Tell me about how weight loss isn't linear ...

thistimereally
thistimereally Posts: 74 Member
edited November 17 in Motivation and Support
Logically I KNOW it isn't. But seeing that 136.6 on the scale 2 days ago really made me smile. Probably the lowest weight I've been in eight years! But seeing the 141.6 today after only going over my calories once this week AND joining a gym for the first time in my life hurts. It doesn't help that I skipped said gym today because I'm sore. Basically I'm feeling whiny and need to be told to suck it up, get back in the gym, and keep counting because WEIGHT LOSS ISN'T LINEAR!

Replies

  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    Weight loss isn't linear. :wink:

    Plus you're sore from working out, so you're obviously retaining some water. So suck it up, get back in the gym, and keep counting!

    Plus be patient and kind to yourself.
  • thistimereally
    thistimereally Posts: 74 Member
    Jruzer wrote: »
    Weight loss isn't linear. :wink:

    Plus you're sore from working out, so you're obviously retaining some water. So suck it up, get back in the gym, and keep counting!

    Plus be patient and kind to yourself.

    Wow, I had no idea sore muscles after a workout was due to water retention! That DOES actually make me feel better! And yes, patience has never been one of my virtues, I think that might be the most important thing I lose from this site haha.
  • pamfgil
    pamfgil Posts: 449 Member
    Remember the time is going to pass anyway and if you don't keep going, you'll be that much further away from your goal
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    also, not sure if you are female - but TOM has a huge impact on weight on the scale
  • thistimereally
    thistimereally Posts: 74 Member
    deannalfisher wrote: »
    also, not sure if you are female - but TOM has a huge impact on weight on the scale

    I am female and my TOM is coming but I don't usually gain so much. Maybe and combo of that and water retention from exercising is the culprit? Clearly I should stay away from the scale for awhile. I wonder how long it takes the body to stop retaining water when starting exercise ...
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    honestly I weigh every day because then I just treat it like a data point and it makes the number seem less critical - helps me to identify trends (TOM, too much sodium, not enough sleep etc)
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    q14ivnj8zo92.jpg
  • tabletop_joe
    tabletop_joe Posts: 455 Member
    Great infograph ^
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    I gain, have gained actually, when I first start a new exercise. If you're muscles are sore, it means that they've been torn down a bit and in need of repair (a good thing! Thats what makes you stronger!). The water is part of the healing process. It's not causing the pain but is the other indicator of healing. I expect that it'll take another week or two for the needle to move again, and "woosh" me down a couple pounds. Depending on the person, type of exercise, etc, it can take even longer. Just keep doing what you're doing.

    @seska422 is that Libra? My weight trend app looks very similar, and is helpful to ignore the daily fluctuations.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,232 Member
    Yup, as soon as you said you were sore, I immediately thought "water retention".
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    lilawolf wrote: »
    seska422 is that Libra? My weight trend app looks very similar, and is helpful to ignore the daily fluctuations.

    It's trendweight.com. I don't have a fitbit but I made a fitbit account so that I could use TrendWeight. I do use Libra as well so that I can set different smoothing methods for the trend.
  • JeanieWww
    JeanieWww Posts: 4,037 Member
    thistimereally wrote: »
    Logically I KNOW it isn't. But seeing that 136.6 on the scale 2 days ago really made me smile. Probably the lowest weight I've been in eight years! But seeing the 141.6 today after only going over my calories once this week AND joining a gym for the first time in my life hurts. It doesn't help that I skipped said gym today because I'm sore. Basically I'm feeling whiny and need to be told to suck it up, get back in the gym, and keep counting because WEIGHT LOSS ISN'T LINEAR!

