Daily weight fluctuating largely

[Bobby32]

Hello Mr. Feigenbaum, I am looking to cut about 3 maybe 4 pounds of fat in about 2 weeks, while maintaining strength. According to a calculator that takes a measurement around your navel and smallest part of your neck(and of course Bodyweight, height, etc.) I am about to 18-19% bodyfat. I have been making progress in SS LP but I want to cut some fat for a sports event I have in 2 weeks, hoping that the loss in fat will keep my speed up. Now to the actual problem, yesterday morning I weighed 160.4, but this morning I weighed 159.6. This is almost a 1 pound drop in a day. And I actually ate more than I was supposed to that day. I have read your article To Be A Beast, and you said daily fluctuations are normal, but how much of a fluctuation is what I didn’t catch in the article. I don’t think my scale is faulty because if I step on it 2-3 times in one sitting it gives me the same reading.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

There is no set amount of fluctuation, but it happens very regularly and is just noise. If you need to lose weight- continue on as planned without change to your strategy based on one day's metrics.

[Ethan Thibaudeau]

To add to this, use a running average of your weight. It helps you from being distracted by the daily fluctuations from water and bowel weight. Whether that's a week, two weeks, even a month worth to smooth the data out.

I've been tracking my weight daily for three years, and I can tell you a 1 month running average is still quick enough to respond to any changes in body weight that you could care about. ±1lb from that average is normal for me, occasionally ±2lb. A one pound drop is nothing.

[Dave Joksimovic]

Maybe I'm a weird case but that's not a "large fluctuation" at all. A bunch of factors come in to play. Probably just water weight or something. I've seen as much as a 2-3 lb drop in a day...

[Bobby32]

Thank you. Really appreciate the reply.

[torpetersen]

yeah i've seen weight fluctuations as high as 5 or 6 lbs in a single day but it's pretty much all water (or really epic bio). I recommend weighing yourself at the same time on the same day each week if you're trying to track some kind of progress. Make it your "official" weigh in and just use anything else to see if you're on track.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

yeah i've seen weight fluctuations as high as 5 or 6 lbs in a single day but it's pretty much all water (or really epic bio). I recommend weighing yourself at the same time on the same day each week if you're trying to track some kind of progress. Make it your "official" weigh in and just use anything else to see if you're on track.

I'd advise using a rolling average much more than using a single data point for this application.