How can this be....?

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Bob - 15 Jun 2004 10:59 GMT

(duplicate of a duplicate post, as the first and second have vanished)

Hello

Both myself and my wife have now been dieting for 8 weeks and have steadily
lost weight. I have lost 29lbs in 8 weeks and she has lost 15lbs.
We weigh ourselves once a week, at the same time and under the same
conditions, with accurate calibrated digital scales.
She is 5' 2" and now weighs 9st 6lbs (132lbs) and would like to lose another
6lbs.
Here is the concern...
Each day she has been eating around 1000 calories, the odd day 1200 and the
odd day 900, from a balanced diet high in protein and low in both carbs and
fat. Last week she cycled around 50 miles and walked 3 or 4 miles each day.
She weighed herself on Monday and found that she had gained 1lb.
Considering that her calorific need, especially considering her output, is
possibly double to her input how would it be possible for her to show a
weight gain at all...?
It doesn't make sense, at least to me, but I'm sure there could be a reason
other than for us to guess that she has packed muscle on or she is bloated
with water...? Her menstrual cycle is not a factor.

Best wishes

Bob

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cooper - 15 Jun 2004 19:04 GMT

> It doesn't make sense, at least to me, but I'm sure there could be a reason
> other than for us to guess that she has packed muscle on or she is bloated
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Bob

I've been biking about 4 or 5 times a week steadily for about 6 weeks. Last
month I dropped a jean size (10 to an 8) but only lost 2 pounds. My bet is
she's putting on muscle, which is "easy" to do with biking. I'd recommend
measuring inches and not weight if she intends to continue to bike and work
out.

Coop

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GaryG - 15 Jun 2004 20:50 GMT

> (duplicate of a duplicate post, as the first and second have vanished)
>
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>
> Bob

Weight loss is rarely linear, and daily weight can vary quite a bit (even if
you are successfully losing weight). Day-to-day fluctuations of 2-4 lbs are
not uncommon.

So, comparing any two weigh-ins is problematic, especially if they are only
one week apart. It's the longer-term averages and trends that are
important. This is one reason that some folks calculate a moving average
weight when they weigh in, and consider their current weight to be the
moving average, instead of their most recent scale reading.

As others have suggested, it's also possible that your wife is building
muscle mass faster than she is losing fat. This is fairly common early in
an exercise program (especially with a high protein diet).

So, don't worry about it for now, but pay attention to the trends. It
sounds like you both are on the right track, so best of luck.

GG
http://www.WeightWare.com
Your Weight and Health Diary

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Doug Freyburger - 15 Jun 2004 21:56 GMT

> Both myself and my wife have now been dieting for 8 weeks and have steadily
> lost weight. I have lost 29lbs in 8 weeks and she has lost 15lbs.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> fat. Last week she cycled around 50 miles and walked 3 or 4 miles each day.
> She weighed herself on Monday and found that she had gained 1lb.

The time scale for your expectations are way out of calibration.
Water retention swing can be several pounds not just one. Mine is
six. From one day to the next my scale reading can change 6 pounds
for no apparant reason, and I haven't gained new fat or muscle just
retained my limit if water.

As strange as it sounds when you're staring down at a scale and
looking at the number it gives, water is not fat. Both react to
gravity.

Even folks with cancer don't see new lows every week. Everyone
wishes they'd see a new low every week. Even among folks with
plenty to lose few are lucky enough to see a new low every week.
She has 6 to go. It's too little to expect a new low more often
than monthly. With that low a caloric intake, more new lows will
happen than monthly but it is time to set her expectations to that.

Doing great to have so little to lose that it has an impact on the
amount she's losing.

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Kasey - 15 Jun 2004 23:53 GMT

Ditto what coop said. I only lost five pounds in the past four weeks,
but jeans that fit perfectly four weeks ago are now loose. I really
ramped up the walking in that time.

I expect that's what happened with your wife. Muscle gain is good, but
won't always show up on the scale as a weight loss.

Keep up the good effort, both of you!

Kasey
365/257/???

> (duplicate of a duplicate post, as the first and second have vanished)
>
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>
> Bob

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JayJay - 16 Jun 2004 01:48 GMT

> (duplicate of a duplicate post, as the first and second have vanished)
>
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> other than for us to guess that she has packed muscle on or she is bloated
> with water...? Her menstrual cycle is not a factor.

Been there, done that, bought the tshirt. This post just as well could
have been written by me a few years ago before I had a better grasp on all
this stuff.

Same height, same weight, same type of calorie consumption, same type of
exercise.

Some factors to consider
1. muscle growth
2. *what* food she ate, especially the day before the weigh-in.
3. Hormones - menstrual cycle or not, women still go thru hormonal changes
thru-out the month.

basically it boils down to "sh.t happens," keep going and see what happens
next week.

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