No big fluctuations - Is it normal?

I think it varies from one person to the next.

I've been tracking my weight daily for nearly two years now and the largest fluctuations I've had were 1.1kg in one day and usually quite a bit less than that. But when you look at a longer time frame, it does accumulate a bit more, but still not huge.
I can have several downwards fluctuations over a few days to new low weight followed by a whole week of small upticks, for example.
But the overall range is still only 4-5lbs I think.

scarlett_k wrote: »

I only ever get significant fluctuations on the rare occasion I eat a very salty/large meal (like chinese or a pizza hut pizza). Otherwise I usually hover within the same 1.5 kg (3lb give or take), although more usually it's 0-0.5kg, and I hover in one place for longer at certain point in my cycle.

yes, me too. I only gain 1kg max after traveling. Mind you, I'm a whoosher, thus maybe water weight even gets flattened by that.

That's Libra, an Android app for keeping track of your weight trend.

sijomial wrote: »

HealthyFoodieForever wrote: »

I read everywhere that big fluctuations up to 7lbs are to be expected when weighing yourself daily.

The key words are "up to" which includes for the intended readership no fluctuations, small fluctuations, large fluctuations and every point in between.

Just like a shop advertising discounts "up to" 50%, that's not saying everything is discounted by 50%, just some items.

Yes, I only got the 7 pound swing once - I had both started lifting weights again and was ovulating. It's possible I had a high sodium meal in there as well.

When I was further away from menopause I had smaller hormonal swings, and they were bigger premenstrually. Now my big swings are when I ovulate. I'm currently up 4 pounds from my low point in the month, which is a week after my period starts.

I use Happy Scale and focus on the overall trend, which is going in the right direction, especially when I look at the yearly chart.

HealthyFoodieForever wrote: »

Hey guys,

I read everywhere that big fluctuations up to 7lbs are to be expected when weighing yourself daily.

I have been doing it every morning for months and even now that I have done a maintenance break I haven't seen any big fluctuations at all. The weight will go up and down slightly by 0.1-1kg / 0.5lbs-2lbs max, but it's always around the same kg on the scale. Is it normal? I am petite (159cm, 55kg / 5ft 2, ~125lbs).

While possible, I don't really think 7 Lb fluctuations are altogether normal...I'd say they are occasional high end outliers...the only time I can think of that I've had a fluctuation that large is when I travel my air.

I can be up or down 3 Lbs...but even then, that usually only happens when I've done something different with my diet like having a weekend of drinking and eating, especially if it was more carbs and/or sodium than I usually have I'm pretty consistent with my diet and my exercise so 0 to 1ish Lbs up or down is more normal for me.

My usual fluctuations are in the same 1-3 pound range others are reporting. It takes extreme behavior, for me, to see bigger ones. (I've been weighing daily most of the time for many, many years, probably over a decade, starting even before trying to lose weight.)

Some women see bigger fluctuations related to monthly hormone cycles, but that's quite individual, like other aspects of fluctuation. If you feel healthy, no weird symptoms like ankle swelling or something, don't worry that you're fluctuating too little (or too much). Your normal is normal. Other people's normal may be different.

For your consideration: If there's a post here by someone worried about a big fluctuation, that will draw out other people's stories about extreme fluctuations, to reassure them that if they didn't eat massive extra calories (or stop marathon training for a 24x7 retreat to their bed), it isn't fat. In that context, I'd be posting about my *rare* 5-6 pound fluctuations from one day to the next, not my much more common 1-3 pound ones.