I got really fed up of my bloat hiding my true weight loss. I started drinking 6-9 cups a day starting Monday and saw my weight stop yo-yoing and stay a solid 207 from Wednesday to Friday.

I forgot to weight myself yesterday so maybe that is my issue, but, I weighed myself this morning and I am back to 2011?? Wdf??? That is the dreaded number I'd been seeing for weeks that I thought I broke.

I drank at LEAST 6 cups yesterday and I checked, I didn't eat anything with a lot of salt.

I'm so discouraged. I thought I was finally back down again, now this goes and happens. I cannot get out of the 200's and this is really taking a toll on my motivation. After 2 years, I feel like I lost barely anything and today I feel like a depressed mess and giving up.

I know the scale doesn't matter. I keep telling myself. I already lost inches, which means I'm losing fat. But I can't help but look at the scale and want SO badly to be under the 200's.

I keep wondering if it isn't my scale playing tricks on me? I weighed myself with shorts and a tee, it said 211. Then I weighed again naked -still 211. Is that possible? Am I just trying to find an excuse to feel better?

Sorry, now I'm ranting.

Well, we'll always have water weight, even at 110 pounds or so - it's part of what comprises our body and it helps our blood flow, helps with everything... it will go up and down - it varies with humidity - we dispense it when we breathe, etc. I'm sure you're familiar with it all, but it's just a fact of life that we can't/shouldn't be too worried about. YES, it's incredibly frustrating to see the scale go wonky! But you'll get there - look what you've accomplished so far and remember that you're the ONLY one who sees that number on the scale - we all see the inches that someone loses and their shrinking body! Don't let a number drive you bonkers. Just note the trend and take pride in all you do to stay on track!

sounds like ur suffering with frsutration like myself, and counting on the scales to show you what your doing is working. I think the best thing to do is to put down the scales, put them away etc, and focus on non scale victories for a week, eg, meausrements, exercise goals, personal or academic goals, make yourself happy without food or weight being involved!

i have the same problem, especially with water and bowel movement holding back my number decrease, all our bodies are different, just have to hope that changing your routine and mixing up foods and carbs a bit can change your patterns, but ata the end of the day it will come of just have alittle faith take care x

What's your alternative at this point? Go off plan and regain everything you've lost? Sure, it's disheartening, but this is a lifestyle change, not a diet.

Are you tracking what you're eating? Measuring and weighing everything? What are you doing for exercise?

I'm guilty of dieting w/o exercise and being annoyed that the scales aren't budging. Up the movement and it falls off. I know it, but I still get frustrated when it happens.

I completely understand. One weekend I purposely tried to dehydrate myself just so I could see the scale move. But I have learned to be OK with the water weight because I knew that I was working out hard and eating within plan. I don’t have much to offer besides my comiseration! And congratulations on your awesome weight loss so far. You should be so proud of that!!

I was up 2.5 pounds yesterday and for no good reason. Stick to your plan and I GUARANTEE you will have another whoosh and that weight will come right back down again.

Make sure you are not constipated as well!!!

I remember getting a stomach bug a couple of years ago and losing 10 pounds in two days!!! Even as sick as I was, I LOVED getting on my scale and seeing the lower numbers. It came right back on though!

Yep, it's crazymaking, but it can't be avoided. I'm afraid you will just have to learn to live with it by taking a longer-term view. Fluid fluctuations can easily mask a week or two weeks' or even three weeks' worth of fat loss. That doesn't mean you aren't losing the fat, it just means that you have to wait a little longer to see the results of the loss.

Some people can control their fluid fluctuations up to a point by controlling sodium intake and drinking lots of water. But even if that works for you, it only works up to a point. Other factors like whether and how hard you exercised on a particular day, where you are in your hormonal cycle, or even what the weather is can affect your fluid retention.

What's the point in making yourself crazy over that? Those things are outside your control. So instead, control the things you can control, and trust your plan to work over the long term even though you can't see it working on a particular day or week.

I feel yer pain!

I weigh every single day. First thing in the morning - AFTER potty, and completely naked. I consider that to be my "true weight". But I kept seeing crazy fluctuations on the scale, too, and I got so fed up with it, I decided to try a little experiment a couple months ago.

For two weeks, I did the following (always weigh "nekkid"... who cares what my clothes weigh??? )
I weighed just before bedtime.
Weighed upon waking (BEFORE potty).
Weighed immediately after potty (as much as 2 pounds peed away!)
Weighed after breakfast.
Weighed when I got home from work.
Weighed again before bedtime.

During all these weigh-ins, I saw fluctuations from 2-5 pounds. THAT'S WATER. Our bodies are made up of water. Different people have different percentages of their bodies made up of water. Babies have the most, being born at 75% of water; adult men about 60% of their bodies and adult women have about 55%.

During "TOM", women can gain anywhere from 3-15 pounds (or more!) of water. I personally, once gained 13 pounds of water weight during that time of month. Geesh!

What all of this has taught me? Water comes & goes. All during the day, every day. During TOM, I have even more of it. But once TOM is over, sometimes it looks like I've lost 5 or more pounds, just in my stomach, due to the bloat-factor.

Don't worry about water weight. Weigh yourself once a week. SAME TIME, SAME EVERYTHING (either naked or the exact same clothes like your nightgown or whatever). And use that reading as your "true weight". The scale may still go up/down a bit, but just remember - you are doing what you need to do to get healthy & be trim. Or as we used to say in the 70's, JUST KEEP ON KEEPIN'ON!!!

Water weight can be avoided if we stay away from salt and sodas.

It's not always water weight. Sometimes there is just a lot of "stuff" in your colon. Been eating more veggies? Been eating more fruit? The fiber and waste by-product in plants can weigh more than you think. It will all come out in the end. LOL

You may want to also pay attention to all foods you are eating, not just your higher sodium foods. While salt does cause water weight flucuations, this is not the only cause of water weight gain. Food intolerances to things such as wheat/gluten, corn, dairy, etc can cause your body to hold onto more water than sodium often does. Another common additive to foods that can cause water weight is msg. While you may not have the more noticable reaction to trigger foods, you could have an intolerance enough to cause excessive water retention.