Weighing after going to the bathroom- what does this mean to you?
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To poo, or not to poo. That is the question.3
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All that matters is that you do it at the same time every day, wearing about the same amount of clothes, having peed or not having peed- you need all variables to be the same to accurately track your weight patterns. I prefer first thing in the morning after a pee before consuming any liquids or solids wearing jammies. I also like to take a "fed" weight later in the day naked before my evening shower. It sounds obsessive but it actually helps me see how hydrated I am- after a long run, I will be several pounds lighter from sweating and I need to make sure I replace all the fluids.1
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I'm probably a weirdo, but I use the logic that pounds will fluctuate 3lbs or so if you weigh yourself daily. I've weighed myself after #1,#2, before shower (naked), after shower (wet), clothed, pjs and sometimes at night. ... just to make myself depressed by the added 2lbs lol.
But with my kind of random, yet systematic method, I've found that I use an average 3 on and off again Weighing amounts each time I get on the scale. .. and then I reference what I've been seeing +/-2lbs.
It sucks when you are trying to lose that 1lb, but at the end of the week, you notice your averages aRe on the lower end...and then the next week your window shifts (if you've lost. ..or gained).
My goals therfore are little pounds yes, but mainly to get the max range to the Previous low range (I hope that makes sense lol).
Ie) I range 202-205 in a given week. However, when I lost, my range starTed to be 200-204, then 200-202, and then 198-202. A 198-202 range meant for me I'm probably around 200 in reality. ... but since the trend is down, and I'm working my butt off, that's all that really matters.
.... but I feel satisfaction when I take a dump and get a lower number XD ahahaha. Just for *kitten* and giggles ...bah dum Ch
You're not the only one. It's sort of fun to watch the 3 pounds drop from running and then 1.5 lbs up along with rehydration and dinner1 -
Poop doesn't weigh much-I get up-pee- and weigh myself1
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Try weighing yourself both pre- and post-poopal. Not sure that it would make much of a difference, I guess. Depending on how much you poop....
I have done this and been very disappointed. I was sure I lost a good 2 pounds and the scale didn't even register! How is that even possible? Haha1 -
Since daily fluctuations are completely unpredictable, I absolutely could care less what time of day I step on the scale, if I do at all in a given day or week. I have done the weigh after going and before taking in anything, I've weighed in the middle of day, halfway through my calorie intake (and weighed less than I did that morning BTW on a number of occasions), in the evening before bed. I enter the weight in Libra and move on.
Since my goal has morphed from weight loss to fat loss, I'm a lot less worried about what the scale says than what the mirror and the tape measures say.
That said, I understand the idea of trying to create the "same condition". But.....I also understand that there are so many variables at work that creating the "same condition" is not possible. I always end up back on the overall trend and mirrors and measurements. So the time of day has no bearing whatsoever....to me anyway.1 -
bernadettenz wrote: »I go regular 1's and 2's on awakening, then weigh. It would bug the HELL out of me if I stopped doing 2's before my morning shower!
And if I skip the 2 for some reason, I feel a bit ripped off on the scales. Even though I have weighed a few times pre and post 2 and sometimes I have GAINED! Now I just weigh post.
This would be disturbing for me. I go once a day and it is before I shower. There has been a rare time where I have gone after showering and I just don't feel right for the entire day.2 -
bernadettenz wrote: »I go regular 1's and 2's on awakening, then weigh. It would bug the HELL out of me if I stopped doing 2's before my morning shower!
And if I skip the 2 for some reason, I feel a bit ripped off on the scales. Even though I have weighed a few times pre and post 2 and sometimes I have GAINED! Now I just weigh post.
My theory on that is that methane is slightly lighter than air and dissolved methane can lower scale weight.1 -
stanmann571 wrote: »bernadettenz wrote: »I go regular 1's and 2's on awakening, then weigh. It would bug the HELL out of me if I stopped doing 2's before my morning shower!
