Daily weigh inn peeps I have a question

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  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Salt, urine, feces, alcohol, fiber transit... It all plays a role. But, big but here, I have found less variance since I got a very sensitive digital scale. I think faulty scale mechanics can play a role too. [Some here will seek me out & all caps shout at me. Sorrynotsorry. I've weighed almost every day on my new scale since I set it up September 29 and my large data set proves that for me it has made a difference. My early morning weight, without clothing and after using the bathroom, varies no more than about 18-24 ounces in any 24 hour period. Pffffft.]
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    prettyleelee wrote: »
    I weigh in daily every morning around the same time in the same clothing none before getting dressed for the gym. My question is what can make my weight fluctuate 3 sometimes 4lbs at a time? I feel my average is way off because of this fact and I just can't figure out what is happening? Anyone else have this problem?

    *Yes those none weigh in people I completely understand my weight fluctuates that why you don't weigh in daily.

    body weight isn't a static figure...nobody weighs exactly XXX Lbs...it'll fluctuate day to day and throughout the day...go eat a Lb of food and guess what...you'll be up a Lb. You're always going to have varying degrees was waste in your system, water retention/release, etc
    GibsonGirl55 wrote: »
    I weighed myself this morning at 186 lbs. Went for my morning walk, burned off 1,172 calories after walking 3.64 miles. Weighed myself afterwards--184 lbs. Do I do my happy dance and log this in MFP? Or should I just stay with the the 186 lbs. that I logged at check-in this morning?

    1) you didn't burn over 1,000 calories walking 3.64 miles. 2) your weight is going to fluctuate throughout the day...
  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    GibsonGirl55 wrote: »
    I weighed myself this morning at 186 lbs. Went for my morning walk, burned off 1,172 calories after walking 3.64 miles. Weighed myself afterwards--184 lbs. Do I do my happy dance and log this in MFP? Or should I just stay with the the 186 lbs. that I logged at check-in this morning?

    Be careful with that burn amount, even when I run 3 miles I get nowhere near 1,000 calories. If you are eating your exercise calories back don't make the mistake of thinking you have an extra 1,000 to eat.

  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Adult human walkers can burn about 100 calories a mile if they go at a pretty fast clip or tackle a challenging steep grade.
    There's also a runners world formula based on your weight...
    Here:
    .30 X weight in pounds X distance in miles = walking calories burned
    I love walking and do a ton of it. But don't overestimate your burn. If it's any consolation, the insanity & Zumba people probably aren't burning what they want to believe either.
  • jacklifts
    jacklifts Posts: 396 Member
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    Try weighing yourself every night as well before sleep under the same conditions. Then you'll see what your morning-night spread is, and won't be surprised the next morning if you're up a few pounds.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Water and poop retention = fluctuation
  • prettyleelee
    prettyleelee Posts: 236 Member
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    jacklifts wrote: »
    Try weighing yourself every night as well before sleep under the same conditions. Then you'll see what your morning-night spread is, and won't be surprised the next morning if you're up a few pounds.

    Thanks I am going to try this also I plan on breaking down for one of the fat% scales that I want but just haven't talked myself into the cost yet I am hoping that would help as well.
  • ohmscheeks
    ohmscheeks Posts: 840 Member
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    I never had a flucuation that big from day to day... But then, I drink a gallon of water a day...
  • prettyleelee
    prettyleelee Posts: 236 Member
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    ohmscheeks wrote: »
    I never had a flucuation that big from day to day... But then, I drink a gallon of water a day...

    I am pretty high up there range from 100-110 ounces.
  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
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    Barring severe constipation, intestinal contents don't make as big a difference as some might think. Having been booked for a routine colonoscopy back in the spring, morbid curiosity drove me to monitor my weight before, during and after the "big purge." After a 18 hour solid and liquid fast and with an empty gut, I dropped a total of 3.5 lbs in 48 hours. Two pounds of that bounced back immediately and was probably dehydration. So I personally never allow more than a pound for bowel contents.

    I've weighed daily and seen those two, three and four pound jumps. I've seen two pound jumps in eight hours before and after work when I hadn't eaten a thing. It was frustrating enough that I went back to weighing twice a week.
  • jacklifts
    jacklifts Posts: 396 Member
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    prettyleelee wrote: »
    jacklifts wrote: »
    Try weighing yourself every night as well before sleep under the same conditions. Then you'll see what your morning-night spread is, and won't be surprised the next morning if you're up a few pounds.

    Thanks I am going to try this also I plan on breaking down for one of the fat% scales that I want but just haven't talked myself into the cost yet I am hoping that would help as well.

