Is it me or the scale?

[ADHDetermined]

I need to preface this by saying that I KNOW that my weight is supposed to fluctuate due to a million different factors, and I KNOW I shouldn't be weighing my self as often as I do, or getting stressed if it goes up... but I do. Bad habits die hard. So on to my question: 

As a whole, my day to day is pretty consistent in terms of what I eat and how much water I drink. I eat the same foods throughout the week, and typically manage about a 400 to 500 calorie deficit per day. Usually things are slow to move down on the scale, but they eventually do. Lately though I am going up about a pound, which is really stressful since it's so painful to sit in the same spot for TWO WEEKS without seeing much movement on the scale or any difference in the mirror. Now, I have started being more active. Not terribly active, think moving from a sedentary lifestyle to a lightly active lifestyle. I walk more in the day and i have been doing some bodyweight exercises daily. Only started in the last couple weeks. Do you think this increased activity is why I am not seeing movement on the scale? I thought muscle growth would take longer than a couple weeks to impact what I weigh. What are your thoughts on this? 

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @ADHDetermined welcome, I weigh myself daily and have done so for some years - let's just say I'm very active. The main advantage is that if (and when) I gain weight I'm pretty sure about what caused it and can reduce my calorie intake. I've also just started at the gym (2 x 1 hours a week) and noticed a weight gain of about 0.5Kg (about 1lb) and while I can get back down to my usual weight I feel much better physically just keeping an eye on it. I would suggest you give it a few more weeks to see if your weight settles where it is. I hope this helps.

Cheers

[MrBosco]

A two week plateau is a long time.  There is one possible explanation I can think of:

Your metabolism has adjusted to your weight loss.  The body doesn't like being in a sustained calorie deficit as that can lead to starvation and death.  We have evolved all manner of mechanisms to prevent that.  One of those mechanisms is that the body reduces heart rate at rest to conserve energy, and that phenomenon can be an indicator that your body has adapted to a lower energy intake in several ways including slowing down your digestion to extract more energy from your food.  Has your resting heart rate lowered in the weeks before the plateau period began?  In my own case my resting heart rate has been between 58 and 63 this past week.  I am currently losing weight at a rate of 1Kg per week (daily calorie deficit of around 1100) and have been since Christmas.  Over Christmas, when I was eating and drinking plenty, my resting heart rate was between 73 and 78.  It went down gradually when I went back on my diet and then stayed low.  I adjust my diet from week to week if necessary to maintain the 1Kg per week weight loss rate, so my weight loss rate doesn't plateau.

Other than that I can think of no explanation for such a long plateau if diet has not changed.  No matter what you may read on the internet, this phenomenon of lowered metabolism is not a long term change.  The phrase 'metabolic damage' as appears on some fitness websites is a complete misnomer - it's temporary and always quickly reflects your levels of caloric intake relative to your energy expenditure.  The body does however have many ways to try to keep a stable balance.

[MrBosco]

In case it might be useful I've attached a recent copy of a spreadsheet I use to manage diet and exercise changes from week to week, with formulas.  I used to weigh myself around once per week but I found that changes in water weight made that an unreliable measure.  Since then I switched to weighing myself every day, averaging my weight measurements over the week, and using the difference between the weekly averages to guide my changes to diet and exercise.  The change from numbers in blue to numbers in green marks that change in approach.  Numbers in red are invalid because of the change.  I've lost over 2 stone since the end of October so the approach works, for me at least.

[tractorlegs]

Hi @ADHDetermined, I can completely relate to your dilemma, because it is something I have gone through also. When I lost my 50+ pounds starting in 2016, there was one fairly lengthy period of time when I got stuck at a weight (256 lbs) for nearly a month! I decided at the time (although I became pretty discouraged) that I would just be patient, and keep following the program. Eventually, the weight loss kicked back in, and I attained my goal. 

Looking back? I have no idea at all why I froze at 256 lol, and it is difficult to conjecture about it - but just know that stuff like this happens from time to time on our journeys. Don’t get discouraged!

[tractorlegs]

@MrBosco —That’s a cool spreadsheet! It’s giving me some ideas - 😊

[Atomic77]

it is normal that everyone’s weight will change throughout the day.  It is also the amount of exercise that you do that helps and your diet and other factors such as your genetics.