fluctuating

[ValleyGirl]

I am wondering if anybody (particularly those at or near goal) find their weight fluctuates like crazy? I have almost no fill and have been white-knuckling it for weeks with little help from my band. Some days I do better than others, so what keeps happening is this. I will eat crap for a couple days and gain up to 5 pounds OVERNIGHT. Then I will eat well for a couple days and lose that same five. My skinny mom and friends can't believe how quickly I can pack on the pounds. They seem to be able to go a little overboard now and then (like holidys or weekends) and maybe gain a single pound but I have been known to gain almost 20 pounds in three weeks. I can then lose the same 20 in three weeks just by watching what I eat. Is this because I've been obese? I'm almost at goal and had hoped I could start living "normally" but no such luck so far.

Sabrina:)

[nothereanymore]

I did this for a while and still do it in a small way - I can gain a few pounds fast and lose it fast. However the longer I stay at my goal weight - the more stable I've become. It use to make me batty, I just learned that it was part of my new body and I made sure to watch for the weight gain, focus on getting things back under control - and the hardest part was not letting it affect mentally. If you notice - your clothes aren't as tight as they most likely would be to a normal person who gained weight like that.

Sorry you're dealing with it - I think our bodies just do weird things sometimes and we just need to listen, fix em and learn to live with them.

Best,

Lisa

[MyNext30Years]

I heard a very long time ago and I don't know how true it is, BUT that when you lose weight that you will never actually lose the fat cells that they just shrink. They only way to actually lose them is to have lipo or other PS. So in my mind, wouldn't it be easier to gain if the cells are still there just waiting to be filled again?

[jhawkchick75]

Welcome to the last 6 months of my life!

I have been losing the same 5lbs and gaining back and forth. When I first went off dairy I lost like 4 in one week, but then last week my scale said I gained 4lbs in one day...seriously!? I used to make fun of my friends that would complain about needing to lose 10 lbs, but now I completely understand where they are coming from.

I can't lie though, I am not eating as good as I should. My focus this week is going to be portion control and eating as healthy as possible. For a long time ive done the "eat until i'm content" method but lately ive been pushing that too far and I know eating too much. So this week i'm going back to portioning all my food out and eating only that no snacking to see how I do.

Keep your chin up! Guess we have a good problem huh being close to goal!

[bogiesmom]

I heard a very long time ago and I don't know how true it is, BUT that when you lose weight that you will never actually lose the fat cells that they just shrink. They only way to actually lose them is to have lipo or other PS. So in my mind, wouldn't it be easier to gain if the cells are still there just waiting to be filled again?

Dognamit! You just blew my mind away! Oh boy, let me think about this one for awhile b/c if what you are saying is correct it means some people have more fat cells then others and that means we are all screwed! It also explains why the size zero gal in the office eats the most amount of food in the kitchen and never gains weight!

[MyNext30Years]

Dognamit! You just blew my mind away! Oh boy, let me think about this one for awhile b/c if what you are saying is correct it means some people have more fat cells then others and that means we are all screwed! It also explains why the size zero gal in the office eats the most amount of food in the kitchen and never gains weight!

I did a very brief google search this morning, and it seems like I remembered correctly. There's a lot of results that say the same thing. Here's one from John Hopkins.

http://www.johnshopk...trol_813-1.html

[macleay]

I did a very brief google search this morning, and it seems like I remembered correctly. There's a lot of results that say the same thing. Here's one from John Hopkins.

http://www.johnshopk...trol_813-1.html

Thanks for the link. I had heard that before, too, but wasn't sure if it was true. That's just great.....

[flaggirl]

I have this problem as well in that I can gain or loose 3-5 lbs in a day. My theory is 1: The extra fat cell thing, 2: The amount of fluid I drink and 3: What's going on with my colon. So I religiously weigh my self daily and let myself fluctuate 3-5 lbs and don't get too worried unless it's more than that. If so I adjust with better eating or more exercise. So far so good as I have been 5lbs under goal or at goal for 6 months.

[CottonwoodAZ]

also remember salt makes you retain water too. very normal to flucuate 2 to 5 lbs in a day and if you ate alot of salt it takes a couple of days to get rid of it.

