In the past 3 weeks - I have had some weird weigh-ins and I am wondering if anyone else has experienced the same. My IP Coach says she sees this all the time - a see-sawing effect on where the weight is being lost.

Week 10 2.1 (Weight Loss) consisting of 5.7 (Fat Loss) and 3.6 (Muscle Gain)
Week 11 1.9 (Weight Loss) consisting of 2.7 (Fat Gain) and 4.4 (Muscle Loss)
Week 12 4.2 (Weight Loss) consisting of 7.2 (Fat Loss) and 3.0 (Muscle Gain)
Week 13 3.3 (Weight Loss) consisting of 2.8 (Fat Gain) and 6.1 (Muscle Loss)

I am not doing anything different each week. In fact my meals are fairly consistent week to week. Apart from walking I am not doing any strenuous exercise.

Has anyone else experienced it? My coach says I will most likely do this every week ... but wanted to know if anyone else has a similar experience and what their coach says ...

I am not on IP but I would not believe the numbers. You are losing muscle and fat unless you do exercise which I know is limited on IP. And even then, it's hard to build muscle in calorie deficit but I am not sure whether IP does that or not.

I would just focus on the weight loss if I were you.

I think you are confusing lean mass with muscle. Lean mass is anything other than fat (muscles, bones, organs, waste product). It will fluctuate some each week. I'd jus a focus on the overall loss. As long as you see getting in your protein, you will burn fat, not muscle!

Many people on here have found these measuring devices for muscle/fat % NOT to be worth much or accurate.

As for weight loss, it is NEVER going to be a smooth downward line. If you plot losses over weeks and months, it will look more jagged with a few up weeks here and there, a few 0 loss weeks, some BIG loss weeks, a couple half pounders, and the more normal 1-3 pound weeks in the mix. All you really should focus on is that the big picture, the overall trend is DOWN! The body looses at different rates and in different amounts for so many reasons (water retention, injury, TOM, constipation, etc.)

Also be sure you are getting your measurements at least every other week. You might have a 0 loss in pounds but have lost a number of inches that week.

What else tells you that you are losing? Are your clothes looser, face thinner, walking better, feeling energized? Weight loss is about so much more than weight LOST!!

My clinic doesn't even have one of those special things. Strictly weigh and measure. My measurements are all over the place so it is frustrating. I pretty much ignore them most weeks. I have steady losses and tossing out clothes constantly. If only there was a way to always measure me in the exact same place!

It helps if the same person measures you every time, and my coach has a very specific 'where to measure chart' ie: hips are at the wristbone with arms hanging down, thigh at the fingertip as above, etc. She was also quite good at pulling to the same tension (I have done official type measurements of fitness & rehab clients so I know how important this is). She is actually a very good coach - you might ask yours if she has a chart for measurements that tell EXACTLY where to measure. It's actually pretty hard to do your own measurements except maybe waist.

I have my own good scale that measures body fat % as well as h2o levels and bone density. It seems to be quite reliable as the numbers never jumped around at all, except hydration and that was pretty easy to figure out why. I only did their machine a couple of times and it kind of backed up what mine was saying, so I didn't pay for that part of it any more (a few $ extra per month - not much)

Liana

Thanks everyone ...

This week I lost 2.0lb in body mass and gained 2.2lbs in lean body mass ... for a gain of 0.2lbs.

Any sort of gain whether minimal or not - is annoying.

I am actually unable to make next week's weekly weigh-in ... so I will wait and see what happens.

My coach only measures me every 6 weeks - so I have been measured twice - however I am hung up on the weight because that is how you determine how much closer you are to goal.

I was reading something about these types of scales recently. It explained that they are quite useful and accurate for people who are not too overweight but at a certain point of overweightness, they are more inaccurate.

Its to do with the way the electronic signals can zip around your body. Sorry i can't remember the detail of how it works but the description was clear and convincing.

So like everyone says, just concentrate on the weight loss.

I can't believe the differences in coaches. I think measurements are VERY important. My clinic measures me every week. I have a pattern of a good going:
Week 1 - Large (for me) Weight Loss, No/Little Measurement Change
Week 2 - Small Weight Loss, Large Measurement Change

Rinse and repeat. It would be very de-motivating to not see those large measurement changes every other week. Can you request to be measured more frequently?