Manage scale fluctuations

Aint2Proud2Meg

What can a person do to help manage scale fluctuations besides weighing at the same time each day (after going to bathroom, before eating)? I am doing well but it would be nice to have a better idea (in pounds) what progress I'm making. I know sodium can wreak havoc, but what else?
I also ask because I just really stepped up my physical activity and saw another 5lb spike despite logging meticulously and not eating back those calories (for the most part; if I'm miserable at the end of the night I'll eat).
I don't manually add exercise calories, but my Alta HR adds back some throughout the day.

aeloine

keep in mind that people tend to retain more water when just beginning an exercise program for muscle repair and such

Aint2Proud2Meg

@aeloine Thank you. I'd heard that was a "thing" but I'm careful about believing anything that makes me too happy with myself

aeloine

AintTooProudToMeg wrote: »

@aeloine Thank you. I'd heard that was a "thing" but I'm careful about believing anything that makes me too happy with myself

It's a "thing"! Keep doing what you're doing!!!

pinuplove

Use a daily weight trending app like Libra (Android) or Happy Scale (Apple) or www.trendweight.com (work in conjunction with FitBit, I believe).

Aint2Proud2Meg

@pinuplove I will give libra and maybe trendweight a go, thank you. I saw Libra mentioned by someone awhile back and was going to do it but it promptly fell out of my brain.

cwolfman13

AintTooProudToMeg wrote: »

What can a person do to help manage scale fluctuations besides weighing at the same time each day (after going to bathroom, before eating)? I am doing well but it would be nice to have a better idea (in pounds) what progress I'm making. I know sodium can wreak havoc, but what else?
I also ask because I just really stepped up my physical activity and saw another 5lb spike despite logging meticulously and not eating back those calories (for the most part; if I'm miserable at the end of the night I'll eat).
I don't manually add exercise calories, but my Alta HR adds back some throughout the day.

You don't need to manage weight fluctuations. Some weight fluctuations are exacerbated by more sodium...hormones and TOM, new or increased intensity in exercise, etc...but your body weight fluctuates on it's own naturally.

Your body is comprised of 50-65% water and that's going to fluctuate regardless...you're always going to have variable degrees of waste in your system, glycogen depletion and replenishment, etc...

You need to look at the trend, not the weigh in to weigh in...use a trend app if you need to.

Aint2Proud2Meg

Good call @cwolfman13. It's one of those things I know intellectually, but sometimes can be frustrating day to day, and even moreso week-to-week. I'm just a data nerd, ya feel me?

cwolfman13

AintTooProudToMeg wrote: »

Good call @cwolfman13. It's one of those things I know intellectually, but sometimes can be frustrating day to day, and even moreso week-to-week. I'm just a data nerd, ya feel me?

It's going to be something you need to accept eventually...or maintenance is going to be a nightmare. I can be up or down anywhere from 0-5 Lbs day to day...more if I travel on an airplane...but my average maintenance is 182. I was 188 yesterday morning...183.2 this morning...

riffraff2112

Its perfectly normal and actually can be pretty cool to finally come to understand what causes you to maintain, or gain weight. Exercise weight gain is real, usually followed by a huge loss to offset the gain (at least for me).
Used to drive me crazy, as I did everything 'right' and wasn't seeing results day to day. But as usual, time is the ultimate equalizer and everything tends to self correct eventually.

bamhewitt344

I feel you. It's so demoralizing to see the scale go up after watching very carefully your intake. What I do is weigh myself every day and record it on an excel sheet and it averages it up every week. As long as the weekly average goes down, I'm happy.

Eventually I learned what spikes the weight (carbohydrates at night, high sodium, etc) and tend to avoid it just to make myself not mad when I step on the scale.

Aint2Proud2Meg

Excellent point @cwolfman13 ! Also I downloaded Libra and input my data. I really like it and will definitely keep using it. Especially as I get closer to goal and maintenance it will be helpful, but for now it's just a simple confirmation that I'm losing at a healthy rate. I'm a person who can not see my own weight loss in my reflection, even after losing 40+ lbs, so a trend line will be the way to go for my (visual) brain

Aint2Proud2Meg

@bamhewitt344 Thanks for your input. If I'm being totally honest with myself and everyone, I should admit that I don't track my sodium intake. Not even a little. Though it's really rare I get that little pop-up that says I've gone over or am nearing my sodium limit.
By all means, before posting this I knew I'd have to get used to those spikes and dips. This ain't my first rodeo. I was asking because the more consistent I can keep it, the more I can diagnose any issues that might arise from here on out. I would like to lose in a healthy way, and if I were losing too fast I'd want to be able to detect that too.

