How does everyone deal with daily weight flucuations? I got up this morning and weighed 3 pounds more than yesterday despite 2 hours of exercise and low calorie intake. Logically, I realize it's impossible for me to have gained 3 pounds in my sleep but it's hard not to lose motivation. What causes this and how do I deal with it without going crazy?
Weight fluctuations are caused by many things, but a short daily fluctuation list:
- water
- food
- types of food that you eat (if you eat something with high sodium)
- exercise
- time of day you weigh
- time of your evening meal (if i eat late i see a larger increase in the morning)
- hormones
etc...
My weight fluctuates 1-5 pounds daily. When I'm hormonal it can be higher. Fluctuations are normal. Even when I'm bloated or know I'm retaining water, it just is a normal thing that everyone experiences.
I know it can be frustrating...there have been times when I've been a bit scale obsessive and water fluctuations drove me nuts. So, now when I feel myself getting too fussy, i just ban myself from the scale so I can focus on more positive things. I do, however, weigh myself during my TOM every day to track my fluctuations. It helps me make better choices for myself.
Last edited by Jacquie668; 09-26-2009 at 07:16 PM.
Like jacquie said, weight fluctuations are normal and can be caused by many things.
I can't take the daily fluctuations so I weigh only once a week. So far it's been working much better for me then when I weighed daily and keeps me sane.
If you exercise hard, you are likely to go up in weight for a day (even two sometimes) bc your muscles retain water while doing repairs. So, at least you can pat yourself on the back for a good workout! Fluctuations are very frustrating but completely normal and I don't usually have such a positive excuse (in my case, it's often high sodium, TOM, or erm, undigested food).
My weight fluctuates between 133 and 139. You just have to learn what foods will make you bloat, which act more like diuretics and how you want to control that. If I have a wedding, which I have about eight every summer, I eat a lot of salads, cucumbers, bananas, steel cut oats, stuff that I know how much sodium is in. I think that is key, sodium. Just have to watch the intake if you want to see a smaller number on that scale. It is just calories in/calories out. If you are seeing your weight fluctuate towards the end you don't want, I would just food journal to catch the culprit. Some people aren't bothered by a lot of sodium; I am. I just feel ick.
I'll start by saying I'm a daily weigher. I have to be because if I weigh once a week (tried many times), I always end up gaining as there's nothing to keep me on track during the week.
I used to get VERY frustrated by blips in the scale, well "up" blips anyway. I also saw the increases after I exercised. Like you, I also rationalized that there was no way that I could've gained actual weight [fat] overnight, but it was depressing just the same. I think it was a combination of getting used to seeing the constant fluctuation coupled with the overall decrease that keeps me pretty zen now. I take the ups with the downs. The only time I'll worry is if it continues to go up, then I'll know I need to be pro-active in my food intake.
It does take time. It took me 3-4 years, but my learning curve isn't that steep when it comes to weightloss.
No matter how often you decide to weigh yourself, you have to have a pattern. I'm thinkin' most folks get out of bed, void their bladder, strip and step on the scale.
Keep this up. Don't step back on later in the day. Don't check another scale ...
I can weigh every day. But I also can wait to see I have a general downward trend over a week. The graph I get at fitday.com helps me with that.
Now that you know that these kind of fluctuations are normal and common, perhaps you'll be able to handle them wisely. Effective weight loss is commonly a matter of trial and error and a lot of us have learned that one day is no trial ... most of us learn over time.
Its super normal - but soooo frustrating. I weigh myself extremely often just so I get OK with it. When I first wake up - my rings fit too snugly on my fingers, after I walk around and am awake for 30 minutes, my rings fit well again and the scale will read 1-2lbs lighter than 30 minutes before. I never ever weigh myself after I eat, because thats just depressing. Its a fact of life though... the more you get to know your body's fluctuations, the more prepared you are! You will be able to tell the difference between a normal fluctuation and an actual weight gain if you become familiar with how your body works.
Great comments! I also make sure that I have something else to test how good I am doing such as trying on a too small outfit once a week and taking pictures every 21 days. I have only lost 3 pounds so far but I know I have lost inches. It's hard to not weigh in everyday so I am aiming for every second day.
I am with Julia--weighing once a week keeps me from going nuts, too. I obsess over things like weight fluctuations; I see less of them if I weigh weekly instead of daily.
Weight fluctuations are something that I can intellectually understand. But trying telling that to my motivation! It's soooo frustrating to comprehend sometimes. 2 weeks ago I spent a whole week in bed, sick, eating the finest assortment of junkfood you could imagine and not exercising at all. At the end of the week I got on the scale and had lost a pound. Success!
However, this past week I tried to get back on track with calories and exercise and I was sooo good! What happened at the end of the week when I weighed myself? Gained 4lbs. I'm sure there is a logical explanation that makes sense of this but no matter how you explain it to me I lost weight eating cheetos, and gained weight when I wasn't.
I feel your pain!!! But we have no choice, we gotta keep on the journey because it's the right thing to do. Hopefully these fluctuations are just bumps in the road.
Weight flucuations
I take the ups with the downs. The only time I'll worry is if it continues to go up, then I'll know I need to be pro-active in my food intake. 
