WEIGHT FOR ME: Gaining 3 pounds in day? Something doesn't add up

After days piled upon weeks of smaller portions, fewer snacks and more exercise, there's a moment of thrill to step on the scale.

How many pounds have been shed so far?

A sense of accomplishment and success comes with each downward tick of the scale.

But what about when the scale suddenly goes up a pound or two overnight?

As much as it may feel like a setback, it's not a sign of failure.

In fact, it's normal.

At the beginning of my weight loss journey in December, I measured my success and failure daily in pounds. But weight naturally fluctuates from day to day — even from hour to hour. I could step on the scale in the morning and weigh 220 pounds and by noon find I went up to 223 pounds.

People don't gain or lose that much in a day, so I couldn't help asking: What gives?

I turned to health and fitness articles to research why the scale moved so much in short windows of time.

3 common causes

There are many reasons the number on the scale changes throughout the day. Among them, I discovered three leading culprits:

1. Retaining water. A person can't actually gain or lose multiple pounds of body fat or muscle in a day, but it is possible to retain or shed a few pounds of liquid.

Diet — especially salt consumption — plays a major role in how much water our bodies hold onto throughout the day.

When first counting calories, my instinct was to check the nutrition facts on every grocery item and load the lowest-calorie items in my cart.

Do you know what's really low in calories? Condensed soup.

Do you know what's really high in sodium? Lucky guess ... condensed soup.

My diet app nagged me daily about my sodium consumption. As I filled my body with salt, I was more likely to retain fluid. Hence the seemingly drastic weight fluctuations as the day progressed.

(Confession: My diet is still a little too high in sodium. Improving my eating habits is still a work-in-progress; I focus on making one or two small changes at a time — I've found more success in improving weight and health with that approach instead of a sudden massive overhaul.)

Lifestyle also can play a role in water retention. Standing or sitting for long periods of time can let tissue absorb water as our bodies remain stationary.

There are multiple other causes for water retention that range from medication to hormones to health conditions.

All in all, I've learned to take hourly or daily weight jumps with — pardon the two-for-one cliche and pun — a grain of salt.

2. Hormones. After weeks of steadily losing weight and diligently sticking to my eating and exercise plan, I was devastated one morning to get on the scale and see I'd jumped up three pounds overnight.

The excess weight didn't vanish when I weighed myself at different times that day. In fact, at one point, I saw the scale increase an additional two pounds.

The weight stuck around the following three days — somehow, even by rigidly following my calorie count and by exercising, I had gained multiple pounds from one week to the next, seemingly in one overnight burst.

After four days, the scale dropped back to my previous week's weight.

The reason? A menstrual cycle can cause short-term weight gain. A Shape Magazine article reports pre-period weight gain can be as little as a half-pound or as high as 10 pounds.

Period-related weight gain generally occurs the week before a period begins and is gone by Day 4.

3. Time of day. The more I researched weight fluctuations, the more I encountered a common tip from dietitians: Weigh yourself at the same time of day each time you step on the scale.

Also, be aware of when you weigh yourself in relation to other activities. Did you just eat a big meal? Did you just finish a high-intensity workout? Those can play a significant role in the hourly or day-to-day bumps and dips on the scale.

The consensus among dietitians for the best time to weigh yourself seems to be after you wake up and use the bathroom. That precedes the day's sodium consumption, and everything you ate the previous day should be digested by morning. That helps give the most accurate comparison of weight loss from one day or week to the next.

The moral of weighing yourself

Don't focus on the hourly or daily fluctuations in weight. As tempting as it is to monitor progress as often as possible at the beginning of a weight loss effort, try to measure your progress on a weekly or even monthly basis.

The fluctuations are all part of the routine. As long as the overall trend is a downward progression, you're on the right track.

Julie Barichello is an assistant editor at The Times documenting her weight management and health improvement journey. To share your own weight management story, contact her at 815-431-4072 or julies@mywebtimes.com.