If you are trying to lose weight and exercising do you feel like your body changes randomly?

[Gardagarda]

Menopausal woman desperately trying to lose weight. Basically losing and gaining the same 3lbs over and over like a million other women.

I exercise and do weights 3x a week.

I have some weeks where I feel so fat and bloated and then randomly some weeks where i think 'oh I look ok actually, not too bad' (I will be same weight and pretty much same diet).

Just got back from gym feeling fat and frumpy and 2wks ago I thought I was looking stronger snd fitter.

Does anyone else experience this?

(NB: NOT looking for diet/weightloss tips thank you)

Yes, definitely. For me, it's often connected to what I've eaten. Sometimes it's also to do with water retention post-exercise depending on what I've been doing.

Connected to what I’ve eaten and time of the month. Some mornings I have a totally flat stomach, other days rolls of belly! Just keep going. I lost 3 stone beginning of last year, it was not a straight line!!

Definitely, I know exactly what you mean about the same 3lbs too. Definitely connected to time of the month and what I've eaten but the change can translate to several inches round my waist.
Thankfully those 3lbs are moving down slowly but I plateau for at least six weeks each time before dropping down to the next 3.

Yeah, I'd say a menopausal hormone fluctuation thing too. I was like this for 12 months before my bastard 2lbs came off and stayed off.

Have you tried some different food or changing your exercise (eg. swimming instead of cycling)? I do think your body can get used to/bored of the same foods/exercise - maybe a change is as good as a rest, as the saying goes.

I can definitely look in the mirror one day and think "looking good" and look again the next day and think "who IS that old hag". I'm sure I don't actually look any different but I might be feeling emotionally bleh so it skews my outlook.

When I am trying to lose weight and eating mindfully and being active, I have weeks where the scales show a difference and weeks where the scales stay stubbonly the same (or even gain) and my clothes show a difference.
The two things rarely happen at the same time

I weigh myself almost every day and then take an average because I know often a 1KG / 3 pounds change is just part of natural daily fluctuations. This morning I weighed myself, I bets if I got back on the scale tonight I’d be a few pounds heavier and then back down again tomorrow.

I think its good to take a range of measurements in a weight loss journey so when the scale suggests your weights gone up a few pounds or you feel you look a bit more bloated you can see overall that you have actually made progress.

I also take keep track of body fat percentage ( hard to get an accurate reading of that though) waist, and arm measurement as well as this one pair of trousers that are snug on me. A year ago I couldn’t even zip them up fully though, my weight is around the same but the zip closes now.