Freckles, I think the point is that very few people would look at these influences as scientifically as you have, and probably not for anything like 2 weeks, which as you correctly suggest would be the minimum time needed to take normal weight fluctuations out of the equation. I know when I have had a good result on the scales the tendency is to ask yourself what have I done right recently? - and that would be since you last weighed yourself - and I am afraid I am one of the ones who is addicted to weighing every day, since I started this WOL and didn't fully trust or understand the principles of why it works, as I do now. So, even while i know it is faulty logic, it is still hard to resist trying to replicate the excersise and diet prescription to see if another "whoosh" occurs.

And of cause the same applies in reverse when you are on an apparent stall, although the experts say a stall is not officially a stall unless you have no change for 4 weeks - and that even if you are on exactly the right diet, you may still have shorter periods when your body just needs time to adjust before continuing to lose. In addition you need to ensure that a weight stall, is not masking fat loss and muscle gain, which is great anyway, but is hard to check for small amounts of a pound or two.

Malcolm