Very Strange!!! (and annoying)

[dave318]

OK, I'm a slave to the scales and I shouldn't be but I was really happy with the 10lbs that I had lost in my first six days when I weighed myself last Sunday morning. Since then I've been all over the place, still eating the same foods and carrying on as normal, even doing some exercise on Tuesday which killed me for 3 days. But I've weighed in a few times this week, only because I went back up by about 6 lbs. I was 302lbs and got down to 292, then back to 298. I am currently sitting at 296, so back in a positive direction, but I'm a bit confused and hacked off. My wife was very similar to me. She lost 12 lbs by Sunday and has put 5 or 6 back on before starting to go back down.

Has anyone any reasons for this and have they gone through this themselves?

david

[julirama723]

Weight fluctuates daily and hourly, depending on what we've eaten, if we've exercised, if we're dehydrated, or if we need to go "potty." During induction it's recommended that you weigh yourself AFTER the 14 days are up for exactly this reason. There's no reason to be alarmed. Our weight WILL fluctuate. The important thing is that it moves in a downward direction.

So, step away from the scale, and wait until your 14 days have passed. Then you will be able to check the chart in DANDR to see how metabolically resistant you are, and how many carbs you may expect to eventually eat in OWL/Premaintenance.

[SandyL2002]

Originally Posted by dave318

OK, I'm a slave to the scales and I shouldn't be but I was really happy with the 10lbs that I had lost in my first six days when I weighed myself last Sunday morning. Since then I've been all over the place, still eating the same foods and carrying on as normal, even doing some exercise on Tuesday which killed me for 3 days. But I've weighed in a few times this week, only because I went back up by about 6 lbs. I was 302lbs and got down to 292, then back to 298. I am currently sitting at 296, so back in a positive direction, but I'm a bit confused and hacked off. My wife was very similar to me. She lost 12 lbs by Sunday and has put 5 or 6 back on before starting to go back down.

Has anyone any reasons for this and have they gone through this themselves?

david

YES.. I did the same thing...and I am steady going down.. I always seem to go 2 steps forward 4 steps back and then 2 steps on down.. That is why we can't let the scale predict us...but our inches lost are the proof..

[Prettycricket]

The other thing to remember with Atkins is that it's not always weight. I am curious because I see so many dedicated to scales, pounds lost and weight loss mini goals here. A lot of Atkins is about the "rearrangement" of your body.....you don't lose muscle so you might weigh more at a smaller size than you remember from way back. I can remember that towards the end my first time around--the last 2 pants sizes didn't register on the scales. I just kept shrinking in inches. Ignore the scale. You really don't need it with Atkins.

[dreamof145]

Have you measured to see if you are still losing inches? Are you eating lots of salted foods? These could be reasons causing you to retain water and thus the scales could show an increase in your weight. If you measure and you are still losing inches, just increase your water and carry on with your WOE. If you feel there is a food that is causing the increase, delete it and see if you start losing again. I'm thinking since it is both you and your wife that it could be something in your meals.

[Elizellen]

Have you read the sticky thread in the Extended Induction forum called 'Weight loss is not linear', Dave?
Weight loss is not linear
You might gain some reassurance from doing so.

[dave318]

Thanks all. I knew you could make me see sense.
OK weighed in today, (officially 13 days but Sundays are easier) and back down to 290. But that is 6lbs different from yesterday and 12lbs lost in total.
I was confused by such huge fluctuations, especially up the way, probably because having done Atkins before, this never really happened to me.

I know I have lost inches, although I didn't measure, but I feel the difference in my clothes.

Also, the salt thing, as suggested by dreamof145, is a great probability. Just before the gains, I started eating what we call pork scratchings (dried pork rind snacks). I think they are very high in salt and I have stopped them completely, despite being very low in carbs. If that causes water retention then I can begin to understand.

OK, just tried a little experiment. weighed my empty 1 litre water bottle and then filled it and weighed it again. 1 litre weighs just about 2.3 lbs. I was eating these snacks and drinking water late at night, thus retaining a few lbs of water. OK, that's salt out too then.

Thanks again for putting my mind to rest and Moochicats post on non linear weight loss was just the right info I needed.

Dave

[SandyL2002]

I only eat pork rinds occassionally its one of those things you can keep in your car if you are starving..

[Lamby-pie]

Originally Posted by dave318

have they gone through this themselves?

david

Only about a million times.
I try to limit my weighing to twice a week, even then I experience a lot of fluctuations. It is "one step back, two steps forward" for me.
I only compare my weight to the same day last month, then I can plainly see a loss and this keeps me from becoming discouraged with the fluctuations.

[dave318]

I'm going to go for the once a fortnight in the first two months, after that I shall try to only weigh in once a month as well.

Dave