Scale is evil Can I get an AMEN!!!

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So I started this journey about a month ago, maybe a tad bit longer. I have lost about 8 pounds according to my morning scale, but if I step on it at night it seems to be 3-5 lbs more. I got on last night for s*its and giggles and when I looked this morning it was 5 lbs less. I know I didn't lose 5 overnight LOL!! So which is the weight you go by. I really only plan on weighing myself once a week or once every other week, but I was curious last night. Do you go by the morning weight or do you just scrap the scale altogether and go by clothes. Don't want to do that though because even though the "morning" scale says I've lost, my clothes aren't showing it :(
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Replies

  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    Weigh in the morning. Your evening weight includes undigested food, water retention, etc. You are looking for trends over longer periods of time (weeks, months, years), not just fluctuations during the day, or even from one day to the next. While it can be interesting to see how much the weight fluctuates from morning to evening, that is irrelevant. And, actually, yes, you did lose five lbs overnight. Not five lbs of fat, obviously, but five lbs of water and undigested food ;). Perfectly normal.
  • 1oldmarine67
    1oldmarine67 Posts: 2 Member
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    It's all part of the Scale Conspiracy, oh, don't laugh! First you weigh yourself, see you weight, go into depression, eat (chocolate, chocolate, chocolate) to make you feel better, go shopping for new cloths because the cloths you bought a size bigger (to make you look like your losing weight) and grew into, no longer fit. And you say it's not a conspiracy! .
    In Truth, try to only weigh yourself once a week, at the same time, wear the same thing, make it a routine. Daily weighing could cause you to deviate from your diet routine because all foods do not break down the same and you won't necessarily eliminate them the same way. Stick with it, Your doing great!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    tlflag1620 wrote: »
    Weigh in the morning. Your evening weight includes undigested food, water retention, etc. You are looking for trends over longer periods of time (weeks, months, years), not just fluctuations during the day, or even from one day to the next. While it can be interesting to see how much the weight fluctuates from morning to evening, that is irrelevant. And, actually, yes, you did lose five lbs overnight. Not five lbs of fat, obviously, but five lbs of water and undigested food ;). Perfectly normal.

    Amen!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMNPP2ZR1U
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    The scale isn't good or bad. It is what you make of it :P
  • AJF230
    AJF230 Posts: 81 Member
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    Its a bumpy road down the weight hill if you take it daily, EVEN if you do it at the same time every morning. Don't live and die by that daily number. Look at Trends.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,667 Member
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    Weigh in after you've gotten your night's sleep and are ready to start the day.

    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

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  • BodyzLanguage
    BodyzLanguage Posts: 200 Member
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    Yeah I wouldn't weigh myself multiple times a day. That'll *kitten* with your psyche so bad you might truly *kitten* yourself over and binge out of disappointment. I recommend 3 times a week. But if you must weigh daily then do it first thing in the morning and leave it there. That fluctuation throughout the day is simply food mass and water. Don't sweat it.
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
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    I weigh every morning when I wake up. I plug the number into an app and move on. I think it holds me accountable and allows me to see the trends without too much effort.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    amwoods72 wrote: »
    So I started this journey about a month ago, maybe a tad bit longer. I have lost about 8 pounds according to my morning scale, but if I step on it at night it seems to be 3-5 lbs more. I got on last night for s*its and giggles and when I looked this morning it was 5 lbs less. I know I didn't lose 5 overnight LOL!! So which is the weight you go by. I really only plan on weighing myself once a week or once every other week, but I was curious last night. Do you go by the morning weight or do you just scrap the scale altogether and go by clothes. Don't want to do that though because even though the "morning" scale says I've lost, my clothes aren't showing it :(

    stop getting on the scale multiple times per day. when you weigh in at night you're weighing everything you've ingested throughout the day, not to mention body weight is going to fluctuate throughout the day and from day to day. the scale is just a tool...it's up to you to understand how to use that tool.
  • amwoods72
    amwoods72 Posts: 35 Member
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    I don't get on multiple times - Just last night because I was curious and wanted to know what weight you go by :) I won't do it again now until Sunday. I try to do it once a week :)
  • Lynzdee18
    Lynzdee18 Posts: 500 Member
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    Weigh as much as you like. Personally I need to weight every morning after I wake, pee and before I eat or drink anything. But as other posters have said, keep the variables constant.

    I know myself and I need that reminder. Also, I know that after a carb load or too much sodium, I will magically gain 5 or 6 pounds. This was confirmed by weighing and then checking my diary to see what I'd eaten. I'm slowly learning my body quirks.

    Do what helps you keep your sanity....
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
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    My hubby always weighs at random times and ends up with his weight fluctuating drastically. Me, I weight once only, as soon as I wake and have gone to the bathroom. And ONLY then. I'm well aware that I'll weight at least a few pounds more at any time during the day due to water, food, etc. And YES, you can definitely "gain" and "lose" 5 lbs every day, quite easily.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    edited August 2016
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    You are not made of plastic. You do not have one fixed weight. You are mostly water, and the water comes and goes, along with undigested food and solid waste. These variations, often 5-6lb, sometimes as much as 10lb, are beyond your control and don't matter at all, not even a tiny bit. You're trying (I assume) to lose fat, which is only one small part of that big number on the scale. So pay no attention to the fluctuations day by day or hour by hour. Take the long view.

    Try marking the numbers on a chart so you can see the big picture. You're looking for an overall downward trend over weeks or months. The line will not be smooth, it will zig zag, but if you're doing it right, it will gradually fall over time.

    (I always weigh in the morning, after peeing and before eating. It's generally thought to be the time that gives the most consistent reading, though it will still fluctuate)
  • cindygogle75
    cindygogle75 Posts: 27 Member
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    I was told to weigh in once a week... But also told to weigh in once a day to get comfortable with the numbers on the scale and use that as information
  • samchez0
    samchez0 Posts: 364 Member
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    I weigh I'm the morning when I'm not as bloated
  • Jamiecfc1
    Jamiecfc1 Posts: 75 Member
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    Scales are like computers... they know nothing by themselves, only what you tell them :) I weigh twice a week, my "regular" day is Wednesday after waking up etc but before eating, and also on a Monday just to check I'm still on track after the weekend, not that my weekends are usually indulgent!
  • ACSL3
    ACSL3 Posts: 623 Member
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    I weigh in every day and use trendweight.com to see the trends in my weight - takes the water fluctuations out of the equation and makes me feel better :) There's also happy scale (iOS app) or libra (android app) that do the same thing
  • formylover
    formylover Posts: 34 Member
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    i stopped weighting myself a year ago because :
    - It took too much space in my bathroom
    - Turned me into a neurotic woman checking her weight before eating, after eating
    - Got me depressed when i saw the numbers without understanding how i gained 1kg when i have been fasting.
    - Actually is useless and inacurate because when you gain muscles the scale doesn't discriminate and just tell you that you *kitten* is 1lbs fatter ...
    - Rather than rejoicing on keeping your diet through hard work and will power looking at the scale makes you scorn the result of your efforts because the numbers are not up to ower deluded idea of weight loss/effort combo.
    -
    i believe that your clothes and a measuring band is your best ally on a weight loss journey. A scales gives you numbers but no accurate weight and body analysis.