And if I skip the 2 for some reason, I feel a bit ripped off on the scales. Even though I have weighed a few times pre and post 2 and sometimes I have GAINED! Now I just weigh post.
My theory on that is that methane is slightly lighter than air and dissolved methane can lower scale weight.
So if you increase the dissolved methane in your system, you would lose weight? I know that can be taken as "snarky", but really not meant to be that. Just trying to understand this reasoning.1 -
For me - a volume eating vegetarian — I lighten my load by 2 to 3# after, you know.4
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Silentpadna wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »bernadettenz wrote: »I go regular 1's and 2's on awakening, then weigh. It would bug the HELL out of me if I stopped doing 2's before my morning shower!
And if I skip the 2 for some reason, I feel a bit ripped off on the scales. Even though I have weighed a few times pre and post 2 and sometimes I have GAINED! Now I just weigh post.
My theory on that is that methane is slightly lighter than air and dissolved methane can lower scale weight.
So if you increase the dissolved methane in your system, you would lose weight? I know that can be taken as "snarky", but really not meant to be that. Just trying to understand this reasoning.
Exactly.
And thus defecation/flatulence can result in a higher scale weight.1 -
stanmann571 wrote: »Silentpadna wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »bernadettenz wrote: »I go regular 1's and 2's on awakening, then weigh. It would bug the HELL out of me if I stopped doing 2's before my morning shower!
And if I skip the 2 for some reason, I feel a bit ripped off on the scales. Even though I have weighed a few times pre and post 2 and sometimes I have GAINED! Now I just weigh post.
My theory on that is that methane is slightly lighter than air and dissolved methane can lower scale weight.
So if you increase the dissolved methane in your system, you would lose weight? I know that can be taken as "snarky", but really not meant to be that. Just trying to understand this reasoning.
Exactly.
And thus defecation/flatulence can result in a higher scale weight.
If poop has mass, which it does, and you decrease the mass of poop in a closed container (your body), your weight has absolutely zero chance of going up.
If methane has mass, which it does, and you let that mass of gas pass (sorry) from a closed container (your body), your weight has absolutely zero chance of going up.
W = MxG, where
W = weight
M = mass
G = gravitational acceleration
G is a constant. If you increase mass (M), you increase weight (W). If you decrease mass (M), you decrease weight (W).
Now, you can argue that the body is not really a closed container, but with nothing else happening other than breathing, you are not immediately replacing any of that lost mass to any significant degree. For the purposes of the scale in this scenario and to the order of magnitude of your mass, your body behaves extremely close to a closed container.
So help me find the flaw in this reasoning?
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Haha, being a bit anal here
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Silentpadna wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »Silentpadna wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »bernadettenz wrote: »I go regular 1's and 2's on awakening, then weigh. It would bug the HELL out of me if I stopped doing 2's before my morning shower!
And if I skip the 2 for some reason, I feel a bit ripped off on the scales. Even though I have weighed a few times pre and post 2 and sometimes I have GAINED! Now I just weigh post.
My theory on that is that methane is slightly lighter than air and dissolved methane can lower scale weight.
So if you increase the dissolved methane in your system, you would lose weight? I know that can be taken as "snarky", but really not meant to be that. Just trying to understand this reasoning.
Exactly.
And thus defecation/flatulence can result in a higher scale weight.
If poop has mass, which it does, and you decrease the mass of poop in a closed container (your body), your weight has absolutely zero chance of going up.
If methane has mass, which it does, and you let that mass of gas pass (sorry) from a closed container (your body), your weight has absolutely zero chance of going up.
W = MxG, where
W = weight
M = mass
G = gravitational acceleration
G is a constant. If you increase mass (M), you increase weight (W). If you decrease mass (M), you decrease weight (W).
Now, you can argue that the body is not really a closed container, but with nothing else happening other than breathing, you are not immediately replacing any of that lost mass to any significant degree. For the purposes of the scale in this scenario and to the order of magnitude of your mass, your body behaves extremely close to a closed container.
