Weight loss mystery

[kenny]

I need to loose weight so I have a 1-year goal and weigh myself every Tuesday.
Below is a chart of my weekly weight measurements.

There is a week where I lost NO weight even though I was swimming laps often and eating really properly.
Then this last week I lost a lot of weight even though we had house guests and I ate like a pig and got no exercise.

Why would there seem to be no relation, or even an up side down one?
I have never had to loose weight before so this is not what I expected.
Has your weight ever gone up or down mysteriously?

Excuse me, while I get a piece of red velvet cake.

 

[MissMina]

I am trying to lose 20 pounds that have crept up on me and I am finding
the same thing to be true. I have no explanation.

 

[elrohwen]

That''s kind of how weight loss goes - in fits and starts. It doesn''t always make sense, but it''s totally normal.

 

[soocool]

Weight is a relative term. You have been losing fat, gaining muscle. Unfortunately your body also contains water and that can make you seem heavier if you have been retaining more than usual. Sometimes your metabolism readjusts to you eating less and you might have to step up your workouts to include interval/weight training to burn more calories. Do you monitor your heartrate when you swim (heart rate monitor). This will clearly give you a clue as to hard hard you are working out and how many calories you are burning when you swim laps.

 

[kenny]

I've decided to first try to maintain my target rate without the hassle of counting calories or measuring heart rate, timing exercise periods etc.

According to my chart, so far so good.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

weight gain/loss is cumulative and the sum of various parts. It could just be that the culmination of the effort you put in one week didn''t hit your body until the next week or two.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

And congratulations on your progress thus far!

 

[dragonfly411]

Kenny - here''s my thought. Your body will gradually get used to your diet and to your exercise regimen if you don''t keep switching it up. So while you are swimming laps and eating healthy, your body may not have been feeling the challenge at that point. Your initial loss when starting any regimen is water loss. Then you''ll see things become more gradual... 1-2 lbs a week at the most. If you continue a regimen that is rather monotonous, then your body will get used to it, and your metabolism will slow down again. You also have to watch portions, healthy food or not. I''m not sure what kind of portioning you''re doing. You might try tweaking your diet a bit. Try some smaller snacks mixed in through the day and see how it helps. I''ve found consistently that the best is to do 5-6 small meals throughout the day. It keeps your metabolism working, and keeps your blood sugar steady. I would try mixing up the workout regime... add some weights... or walking... or some dvds.

As to the eating with friends and losing weight... after you''ve eaten healthy for a while.... eating some junk food actually works as a shock kick start to your metabolism. It basically says OH S*** what is THAT... and works harder to get it metabolized... and then stays working harder consistently for a while afterward. This allows your body to burn more calories for a bit. I make a point of having a junk food meal now and again to do precisely that.

Hope that helps!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

There''s actually a weight loss school of thought called cycling where you change up your caloric intake over the course of the week. One day you eat a little less, the next you eat a little more but it''s based on a weekly total versus a daily total so you don''t run the risk of over/under eating in a week.

 

[dragonfly411]

HH - interesting. Would be fun to read up on. My main thing is my body requires a certain amount on regular days to really stay in line... I always worry that I''ll under eat (which ends up being quiet common for me unfortunately.... I don''t know how to squeeze in MORE calories)

 

[that_someone_special]

GIving yourself a year to lose 40lbs is a long time IMO.. I think you will continue to see it well below that blue line and I believe you will hit your goal early. Though, expect some plateaus- they can seriously last days, weeks .. or even months. Congrats on the weight loss so far

 

[luv2sparkle]

Weight loss or gain doesn''t always show up right away. The scale is really not an accurate measurement. For instance, if you eat or drink a bit of water an hour or so before you weigh yourself, you can show
a higher weight. Have your really gained weight? No. Sometimes, a bad week won''t show up right away, you may show a loss. The next week you don''t lose anything. It caught up. I have lived frustrated
by this for sooo many years. I now refer to the scale as ''that lying b*&#h'' and no longer keep it in the house. I would always lose the same 15 pounds and could get no farther. Too focused on the
dumb thing. I weigh myself once a month at the gym, and don''t obsess.

