Why Your Weight Fluctuates
Often women attach huge self worth to the number on the scale, without rhyme or reason it can fluctuate and this can lead to anxiety, feeling down or even being stricter with your food or calories. Here are some of the reasons your weight might fluctuate.
To gain 1-3 lbs of fat in a week or a few days, you need to consume 3500-10500 extra calories a day! Given that we know what you are eating this is extremely unlikely! So what else might be going on, some factors to consider
1. Stomach contents: Juices/shake diets "work" for a number of reasons, one of them being that they have less volume and so are lighter in the stomach than say a steak and some veggies. Even increasing your water intake by a litre can add 2-3 lbs on at the scale! Even if you head out for dinner, have a starter and main and skip the dessert the higher volume of food will usually result in a heavier weight on the scale the following morning! This is why we practice balance and don't restrict occasional nights out or takeaways.
2. Increasing carbs: This maybe purposefully as in a refeed or carb loading for a race. It can also occur after that anniversary dinner in the nice Italian restaurant. Carbs are stored as glycogen in the muscle and liver, for every 1g of glycogen your body stores 3g of water too. Making you heavier without gaining fat!
3. Increasing sodium: Restaurant food and takeaways are some damn tasty because they contain a fair bit of sodium (salt). Sodium's best friend is water so after a salty meal we can again store more water!
4. Cortisol and stress: I have talked about stress and how it affects the hormones in a multitude of ways resulting in weight gain, decreased insulin sensitivity and other health implications. Regards weight fluctuations, cortisol also causes water retention! Dieting and exercise can also cause elevated cortisol levels, some of this is good stress. But where is the sweet spot? Bigger calorie deficits or excessive amounts of cardio/training can push cortisol to high levels. Similarly, lack of sleep (thank you babies) and lifestyle stress can also spike cortisol!
All of these factors can contribute to a 5-10 lbs fluctuation in weight on the scale. This is why I emphasise that fat loss is a team effort, nutrition, exercise, stress management playing intricate roles.
I hope this helps your understanding of the fat loss conundrum. I offer individualised online nutrition coaching to help you take the stress out of eating healthy and I am currently taking on new clients. Get in touch and see how I can help you today!