Aint2Proud2Meg

@riffraff2112 sorry for not responding to your post, for some reason it just now showed up. I have experienced that drop after the "gain" myself. I think what I'm really after is the trend and Libra totally fits the bill.

Tacklewasher

One more vote for trends. I use both Libra and Trendweight (though I tend to look more at trendweight).

I don't track sodium either, but I know I had sushi for lunch and used 5 packets of soy sauce. Good chance I'll be a little heavier tomorrow because of it, but I've learned to expect it and won't be upset at the scale reading (okay, maybe a little upset, but I will get past it).

But the trend is still downwards and close to target.

kommodevaran

"Manage" the fluctuations mentally, you can't do anything about them, you don't have to, and you shouldn't try. Weight fluctuates, it's like the weather. You can get mad, but you accept it and move on (and hopefully dress according to weather).

kristen8000

I do think that Libra will help you maintain your sanity. I didn't start using it until the day I started maintainance (Sept. 25th). Since then I've been in a downward trend...but can stay the same weight for 5 days, then drop. Or 1 day be 146.2, then jump to 147.2, then the next 145.4. There's no "trend" really. I'm eating at a slight deficit still, getting my diet in order, so unless the trend starts vering "up", I'll keep doing what I'm doing.

RoxieDawn

I know pretty much what I ate the day before that may have caused an up tick on the scale, where I am in my cycle, if my exercise has changed, etc. The trending app helps me see a trend, takes the guess work out of it, mine syncs my weight back to MFP and then syncs it with my Garmin, so pretty much updates all my 'data' points.

I am a data nerd, but I also change goals a couple of times a year allows me to look back at history if I need to as well.

I say what ever device, app or tool will help you in the long run with compliance, use it!

bisky

You might want to measure yourself monthly...that is proof that you are on the right track. I also can judge if I am having water retention issues before I step on the scale by how tight my rings are. I have had a great week eating healthy and exercising but less than a 1 lb. loss. For what ever reason I am retaining some fluids as my rings are tight and usually they are too loose. I also have a pair of tight jeans in my closet that I will try on to see how far I have come.

hesn92

I started weighing myself every day and using happy scale (for iphones) although it was a little upsetting for a while because I started lifting weights about a week into it, so my weight went up and wouldn’t budge for like three whole weeks! But it’s finally on the downward trend now. It’s fairly interesting seeing a little graph.

Aint2Proud2Meg

Thanks everyone. I'm really not feeling insecure about how much I'm losing or anything like that. I've already shed a significant amount of weight so seeing the scale craziness doesn't deter me. Just seeing if there's anything that can be easily controlled (such as sodium) that would just give me a LITTLE edge with keeping results on the scale a little more stable, so I can detect how diet/workout trends are affecting progress most accurately. But, as a poster above said, our bodies are 60-70% water. I do not expect to be able to really control that and I'm good with following trends. Right now I'm losing more like 2.5 lbs a week and planning to slow that down a little if that keeps up much longer.

AnvilHead

AintTooProudToMeg wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I'm really not feeling insecure about how much I'm losing or anything like that. I've already shed a significant amount of weight so seeing the scale craziness doesn't deter me. Just seeing if there's anything that can be easily controlled (such as sodium) that would just give me a LITTLE edge with keeping results on the scale a little more stable, so I can detect how diet/workout trends are affecting progress most accurately. But, as a poster above said, our bodies are 60-70% water. I do not expect to be able to really control that and I'm good with following trends. Right now I'm losing more like 2.5 lbs a week and planning to slow that down a little if that keeps up much longer.

You do that by watching trends over time, not day to day fluctuations. The only way to "manage" daily scale fluctuations is to realize that they're inevitable, completely normal and nothing to be alarmed about.

Aint2Proud2Meg

It was addressed. Many times over. I'm good, thank you all.
Edit: I know that came off rude, and I don't mean to be. I simply mean that I'm good with the advice I've gotten and while I appreciate advice and criticism, my question was answered and I agree with people's responses. Sometimes a person knows something intellectually but it's good to confirm with others.

shaunshaikh

Trending is fun.

Aint2Proud2Meg

@shaunshaikh I love it!