It remains to be seen how it works in the long run. I haven''t been doing it all that long.

 

[steph72276]

Because you''re a man, and all men have to do is think about loosing weight and poof, it''s gone! Seriously though I''m not sure. All it takes sometimes is eating better/getting more movement in to see a good jump at first. I''m sure soon it will slow down, but I would just continue to do what you were doing by eating healthy and getting exercise! Good job!

 

[icekid]

Another consideration- when you work out, your muscles retains water as it builds. This could also be related. And is totally true for me, actually. Not working out for a day or two will drop a pound or two, which is definitely water.

 

[swingirl]

Date: 6/1/2010 3:33:43 PM
Author: dragonfly411
As to the eating with friends and losing weight... after you've eaten healthy for a while.... eating some junk food actually works as a shock kick start to your metabolism. It basically says OH S*** what is THAT... and works harder to get it metabolized... and then stays working harder consistently for a while afterward. This allows your body to burn more calories for a bit. I make a point of having a junk food meal now and again to do precisely that.

What?? Your body turns everything into calories. How does it "know" what is junk food? Sugar is sugar, fat is fat, protein is protein and it all becomes caloric energy. It's either used or stored. I don't think your body "knows" the difference.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 6/1/2010 7:28:53 PM
Author: swingirl

Date: 6/1/2010 3:33:43 PM

Author: dragonfly411

As to the eating with friends and losing weight... after you''ve eaten healthy for a while.... eating some junk food actually works as a shock kick start to your metabolism. It basically says OH S*** what is THAT... and works harder to get it metabolized... and then stays working harder consistently for a while afterward. This allows your body to burn more calories for a bit. I make a point of having a junk food meal now and again to do precisely that.

What?? Your body turns everything into calories. How does it ''know'' what is junk food? Sugar is sugar, fat is fat, protein is protein and it all becomes caloric energy. It''s either used or stored. I don''t think your body ''knows'' the difference.

Ha, yeah-I''m with swingirl on this one. I don''t think there''s anything wrong with eating junky every now and then but I doubt it does anything good for your body. Where did you hear that?

 

[Arcadian]

Best thing to remember is that weight loss is not linear. You could set yourself a goal per week, say 1.5 - 2lbs a week and you may only lose 1lb that week and lose 3 the next.


Also, do not go by weight alone. Your a guy, get theyself a set of body fat calipers and go by that instead of just your weight.

Muscle always weighs more than fat. I weigh 160 but wear a size 4-6 (sometimes a 10 depending on cut). Trust me, not many people know how much I really weigh, and when they find out, they''re surprised.


Don''t get so hung up and obsessive about the scale, it really tells about 20% of the entire story mkay?

-A

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/1/2010 7:33:50 PM
Author: thing2of2

Date: 6/1/2010 7:28:53 PM

Author: swingirl

Date: 6/1/2010 3:33:43 PM


Author: dragonfly411


As to the eating with friends and losing weight... after you''ve eaten healthy for a while.... eating some junk food actually works as a shock kick start to your metabolism. It basically says OH S*** what is THAT... and works harder to get it metabolized... and then stays working harder consistently for a while afterward. This allows your body to burn more calories for a bit. I make a point of having a junk food meal now and again to do precisely that.

What?? Your body turns everything into calories. How does it ''know'' what is junk food? Sugar is sugar, fat is fat, protein is protein and it all becomes caloric energy. It''s either used or stored. I don''t think your body ''knows'' the difference.

Ha, yeah-I''m with swingirl on this one. I don''t think there''s anything wrong with eating junky every now and then but I doubt it does anything good for your body. Where did you hear that?

Well...... not all carbs are created equally - there is something to be said for the glycemic index. And not all fat is the same and not all proteins are the same. Sugar also isn''t just sugar.

But your body won''t know if it got its saturated fats from a cookie or from a steak or its polyunsaturated fats from olive oil or an avocado. But it will know the difference between the steak and an avocado.

It''s true that your body will convert sugar into fat, but the big picture process is much more complex than that.

