Why is the scale not moving?
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MamaBearWorx93
Posts: 18 Member
I have been eating so so healthy, very low carb and almost no fat, tons of veggies and lean protein and fruit plus exercising a lot and the scale went down five pounds in the last month since I’ve been doing MFP but has been stuck for days! In fact this morning it actually went up a half a pound and I was 400 cal under my goal yesterday and walked 11,000 steps and gardened which I didn’t even count in my exercise. What is going on?? When I do complete diary at the end of the day it tells me I’m going to weigh 10 pounds less than I weigh today in five weeks but I don’t know how that’s going to be if the scale doesn’t move for the last four days and in fact went up today.
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Replies
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You will not lose weight consistently. Your daily weight is going to fluctuate based on a lot of factors. Water/fluid retention can result from exercise, muscle repair, sodium intake, hormonal fluctuations, or stress. Food waste in your system shows up on the scale. None of this is fat gain.
A few days is nothing. Keep recording your weight, and look at the trend over the next 6 weeks. If you don't see a downward trend in 6 weeks, then consider making some changes. You are going to drive yourself nuts and chase your tail if you react to the day-to-day fluctuations. Right now, you just need patience.
Also, why are you consuming "almost no fat"? Healthy fats should be a part of your diet unless you have a medical condition that requires you to limit fat. Fats from foods like olive oil, fish, and avocados help prevent heart problems and strokes and can increase your "good" cholesterol numbers, among other benefits.13 -
Weight going up and FAT going up are different! Put weight is a range, not a set number. Our bodies have an astonishing amount of water that fluctuates, plus weight changes based on food left in the intestines, where we are in our menstrual cycle, etc0
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Get used to the scale doing that, it's a normal part of weight loss. I lost from obese to very lean and have had the scale not move for over a month, even though looking back at the data, it's clear that I was losing fat at a steady rate.
On the scale it would look like sometimes I lost rapidly and sometimes I didn't lose at all, but the average over time was actually totally consistent, like clockwork as long as my behaviour was consistent.
This is why most people fail to lose weight, the scale stalls and then they get frustrated, over correct, snap and give up.
Be consistent and be patient. Don't relate what the scale is doing over a few days to what you are eating in that time. Be consistent for AT LEAST 6 weeks and then look back at 6 weeks of data and see what's actually happening.12 -
The ups/downs are frustrating but unavoidable. I got an app to track my weight. It keeps a running average which helps me see the big picture and not just the number on the scale that day. Also, if you are tracking daily zoom out on your weight loss chart and see that your line is going down. That always helps me. It’s about a trend downward and not the individual daily readings. It sucks when it goes up or is stuck but if you have a deficit it will go down. Don’t get discouraged. Sometimes after I have been “stuck” a few days I have a bigger drop. I read something (just internet info) about fat cells filling up with water then you eventually release that water. Called a whoosh. Not sure if this is true. But there is a lot more going on in your body than you realize.7
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Weight fluctuations are normal as mentioned, due to all kinds of things that have nothing to do with body fat. Agree with previous posters, be consistent, but don't expect perfection from your scale or yourself. This is a long road, make sure you can stay on it for the long term by following a diet you can stick with, and accepting that you won't always see losses. Fat is absolutely necessary in your diet for your hormones, your brain, and your basic health, by the way - try to include some.1
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Going low carb AND low fat may be something to rethink... not many people do both because you need to get your calories from somewhere, and while lean proteins are great, they're not necessarily great to make up the bulk of your diet over the long term.3
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I’ve been stuck at 182 for about 10 days.
Friday morning was 180.
Saturday morning was 184.
Same happened at 194 but I stuck with the plan and eventually got back on track.
I’ve averaged 1lb lost per week the past four months but I’ve not lost 1 lb *every*week.
Drinking more water will reduce the retention.
Mike2 -
Thank you everyone. Intend to obsess so I think what I’ll do is only weigh myself once a week now on a given day at a given time. Also I need to increase the good fats in my diet and also the net carbs and increase protein as well. Thank you all!!4
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There are going to be weight fluctuations. One reason is water weight. You can retain water due to hormones/TOM, stress, changing in the quantity of carbs you eat, muscle repair from exercise, lack of sleep and a # of other things. Water weight fluctuations are temporary, and nothing to worry about. Weight can also fluctuate for other things. Like how much food waste is currently in your system, or how hydrated/dehydrated you are.
For these reasons, comparing back to back weighins can be misleading. What I mean is whether you weigh daily or weekly, sometimes the # will go down and sometimes it will go up. To get a better idea of your progress - look for a weight trending app for your phone. Or compare your current weigh in to what you weighed a month or 2 months ago. If you are eating at a deficit and you weigh less now than 30 days ago: you are on the right path.
If you are intending to eat at a deficit but weigh more now than a month or two months ago: your logging may not be accurate or there could be a medical issue going on. (Some medical conditions could cause a larger level of water retention for example.)1 -
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Thank you!0
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As a personal trainer and nutrition coach who runs a community fitness center, I recommend to some of my clients that the scale can be a source of frustration and misinterpreted information. They don't separate fat, water, lean body mass, waste, hormone cycles, sleep cycles, inflammation, bloating caused by food sensitivities, sodium-rich intake days, etc. I suggest to my clients who are emotionally responding to the scale that they don't step on it more than once monthly as, for many people, it can cause more harm than good. A target weight can be helpful for many as they have something to achieve, but getting on the scale too frequently can have an adverse effect. Keep your nutrition, exercise, and sleep on point; the weight will come off in time.1
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cwolfman13 wrote: »
its the trend line over time that matters....btw...5lbs in a month is pretty good, imho1
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