Weird non-linear pattern to weight loss

Options
phloxflamingo22
phloxflamingo22 Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have noticed my weight loss is in an odd pattern.

I will hit a low, then bounce up 2-3 lbs the very next day. Stay up for a week or two then go down to my low for awhile. A week or so later I'll have another small "whoosh" and lose another 2 lbs, hit a new low and the cycle repeats itself. It's hard to accurately gauge how much weight I'm losing over time because I'm so up and down. Over the period of 6 months? Sure, I'm down weight. Over a month? Maybe 5lbs? It's hard to tell.

It's very frustrating to see a new exciting number on the scale and have it disappear for up to two weeks at a time. It makes me just want to give up because I KNOW I'm doing everything right. I KNOW, logically, that I can't have gained 2 lbs overnight. I know I can't have overeaten 10,000 calories to have added back two pounds of fat. It just doesn't seem to make sense to retain water like this. I don't think I eat that much sodium, and I am not a carbaholic.

Does anyone else lose like in spurts like this?
«1

Replies

  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    Options
    That would be me. It's pretty normal I'm afraid, especially for us ladies and our hormones going crazy cyclically.

    I started using a trending app to see where my weight is actually at. It smooths out all those seismographic extremes and gives you a clean line showing if you're losing or gaining.

    I use trendweight.com but you need a fitbit account to log the weight.

    The two below are also well known:

    Android: libra weight
    Apple: Happy scale

    Also: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1
  • sbrandt37
    sbrandt37 Posts: 403 Member
    Options
    What you describe is totally normal. Varying amounts of water and food waste in your system will cause 1-2 pounds variation daily. It means nothing. Look at the longer-term trends to know what your weight is really doing.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Options
    Completely normal, but frustrating. If someone is doing everything right, it should go down a bit each day, but it doesn't. As long as you stick to plan, it will go down over the long term. Just remember how good you feel on the whoosh days.
  • phloxflamingo22
    phloxflamingo22 Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    ladyreva78 wrote: »
    That would be me. It's pretty normal I'm afraid, especially for us ladies and our hormones going crazy cyclically.

    I started using a trending app to see where my weight is actually at. It smooths out all those seismographic extremes and gives you a clean line showing if you're losing or gaining.

    I use trendweight.com but you need a fitbit account to log the weight.

    The two below are also well known:

    Android: libra weight
    Apple: Happy scale

    Also: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

    I wish I had a cycle to account for the upswings, but I have Mirena so no period.

    I'll try those apps. I don't like the way MFP logs weight on a more macro level.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    Options
    phloxflamingo22 wrote: »
    ladyreva78 wrote: »
    That would be me. It's pretty normal I'm afraid, especially for us ladies and our hormones going crazy cyclically.

    I started using a trending app to see where my weight is actually at. It smooths out all those seismographic extremes and gives you a clean line showing if you're losing or gaining.

    I use trendweight.com but you need a fitbit account to log the weight.

    The two below are also well known:

    Android: libra weight
    Apple: Happy scale

    Also: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

    I wish I had a cycle to account for the upswings, but I have Mirena so no period.

    I'll try those apps. I don't like the way MFP logs weight on a more macro level.

    To some extent, you do still have a cycle. My sister-in-law gets bloated like no one's business around when she's due for her period even though she's on the Mirena as well. So it can still have an influence on the scale.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    Options
    From a daily weigher and charter of 4 years that's a pretty normal cycle during the loss cycle :)
  • Sara1791
    Sara1791 Posts: 760 Member
    Options
    The ups and downs are normal, common, and something I'm very familiar with. Someone recommended that I compare my weight with the month before, not the day or week before. This has been good advice for me.

    I've lost nearly 60 pounds in a year and, like you, that averages to about five pounds per month - some months were eight, some were three, but it all adds up to me not being obese anymore. I'm in the home stretch now and it's even more important that I take the longview.

    I'm also starting to look at it as an intro to maintenance, which I imagine will be fluctuations within a narrow weight range rather than a static number.
  • Sara1791
    Sara1791 Posts: 760 Member
    edited January 2017
    Options
    Oh and here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

    edit: LOL, someone beat me to it. oh well.
  • birdtobe
    birdtobe Posts: 105 Member
    Options
    Agree with other posters that HappyScale is the ticket. It shows you the downward trend and your current average, so it takes some of the stress out of those daily ups and downs. Good luck!
  • Rogstar
    Rogstar Posts: 216 Member
    edited January 2017
    Options
    Yeppers, totally normal.

    This is my personal favorite week of the month: I lose about 1lb a day for 5-7 days straight right before my period starts. Seriously, I was 217 on Sunday, and I weighed in this morning (Friday) at 211.6.

    But then, my weight will shoot up 3-5 lbs, stay there and then start slowly dropping or rising depending on what I eat for 2 weeks until I'm back at my low (or a bit lower), then it will shoot up again for ovulation. Then, I get to start it all over again. In a month, I might lose 4-5lbs overall, which is why it's important for me to record daily so I understand WHY I'm gaining and losing weight. The more data I gather, the more understanding I have of myself. I just keep in mind my lowest weight, and if I am like 5-10 lbs higher than that low during a time that I should be on the low end, I know it's time for me to tighten up my logging. Find your individual cycle (whether it's monthly or not) and think about how much you lost overall during the same points on that cycle.

