I weighed myself on Monday and I was 181. Today I weighed myself and I was 175.5. Can I really have lost over 5 lbs in 2 days? Or is it just water weight and next time I turn around it'll be back?
I am really happy about the loss, but I don't FEEL any thinner (my pants aren't looser or anything), so should I be breaking out the champagne and celebrating just yet?
I know on The Biggest Loser people drop weight really quickly and I wonder HOW their bodies do it? I thought (could be wrong) there are 3000 calories in every pound of fat. The average human body burns just under 2000 calories a day preforming the basic tasks like keeping the heart beating, digesting food, brain function, getting from A - Z, right? On top of that you would have to burn another 1000 calories working out! That is if you didn't eat anything all day. Are all these facts wrong?
Our bodies are mainly water, followed by muscle and fat (or maybe fat then muscle). When the scale drops, we don't know what we just lost! You certainly can lose 5 pounds in 2 days, as you demonstrated, but some of it may be water and muscle, as well as some fat.
Also remember that fat loss isn't linear and I sometimes think those pesky fat cells take awhile to get the message to leave.
This is why we talk about averages. Some weeks you do everything right and lose nothing, sometimes we gain, and sometimes we lose. It's clearly a complicated process and what you ate and did the day before isn't all of the story...
I think that as our metabolism changes, there is often a big initial drop in weight, which may be what you see. I dropped 3 pounds in one day when I started a food and exercise program just because of adjustment. The loss then "bounced" up a couple times and now I'm dropping again.
My weight can fluctuate 2 pounds a day for no reason at all, so I watch the trend over time rather than the daily reading. For example, in a week I should be down a pound or two if I've followed my plan.
Calories: around 1300 average per day
Exercise: around 150 calories burned, average per day
Your 5lb loss was likely water weight. I personally in the past have dropped that much weight over the space of a week. Fat loss and water loss are two totally different demons. You need to burn 3500 calories to lose 1lb of fat. So, in order to have lose 5lb of fat in two days, you would have had to burn 17,500 calories. It was unlikely to say the least, that you dropped 5lb of fat . I'm not saying this to be mean or discouraging, you are doing great I see you have lost lbs already, which is awesome!
About The Biggest Loser. You have to remember a couple of things. First, the contestants on that show are heavily, heavily overweight and when you are that much overweight, in the beginning of a lifestyle change, diet, call it what you will, most people tend to drop a lot of lbs quickly. Secondly, these people give up their lives for x amount of weeks and move to a ranch where they do nothing but eat right and work out. They don't have to deal with "life" and can focus 100% (or as much as they choose to give) on losing weight.
It is very unrealistic to compare your Average Joe's weight loss to the weight loss of a Biggest Loser contestant. Keep doing what you are doing girlie and you'll make it!
Yes, you can lose 5 pounds in 2 days--because it did happen. What you need to do now is concentrate on keeping it off because chances are you won't lose anything for several more days or even weeks. This is the point where some people become discouraged and give up (yo-yo-ing). Be happy with your loss, stay on track, don't get discouraged, and don't really expect another 5 pound loss in another 2 days.
I weigh myself every morning before I shower, but I just do it out of curiosity. I like watching the fluctuations, but I don't stress over them. I've made Tuesday my "official" weigh-in day, so I can see how everything shakes out once a week. I keep a chart of my Tuesday weight and how much I've lost each week and overall. I usually lose 3 pounds one week and one the next, averaging 2 pounds a week, but I'm sure I'll hit a plateau eventually.
My point is just that you really have to pick one day that's "official" and ignore what the scale says the rest of the time (or not weigh yourself until that day). I've weighed myself in the morning and then weighed myself later that evening and it said I gained 5 pounds in one day, even after sticking to my eating plan and doing an hour of cardio. Obviously, that number didn't show up again on Tuesday.
CAN you REALLY lose 5 pounds in 2 days?
