BODY WATER AND SCALE WEIGHT

Our bodies are not mostly composed of fat, they’re mostly composed of water.

Therefore, most of the weight changes we see from day to day are water changes, not fat changes.

A few reasons you see fluctuations on the scale:

-Recent increase in cardio (increases blood volume). This is a biggie, can add up to 5 lbs in some people, just plasma + new red blood cells, & can cause a month-long stall in scale weight.

-Recent increase in weightlifting (sore muscles retain water); eventually there will also be muscle gain, though that is a slower process (weeks).

-Any soreness, injury, or bruising (causes inflammation = local water retention).

-Change in timing of dinner to a later time than usual. Later eating means you’ll still be holding “gut water” used in the digestive process during the next morning's weigh-in.

-Eating more carbs after a period of not having had many carbs (causes liver and muscles to increase glycogen stores; each 1g of glycogen is structurally packaged with 3g water so you end up with water weight).

In short, trust your calorie deficit.

If you are tracking your food accurately and are really eating at a caloric deficit, there is no way NOT to be losing fat. The fat loss is just hidden on the scale by the countless causes of fluctuations in water and digestive waste.

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