Why do the scales fluctuate so much daily?

Bigkmc

I am driving myself nuts by weighing daily. I'm on them before I can stop myself. A big drop gives me a spring in my step and big increase gives me a crap attitude.

Anyone else struggle to stop weighing daily?

uzmakhanawan

I do have the same issue ... going up and down and more than kg difference on same time of the day... got irritated and thought my all efforts are into vain .... but I am keep myself going .. logging n excercise ...

jemhh

Most daily weight fluctuations are due to changes in water weight (humans are about 60% water [when I looked this up I found sources that said as low as 45% for some adults and up to 73% for infants, most people are in between.]) and differences in weighing conditions (before/after eating/drinking/elimination. Part of weighing daily is accepting these fluctuations as normal. If they are going to freak you out, I would suggest not weighing daily.

Sued0nim

water weight

Yesterday I was up 4lb on my lowest weight which I've been at for the last month (give or take) - today I'm down 1.6lb of that so still up a couple of pounds

it is directly attributable to: DOMs from exercise, period due in 4 days and extra sodium in diet

normally it's one or the other, this time it was all 3

and yes .. it gave me a shock because I generally monitor 2lb swings in water weight not 4lbs .. but it is what it is as my friends reminded me so I'll just give it time

TimothyFish

If you don't like the fluctuations, why don't you weigh weekly instead?

Sued0nim

I weigh daily and I log any shifts because I'm linked, through my fitbit, to trendweight.com which gives me great data on fluctations and trendline

there are free apps that do similar

Bigkmc

Thanks girls! I do have DOMs after running on Sunday and had a lot of sodium yesterday so that explains a LOT! Going to move the scales from the bathroom to make it a little less easy to jump on as a habit.

Bigkmc

TimothyFish wrote: »

If you don't like the fluctuations, why don't you weigh weekly instead?

Because I'm desperate to see results and a sucker for self demotivation. I know, I know....

rjmudlax13

Water retention. Did you have a lot of sodium recently? Did you jump right into a strenuous exercise routine? Did you drink alcohol? Are you on your period? Are you on a medication? All these (plus many other factors) can cause your body to lose it's fluid balance. Everyone goes through this. Look at the long term trend of your weight. You did not just all of a sudden gain (or lose) a pound or 2 of fat (or muscle) in a day unless you ate a ridiculous amount of calories.

Please try to relax and understand that it is normal and part of the process. Think long term!

Bigkmc

rabbitjb wrote: »

I weigh daily and I log any shifts because I'm linked, through my fitbit, to trendweight.com which gives me great data on fluctations and trendline

there are free apps that do similar

Thanks @rabbitjb - going to look into an app now.

Sued0nim

I've seen Libra mentioned before

minizebu

If you have been eating fewer carbohydrates and exercising, then you have been gradually depleting your glycogen stores. Then, if you have a higher carbohydrate day your body will restore its glycogen levels. You will consequently see an increase in weight when you next step on the scale. (Each gram of glycogen attaches to around 4 grams of water.)

Here is an explanation of that process: http://8fit.com/blog/glycogen-gluconeogenesis-and-water-weight/

Jasmunr

Humans can fluxuate at the high end of 5 pounds in a day. What I find helps is wight yourself first thing in the morning at your lowest weight.

JessicaThompson12

I use Happy Scale just for this reason.

Bigkmc

Thanks @rjmudlax13 - it was just hard to get my head round given how difficult it is to lose 4lbs and then the scales go ahead and swing up that many. It all makes sense now; I need to start weighing weekly and keep thinking of the big picture.

Bigkmc

JessicaThompson12 wrote: »

I use Happy Scale just for this reason.

The Happy Scale???

nicola8989

I'm obsessed with weighing myself and do it every day. I just downloaded the Happy Scale app and I'm using that - has only been a few days so I can't say if it's really helping but I hope it will as I get so demotivated!

ncboiler89

Bigkmc wrote: »

TimothyFish wrote: »

If you don't like the fluctuations, why don't you weigh weekly instead?

Because I'm desperate to see results and a sucker for self demotivation. I know, I know....