So help me find the flaw in this reasoning?
Replace methane in your equation with helium.
Breath in a small amount of helium, and trap it in your lungs briefly.... Your weight will go down.
If Methane is as I believe, lighter than air, then it behaves in the same way.
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The solution to the two great mysteries proposed here is the same.
Mystery number one: "I pooped a bunch and stepped on the scale and it was the same as before! What happened, are my poops magically weightless?"
Mystery number two: "I pooped and then weighed again and had gained weight! My poops must be lighter than air!"
No. Your scale is inaccurate by a couple of percent, like every single household digital scale made. It's an unavoidable result of how they are made, and even scales which claim to be accurate to within .2 lbs mention that they are off by a certain percent in the small print. Most scales have a built in memory which hides the inaccuracy by causing the scale to read the same as the last reading if it's within a certain time period and weight.
The person who pooped and noticed no difference didn't wait long enough for the memory to reset on the scale, so since the weight was within a pound of the previous weight, the scale didn't actually weigh her. The way to get around this is to pick up something heavier than one pound, weigh yourself, and then weigh yourself the second time for an actual reading.
The person whose weight went down waited long enough for the memory of the scale to reset, and then the scale's inaccuracy caused the weight to be off by a couple of pounds compared to the previous reading. There's no way to get around this, but if you care, you can weigh yourself several times in a row while resetting the memory by picking up something heavy every other time, you can get an idea of how much your scale varies. Then weigh yourself until you see the highest reading and the lowest reading. Somewhere in the middle is the true reading. Or you can accept that even though any given reading may be off by two pounds, the trend over time will be accurate.4 -
stanmann571 wrote: »Silentpadna wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »Silentpadna wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »bernadettenz wrote: »I go regular 1's and 2's on awakening, then weigh. It would bug the HELL out of me if I stopped doing 2's before my morning shower!
And if I skip the 2 for some reason, I feel a bit ripped off on the scales. Even though I have weighed a few times pre and post 2 and sometimes I have GAINED! Now I just weigh post.
My theory on that is that methane is slightly lighter than air and dissolved methane can lower scale weight.
So if you increase the dissolved methane in your system, you would lose weight? I know that can be taken as "snarky", but really not meant to be that. Just trying to understand this reasoning.
Exactly.
And thus defecation/flatulence can result in a higher scale weight.
If poop has mass, which it does, and you decrease the mass of poop in a closed container (your body), your weight has absolutely zero chance of going up.
If methane has mass, which it does, and you let that mass of gas pass (sorry) from a closed container (your body), your weight has absolutely zero chance of going up.
W = MxG, where
W = weight
M = mass
G = gravitational acceleration
G is a constant. If you increase mass (M), you increase weight (W). If you decrease mass (M), you decrease weight (W).
Now, you can argue that the body is not really a closed container, but with nothing else happening other than breathing, you are not immediately replacing any of that lost mass to any significant degree. For the purposes of the scale in this scenario and to the order of magnitude of your mass, your body behaves extremely close to a closed container.
So help me find the flaw in this reasoning?
Replace methane in your equation with helium.
Breath in a small amount of helium, and trap it in your lungs briefly.... Your weight will go down.
If Methane is as I believe, lighter than air, then it behaves in the same way.
Ok, let's look at this. Methane and helium are, of course, lighter than air.
The specific gravity of methane is 0.554
The specific gravity of helium is 0.138
The specific gravity of each is their relative density to the same volume of air.
Since the average human lung capacity is 6 liters of air, and 28.32 liters of air weighs about 0.0807 pounds, our lung capacity is approximately 0.017 pounds. Using the specific gravities above, if you replaced the air in your body with helium, you would "gain" the difference between the same volume of helium vs. the same volume of air, or 0.015 pounds. If you replaced the air in your body with methane, you would "gain" 0.007 pounds.
