5lbs in 5 days?

markgriffiths11
markgriffiths11 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have started my push to lose some weight on Monday and doing well so far. Using a mixture of healthy eating (cut out the beer except on special occasions and cut out the unhealthy snacking) and gym (3 weights sessions and 2 cardio so far). Using the food part on here to roughly track calories etc (I'm giving it a 1/200 calorie leeway either way just in case I'm slightly off with portion sizes etc), I should have lost around 1.5lb (maybe 2lbs at a push) as of Saturday morning (aiming for 2-2.5lb per week) but weighed myself this morning to see how I was doing (aiming to weigh myself once a week to check progress) and turns out I have 5lbs lower (175lbs down from 180). I am sure I read my starting weight right and got off and back on the scales to double check today. I weighed myself at the same time of day (straight after I get up and before breakfast), wearing the same things (just underwear). The only difference being that I had a pee this morning. Can anyone explain the difference? 2/2.5 would have been a nice surprise but to be double that seems weird...

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Many people see a large drop initially - you've probably reduced your carbs, which will mean you hold less fluid. You may have also eaten foods with less sodium, which also plays a part in your fluid levels.

    Weight also fluctuates... Your last weigh in may have been a "heavy" day. Today could be a light day. Tomorrow might be in the middle. To get a better indication and to understand fluctuations bette, you might consider weighing daily and using a trending app to show your weight and its general movements...
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    It's not uncommon to lose a decent bit of water weight when you first start out. If that doesn't level off in the next week or two, increase your calories.
  • markgriffiths11
    markgriffiths11 Posts: 8 Member
    Thanks for the replies! Monday was probably a heavy day as I was coming off a 2 week holiday and then a family wedding (free bar! whoop) so was at my heaviest on Sunday eve into Monday morning. I will try weighing myself every morning to see if there are any trends.

    As for the fluids, I do drink quite a lot of water and I do pee it out, so could it just be that I'm retaining less of it?
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    markgriffiths11 wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies! Monday was probably a heavy day as I was coming off a 2 week holiday and then a family wedding (free bar! whoop) so was at my heaviest on Sunday eve into Monday morning. I will try weighing myself every morning to see if there are any trends.

    As for the fluids, I do drink quite a lot of water and I do pee it out, so could it just be that I'm retaining less of it?

    Carbs will draw more water in to your muscles, and hold it there. Sodium will also make you hold more water.... Water is a good thing though, and drinking less water in an attempt to be lighter isn't a good idea. Restricting water can lead to you retaining more water, and drinking more can make you retain less. It's a tricky balance, but not one you need to worry about - just take in sufficient liquids to be hydrated.

    In regards to your original weigh in, the holiday would have likely meant eating indulgent foods, drink etc. Many people gain "weight" in these situations but lose it quickly once returning to their normal regime.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    markgriffiths11 wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies! Monday was probably a heavy day as I was coming off a 2 week holiday and then a family wedding (free bar! whoop) so was at my heaviest on Sunday eve into Monday morning. I will try weighing myself every morning to see if there are any trends.

    As for the fluids, I do drink quite a lot of water and I do pee it out, so could it just be that I'm retaining less of it?

    I highly recommend downloading a trending app such as Trendweight, Happy Scale, or Libra. Awesome for trends, and also so you can see you are actually going in the right direction, even if the scale doesn't always say so!
  • markgriffiths11
    markgriffiths11 Posts: 8 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    markgriffiths11 wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies! Monday was probably a heavy day as I was coming off a 2 week holiday and then a family wedding (free bar! whoop) so was at my heaviest on Sunday eve into Monday morning. I will try weighing myself every morning to see if there are any trends.

    As for the fluids, I do drink quite a lot of water and I do pee it out, so could it just be that I'm retaining less of it?

    Carbs will draw more water in to your muscles, and hold it there. Sodium will also make you hold more water.... Water is a good thing though, and drinking less water in an attempt to be lighter isn't a good idea. Restricting water can lead to you retaining more water, and drinking more can make you retain less. It's a tricky balance, but not one you need to worry about - just take in sufficient liquids to be hydrated.

    In regards to your original weigh in, the holiday would have likely meant eating indulgent foods, drink etc. Many people gain "weight" in these situations but lose it quickly once returning to their normal regime.


    Thanks for the advise! Yeah, I was in Austria and Italy on holiday so didn't hold back on the beer/pizza! There's no danger of me drinking too little water as I like to keep hydrated. I'll try to weigh myself at the same point every day to see if there are any big swings to try and link them to see what works/doesn't and to track progress. I'm sure the amount I am losing will start to even out.
  • markgriffiths11
    markgriffiths11 Posts: 8 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    markgriffiths11 wrote: »
    Thanks for the replies! Monday was probably a heavy day as I was coming off a 2 week holiday and then a family wedding (free bar! whoop) so was at my heaviest on Sunday eve into Monday morning. I will try weighing myself every morning to see if there are any trends.

    As for the fluids, I do drink quite a lot of water and I do pee it out, so could it just be that I'm retaining less of it?

    I highly recommend downloading a trending app such as Trendweight, Happy Scale, or Libra. Awesome for trends, and also so you can see you are actually going in the right direction, even if the scale doesn't always say so!


    Thanks for the tip! I have an old iphone on its last legs (think it's one of the older models that runs on coal...), so as soon as I get round to updating my phone, I will look into downloading one of them

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