Funny stuff. Even if you weigh once per week you will still see fluctuations.

TheBigFb

Bigkmc wrote: »

I am driving myself nuts by weighing daily. I'm on them before I can stop myself. A big drop gives me a spring in my step and big increase gives me a crap attitude.

Anyone else struggle to stop weighing daily?

Weigh yourself once every too weeks. One solution would be to throw the out

SusanKing1981

I weigh every morning, can't help myself. Even if there is a reason for a sudden gain, I still get grumpy, even though I know it's not a "real" gain. My official weigh in day is Monday and as of Sunday last week I had lost 3.5lbs that week - so imagine my frustration on Monday morning to see a 2lb gain. Gutted! But not real. Too much sodium and TOTM. The Monday coming will be better.

Bigkmc

TheBigFb wrote: »

Bigkmc wrote: »

I am driving myself nuts by weighing daily. I'm on them before I can stop myself. A big drop gives me a spring in my step and big increase gives me a crap attitude.

Anyone else struggle to stop weighing daily?

Weigh yourself once every too weeks. One solution would be to throw the out

I've only just started my weight loss journey and am a big girl (6ft). It takes a lot of weight loss for clothes to feel different so I rely on the scales to let me know I'm on the right track. Especially given that weighing food and logging everything is relatively new to me too...

Bigkmc

faeriesue1 wrote: »

I weigh every morning, can't help myself. Even if there is a reason for a sudden gain, I still get grumpy, even though I know it's not a "real" gain. My official weigh in day is Monday and as of Sunday last week I had lost 3.5lbs that week - so imagine my frustration on Monday morning to see a 2lb gain. Gutted! But not real. Too much sodium and TOTM. The Monday coming will be better.

I know what you mean... It's amazing how demotivating it can be (even when it's not real) and how magical it can feel when there's a big loss (which you suspect is not real)!

elliej

Water and poo basically. Isn't that nice

liekewheeless

I do weight daily most of the time. I ended up thinking I was stuck because I kept gaining and losing the same amount. A closer look (or I should say wider look) however showed that in general my weight was still dropping.

It's ok to weigh daily, just look back a month or two and see your progress to stay motivated.

ncboiler89

liekewheeless wrote: »

I do weight daily most of the time. I ended up thinking I was stuck because I kept gaining and losing the same amount. A closer look (or I should say wider look) however showed that in general my weight was still dropping.

It's ok to weigh daily, just look back a month or two and see your progress to stay motivated.

Solid response.

DaveinSK

As ncboiler said, you'll still see the fluctuations if you weigh weekly. It would probably be more demotivating to see a gain of a couple pounds after a good week than to see daily fluctuations, even if that gain is just three pounds of water and you're actually down a pound for the week.

I just weigh once a day at the same time (after my morning shower) and log using MFP, but you can use http://happyscale.com/ if you want it to draw a trendline instead of doing it in your head.

stevenxd

Try to weigh yourself at the same time everyday with the same amount of clothing to keep the variables to a minimum. But like others have said, water weight has a lot to do with it.

ninerbuff

Bigkmc wrote: »

I am driving myself nuts by weighing daily. I'm on them before I can stop myself. A big drop gives me a spring in my step and big increase gives me a crap attitude.

Anyone else struggle to stop weighing daily?

You'll struggle less if you understand that weighing daily shouldn't be your "live or die" moment. If you drank 32 oz. of water then stepped on the scale, you'd weigh 32 oz more.
Point is that fluid retention changes constantly throughout the day and things like sodium, hormones, stress, etc. have a direct effect.
Don't monitor the weight......................monitor the mirror.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

namarc0

Happy scale is an app that does a great job of monitoring fluctuations and weight trends over time. I like to jump on the scale every three or four days so I see lots of fluctuations. The Happy scale app keeps it in perspective for me-I love it and it's free!

Addiewe

Is it safe to assume that the lowest weight you see during the week is your "actual" weight?

Bigkmc

Happy Scale downloaded - thanks everyone!

And thanks for the lesson on water retention - my sodium intake was double what it should have been yesterday (soy sauce) so that might help explain alongside my first run on Sunday for about a year!