4 to 5 lb difference in one day?

fivestarsw

How come when I weigh myself in the morning I am one weight but then when I weigh myself at the end of the day I am 4 to 5 pounds heavier wearing same clothes? Which is the correct weight for logging/tracking purposes?

Arapacana1

A lot of what you ate and drank is probably still in your system at the end of the day. Just weigh yourself at the same time every day, for example first thing in the morning, and use that as your reference point to track your weight loss.

Christine_72

I can put on 2lbs after drinking a few cups of tea, I dread to think how much i'd weigh after a full day of eating and drinking.
Weigh yourself first thing in the morning, after the loo and before eating and drinking anything.

Rocknut53

I weigh first thing in the morning, buck naked, after taking a pee. That's as light as I'll weigh at any time during the rest of the day. There's no correct way, it's personal preference, but I would suspect because your intake and output is going to vary day to day, first thing in the morning would be most accurate.

alohajls

Scooby has some enlightening information about weight fluctuations:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/how-to-weigh-yourself-accurately/

lorrpb

This happens because you are normal. It happens to most of us, clothes, the food of the day, bodily functions, etc. all contribute. Weigh only once a day, preferably first thing in the morning.

SymbolismNZ

The correct time is the same time whenever you're weighing yourself - doesn't really matter if it's 10AM or 2PM; just so long as you consistently weigh yourself at that time

SCoil123

My weight (after a lot of tracking) is lowest around 11am. Now I record my weight at that time. You just find a time that works for you.

AnnPT77

Most of us, first thing in the morning, have fasted the longest & are the most dehydrated we'll be all day, because we just spent 6-8 hours not eating or drinking anything.

Furthermore, believe it or not, when we lose weight, most of the weight "goes away" not through excretory processes as many people assume, but through . . . exhalation. Yup, you burn food or fat, and it leaves just like smoke out a chimney. You can look it up. And first thing in the morning, you've just spent 6-8 hours doing little else but exhaling.

If, additionally, you weigh yourself first thing in the morning after, um, relieving yourself, then your bladder and digestive tract are about as empty as they're going to be all day.

During the day, you eat, you drink - most of that's still hanging out somewhere in your body when you weigh at the end of the day.

Look at it this way: Weigh yourself right now. Note the weight. Drink 2C (measuring cups) of water. Weigh yourself again. If your scale's accurate, you'll weigh one pound more . . . because 2C water weighs about one pound.

Get over the idea that you have "one true weight". You don't - it fluctuates all the time. There's more urine in your bladder, or less. You're holding more water weight in your body tissues for muscle repair after exercise, because you ate extra salt or carbs (even if still a healthy amount), or because you're a woman & it's some particular time of the month. You have more undigested food somewhere in your digestive tract, or less. I could go on and on.

Weigh yourself first thing in the morning, under the same conditions. Track that. Expect fluctuations, maybe as much as 3-5 pounds occasionally, even first thing in the morning.

Look for a downward trend over a period of time (days to weeks), if you're trying to lose weight; an upward trend over a period of time, if you're trying to gain weight; or a level trend over a period of time, if you're trying to maintain. That's what you want.