Tell me if this is your experience with weight loss and gain….
You’ve decided that it’s time that you start to focus on eating better and attempting to drop your weight. Maybe your doctor told you that you need to lose some weight, or you might just feel a bit more plumpy than you’d like to feel!
You do all the “right things” in that you are eating more lean protein, eating vegetables and drinking more water. You are prioritizing your workouts and feel really good. Awesome stuff right?
Then you hop on the scale only to see that you are now 2 lbs heavier than you were 3 days ago!!
Was it all worth it?
Well…yes, yes it was! It’s worth it because you are doing the right things to change and that weight fluctuation is totally normal and to be expected when you are changing your habits.
I’m going to hopefully relieve you of many unwarranted and unwanted feelings of disappointment by going over the reasons why you might see your weight go up and down even while doing “everything right”!
What causes daily weight fluctuation?
First and foremost, if you are finding that your weight is going up and down on a daily basis, the first thing I would advise you to look at is water retention.
Water retention can alter our weight very quickly. For example if you eat a food that is high in sodium on Sunday night, when you get on the scale Monday morning your body will actively retain extra water to counterbalance the sodium. Therefore, your weight will appear higher than it actually is.
Water retention isn’t actual FAT gain. This is a VERY important distinction. I will go over this more down below but just know that if you see the scale go up 2 lbs in one day, know that unless you ate 7000 worth of calories OVER your normal 2000 calories the day before..it’s not fat gain.
Another reason why weight can fluctuate is due to glycogen storage. Glycogen is the storage of glucose, or carbohydrates. When we have a meal with more carbs in it, the body will retain water as it digests the food. So again, a temporary weight gain can be expected due to water retention.
Lastly, hormones can have a huge impact on weight “gain” or “loss”. For women specifically, once a month you’ll be more bloated. This bloat is due to the increased blood flow from menstruation. Word of advice : Not a great time to weigh yourself!!
Exercise and it’s impact on weight fluctuation
Exercise?! How can that make your weight go up and down? Isn’t the idea of working out to in fact burn calories, and ultimately steady your weight out?
Yes while that is true - it’s also true that exercise impacts your body immediately on the few days after.
For example, when you workout with weights your muscles will have micro tears due to the stress of lifting. In response, your body must heal those microtears and ultimately make the muscle fibers bigger, stronger and more efficient.
However this state of healing is your body's response to inflammation. With inflammation, we again see water retention.
So next time you have a killer workout and weigh yourself the next day thinking you should see a drop…know that, your body is healing and therefore won’t see any drop in weight!
Now over time the increase in muscle mass will steady out your weight as more muscle requires more energy. More energy burn means that you’ll be in the lean muscle stage! This is a beautiful thing because in time your body becomes its own furnace.
Why the scale shouldn’t be your only metric for progress
So the scale has always been a determining factor of success in your health and fitness journey. If the scale goes down, it’s probably a good thing if you are trying to lose weight. Conversely, if you are trying to gain weight…seeing the number go up is probably a good thing.
However these aren’t the only factors into success with your lifestyle.
Body composition is very important to focus on because many times you might be gaining muscle and losing fat, yet the scale says the same number. So how do you know if your body is changing?
Well, I like to keep it simple by just noticing how your clothes fit you. Are you feeling like there is more room around your waist yet your scale says the same number as a month ago?
You made progress!!! Celebrate that win because you are now able to see success in different ways.
Another big metric for progress is your mood and energy levels. Have you improved your mood? Are you finding yourself happier, more easy to please and less irritable?
These are huge wins that have a direct impact on how you feel during your daily life. Eating better, drinking more water, exercising more all will lead to feeling your best. The mental health aspect of this cannot go unnoticed.
I’ve had clients who may stay around the same weight for a year but have profound shifts in their confidence and self-esteem. I’ll take those wins all day!
Lastly, are you getting stronger or improving your endurance?
These are pretty clear progressions and wins as it’s hard to deny the fact that one day you were able to lift only 20lbs for a squat, and then 2 months later you can lift 40 lbs for a squat!
So with that, I hope you realize that success and progress far goes beyond looking at that number on the scale.
How can you manage and interpret your weight wisely?
So you are focused and committed to making change on the scale. Great!
Now how can you give yourself the best chance to stay consistent and measure your change appropriately?
First things first, you need to weigh yourself at the same time, on the same day every month/week/day. This creates consistency in that you probably have drank the same amount of water, ate the same thing and haven’t had the day impact the fluctuation of weight.
I’d recommend weighing yourself shortly after waking up to get a good judge of where you are at! (And remember to either drink the same amount of water, or don’t drink anything prior to getting on the scale!)
On top of weighing yourself at the same time, it’s also helpful to be mindful of how often you are weighing yourself and stay consistent with the tracking.
So for example I’d recommend that you weigh yourself every 2 weeks, or every month. This takes away the day to day changes that might drive you crazy, but gives you enough information to know if you are trending up or trending down.
The last thing I’ll say about this is that you should be celebrating the small wins throughout your journey. Success isn’t only about the scale (which I spoke about before). It’s a big deal to for example, hit the gym 3x a week for a month straight. To drink enough water everyday for a week…to eat a well balanced meal for dinner for 2 weeks straight.
These deserved to be noticed and celebrated in some way. Brag on yourself and treat yourself to something for YOU. Even if that treat is just 15 minutes of alone time outside reflecting on your success.
Why FAT gain is different from WEIGHT gain!
I’m coming back to a point that I stated before because I want you to KNOW that you shouldn’t be driving yourself crazy after seeing the scale go up in a day.
Let’s do a little math…
1 pound of weight is equal to 3500 calories (roughly)
If the scale goes up or down a pound or two and you THINK you might have eaten or drank too much…i can almost guarantee you that you did not actually gain FAT.
Fat is formed when we eat over our caloric intake for the day. So let’s say you need 2000 calories a day to maintain your body weight. Any calories over the 2000 would be stored as fat.
Now in order to gain a pound of fat you would need to eat 5500 calories for the day. 5500 calories is a ton of food, probably way over what is even possible for an average person to eat.
To put this in perspective if you drink 6 beers, that rounds out to about 1200 calories (on the upper end).
Now I don’t know how much you are drinking and eating but you would need about 18 beers in one day to reach the 3500, or pound of fat.
For food, let’s imagine what eating a whole pie would look like for calories. A pizza pie rounds out between 2000-3000 calories. So with that, you’d need to eat more than 8 slices of pizza to gain a pound of fat.
Next time you think you just gained a pound of FAT after a binge filled weekend, please recognize this math and know that it takes a ton of calories to add a pound in a day or even weekend.
Conclusion
Weight fluctuation is natural and normal. Even while you are doing everything right, there are many factors that will play a role in seeing that number on the scale go up.
The important pieces are in your control. For example weighing yourself at the same time, everytime you get on the scale. Being mindful of food choices the day before, exercise the day before as well as if it’s that time of the month for you ladies.
I know how daunting body change can be. It can take years to get to where you want to be (sorry but that’s the reality).
However the change that you will come to will not only improve your health for the long term but it also doesn’t need to be these big giant changes. Focus on being a little bit better everyday, staying the course and I promise you will feel and see the change.
At the very least, after reading this today I hope that you can look at the scale and be okay if that number moves up even after you hit your workouts, drink water, and eat perfectly.
It happens and you WILL see the changes over time. Just keep at it and don’t let one weigh-in destroy your mood and cause you to spiral into a case of ice cream!
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