????

kimnaaron4ever
kimnaaron4ever Posts: 61
in Health and Weight Loss
I was just wondering if anyone could help me understand what is going on with me. I am one of those people that weigh themselves everyday (I just feel if I know where I'm at I can keep better control of myself when it comes to eating). Well, Monday I weighed 124. That is still 6 lbs below my goal weight, but about 4 lbs more than I've been weighing. Anyway, so, I had a bit of a "free" weekend with eating pretty much what I wanted, but knew I'd get back on track this week. All was going really well. I stayed at or slightly under my calorie goal EVERYDAY! So, I was super excited when yesterday the scale said 121.4. I felt that I was right on track to where I wanted to be. I did everything the same yesterday, stayed under my calorie goal, and everything & then this morning, much to my horror, it said I was back up to 123.6?! How can that be?! Could someone help me understand this?! Ok the following may TMI, but I'm going to put it out there anyway, I haven't had a BM since Monday. Could that be part of the problem? I've started taking a fiber supplement this week because I've always had a problem with irregularity, but so far it hasn't helped. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • impyimpyaj
    impyimpyaj Posts: 1,073 Member
    Daily fluctuations happen. And fluctuations mean that sometimes it will go up, and sometimes it will go down. (I say that because it seems that many people on the boards expect only downward fluctuations.) The overall trend is important, not the daily numbers.

    Yes, poop weighs something, so if you're not going, that will affect your scale weight. Sodium and injury can cause water retention, which will affect your scale weight. Wearing different clothes on the scale will affect your scale weight.

    Don't stress about it. But as far as the bathroom issues, try prunes or prune juice. I have those issues often, and when it's been a while I'll take a stool softener in addition to the prunes, because you're likely impacted and it's going to be hard to get that moving. And drink plenty of water.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    Weight has so many other things that go into it besides your fat level. You just can't try to figure it out, except for the major changes. Most people just normally bounce within a wide range of +/- 5 or more pounds.
  • ag2ut
    ag2ut Posts: 20
    Your weight is going to fluctuate day to day. A couple pounds is not unusual. Hell, I bet you fluctuate a pound or two if you weighed yourself several times in the same day. Bowel movements are relevant, exercise is relevant, hydration is relevant. Keep following your nutrition and exercise plans and long-term, you'll see a downward trend.
  • Laura8603
    Laura8603 Posts: 590 Member
    My Weight Watcher leader used to always say, "You don't always get what you're supposed to get when you're supposed to get it."
  • i_miss_donuts
    i_miss_donuts Posts: 180 Member
    First - congrats on being BELOW goal! Amazing! Now brace yourself for potty talk. As a mom of two with a gastroenterologist in the family, it doesn't bother me! :laugh:

    I weigh daily too; my weight swings +/- 2 depending on water, sodium and "regularity." Your (de)hydration levels are likely the source of your weight swings and are linked to what I am guessing might be a more pressing issue at this point as I would be DYING right about now if I had not pooped since Monday!! :noway:

    Focus on getting your digestive tract working and everything else - including the scale- will probably right itself. Taking a stool softener is an emergency measure but may be necessary if you are uncomfortable and not feeling like eating. I would stay away from laxatives if at all possible as they are habit forming. Sorry if I am telling you what you already know but you need LOTS of water and LOTS of insoluble fiber from fruits and veggies. My friend had chronic constipation issues and discovered that a daily calcium supplement with vitamin D and magnesium made a world of difference (she already ate fairly healthy and drank water). While the calcium & D are nice, it's the magnesium that is key as it helps to attract water to the bowels which is critical to keeping things moving.

    Get this issue back under control and I think you will find yourself back down to your normal weight.
  • kimnaaron4ever
    kimnaaron4ever Posts: 61
    First - congrats on being BELOW goal! Amazing! Now brace yourself for potty talk. As a mom of two with a gastroenterologist in the family, it doesn't bother me! :laugh:

    I weigh daily too; my weight swings +/- 2 depending on water, sodium and "regularity." Your (de)hydration levels are likely the source of your weight swings and are linked to what I am guessing might be a more pressing issue at this point as I would be DYING right about now if I had not pooped since Monday!! :noway:

    Focus on getting your digestive tract working and everything else - including the scale- will probably right itself. Taking a stool softener is an emergency measure but may be necessary if you are uncomfortable and not feeling like eating. I would stay away from laxatives if at all possible as they are habit forming. Sorry if I am telling you what you already know but you need LOTS of water and LOTS of insoluble fiber from fruits and veggies. My friend had chronic constipation issues and discovered that a daily calcium supplement with vitamin D and magnesium made a world of difference (she already ate fairly healthy and drank water). While the calcium & D are nice, it's the magnesium that is key as it helps to attract water to the bowels which is critical to keeping things moving.

    Get this issue back under control and I think you will find yourself back down to your normal weight.

    Thanks! And I'm a mom of three, so, bodily functions are a norm for me and don't really bother me to talk about either.
    With that said, I am drinking LOTS of water! In fact I drink so much that I usually get up twice at night to go to the bathroom. And I eat lots of fruits and veggies (so much more now than I did before I started this journey two years ago!). In fact when I took on this healthier lifestyle, I thought my irregularity problem would correct itself & it did for a while but keeps coming back into play now. Anyway, I bought Metumucil Muli-Health Fiber pills. It has psyllium husk, calcium carbonate, & some other stuff that I don't think really matters, do you think this would help? Do they make a magnesium pill or whatever? And my meal are generally pretty small as I try to eat the three meals with snacks in between, that I am still able to eat, but my goodness do I feel bloated and yucky afterwards! Thanks again for your imput! Oh and by the way love your username! I miss donuts too! :)
  • i_miss_donuts
    i_miss_donuts Posts: 180 Member
    Sounds like you are doing everything right - so perhaps you are having same issues as my friend who found relief with the magnesium. I would try the magnesium supplements and maybe a pro-biotic to boot. Maybe your intestinal flora is off? I know if I take anti-biotics for any reason it messes with my tummy for a few weeks after.

    Good luck!
  • i_miss_donuts
    i_miss_donuts Posts: 180 Member
    One other thought - if you are eating a really high fiber diet without much fat that can make things difficult. Are you getting enough healthy fats from nuts, avocados, olive oil, etc? That could help too!

Categories