 

[EricaR]

Date: 6/2/2010 9:44:58 AM
Author: Cehrabehra

Date: 6/1/2010 7:33:50 PM

Author: thing2of2

Date: 6/1/2010 7:28:53 PM


Author: swingirl

Date: 6/1/2010 3:33:43 PM



Author: dragonfly411



As to the eating with friends and losing weight... after you''ve eaten healthy for a while.... eating some junk food actually works as a shock kick start to your metabolism. It basically says OH S*** what is THAT... and works harder to get it metabolized... and then stays working harder consistently for a while afterward. This allows your body to burn more calories for a bit. I make a point of having a junk food meal now and again to do precisely that.

What?? Your body turns everything into calories. How does it ''know'' what is junk food? Sugar is sugar, fat is fat, protein is protein and it all becomes caloric energy. It''s either used or stored. I don''t think your body ''knows'' the difference.

Ha, yeah-I''m with swingirl on this one. I don''t think there''s anything wrong with eating junky every now and then but I doubt it does anything good for your body. Where did you hear that?

Well...... not all carbs are created equally - there is something to be said for the glycemic index. And not all fat is the same and not all proteins are the same. Sugar also isn''t just sugar.


But your body won''t know if it got its saturated fats from a cookie or from a steak or its polyunsaturated fats from olive oil or an avocado. But it will know the difference between the steak and an avocado.


It''s true that your body will convert sugar into fat, but the big picture process is much more complex than that.

I don''t think they meant that you should go grab a cupcake or some chips, but just that eating "junkier" than usual on occasion can be a good thing. I''ve lost 30 lbs (just 10 to go!) this year and I''ve found I lose much faster and more consistently if once a week I have a high calorie day. That day I eat about 15% more calories than my normal day, and I always mix up which day of the week it is.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/2/2010 10:38:23 AM
Author: EricaR

Date: 6/2/2010 9:44:58 AM

Author: Cehrabehra

Date: 6/1/2010 7:33:50 PM


Author: thing2of2

Date: 6/1/2010 7:28:53 PM



Author: swingirl

Date: 6/1/2010 3:33:43 PM




Author: dragonfly411




As to the eating with friends and losing weight... after you''ve eaten healthy for a while.... eating some junk food actually works as a shock kick start to your metabolism. It basically says OH S*** what is THAT... and works harder to get it metabolized... and then stays working harder consistently for a while afterward. This allows your body to burn more calories for a bit. I make a point of having a junk food meal now and again to do precisely that.

What?? Your body turns everything into calories. How does it ''know'' what is junk food? Sugar is sugar, fat is fat, protein is protein and it all becomes caloric energy. It''s either used or stored. I don''t think your body ''knows'' the difference.

Ha, yeah-I''m with swingirl on this one. I don''t think there''s anything wrong with eating junky every now and then but I doubt it does anything good for your body. Where did you hear that?

Well...... not all carbs are created equally - there is something to be said for the glycemic index. And not all fat is the same and not all proteins are the same. Sugar also isn''t just sugar.



But your body won''t know if it got its saturated fats from a cookie or from a steak or its polyunsaturated fats from olive oil or an avocado. But it will know the difference between the steak and an avocado.



It''s true that your body will convert sugar into fat, but the big picture process is much more complex than that.

I don''t think they meant that you should go grab a cupcake or some chips, but just that eating ''junkier'' than usual on occasion can be a good thing. I''ve lost 30 lbs (just 10 to go!) this year and I''ve found I lose much faster and more consistently if once a week I have a high calorie day. That day I eat about 15% more calories than my normal day, and I always mix up which day of the week it is.

everything in moderation is the secret to life right? except for maybe white powder drugs lol
sometimes it IS better to have easy access carbs like sugar - I ''m not knocking the method you describe, just clarifying some stuff about all carbs being equal - cause they''re not.

 

[decodelighted]

I only skimmed but am excited about this new "Cupcake & Chips" diet. More deets please!

(Never mind -- I''m already on it ... and it sucks!)

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/2/2010 8:41:08 PM
Author: decodelighted
I only skimmed but am excited about this new ''Cupcake & Chips'' diet. More deets please!

(Never mind -- I''m already on it ... and it sucks!)

literally laughing out loud here.... this week I am on the potato salad diet. It''s a real winner!