Example around scale weight, fat loss, and exercise
 

So I see so many threads around here that are essentially around the topic of the scale and how it relates to weight loss. I had an interesting week on that topic, I thought I would post some real data and see what inferences folks would make from it.

Note that all weigh-ins are on a nice very consistent scale at the gym at the same time of day (mid-late morning) wearing extremely similar clothing and after having the same breakfast (300 cal protein shake). All weigh-ins are before workout to eliminate sweat loss as a variable.

Where exercise says "gym" that means 45-60 minutes of varying cardio and 20-30 minutes of moderate intensity weight training

Monday - Last Week
Scale - 205.8 lbs
Exercise - Gym
Calories - 1700

Tuesday
Scale - 207.0 lbs
Exercise - Gym
Calories - 1800

Wednesday
Scale - 206.8 lbs
Exercise - Gym
Calories - 1950

Thursday
Scale - 208.0 lbs
Exercise - Gym
Calories - 1650

Friday
Scale - no weigh-in
Exercise - none
Calories - 2050

Saturday
Scale - no weigh-in
Exercise - none
Calories - 2600

Sunday
Scale - no weigh-in
Exercise - none
Calories - 2200

Monday - Today
Scale - 201.8


Questions
Answer however you want, but think about whether the following statements are true, false, or indeterminate (not enough info to answer)

1. I lost weight last week
2. I lost 4 lbs last week
3. I lost 4 lbs of fat last week
4. I gained 2.2 lbs of fat from Mon to Thu
5. Working out causes me to gain weight
6. Working out causes me to gain fat
7. Eating below 2,000 calories causes me to gain weight/fat
8. I should eat above 2,000 calories to lose weight more rapidly
9. I should workout less to lose weight more rapidly
10. I lost 6.2 lbs of fat from Thu to the following Monday
11. I am better off this Monday vs. last Monday in regards to weight and a healthy lifestyle.

A few of your statements might be valid, but it's a bit hard to be sure.

You see, it's not always a good idea to look for a correlation in (scale) weight and calories on a daily basis.

The body is a bit more complex and can adapt to various impulses.

So what I'm trying to say is that to be able to make better founded judgments, you need data like this for more than a week.

I personally never try to create calorie deficits on a daily basis, because I know my body will eventually adjust to that energy intake.

So I try to create an energy deficit over the course of a week. I usually do a couple of days low in calories, and then one or two days higher. I may eat more calories than I burn on the higher days, but over the course of a week, I still create a calorie deficit.

And because it's spread over a longer period of time, I'm going to notice that in my figures (predominantly body fat percentage).

And besides, this keeps working for longer periods, because (1) my body doesn't adapt because I have high days that give the signal that there's plenty of food available (so it doesn't get in starvation mode), and (2) I get regular mental breaks because I can 'cheat' strategically on the high days, which actually works in my advantage.

Hope that made sense...

I believe that these statements are TRUE: 1, 2, and 11. 2 is true because you're measuring Monday to Monday and that's a week. (Well, it's a day more, but OK.)

I believe that these statements are FALSE: 3, 4, and 10. When we lose weight or gain weight, it may or may not be fat, and there is no reliable way to tell in the short term.

I believe these statements are INDETERMINATE: 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. There is just not enough data to draw any conclusions.

My favorite true answer is 11. :D

Jay