Weight fluctuations while cutting

[hcorrea]

I've been lifting consistently for 3 years now, without any kind of calorie monitoring.

Just last week i started watching calories, started eating clean and started doing 25 mins of cardio every morning.

Week one was great and I dropped 5.6 lbs, week two i started gaining weight again. I'm still in a caloric deficit, eating and training just as i did in week 1.

Is this a typical reaction from the body? Anybody else experience this?

H.

[Nosepull]

Week one was water weight. From here on out fat loss will be slow and erratic, but will occur inevitably over the long term assuming you are in caloric deficit. Minor fluctuations are nothing to worry about.

[suprhulk28]

The scale weight doesnt matter.

Let the mirror and the way your clothes fit be your guide.

If you lost five lbs this week, what benefit for you is there if three of it is muscle? None.

Stay off the scale, its the enemy. The mirror never lies.

[MrZombieSteve]

1) if you're asking about the initial weight drop then as Nosepull said it's water and or glycogen ( depending on whether or not you're doing a low carb diet or not )

2) as suprhulk says the most important thing is what you see in the mirror/feel for yourself. anything else is just a slightly less accurate approximation. Just take everything into consideration and nothing as iron clad. - this is an edit

3) If however you're asking if it's typical to see weight change that isn't completely linear, then yes it's common. I'll use myself as reference to give you an example -

This is my weight drop for the 4 weeks prior to 2 weeks ago ( sorry if that sounds confusing, but I started cutting mid month so that's where my 'month' started )

Week one weight
1 206.2
2 204.5
3 204
4 203.6
5 201.8
6 203
7 203.4
Week two
1 205
2 201.2
3 204.2
4 206.5
5 200.8
6 201
7 200
Week three
1 200.6
2 201.2
3 197.8
4 199.6
5 196.6
6 199
7 198
Week four
1 201
2 200
3 198.5
4 199.5
5 196.5
6 197.4
7 195.8
e.t.c.
( I weighed myself at the same time every morning, pretty dehydrated and empty of food 'and excrement, lol' ) as to assure accuracy

so as you can see weight tends to change a lot.


If I misunderstood what you meant then I'm sorry, but at least it's interesting to see.

[jlsnyderTypeR]

Everyone's body will react in strange ways some times so I would recommend focusing on the long term effects. For example, I started my cut Jan. 2 and the first 3 weeks I gain 8lbs., I'm just now back to where I started.

My focus is May...

[hcorrea]

That's exactly what I was looking for. Just these few responses have already helped.

As "suprhulk28" said the mirror doesn't lie.

Thank you guys!!

1) if you're asking about the initial weight drop then as Nosepull said it's water and or glycogen ( depending on whether or not you're doing a low carb diet or not )

2) If however you're asking if it's typical to see weight change that isn't completely linear, then yes it's common. I'll use myself as reference to give you an example -

This is my weight drop for the 4 weeks prior to 2 weeks ago ( sorry if that sounds confusing, but I started cutting mid month so that's where my 'month' started )

Week one weight
1 206.2
2 204.5
3 204
4 203.6
5 201.8
6 203
7 203.4
Week two
1 205
2 201.2
3 204.2
4 206.5
5 200.8
6 201
7 200
Week three
1 200.6
2 201.2
3 197.8
4 199.6
5 196.6
6 199
7 198
Week four
1 201
2 200
3 198.5
4 199.5
5 196.5
6 197.4
7 195.8
e.t.c.
( I weighed myself at the same time every morning, pretty dehydrated and empty of food 'and excrement, lol' ) as to assure accuracy

so as you can see weight tends to change a lot.


If I misunderstood what you meant then I'm sorry, but at least it's interesting to see.

[MrZombieSteve]

Everyone's body will react in strange ways some times so I would recommend focusing on the long term effects. For example, I started my cut Jan. 2 and the first 3 weeks I gain 8lbs., I'm just now back to where I started.

My focus is May...

Why so you think that was? water retention? I'm curious as to why weight spikes up before dropping low at times during a cut for me when diet itself ( in regards to messing up ) isn't a factor. Nice physique by the way, very motivating.

[Retoaded]

Everyone's body will react in strange ways some times so I would recommend focusing on the long term effects. For example, I started my cut Jan. 2 and the first 3 weeks I gain 8lbs., I'm just now back to where I started.

My focus is May...

haha wow thats pretty extreme. I've had some 8 pound swings over a day, but never anything that sustained for 3 weeks!

[Fabs23]

The scale weight doesnt matter.