[PAMMIE]

I did a very brief google search this morning, and it seems like I remembered correctly. There's a lot of results that say the same thing. Here's one from John Hopkins.

http://www.johnshopk...trol_813-1.html

"Once created, however, fat cells remain in your body forever; they may shrink in size when you lose weight, but they never go away (unless they are removed by surgery or liposuction)"

YA FOR LIPO LOL

[shrty835]

I am In the same 5lb boat. Up 5 down 5. This week tho I had the biggest scare when I went from my routine 182-185 to 192, OMG I about died, With me it also bad eating habbits. And I know what I have to do because Im right back down to 183 this week. So with that in mind Im going to give myself a swift kick in the ass and start using the band in the way I know how to use it. Heres hoping to get to goal by my birthday in July........

[Lindsay]

Remember = muscle holds water.

The more muscle (lean body mass) you have, the more you can fluctuate in weight, depending on how depleted you are.

As an example,

After a very challenging leg workout, I can see an INCREASE on the scale of 4-6lbs.

While after a 30-45 minute HIIT cardio session, I can go DOWN 2-3lbs, depending on how much WATER i've lost during my w/o.

Women especially, hold more water, and are naturally prone to it, which is why the scale can go up so drastically, and back down within a day or two.

When you step on the scale, your weight reflects the combined total of both your lean body weight (muscle, bone, organs, fluids) and body fat weight. Two people with identical body weights do not have the same body composition; they could, indeed, have entirely different body types.

For example a 170-pound female might have 60 pounds of body fat and 110 pounds of lean body mass. A healthier, more muscular female might only have 25 pounds of body fat and 145 pounds of lean body mass.

Even though these two individuals weigh the same, one is in much better shape than the other, and by looking at the two, you'd never know they weigh the same amount.

Using the scale to measure your progress gives you no information about the body composition (fat vs. muscle) changes that are actually occurring. The scale may show that you've lost seven pounds, but it can't tell you that half of the weight was muscle and water, not fat. Similarly, people become discouraged when they haven't lost any weight, even though they have actually lost pounds of fat and replaced them with pounds of firm, fat-burning muscle.

Developing healthier eating and physical activity habits will most likely result in a loss of body fat even though the scale may indicate that you weigh the same. Learn to use other methods of determining body composition and pay more attention to improvements in how you feel, in your self-esteem, and in your physical appearance.

[Lindsay]

"Once created, however, fat cells remain in your body forever; they may shrink in size when you lose weight, but they never go away (unless they are removed by surgery or liposuction)"

YA FOR LIPO LOL

Fat cells have the ability to GROW and then shrink right down to practically nothing.

Cells store energy in the form of fat. The more energy stored the larger the cell. The extra calories not used by your body is stored in these fat cells, which is what makes grow in size. They get much much smaller, as you lose weight.

Liposuction can reduce the NUMBER of cells in the body and thus make you thinner.

Beware though because liposuction removes cells and as the other cells get fatter they become even harder to extract the energy from. This means the diet and exercise will be less efficient in the future.

[PAMMIE]

Fat cells have the ability to GROW and then shrink right down to practically nothing.

Cells store energy in the form of fat. The more energy stored the larger the cell. The extra calories not used by your body is stored in these fat cells, which is what makes grow in size. They get much much smaller, as you lose weight.

Liposuction can reduce the NUMBER of cells in the body and thus make you thinner.

Beware though because liposuction removes cells and as the other cells get fatter they become even harder to extract the energy from. This means the diet and exercise will be less efficient in the future.

JUST WHY I WAITED UNTIL I LOST THE WEIGHT TO HAVE IT

[Lindsay]

JUST WHY I WAITED UNTIL I LOST THE WEIGHT TO HAVE IT

PAMMIE, there's no reason that if you start really working out smart, you won't need that lipo! You'd be surprised if you knew what the human body was really capable with a bit of real dedication, clean diet and weight training!

i've seen some AMAZING before/afters ... You can be the next one!

[PAMMIE]

PAMMIE, there's no reason that if you start really working out smart, you won't need that lipo! You'd be surprised if you knew what the human body was really capable with a bit of real dedication, clean diet and weight training!

i've seen some AMAZING before/afters ... You can be the next one!

WHAT'S DONE IS DONE, AND I'M NOT BRINGING THOSE FAT CELLS BACK TO WORK ON THEM. I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER WITH ME

[Lindsay]

WHAT'S DONE IS DONE, AND I'M NOT BRINGING THOSE FAT CELLS BACK TO WORK ON THEM. I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER WITH ME

I misunderstood!

I thought you meant you were GOING to have the surgery .. not that you'd already had it!