1lb difference on scale from yesterday to today, is that possible?
GeauxL
Posts: 57 Member
I have a digital bathroom scale, it’s pretty accurate because when I got it a couple of weeks ago, I weighed myself on my old (non-digital) scale then on the new digital scale & it was the same weight. I went to the DR this week & when I weighed, it also showed the same as my digital had shown too. My question is this, is it possible to lose 1lb in one day? I weighed myself yesterday morning, my normal weigh in day, & then I weighed myself this morning & I had lost 1lb from yesterday. All factors are the same, same time of day, early morning, & wearing the same thing, nothing🙈. Is this normal? Also, what’s funny is, last night I went out to eat & although I tried to choose “healthy”, I did eat a bigger meal than normal & I know I went over my calories but yet, I lost a pound?
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Replies
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Yes, calories still carryover burn sometimes. Sometimes you won't lose any, sometimes you'll lose more. Also, various fluid levels.
Tip: stop weighing so much.12 -
Yes. Water weight and, food in your system can make your weight fluctuate by up to a few pounds from day to day. You won't be able to predict your weight loss in a given day from the previous day's deficit or surplus.
Be patient and track your progress over a few weeks, or you can use a smoothing app like happy scale.7 -
Scale weight varies due to things like food waste and water retention. You want to look at what your weight does over time (think weeks and months) rather than day-to-day.
I weigh every day under the same conditions in order for my data to have as few variables as possible and then use a trending app (such as Libra for Android) to see the general trend over time.
This first example is when I was at or below my calorie goal every day. My daily weight and trend were all over the place but my overall trend was down:
This second example is maintenance. I have a weight range and adjust my intake if my trend gets too low or too high:
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Your weight can fluctuate a couple of pounds from day to day, but the amount of fat your can lose in a week is no more than 1% of your bodyweight or so, so I would not refer to as "lost" or "gained" weight.4
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“Tip: stop weighing so much.”
I only weigh once a week, the only reason I weighed 2 days in a row is because I was just curious to see what a night of eating out, eating over my calories, would do.0 -
Weigh yourself as often as you like. It's pretty pointless to weigh yourself more than once per day, though.“Tip: stop weighing so much.”
I only weigh once a week, the only reason I weighed 2 days in a row is because I was just curious to see what a night of eating out, eating over my calories, would do.
If you're curious to see what eating more than usual does, be sure you know what it does it to. More food in your system will inevitably lead to a higher weight on the scale. A pound of fat is still 3500 calories.5 -
Yes, you can practically do three times that amount in a day by sneezing after a butterfly flaps its wings in your face. It is normal for weight to fluctuate by several times more than that. It has almost nothing to do with fat loss though.5
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Never underestimate water weight. It's important to consider that a single millilitre of water has a mass of 1 gram. Therefore drinking a standard 500 ml (~18 oz) bottle of water (or similar beverage) will increase your total mass by around 500 grams (about 1.1 pounds). Similarly, your total mass may read a few pounds less than you would expect if you drink less water one day compared to another. Drinking alcohol will also cause this 'problem', as it significantly increases water loss from urination.3
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One pound is amateur
Wait until you have a nice big high-sodium meal and see 5 pounds. 10 -
Weight fluctuates on a daily basis for various reasons. I ate about 2500 calories yesterday and yep lost a lb overnight.
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I weighed myself before bed and after eating a lot of ice cream: 197
I woke up this morning. 194
I took an Adam Sandler type pee: 1933 -
It's called water retention. There are about 1000 things can cause your body to lose or retain water. Everything from how much salt you ate the day before to stress. It's perfectly normal.
Weight loss isn't linear, you need to track long term (a few months) to see your average progress.1 -
A one pound difference is easily possible, and completely normal.
Good read here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p11 -
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Add a nice case of DOMS or a sunburn and you'll see something really impressive!2 -
deannalfisher wrote: »
I had pizza for lunch today. Tomorrow will see a guaranteed 3lb gain, but so worth it!1 -
“Weight loss is not linear.”0
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I have had almost 2 lbs difference from day to day. Exercise, sodium, carbs, can all cause water retention. If you watch CICO, exercise, and after 1-2 MONTHS you haven't loss, then you need to look at what you're doing
It will most likely be inaccuracy with your CICO. Also, be aware if you exercise, you may gain muscle weight, so the scale should not be you're only source of gauging progress.0 -
I went to the doctor two days in a row this week. Once to be diagnosed and the second to follow up. Anyhow, on day one I weighed 148. On day two I weighed 146. I was wearing basically the same thing--same pair of shorts and a tank top. I didn't do anything different in terms of food and exercise. Who knows. This is why I only weigh myself sporadically. You can't really trust it.0
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It's a measurement noise problem. If you're a lady-type person and are on MFP, let's make a guess and say that you weigh something like 140 lb. Then 1 lb is less than a per cent of your weight (0.7%, to be specific). If you're heavier, then that pound is an even smaller percentage. If you repeat weight measurements a bunch of times on a reasonably-priced commercial measuring device, I would expect to see a one-percent measurement noise. Also, consider that water weighs about 8 lb per gallon. Drink a pint of water, and don't pee or sweat before you weigh yourself, and you will find you've gained a pound (remember, "a pint's a pound, the world around").
