Why does working out affect your scale weight?

donjtomasco

I weighed before going to treadmill this morning. After weighing I had one cup of coffee. I treadmilled for 45 minutes, and did more bathroom business then a cup of coffee weighs, but over the 1.75 hours after my initial weight, I had lost 0.2 on the scale. I know I was told to always weigh in and check body fat % and take measurements around the same time each day and before working out, now I am wondering what causes this to happen?

janejellyroll

If you weigh yourself throughout the day, you're always going to see fluctuations that can't be easily explained.

chubbard9

I think it has a lot to do with sweating it out(and how much you drink before weighing)... I never weigh after working out, only because I consider first thing in the morning, after using the bathroom, to be the most accurate for me... Everybody is different...

rileysowner

So you worked out and a whole bunch of other stuff and lost .2 pounds. How about sweat?

DemoraFairy

I don't get what's confusing. You'd lost a bit of weight after you'd gone to the bathroom for more than you'd drunk, and you'd presumably sweated a bit on the treadmill. Where's the confusion?

brianpperkins

How much liquid did you sweat and breathe out?
How much did you evacuate from your system in the bathroom?
How much coffee did you put back in?

The delta in those answers explains your slight fluctuation.

CSARdiver

Hydration - my weight fluctuates ~5lbs throughout the day due to changes in water weight.

donjtomasco

No confusion, just curious as to what others know about this since I don't know this answer (if there is one). The gym is freezing so I sweat some but not a lot, and I don't measure what comes out when I go to the bathroom. Usually after peeing my weight drops over .2, and in this case I did a lot more calories/weight out then in, so I was more focused (with this question) on how a cardio workout would limit the weight actually lost on the scale. Maybe this happens with weight workouts too.

My_Butt

A) you drank coffee. That's a diuretic.
B ) even if you don't notice it, you're sweating at the gym, and day to day life.
C) your body can fluctuate quite a bit throughout the day.
D) check batteries in scale.