Weight loss and maintenance charts April 2015 to August 2019

I took some screenshots and thought it might help newbies to see a bit of what weight loss and maintenance looks like over 4 and a half years.

Here's some pics from the app I've been logging daily in since April 2015. It's an app called Happy Scale.

A typical month of weight loss, October 2015:

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See all the days it looked like it was "going up"?

The line on the picture shows the moving average. This is what we often don't see that means we get discouraged.

Lots of threads in the general section about weight loss never being "linear".


This is my weight in the past month. I bet you think this would be scary:

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It looks like I was gaining tons.

Instead, this is what taking NSAIDs (anti-inflammatory tablets such as Meloxicam and Diclofenac) for a sore neck/shoulder does every time.

When I take them, about a day later my weight jumps at least 1 kg. This month I took them for 2 weeks, so it was up long enough to bork my moving average. That was annoying!! :smiley:

Plus I had my normal pre-menstruation "gain" due to hormones. That also happens every cycle, and I get a "whoosh" when it's over.


And this is my weight since April 2015:

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Note: It took me a few months to go from "weight loss mode" to "maintenance mode", and I kept losing and got too low.

I also gained a little from lots of exercise and muscle strength gains, and became very fit (have run 2 marathons and a 50 km run and lots more). (Check out "body recomposition" for more on how getting stronger can make you look leaner and feel better though the scale goes higher due to muscle being more denser than fat.)

Also note, my "gain" this month from the 2 weeks on NSAIDs effect has affected my moving average, so it looks like a recent and gradual rise overall at this screenshot scale. Dammit! :smiley:

But my moving average has gone down nearly 1.8 kg in the past 2 weeks now my weight has been close to the middle of my goal range, and it will settle down again. Seen all this, know the drill.



Please note, I log everything I eat, and have my exercise synced to MFP from my Garmin.

I make sure my weekly net calories are always a bit under my goal, to account for typical underestimation when logging which I know I do, it's been studied and we all say we eat less than we do.

I don't care about going over my kilojoule goal for the day because I always make sure my weekly energy intake is right by eating less another day.

Logging weight is just another thing I do before eating breakfast.

Logging food is just another thing I do before/after eating.

I don't need any motivation. It's all habit. Learned most of these tips, tricks, and habits from the successful and kind people who shared what they learned.


Hope this is useful to people new to (and maybe used to) logging and weighing and maintenance.

Replies

  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
    This is really cool to see! I downloaded Libra last month to help me not freak out about occasional higher blips.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    Great post :smile: trending apps really do show the real deal :smile:
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Thanks!
    Not long after I started in 2015, I started reading in the maintenance section. It's been very helpful.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    As I said, I knew my current moving average weight would drop after I stopped being on the anti-inflammatory drugs.

    u6mra6j4ketp.jpeg

    :)

    It's peaceful to be able to be fine with weight changing even when you're eating at maintenance, and understanding that it's not fat.