    Plus, this is important for me to know when I get to maintenance. I can't just have a single numerical weight in mind, I have to allow for normal fluctuations without freaking out!
  • trudie_b
    trudie_b Posts: 230 Member
    Options
    phloxflamingo22 wrote: »
    I have noticed my weight loss is in an odd pattern.

    I will hit a low, then bounce up 2-3 lbs the very next day. Stay up for a week or two then go down to my low for awhile. A week or so later I'll have another small "whoosh" and lose another 2 lbs, hit a new low and the cycle repeats itself. It's hard to accurately gauge how much weight I'm losing over time because I'm so up and down. Over the period of 6 months? Sure, I'm down weight. Over a month? Maybe 5lbs? It's hard to tell.

    It's very frustrating to see a new exciting number on the scale and have it disappear for up to two weeks at a time. It makes me just want to give up because I KNOW I'm doing everything right. I KNOW, logically, that I can't have gained 2 lbs overnight. I know I can't have overeaten 10,000 calories to have added back two pounds of fat. It just doesn't seem to make sense to retain water like this. I don't think I eat that much sodium, and I am not a carbaholic.

    Does anyone else lose like in spurts like this?

    Yup, exactly like that.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited January 2017
    Options
    It's not weird, it's normal...weight loss isn't linear...body weight isn't static...it's all about long term trend lines and averages.
  • angmarie28
    angmarie28 Posts: 2,799 Member
    Options
    Yes, I hate it, i hit 165 a couple weeks ago and then sat at 166-167 for 2 weeks, today in 162.8, thats why i only weigh in once a week, its too frustrating otherwise
  • beckty
    beckty Posts: 118 Member
    Options
    phloxflamingo22 wrote: »

    I wish I had a cycle to account for the upswings, but I have Mirena so no period.

    I'll try those apps. I don't like the way MFP logs weight on a more macro level.

    Same here with the Mirena. I use Happy Scale and it's very helpful for me. Keeps the panic at bay. :)

  • JohnDavid1969
    JohnDavid1969 Posts: 34 Member
    Options
    It's not just you (or just women, for that matter). Has been happening to me for a long time; sometimes the variations are so sudden it's hilarious.
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
    Options
    I wish there was even some type of pattern to my weight. It's just up, down, and all around. The general trend is downward, but from day to day I could be anywhere.
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    edited January 2017
    Options
    phloxflamingo22 wrote: »
    I have noticed my weight loss is in an odd pattern.

    I will hit a low, then bounce up 2-3 lbs the very next day. Stay up for a week or two then go down to my low for awhile. A week or so later I'll have another small "whoosh" and lose another 2 lbs, hit a new low and the cycle repeats itself. It's hard to accurately gauge how much weight I'm losing over time because I'm so up and down. Over the period of 6 months? Sure, I'm down weight. Over a month? Maybe 5lbs? It's hard to tell.

    It's very frustrating to see a new exciting number on the scale and have it disappear for up to two weeks at a time. It makes me just want to give up because I KNOW I'm doing everything right. I KNOW, logically, that I can't have gained 2 lbs overnight. I know I can't have overeaten 10,000 calories to have added back two pounds of fat. It just doesn't seem to make sense to retain water like this. I don't think I eat that much sodium, and I am not a carbaholic.

    Does anyone else lose like in spurts like this?

    This is why it's often suggested to weigh yourself weekly rather than daily. Focus on the big picture rather than daily fluctuations.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    edited January 2017
    Options
    .
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    Options
    extra_medium wrote: »
    phloxflamingo22 wrote: »
    I have noticed my weight loss is in an odd pattern.

    I will hit a low, then bounce up 2-3 lbs the very next day. Stay up for a week or two then go down to my low for awhile. A week or so later I'll have another small "whoosh" and lose another 2 lbs, hit a new low and the cycle repeats itself. It's hard to accurately gauge how much weight I'm losing over time because I'm so up and down. Over the period of 6 months? Sure, I'm down weight. Over a month? Maybe 5lbs? It's hard to tell.

    It's very frustrating to see a new exciting number on the scale and have it disappear for up to two weeks at a time. It makes me just want to give up because I KNOW I'm doing everything right. I KNOW, logically, that I can't have gained 2 lbs overnight. I know I can't have overeaten 10,000 calories to have added back two pounds of fat. It just doesn't seem to make sense to retain water like this. I don't think I eat that much sodium, and I am not a carbaholic.

    Does anyone else lose like in spurts like this?

    This is why it's often suggested to weigh yourself weekly rather than daily. Focus on the big picture rather than daily fluctuations.

    Lol...that's exactly why I recommend daily. Imagine if you waited a whole week after working and sweating and then hit the scale only on your up days? Ugh...I'd throw in the towel. It's better to know that there are fluctuations and that you are headed in the right direction. Get a trending app ;)

Categories