    I have found that while the scale CAN show SOME of what we did the day before, it doesn't show everything! It wont show you how much fat you have vs. how much muscle. It wont show you how much weight is from water, waste or anything else. It just gives one flat, straight, boring number.
    For instance: for the past 6 weeks I have been counting my calories. I have been exercising, doing cardio and strength training. Now the first week alone, I lost 10 pounds! I did not gain any back. Some say it was all water. Some said it was water and fat. All I know is that in the next 3 weeks, I only lost 2 pounds. Now that sucks. Last 2 weeks, I lost 7 more. Again some said it was just water. Until I measured myself (rather, my trainer did. Since I lost a total of 11" throughout my body, I'd say, that I've lost a good amount of fat! Trainer also told me my muscles have started toning up as well.
    Some say muscle weighs more than fat and others say a pound is a pound. Well, likewise, we can say a pound of cotton is just like a pound of rocks, but I'll tell you it takes a LOT less rocks to make a pound than it does cotton. SO..... while you may not see that number on the scale moving, trust me, something is going on. Per mass amount, muscle weighs twice as much as fat. So while you're burning the fat, muscle is toning and building and reshaping itself (so you may not see much difference). But keep at it.
    Over all, do you feel healthier? Do you feel stronger? Do you feel more energetic? If those answers are yes, then you're getting there! Think of climbing stairs. You do it one step at a time and although it doesn't seem like you're getting anywhere when you're staring at the steps, before you know it, you're at the top! (unless you give up and stop. So keep going!)
  • Redheadedsunshine
    Redheadedsunshine Posts: 102 Member
    Weight loss is a marathon because it's about health. Don't stress about the short term but think about what you're doing for your body in the long term.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
    Use an app that gives you a trend weight. My weight is like a roller coaster. I tend to put on excess water weight on the weekends, because I don't drink as much water as I should. Like I do during the week. If you look at my trend weight, it's steadily going down.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
    JeanieWww wrote: »
    thistimereally wrote: »
    Logically I KNOW it isn't. But seeing that 136.6 on the scale 2 days ago really made me smile. Probably the lowest weight I've been in eight years! But seeing the 141.6 today after only going over my calories once this week AND joining a gym for the first time in my life hurts. It doesn't help that I skipped said gym today because I'm sore. Basically I'm feeling whiny and need to be told to suck it up, get back in the gym, and keep counting because WEIGHT LOSS ISN'T LINEAR!

    I have found that while the scale CAN show SOME of what we did the day before, it doesn't show everything! It wont show you how much fat you have vs. how much muscle. It wont show you how much weight is from water, waste or anything else. It just gives one flat, straight, boring number.
    For instance: for the past 6 weeks I have been counting my calories. I have been exercising, doing cardio and strength training. Now the first week alone, I lost 10 pounds! I did not gain any back. Some say it was all water. Some said it was water and fat. All I know is that in the next 3 weeks, I only lost 2 pounds. Now that sucks. Last 2 weeks, I lost 7 more. Again some said it was just water. Until I measured myself (rather, my trainer did. Since I lost a total of 11" throughout my body, I'd say, that I've lost a good amount of fat! Trainer also told me my muscles have started toning up as well.
    Some say muscle weighs more than fat and others say a pound is a pound. Well, likewise, we can say a pound of cotton is just like a pound of rocks, but I'll tell you it takes a LOT less rocks to make a pound than it does cotton. SO..... while you may not see that number on the scale moving, trust me, something is going on. Per mass amount, muscle weighs twice as much as fat. So while you're burning the fat, muscle is toning and building and reshaping itself (so you may not see much difference). But keep at it.
    Over all, do you feel healthier? Do you feel stronger? Do you feel more energetic? If those answers are yes, then you're getting there! Think of climbing stairs. You do it one step at a time and although it doesn't seem like you're getting anywhere when you're staring at the steps, before you know it, you're at the top! (unless you give up and stop. So keep going!)

    A lb. is a lb. However, per volume, muscle does weigh more than fat.
  • JeanieWww
    JeanieWww Posts: 4,037 Member
    Yes, I said that :)
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