Weight Fluctuation Question

Montegue42
Montegue42 Posts: 98
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
I dont know if this is normal, so bear with me here:

I have noticed that my weight goes up a little before I lose weight. Does that make sense? For example, last week I weighed about 150 on average (I know your weight fluctuates a little depending on time of day, etc), but on Monday I weighed about 152. I was a little bit bummed when my weight didn't go down again Tuesday and Wednesday, but all of a sudden today I weigh 148.2...so I gained 2 pounds in like 2 days and then lost 4?

I know you aren't supposed to loose weight too fast, so thats why I ask. Again, for all I know, I could be completely normal. I've never really tried to lose weight before, so I'm kind of going at this blindly.

Replies

  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
    I think you are dealing with normal bodily fluid fluctuations. If you weigh every day you must keep this in mind.
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    I think you are dealing with normal bodily fluid fluctuations. If you weigh every day you must keep this in mind.

    you weight can go 2-4lbs either way depending on normal body functions and water retention
  • rainbowbuggy
    rainbowbuggy Posts: 320
    *bump*...would like to see the responses as well.
  • Keefypoos
    Keefypoos Posts: 231 Member
    to lose 1 lb of body fat you need a short fall of calorie intake of 3500 so none of the figures you state will be accurate. they will over time balance out and your true weight loss will show. this is normal and no one really knows why there are many theories however :-)
  • Texaganian
    Texaganian Posts: 67
    I hate to be indelicate but I don't know any other way to put it...

    Look at your weight fluctuation in relationship to your bowel movements. With today's accurate digital scales that indicate weight changes as small as .1 or .2 pounds, I can actually see my weight gain if I haven't had a bowel movement in several days and then see it drop afterward.
  • nancymmorris
    nancymmorris Posts: 310
    Happens to me every week. My weigh in day is Thursday. My weight is always up mon-wed and then it drops on thursday. I think that is why they say don't weigh yourself daily, but I am addicted to the scale. I only log my thursday weight.
  • Cokamo
    Cokamo Posts: 51
    Sounds to me like you're weighing too frequently. Try just weighing once a week consistently under the same conditions...I weigh on Monday mornings on an empty stomach just before I get into the bath. If you want to weigh through out the week, just be prepared to see those fluctuations, but I would count the once a week weight as the one that really counts.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,956 Member
    Lol, I bring this up all the time to my clients. The WEEKEND is the demise for most people. It's not uncommon to "gain" weight over the weekend because of festivities, parties and just hanging out.
    The majority of people do good during the week. So just weigh in once a week on Wednesday or Thursday.
  • Montegue42
    Montegue42 Posts: 98
    Oh thanks! I guess I didn't realize that there could be a four pound weight fluctuation...I want to lose weight, but I don't want to do it unhealthily. You just always hear little warnings that you shouldn't lose more than 2 lbs a week, yadda yadda. I just had surgery too, so I had been losing weight really really fast just from walking again after a couple of months of not, so I waited until I thought it balanced out. I'm just an over-worrier :)

    Thanks for all of the answers, guys!
  • jpeper1966
    jpeper1966 Posts: 79
    I wish I could figure out how to post a picture of my weight progress graph for 90 days. It looks just like a staircase. The weight will drop several pounds and then stay there for a week or two. I weigh daily but don't log the little increases so that is why the lines are flat. When it does drop though I log each drop and it is usually 2-4lbs in a couple days.
  • Montegue42
    Montegue42 Posts: 98
    Lol, I bring this up all the time to my clients. The WEEKEND is the demise for most people. It's not uncommon to "gain" weight over the weekend because of festivities, parties and just hanging out.
    The majority of people do good during the week. So just weigh in once a week on Wednesday or Thursday.

    Yeah...my weekends are kind of the opposite. I work at the renaissance faire, so I walk around in super heat in....about 20 lbs of tapestry fabric. Because of the corset, its often difficult to eat much if at all (which is VERY bad, and I have been forcing myself to drink like....tomato juice and naked juice to try and at least give myself enough nutrients/calories to get me through the day). This was just the first time it went up after doing that, and I was like...interesting.
  • fatkidlovescake
    fatkidlovescake Posts: 66 Member
    I go the opposite, every time I lose weight (around every 5lbs or so) I put it all back on (often plus a bit) - usually around half a stone or so seemingly overnight and then lose it all again and perhaps an extra pound. This all seems to happen overnight (I'm another scale addict) so I'm assuming it's mainly water retention but who knows!

    I just remember that you can't actually put on 7 pounds overnight (or 8lbs in the case of Sunday to Monday 171 Sunday am, 172 Sunday pm 179 Monday am....) now back to 171 this morning and hoping to hit 170 (whether it be 170.9 completely starkers and after squeezing every last drop of fluid from my bladder) by Saturday as I am going on holiday.
  • Montegue42
    Montegue42 Posts: 98
    I go the opposite, every time I lose weight (around every 5lbs or so) I put it all back on (often plus a bit) - usually around half a stone or so seemingly overnight and then lose it all again and perhaps an extra pound. This all seems to happen overnight (I'm another scale addict) so I'm assuming it's mainly water retention but who knows!

    I just remember that you can't actually put on 7 pounds overnight (or 8lbs in the case of Sunday to Monday 171 Sunday am, 172 Sunday pm 179 Monday am....) now back to 171 this morning and hoping to hit 170 (whether it be 170.9 completely starkers and after squeezing every last drop of fluid from my bladder) by Saturday as I am going on holiday.

    Ahahaha, its hard not to be a scale addict when its right there in the bathroom!!