    I'm not a scale expert, but I'm read the electrical impedance thing is fairly inaccurate, being influenced heavily by water fluctuations. So if you are fluctuating more than usual due to water, the body fat percent recent is going to be even more off. I've tried doing waist measurements as well daily, but I've found those also fluctuate with water retention, food in the belly, etc. I haven't tried using myotape which might be more accurate, or any pincher type devices. If money is an issue, I'd just use the scale you have and take twice daily weights for a while. See what happens.

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    scolaris wrote: »
    Adult human walkers can burn about 100 calories a mile if they go at a pretty fast clip or tackle a challenging steep grade.
    There's also a runners world formula based on your weight...
    Here:
    .30 X weight in pounds X distance in miles = walking calories burned
    I love walking and do a ton of it. But don't overestimate your burn. If it's any consolation, the insanity & Zumba people probably aren't burning what they want to believe either.
    Either adult human walkers weigh 333 pounds or the Runner's World formula is quite inconsistent with your first sentence. Or they're both wrong.

    I think I burn about 150 net calories per mile, which is relatively in line with your first sentence given my size and the average person's size.

    I do agree with the general premise about inflated burns from walking, though.
  • purplishblue
    purplishblue Posts: 135 Member
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    The things I keep in mind for myself are 1) The week/week and a half before my period my weight will be up due to bloating, and 2) I have IBS which definitely makes the scale fluctuate. What I do is only log what my lowest weight is, so over time I can see the .5-1lb a week drop, and not get discouraged by the higher weights.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    It is normal to fluctuate up to five pounds in a single day. This is not fat gained and lost. It's primarily water gained and lost. From my experience the big influencers are salt, exercise, and progesterone (spike just before my monthly). A small influencer is my daily bowel movement (not quite a pound).

    Which weight do you trust? Record them all and only remember the lower numbers. The truth is in the average.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I should have said is that salt, exercise, and progesterone all three will spike my weight. The exercise is from muscles swollen a bit after a sudden increase.
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
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    I keep a spread sheet that tracks my new lightest weight since I started my current tracking in March, along my side my daily weight. A lightest weight can stand for a week or more before a new one takes it's place. On average, I have lost 1% of my body weight per week. So when I was over 200 pounds I would lose 2 or more pounds a week. Now that I am in the 170's I lose closer to 1 pound per week on average. In the beginning I was more concerned with speed, but as I have studied successful losers and maintainers, I have discovered that it is the general direction and not the speed that make the difference. My weight goes up and down but I have never gone a month without an loss. Trust the process, if you are eating at a deficit you will lose.
  • brb2008
    brb2008 Posts: 406 Member
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    257_Lag wrote: »
    If you are going to weigh daily you really should chart it daily so you can see the trend line. That's what is important. Plenty of phone apps for this. I use Libra.
    3jc2hvtonvof.jpg

    Do you know if I can manually enter data for like two weeks when I first get the app? Cause I have the data in my fitbit but want to know about the past two weeks as well.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
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    @DeguelloTex: I agree the runners world formula looks like a lowball. They also calculate running (even jogging) at .60 on that same metric and I'm not convinced super slow joggers burn much more than very brisk walkers.
    All I was pointing out is that ANY formula that says you can burn 1000 calories walking under 4 miles sounds entirely too generous & that person might want to look into some other formulas that are out there. I walk fast and I climb hills and I feel pretty comfortable giving myself 100 calories a mile. I walk 100k steps a week minimum & I give myself about 100 calories a mile for the fitness walking half of my week and more like 75 calories a mile for the substitute teaching half of my week, even though I'm pretty active there if you factor in PE & playground supervision, running after kids who dash away (special ed, so there are plenty of 'runners' in the autistic & emotionally disturbed populations who are working on impulse control) and just generally getting myself around campus with some urgency when I need to find the principal, get keys or look for equipment, etc.
    My 'proof' is that if I eat within my weekly calorie budget, walk my 100k steps, get in a little HIIT and body weight activities I lose weight exactly as I anticipated.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,306 Member
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    GibsonGirl55 wrote: »
    I weighed myself this morning at 186 lbs. Went for my morning walk, burned off 1,172 calories after walking 3.64 miles. Weighed myself afterwards--184 lbs. Do I do my happy dance and log this in MFP? Or should I just stay with the the 186 lbs. that I logged at check-in this morning?

    I vote you put in your new low weight.. somehow you will manage to stay there and go beat it next time…
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,903 Member
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    brb2008 wrote: »
    257_Lag wrote: »
    If you are going to weigh daily you really should chart it daily so you can see the trend line. That's what is important. Plenty of phone apps for this. I use Libra.
    3jc2hvtonvof.jpg

    Do you know if I can manually enter data for like two weeks when I first get the app? Cause I have the data in my fitbit but want to know about the past two weeks as well.

    Connect your fitbit to both www.weightgrapher.com and www.trendweight.com... AUTOMATICALLY you now have two... ready to go... no need to enter anything else.

    Enjoy :smiley:

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