Weight is not a frozen number. In fact, fluctuating from 1 - 2 kg a day is completely normal. The problem is that many people are still panicked, blaming themselves or hastily weighing just because the scale says the number is higher than yesterday.
According to Brandi Jones, a senior nurse in the United States, most short-term weight changes do not come from fat but mainly from water, food in the digestive system and temporary physiological reactions of the body.
Water, food and exercise, the silent "culprits
Water accounts for about 60% of adult body weight. Just by eating salty foods, eating a lot of starch, or entering menstruation, the body has a tendency to retain water, causing weight gain even though fat does not increase at all. Conversely, when eating foods that have a natural diuretic effect or sweat a lot, weight can be lost quickly.
After each meal, weight gain is obvious because food and drinks are still in the digestive tract. Constipation can also cause weight gain due to accumulated waste.
Physical activity creates two opposite effects. When exercising, you lose water through sweat, so weight can be temporarily reduced. But after heavy exercise sessions, muscles retain water to recover, causing weight to increase slightly. In addition, when starting a diet or new exercise, the body burns glycogen, the energy reserve attached to water, leading to rapid weight loss in the early stages.
Environmental temperature also contributes. Hot weather causes the body to sweat a lot, while cool weather reduces sweating, thereby retaining more water.
Endocrine, lifestyle and medicine, factors that are easily overlooked
Hormones are the silent "director" of weight. Women often gain weight before or during menstruation. Premenopause and menopause slow down metabolism and increase fat accumulation. Diseases such as endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome or uterine fibroids can all cause weight fluctuations.
In men, testosterone decreases with age, leading to muscle loss and increased belly fat. Conversely, too high testosterone can also be associated with weight gain.
Prolonged stress increases cortisol, a hormone that makes you craving food, retains water and exercise less. Lack of sleep also disrupts the hunger-nourishing hormone, causing you to eat more unconsciously.
Alcohol can cause temporary weight loss due to dehydration, but it is easy to cause water retention, increased appetite and more empty energy intake. Some drugs such as steroids (prednisone) increase water retention and appetite, while diuretics cause temporary weight loss due to fluid excretion.
Diseases cannot be ignored either. Fever, vomiting, diarrhea cause weight loss due to dehydration. Conversely, heart failure or kidney failure can cause fluid buildup, rapid weight gain, signs that need to be closely monitored by healthcare.
According to Melissa Nieves, a clinical nutritionist in the United States, "increasing or decreasing more than 5% of body weight within 6 - 12 months for unknown reasons is a sign that should not be taken lightly and needs to be assessed by a doctor".
Weekends, holidays and vacations often lead to eating more, less exercise, making weight gain of 0.5 - 1 kg common. It is important to look at long-term trends, not be obsessed with daily fluctuations.
To monitor accurately, you should weigh at the same time every morning, before eating, use the same scale and combine other indicators such as waist circumference, clothing fit or body composition. Weight is just a number, health is a long-term story.
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