    Naw, I know a lot of it is just weight fluctuation. Its not so much weight that I'm trying to lose, I'm just trying to get back in shape from surgery. But I figured while I'm at it, I might as well try and lose a some weight. I'm definitely a chubster, so itll be nice to have the "new feet" and the new body once all is said and done, and I don't have to worry about what I can and cannot do. My concern is losing it too fast. Losing weight and changing diet should be a lifestyle change, I'm not crash dieting.
  • asilmegan34
    asilmegan34 Posts: 256 Member
    I actually wrote a blog about this, because your fat cells will absorb water because your fat cells are shrinking so quickly. Thats when you notice the squishy fat. Then Whoosh! 3-4 pounds lost. You can check my blog on it www.all-fit.happy.blogspot.com :)
  • fatkidlovescake
    fatkidlovescake Posts: 66 Member
    I go the opposite, every time I lose weight (around every 5lbs or so) I put it all back on (often plus a bit) - usually around half a stone or so seemingly overnight and then lose it all again and perhaps an extra pound. This all seems to happen overnight (I'm another scale addict) so I'm assuming it's mainly water retention but who knows!

    I just remember that you can't actually put on 7 pounds overnight (or 8lbs in the case of Sunday to Monday 171 Sunday am, 172 Sunday pm 179 Monday am....) now back to 171 this morning and hoping to hit 170 (whether it be 170.9 completely starkers and after squeezing every last drop of fluid from my bladder) by Saturday as I am going on holiday.

    Ahahaha, its hard not to be a scale addict when its right there in the bathroom!!

    Naw, I know a lot of it is just weight fluctuation. Its not so much weight that I'm trying to lose, I'm just trying to get back in shape from surgery. But I figured while I'm at it, I might as well try and lose a some weight. I'm definitely a chubster, so itll be nice to have the "new feet" and the new body once all is said and done, and I don't have to worry about what I can and cannot do. My concern is losing it too fast. Losing weight and changing diet should be a lifestyle change, I'm not crash dieting.


    I'm in a similar situation, recovering from ankle surgery - only been full weightbearing and walking without a crutch / stick for around 3 weeks and still using a crutch / stick some of the time. I broke my ankle falling off a horse and landing standing on one leg - shattered it into 12 pieces and now held together with 2 plates and 2 long and 6 short screws. Perhaps the damage wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been overweight!
  • ColoradoRobin
    ColoradoRobin Posts: 510 Member
    For those who like to weigh every day, try charting on Physicsdiet.com. The site uses a weighted moving average of your weight to show a trend line, despite day to day fluctuations in your weight. You know you're doing fine despite the numbers on the scale so long as the trend line keeps moving down. It takes some time to get enough data to show the trend, but after a few weeks, it's got enough to go on.
  • Montegue42
    Montegue42 Posts: 98
    I go the opposite, every time I lose weight (around every 5lbs or so) I put it all back on (often plus a bit) - usually around half a stone or so seemingly overnight and then lose it all again and perhaps an extra pound. This all seems to happen overnight (I'm another scale addict) so I'm assuming it's mainly water retention but who knows!

    I just remember that you can't actually put on 7 pounds overnight (or 8lbs in the case of Sunday to Monday 171 Sunday am, 172 Sunday pm 179 Monday am....) now back to 171 this morning and hoping to hit 170 (whether it be 170.9 completely starkers and after squeezing every last drop of fluid from my bladder) by Saturday as I am going on holiday.

    Ahahaha, its hard not to be a scale addict when its right there in the bathroom!!

    Naw, I know a lot of it is just weight fluctuation. Its not so much weight that I'm trying to lose, I'm just trying to get back in shape from surgery. But I figured while I'm at it, I might as well try and lose a some weight. I'm definitely a chubster, so itll be nice to have the "new feet" and the new body once all is said and done, and I don't have to worry about what I can and cannot do. My concern is losing it too fast. Losing weight and changing diet should be a lifestyle change, I'm not crash dieting.


    I'm in a similar situation, recovering from ankle surgery - only been full weightbearing and walking without a crutch / stick for around 3 weeks and still using a crutch / stick some of the time. I broke my ankle falling off a horse and landing standing on one leg - shattered it into 12 pieces and now held together with 2 plates and 2 long and 6 short screws. Perhaps the damage wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't been overweight!

    Yeah, I got achilles tendon lengthening (not the technical name...but that is more understandable ahahaha), and I weigh pretty much the same as before it, but while I was chubby before, I could still go up and down stairs, compete in ballroom dancing, etc. without feeling fat and out of shape. Now...even though the weight is the same now as before, I get winded thinking about tackling a flight of stairs. My doctor tells me not to be impatient because itll be another six months before I start to feel normal again...but......I feel like my body doesn't belong to me.
  • Montegue42
    Montegue42 Posts: 98
    I actually wrote a blog about this, because your fat cells will absorb water because your fat cells are shrinking so quickly. Thats when you notice the squishy fat. Then Whoosh! 3-4 pounds lost. You can check my blog on it www.all-fit.happy.blogspot.com :)

    Thank you!
  • Texaganian
    Texaganian Posts: 67
    I actually wrote a blog about this, because your fat cells will absorb water because your fat cells are shrinking so quickly. Thats when you notice the squishy fat. Then Whoosh! 3-4 pounds lost. You can check my blog on it www.all-fit.happy.blogspot.com :)

    Your blog link is dead.
  • Montegue42
    Montegue42 Posts: 98
    I actually wrote a blog about this, because your fat cells will absorb water because your fat cells are shrinking so quickly. Thats when you notice the squishy fat. Then Whoosh! 3-4 pounds lost. You can check my blog on it www.all-fit.happy.blogspot.com :)

    Your blog link is dead.

    Bummer, I hadn't had time to read it. I was going to when work slowed down... :(
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