Finally, as was pointed out above, once a week is probably about as often as anyone should weigh himself/herself.4 -
James_1954 wrote: »Finally, as was pointed out above, once a week is probably about as often as anyone should weigh himself/herself.
Or weigh daily and use a weight trending app for a broader perspective. Many times my weight will be up week to week, but the overall trend is still down.
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Unless I misunderstand what you mean by "trust" here, I think you've got it wrong. The scale weighs what you put on it. Your body is a living organism that consistently takes in and expels water, air, energy; some of the things it contains, isn't really "in" your body, but food, turning into poo, in your digestive tract, making your body, effectively, a tube.candicew70 wrote: »I went to the doctor two days in a row this week. Once to be diagnosed and the second to follow up. Anyhow, on day one I weighed 148. On day two I weighed 146. I was wearing basically the same thing--same pair of shorts and a tank top. I didn't do anything different in terms of food and exercise. Who knows. This is why I only weigh myself sporadically. You can't really trust it.
The whole thread has been dedicated to this phenomenon, but there is nothing like personal experience. I think weighing daily for some time can make you understand the concept better.5 -
I think your reasoning, which is sound, should lead up to daily weighing as the answer to the problem.James_1954 wrote: »It's a measurement noise problem. If you're a lady-type person and are on MFP, let's make a guess and say that you weigh something like 140 lb. Then 1 lb is less than a per cent of your weight (0.7%, to be specific). If you're heavier, then that pound is an even smaller percentage. If you repeat weight measurements a bunch of times on a reasonably-priced commercial measuring device, I would expect to see a one-percent measurement noise. Also, consider that water weighs about 8 lb per gallon. Drink a pint of water, and don't pee or sweat before you weigh yourself, and you will find you've gained a pound (remember, "a pint's a pound, the world around").
Finally, as was pointed out above, once a week is probably about as often as anyone should weigh himself/herself.
Personally, I think weekly weighing is the worst of both worlds - modern body weight scales are so precise that they display weight in increments of less than a pound/kilo, while the body is in constant flux where more than a pound/kilo is normal from one day to the next, and healthy weightloss now is considered no more than 1% of your bodyweight per week, which for most people means that fat loss can be difficult to see with weekly weigh-ins. Not knowing about these things can drive a person crazy, and when you're desperate to lose weight, especially if you feel slightly deprived too, and food is your go-to comfort, no wonder if you find yourself struggling.8 -
Yup, weight fluctuations are why I weigh daily and pay attention to trends.
Weekly weighing does not somehow average out the fluctuations. It makes them worse. If you happen to be slightly down on one weighing and slightly up in the next, you’ll think you’ve gained weight over the week when averaging out daily weighings would actually show you’re losing fat.6 -
I vary by about 2kg/4lbs during the day, regardless of what I eat. Happens everyday. It’s entirely normal. Its water, food and, to be frank, crap.1
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One pound is amateur Wait until you have a nice big high-sodium meal and see 5 pounds.Nothing like a 1-2 combo of craving salt while begining your T.O.M. Now there's an easy 5lb overnight gain!Add a nice case of DOMS or a sunburn and you'll see something really impressive!
Yup, the 7 pound spike late October was a combination of starting weigh lifting again while premenstrual:
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kshama2001 wrote: »One pound is amateur Wait until you have a nice big high-sodium meal and see 5 pounds.Nothing like a 1-2 combo of craving salt while begining your T.O.M. Now there's an easy 5lb overnight gain!Add a nice case of DOMS or a sunburn and you'll see something really impressive!
Yup, the 7 pound spike late October was a combination of starting weigh lifting again while premenstrual:
*nods*
7-mile run yesterday, followed by eating nachos at a football game, getting a sunburn at said game, and getting a sub on the way home.
I was shocked the scale was only up four pounds this morning. Each of those things in isolation usually brings their own two-pound gain.2 -
Add a nice case of DOMS or a sunburn and you'll see something really impressive!
While we're at it, you can always weigh yourself in the evening on top of everything else. Craving salt (and eating it), TOM, DOMS, sunburn, Xmas/Thanksgiving meal and then an evening weigh-in.... Oh I bet I could see a 20lb jump in weight from the day before!1 -
deannalfisher wrote: »
I had pizza for lunch today. Tomorrow will see a guaranteed 3lb gain, but so worth it!
I had an amazing pasta salad with cheese yesterday, I'm down 2lbs.....because of what dairy does to me.1
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