Seen above is a line graph of my last month of bodyweight tracking. Notice first that it is not to scale (pun?); the bottom of the y-axis is 206 lbs, not 0. Notice also that it’s hardly a straight line! I’m sure you’ve all heard this sort of advice before, that weight loss (or gain) is rarely linear, but I wanted to show you with a personal anecdote how having as much data as possible and learning how to analyze it can keep you on track and sane as you change your bodyweight.
First, as briefly as possible, let’s talk about basic concepts in mathematics. A local minimum or maximum is a point of least or greatest value within a given range, respectively. This refers to the little “peaks and valleys” you see on the topography of our line graph above.
What you’ll notice is that each peak and each valley get progressively lower each time. The peaks go from about 222 to 221, 220, 219, and 218 while the valleys go from 220 to 219, 217, and 215.
Now imagine for a moment that I was scared of weighing in because I preferred not to know, or perhaps some well-intentioned individual advised me to only weigh in once or twice a month, with the intent that I would have certainly seen some change over time. I might weight in at a local minimum of 220 at the beginning of the month, and then again at a local maximum of 218 at the end of the month. I’d think I’d only lose 2 lbs, which isn’t a ton for a 4 week period, when in fact I’d lost 4 lbs between my local maxima and 5 lbs between my local minima.
As an additional anecdote, last night I ate pretty healthy and sparingly (relative to my usual diet, anyway) and drank a TON of water. And yet I woke up 3 lbs heavier today! I was surprised, but not discouraged, because I knew it was still my lowest local maximum this month.
And as an aside, I cannot speak with authority regarding how this applies to women, but my understanding is that this same process plays out in the same rate but with an elongated timeline for pre-menopausal adult women. I am told that unlike my line graph above which fairly steadily trends downward, most women will see bigger drop-offs less frequently, though the trend lines would be relatively similar month to month.
Actionable advice: download any bodyweight tracking app (I use AktiBMI for free), and track under the same condition every day (I am of the opinion that the most replicable condition is first thing in the morning after using the restroom). Data is power if you know how to understand what you’re looking at, take it in stride, and make small adjustments if you’re not seeing the results you desire over a longer timeline. Stay on target, stay sane with small upticks.
Bare Strength 