Yes, when you start loosing weight (let’s assume you also train with weights and the majority of the loss is body fat) and you measure yourself daily and there are days, weeks even, when your weight is not going down, but up. And then you start questioning yourself, your nutrition, your training and you are just a millimetre away from quitting.
In those moments, take a look at that chart. That is my weight (in kg). My weekly average weight for a period of 54 weeks (one year and half a month) and that has 6 months of the so-called ”cut” followed by a 6 months of the so-called ”bulk”.
See how it is never a straight line downwards or upwards? And that is pretty normal, in fact that is the norm itself. But the trend is clear, when I was in a calorie deficit, the weight went down to 69.5 kg.
Now answer me this
Would I go to my lowest weight if I got disappointed in week 13 (almost three months in a cut and the weight is just as when I started and all the gains I made were lost and the world is over and nobody loves me anymore and the water is wet and ….)
Now seriously, our weight depends on so many factors. For example if you are doing calorie cycling (that is when in a deficit you allow yourself more carbs on a training day) and today you trained and ate 50 g more carbs than usual. The thing is that carbs tend to stay in our bodies for 48 to 72 hours before being completely metabolised and taken out. And 1 g of carbohydrates takes 4 grams of water to be fully metabolised. So the net effect of your training will be 200 grams more bodyweight. For at least three days. Simple.
When you train in the gym, you do cause inflammation to your muscles and this means water retention until it heals. This is another reason why the scales can show higher number on a day following training day.
That brings me to the other very important element of bodyweight and measurements. Never to stress out for the daily digits on the scale. Measure yourself every day, put it down in a table (or as my clients do, simply input it in your daily tracking on the app I provide) and pay attention to the weekly average, not the day-to-day fluctuations.
Here is a real life example
These are daily weight measurements of one of my clients for a month period. As it is more than clear, the day-to-day numbers (the red line) vary, sometimes significantly. When you clear out the fluctuations by calculating the weekly average (the blue dots) you can see the trend and how steady it is. As wise people say – stop looking at the trees, step back and see the forest.
Let me give you another example
Here are part of my stats from a week in November last year (2024). Full disclosure, you can also see the hours I slept and the steps I made on those days. The last line is my weight in kg. And the weekly average is 72.3 which is my current level. I do measure my weight each and every morning under same conditions (in the morning, before breakfast, after loo, naked).
Here is what would my weekly average be if I skipped four days and measured myself just three time. Not that big of a difference, but 0.4 kg more.
And if I measure myself only once a week, the picture would have been incomplete and inaccurate and I would not know if I am really cutting (I was preparing myself for a photo-session back then and yes, I was cutting) and what is my weekly rate of loosing weight and how much time would I need to reach the target weight, ready for the cameras.
So next time when you jump on the scale, just accept the number and put it down in your table or whatever it is that you use to track your progress. Do it every day. And if you are my client, just type it in the app and let me do all the rest for you. So now is the time to join me on your journey.
Thank you for reaching this far and thank you for your time reading this.
