" once a week where I eat more carbs and eat up to my maintenance calories. Refeed days or cheat days can actually help boost your metabolism and spike leptin and help with weight loss.

    This technique is often used by body builders and fitness professionals.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited November 2016
    Blondieeee26 wrote: »
    Has anyone else found it beneficial to take a day or two off logging? Sometimes the stress of logging everything makes me want to overeat lol

    I don't find it stressful to log. In fact, I find it de-stressing because it gives me information which gives me control.

    But if you find it stressful, it's not surprising that taking a break resulted in a drop in your weight. There's a stress hormone called cortisol. High cortisol levels make you retain water. When you get de-stressed, you drop that water weight. The usual scenario is that somebody has a single high-calorie day and sees a drop on the scale the next day. So, it's not fat loss; it's water weight. But it still makes you feel good (especially if the water weight had been masking expected fat loss).

    However, don't expect continuing to not log to result in more big losses like that. These drops tend to be one-shot deals.
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