Let the mirror and the way your clothes fit be your guide.

If you lost five lbs this week, what benefit for you is there if three of it is muscle? None.

Stay off the scale, its the enemy. The mirror never lies.

a close personal friend of mine who is always getting ready for a show (so it seems) says this exact thing. "Get away from the scale, throw away the calipers." Funny to hear it from someone else too. Its the truth for sure.

And OP as far as dropping weight the first week it sounds like you cut water weight out. I like cycling hi carb/lo fat for a few days and vice versa with a nice high constant of protein when trying to cut. Have had great results when I do it that way, but it does involve a lot of thought on what you are eating.

[lee__d]

If you want another example of weight fluctuations:

Date weight
1/2/2013 180.8
1/3/2013 180.4
1/4/2013 179.2
1/5/2013 178.2
1/6/2013 177.6
1/7/2013 179.2
1/8/2013 179.2
Weekly Avg 179.23


1/9/2013 178.6
1/10/2013 177.8
1/11/2013 178.2
1/12/2013 175.6
1/13/2013 180
1/14/2013 177.8
1/15/2013 178.6
(1.14) 178.09
-0.64%

1/16/2013 179.6
1/17/2013 177.4
1/18/2013 178
1/19/2013 176.2
1/20/2013 175
1/21/2013 176.4
1/22/2013 176.2
(1.11) 176.97
-0.63%

1/23/2013 177.4
1/24/2013 177
1/25/2013 177.8
1/26/2013 175.4
1/27/2013 176.2
1/28/2013 176.2
1/29/2013 177.6
(0.17) 176.80
-0.10%


1/30/2013 176.8
1/31/2013 175.8
2/1/2013 177.8
2/2/2013 176.4
2/3/2013 175.6
2/4/2013 176.8
2/5/2013 177.6
(0.11) 176.69
-0.06%

Weekly Avg
2/6/2013 178.2

The biggest daily drops always seem to be after a carb up. But yea you gotta look at the long term trend. I also disagree about the scale being the enemy. If you realize it's just a set of data points, it's very useful.

edit: and yes, water weight usually accounts for the initial, significant drop.

[hcorrea]

Thanks for your response.

I've learned a lot in just a few months (so i think) while watching a friend prepare for a show in March. I'm still trying to find my baseline for macros and during week 1 I was thinking....my caloric deficit was too much. So i was thinking of bumping up my cals, but this week i started gaining lol. Obviously things wont happen overnight, so I'll give it more time and assess in another week or so.

Regardless of the caloric deficit, i've still been able to hit some PBs in the gym. We will see where things are at in a few weeks and adjust from there.

a close personal friend of mine who is always getting ready for a show (so it seems) says this exact thing. "Get away from the scale, throw away the calipers." Funny to hear it from someone else too. Its the truth for sure.

And OP as far as dropping weight the first week it sounds like you cut water weight out. I like cycling hi carb/lo fat for a few days and vice versa with a nice high constant of protein when trying to cut. Have had great results when I do it that way, but it does involve a lot of thought on what you are eating.

[jlsnyderTypeR]

Why so you think that was? water retention? I'm curious as to why weight spikes up before dropping low at times during a cut for me when diet itself ( in regards to messing up ) isn't a factor. Nice physique by the way, very motivating.

haha wow thats pretty extreme. I've had some 8 pound swings over a day, but never anything that sustained for 3 weeks!

I'm sure it was water retention and not sure of the cause, but I was consistently going up in weight by 2-3lbs. a week. I've since adjusted accordingly and moving in the right direction now. This isn't my first Rodeo so I've experienced strange reactions before and as I stated earlier, I'm not too concerned about it...

[Fabs23]

additionally I say try eliminating dairy...(works for some doesnt work for other)....has worked for me when I am doing the carb cycling.....but regardless its another option to try without throwing an overload of information at you.

[hcorrea]

Good point!! I started cottage cheese before bed just recently...hmmm I substitute with something else once i finished the last 2 tubs lol. Thanks.

additionally I say try eliminating dairy...(works for some doesnt work for other)....has worked for me when I am doing the carb cycling.....but regardless its another option to try without throwing an overload of information at you.

[Fabs23]

Good point!! I started cottage cheese before bed just recently...hmmm I substitute with something else once i finished the last 2 tubs lol. Thanks.

my beef with cottage cheese outside of being dairy is that its high in sodium (off the top of my head I think its over 800mgs per 8oz) and I always found even on a bulk it washed out any cuts I had.

