what do you make of this?
 

my weight loss has been varying so much. usually i lose every other week, and then have a small gain or maintain for the weeks in between. im not saying its awful, but it makes no sense! my BMR is about 1600 calories without adding any activities/exercise and ive been averaging about 1400 calories.

this is my 30 day log from myfitnesspal.... anyone having any epiphanies?

Weight loss is not linear.

im aware of that. yet i fail to understand why it seems as if my weight stays the same for 2 weeks at a time. also, i thought id be losing consistently if my deficit is as large as it should be with this amount of calories.

John's right, weight loss is not linear. The metabolism of energy isn't constant, the rate and volume of water retention isn't constant or limited to singular factor, and quite frankly the food in our intestines isn't always the same amount and density, either. There are so many reasons why this happens, but among women it is wiser to expect a lose, lose more, lose, maintain/bounce cycle over the course of a month, given our hormonal fluctuations.

Most of us lose 4-8 pounds a month when in high energy deficit. But most of us do NOT lose 1-2 pounds per week. Steady rates are for machines, our bodies are infinitely more complicated than that, and the inputs and outputs too varied to expect linear losses. But over time, the trend line should be generally heading in the direction to desire. Clear as mud?

thank you. i really noticed this week because i weighed myself 2 nights in a row.. clothed and all (just to get an idea) and my weight was just barely over what id weighed in the morning (undressed) a week before. i figured this was a good sign that id have a drop this week. then i did it again tonight (i know, obsessed much) and im 3 lbs up from my last weigh in. im NOT looking forward to my official weigh in tomorrow morning. unless i manage to drop 3.5 lbs by then im going to have gained. i didnt eat a huge heavy meal or anything today.. its just soooo frustrating sometimes

It's absolutely frustrating. I sometimes hate my scale. But one reason weight loss is not linear is because our scales weigh ALL of us, not just the fat we want to lose. It's kind of a terrible tool, when you think about it.

We are more water than anything else and our water varies for all kinds of reasons. The scale reflects that, as well as the gain or loss in muscle and the gain or loss in fat.

So we get on the scale having been OP for days and it's up. Or we go off plan for a few days and it's down. Neither scale outcome necessarily reflects our WEIGHT gain or loss, and yet that's what we see: "I stayed on plan and gained weight" or "Wow, I went off plan and lost. I guess I can keep eating on plan".

The scale disguises what is really going on and we give it much too much power over us.

My weight tends to stay the same for two weeks at a time. For me, it's a hormonal/water weight thing. The ten days before TOM I usually gain 1-2lbs, then don't lose until TOM, when I drop anywhere from 5-9lbs.

Also, you can't expect to lose a great deal by creating such a small deficit- I would expect you to lose maybe 4 pounds a month, unless you're working out several hours a day. You've lost 14lbs since August (early August? Late August?) which is way more than one would expect from such a small deficit. Maybe your body is just catching up.

So worry about the month to month, not day to day.

Maybe you should start weighing weekly, or even every other week.

I weigh every day and I do so so that I can see the variations and fluctuations.

Best time to weigh yourself is in the morning, after peeing, and while naked. i know that this will not match a WW weigh-in, but it gives the closest to accurate weight - unlike later in the day when you are weighing food, water, clothes, etc.

Many, many, many of us lose in cycles, but it's different for different people. Some lose between TTOM and ovulation. Some lose after ovulation, some lose more linearly. We just have to discover our pattern and then even with our own personal pattern, realize that it can shift.

THis month I lose 8 pounds (losing vacation weight). Looks like it would be 2 lbs a week. Well, no... it was all 8 pounds in one week. The rest I was holding steady or going up and down the same pound. This is pretty typical for me. I'm now in the "hold steady for 3 weeks" and when I say hold steady, it really means bouncing around a pound up and down and sometimes adding 3 pounds of water weight. My goal, these days, is to just try to keep the 'gain' of the month to 3 or under. if I can do that, I know I'm actually doing really, really well and should see a good WHOOSH a few days after ovulation.

I'm more in awe of people who have a more linear weight loss!

I'd switch to weekly weighing also - I know that's hard to do!!! But on the weeks you don't lose weight, are you still losing inches? Oddly, this past week I only lost .6 lbs but had a 2 inch overall reduction which I thought was VERY weird!

I'll come at this from a different angle and ask if you could post a graph of your total calories consumed (not NET calories). Or are you recording exercise in MFP? If you aren't, then nevermind, net and total would be the same.

Chances are everyone is right, for sure, I have had many many weeks of no loss, or gain, for no reason. But just to cover all the bases, etc., thought I'd ask.

If you feel compelled to weigh daily, like I do, it helps me to keep a spreadsheet. I have it automatically average the each week's weight, and it helps because even if I have a week or two where I'm holding steady, I can still look at the month and see an overall downward trend.

Another thing to remember is that the body strives for homeostatis. When you lose a few pounds, it your body doesn't like it (very simplistic) and tries to keep things stable. Eventually the metabolism will catch up and you'll see a drop.

I historically have a decent whoosh, like a few pounds over night, then bounce around the same 2 pounds or so for 2-3 weeks before another whoosh.

Id just like to add that if you arent losing as consistently as you feel you should be (or feel you are entitled to lose at) than you most likely are not creating as large of a calorie deficit as you think you are.... this may be due to miscalculating what you are actually consuming (very common, and most likely the issue) or miscalculating how much you MOVE in a day (also very common) or just not having a metabolism that matches what the online calculators say

What I track is a 7-day average. I weigh daily, but take an average from Saturday to Friday. It balances all the weird daily ups and downs, and gives me a more long-term perspective. I'm pretty close to what I would call a goal weight, and I don't have a timeline to get there, so as long as I see a .1 drop per week, I know I'm still headed in the right direction. It's reduced my stress considerably.

I have the same problem. It's really quite frustrating to hold a deficit in calories day after day after day, and not lose, maybe gain. In a month, I might lose a fraction of a pound. The last time I dieted, I was losing a pound a week, constantly.

Compared to my last diet, I'm much less strict about what I eat.

I firmly believe it's about calories in and calories out. If you maintain a deficit, you'll lose. However, I think different foods affect me and this is my problem. I hold water. When I'm losing well, I'm super strict about what I eat. No sweets, no sugars, not much bread, etc. My problem is sticking with that strictness. I much prefer the idea of being able to enjoy treats and still lose. My body has other ideas.

Plus I'm older.

Maybe look at what you're eating. Maybe it's about what you eat.