No scale that I know of for weighing in the range of human body would ever pick that up...
But......this is not what you're describing.
In your original scenario, when you expel methane from your body, you are not really replacing it with additional air.
If you are holding your breath (a way of keeping variables constant), expelling methane would reduce mass because that mass is not in the same container anymore. And I'm sorry you can't flow gas in and out in opposite directions from the same orifice at the same time. With that in mind, no matter what the minutia above illustrates, it is still impossible to increase weight while decreasing mass.
You've shown that methane is lighter than air, but not shown that air is replacing methane in the scenario. Sorry I just can't let this one pass....hehe0 -
Silentpadna wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »Silentpadna wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »Silentpadna wrote: »stanmann571 wrote: »bernadettenz wrote: »I go regular 1's and 2's on awakening, then weigh. It would bug the HELL out of me if I stopped doing 2's before my morning shower!
And if I skip the 2 for some reason, I feel a bit ripped off on the scales. Even though I have weighed a few times pre and post 2 and sometimes I have GAINED! Now I just weigh post.
My theory on that is that methane is slightly lighter than air and dissolved methane can lower scale weight.
So if you increase the dissolved methane in your system, you would lose weight? I know that can be taken as "snarky", but really not meant to be that. Just trying to understand this reasoning.
Exactly.
And thus defecation/flatulence can result in a higher scale weight.
If poop has mass, which it does, and you decrease the mass of poop in a closed container (your body), your weight has absolutely zero chance of going up.
If methane has mass, which it does, and you let that mass of gas pass (sorry) from a closed container (your body), your weight has absolutely zero chance of going up.
W = MxG, where
W = weight
M = mass
G = gravitational acceleration
G is a constant. If you increase mass (M), you increase weight (W). If you decrease mass (M), you decrease weight (W).
Now, you can argue that the body is not really a closed container, but with nothing else happening other than breathing, you are not immediately replacing any of that lost mass to any significant degree. For the purposes of the scale in this scenario and to the order of magnitude of your mass, your body behaves extremely close to a closed container.
So help me find the flaw in this reasoning?
Replace methane in your equation with helium.
Breath in a small amount of helium, and trap it in your lungs briefly.... Your weight will go down.
If Methane is as I believe, lighter than air, then it behaves in the same way.
Ok, let's look at this. Methane and helium are, of course, lighter than air.
The specific gravity of methane is 0.554
The specific gravity of helium is 0.138
The specific gravity of each is their relative density to the same volume of air.
Since the average human lung capacity is 6 liters of air, and 28.32 liters of air weighs about 0.0807 pounds, our lung capacity is approximately 0.017 pounds. Using the specific gravities above, if you replaced the air in your body with helium, you would "gain" the difference between the same volume of helium vs. the same volume of air, or 0.015 pounds. If you replaced the air in your body with methane, you would "gain" 0.007 pounds.
No scale that I know of for weighing in the range of human body would ever pick that up...
But......this is not what you're describing.
In your original scenario, when you expel methane from your body, you are not really replacing it with additional air.
If you are holding your breath (a way of keeping variables constant), expelling methane would reduce mass because that mass is not in the same container anymore. And I'm sorry you can't flow gas in and out in opposite directions from the same orifice at the same time. With that in mind, no matter what the minutia above illustrates, it is still impossible to increase weight while decreasing mass.
You've shown that methane is lighter than air, but not shown that air is replacing methane in the scenario. Sorry I just can't let this one pass....hehe
this made me happy inside. hehe
but I also had to think... just how much gas does a person have to HAVE to have it affect their weight?
What the heck were they eating, too?
and, for science... if said person evacuated all that air into a balloon, would it float?
I NEED TO KNOW.2 -
This thread is just awesome now.4
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@Silentpadna, you really enjoyed that didn't you
I too would like to know about the balloon, asking for a friend who isn't keen on being the guineapig.
Cheers, h.1
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