[lee__d]

The ONLY reasons to restrict dairy are if you have an intolerance/allergy, or just don't like it.

[Retoaded]

I'm sure it was water retention and not sure of the cause, but I was consistently going up in weight by 2-3lbs. a week. I've since adjusted accordingly and moving in the right direction now. This isn't my first Rodeo so I've experienced strange reactions before and as I stated earlier, I'm not too concerned about it...

yeah judging by your avi you know what you are doing (no homo as the miscers would say)

[Tommy W.]

1) if you're asking about the initial weight drop then as Nosepull said it's water and or glycogen ( depending on whether or not you're doing a low carb diet or not )

2) as suprhulk says the most important thing is what you see in the mirror/feel for yourself. anything else is just a slightly less accurate approximation. Just take everything into consideration and nothing as iron clad. - this is an edit

3) If however you're asking if it's typical to see weight change that isn't completely linear, then yes it's common. I'll use myself as reference to give you an example -

This is my weight drop for the 4 weeks prior to 2 weeks ago ( sorry if that sounds confusing, but I started cutting mid month so that's where my 'month' started )

Week one weight
1 206.2
2 204.5
3 204
4 203.6
5 201.8
6 203
7 203.4
Week two
1 205
2 201.2
3 204.2
4 206.5
5 200.8
6 201
7 200
Week three
1 200.6
2 201.2
3 197.8
4 199.6
5 196.6
6 199
7 198
Week four
1 201
2 200
3 198.5
4 199.5
5 196.5
6 197.4
7 195.8
e.t.c.
( I weighed myself at the same time every morning, pretty dehydrated and empty of food 'and excrement, lol' ) as to assure accuracy

so as you can see weight tends to change a lot.


If I misunderstood what you meant then I'm sorry, but at least it's interesting to see.

This is very typical^^^^^^^^

[tickifroyoticki]

I've had some 8 pound swings over a day, but never anything that sustained for 2weeks! 2

[tickifroyoticki]

Let the mirror and the way your clothes fit be your guide.

[Fabs23]

I've had some 8 pound swings over a day, but never anything that sustained for 2weeks! 2

Let the mirror and the way your clothes fit be your guide.

Please tell me youre a chick

[ducatisteve]

How far below maintenance are you dieting? Do you have a general idea of your daily macros?

[hcorrea]

I never tracked cals in the past, but im sure i was eating over 3000cals/day + tons of fats/sugars....As of last week I setup my "test" baseline at 2200 cals/day as mentioned week one i was dropping weight. I'm eating at least 6-7 meals a day. This week i'm gaining....but it's too early to tell if i'm losing too much at once. Strength is not an issue, nor is energy for now, so i'll stick with 2200 and see what happens in a couple of weeks. However if i lose strength or energy i will be sure to reassess my deficit. I took measurements on day one and will take measurements again on the weekend.

Thing is if i over complicate things...it will make it difficult to maintain. My focus right now is to keep it simple. Cardio, diet, lift, rest.

For those of you that are counting cals....if you are 3-400 short for a specific day do you go to bed or do you eat that 3-400 that you short?

Thanks again guys.
H.

How far below maintenance are you dieting? Do you have a general idea of your daily macros?

[ducatisteve]

I never tracked cals in the past, but im sure i was eating over 3000cals/day + tons of fats/sugars....As of last week I setup my "test" baseline at 2200 cals/day as mentioned week one i was dropping weight. I'm eating at least 6-7 meals a day. This week i'm gaining....but it's too early to tell if i'm losing too much at once. Strength is not an issue, nor is energy for now, so i'll stick with 2200 and see what happens in a couple of weeks. However if i lose strength or energy i will be sure to reassess my deficit. I took measurements on day one and will take measurements again on the weekend.

Thing is if i over complicate things...it will make it difficult to maintain. My focus right now is to keep it simple. Cardio, diet, lift, rest.

For those of you that are counting cals....if you are 3-400 short for a specific day do you go to bed or do you eat that 3-400 that you short?

Thanks again guys.
H.

It sounds like you have your head on straight and you're doing it the right way. Give it a few weeks and see how it goes. For the most part ignore your weight daily, and look at weekly trends. Try to weigh yourself at the same time of day, under the same conditions.

Regarding coming up short on calories, for me it usually depends how my macros panned out for the day. If I'm short on carbs, I'll usually just skip it and go to bed, and make sure to hit my goals the next day. If I need 400 cals of protein and fat I'll blend up a casein/peanut butter shake before bed.