The scale is a dirty rotten filthy stinking liar!

canadafats

I've been working my *kitten* off! Eating right. Working out hard four days per week. Strength training and heavy cardio. I'm feeling better than I have in probably a few years and my clothes are fitting so much better. People are noticing.

I hadn't weighed myself for about a week because I was out of town. I got up this morning, did my routine in the bathroom and looked at the scale. "Don't do it!" I thought to myself but when do I ever listen to myself? In one week of great exercise and eating well I lost...0.2 pounds!

After I threw my scale into my bathroom mirror I calmed down. "I'm going to see my personal trainer tonight, I'll get him to put me on the body composition analyzer." I got on this and got my printout during my first session with him. I got to my session and got on the analyzer. Wouldn't you know that after just under two weeks I went from a Fat% of 39.8 to 35.2. My FatMass went from 120.2 to 105.2! I think these numbers are amazing.

Moral of the story: Do not read too much into the scale. It does NOT tell the whole story of your progress.

luadams2

My scale is a total jerk. It doesn't lie, it just laughs at me.

AJ_G

What kind of "body composition analyzer" does your gym use? Also, how exactly have you been "eating right"?

ywalchle

I refer to my doctors scale as "that lying *kitten* scale"

canadafats

What kind of "body composition analyzer" does your gym use? Also, how exactly have you been "eating right"?

Tanita Body Composition Analyzer.
Good fats, low carbs, lots of protein, watching calories. This past week was a little off as I was travelling but still did pretty well.

SLLRunner

After I threw my scale into my bathroom mirror

You didn't......tell me this is written for dramatic effect.

Seems a little drastic to me.

The scale is just another tool to measure success. Actually, .2 pounds loss IS success, and especially so because you are probably retaining water from the increased cardio and weight lifting.

Weight naturally fluctuates anyway. It's just how it is.

Love how you had your trainer measure your body fat, etc

I would say, all and all, you are pretty darned successful.

ETA: you can eat right all you want, but if you don't eat less calories than you burn you will not lose weight.

AJ_G

What kind of "body composition analyzer" does your gym use? Also, how exactly have you been "eating right"?

c

Tanita Body Composition Analyzer.
Good fats, low carbs, lots of protein, watching calories. This past week was a little off as I was travelling but still did pretty well.

Be careful with the impedance body comp testers, they have a tendency to change drastically due to how hydrated you are at the time of measurement. Good work though, sounds like you're doing well

canadafats

After I threw my scale into my bathroom mirror

You didn't......tell me this is written for dramatic effect.

Yes, it was for dramatic effect.

Thanks for your reply.

canadafats

What kind of "body composition analyzer" does your gym use? Also, how exactly have you been "eating right"?

c

Tanita Body Composition Analyzer.
Good fats, low carbs, lots of protein, watching calories. This past week was a little off as I was travelling but still did pretty well.

Be careful with the impedance body comp testers, they have a tendency to change drastically due to how hydrated you are at the time of measurement. Good work though, sounds like you're doing well

Thanks!

akaMrsmojo

If it stresses you out that much, throw in the garbage. By a tape measure and use that, the scale is no one's friend.

Takes2long

Yes, it tells horrible lies!! I may have stomped repeatdly on my scale because I was so frustrated. May have. It's possible. Great progress so far!! :happy:

2013sk

WOW you have done fantastic.................. In two weeks?????????? You have done very very well!

You must be proud

KimiSteinbach

My scale is a total jerk. It doesn't lie, it just laughs at me.

Best quote of the day

bethlaf

cales are like your ex wife/girlfriend/ex best friend with the worst case of hormone rage and repressed anger expressed as evil digits designed to make you cry.... but , they work ,

unfortunately body WEIGHT only measures the effect of gravity on mass...

it tells you noting more than how much your environment will pull you down...




you want to know how susceptable it is , on saturday or any day you are home weigh yourself every hour, record the weights, then weigh yourself when you get up ..... LOTS of wild numbers.

badbcatha05

That bethlaf is fantastic... my scale is such a lying jerk! My jeans fresh out of the dryer however... they never lie.

canadafats

If it stresses you out that much, throw in the garbage. By a tape measure and use that, the scale is no one's friend.

I completely forgot that I DID take measurements when I started but not since. Will do that this weekend. Thanks for the reminder.

SLLRunner

After I threw my scale into my bathroom mirror

You didn't......tell me this is written for dramatic effect.

:laugh:
Yes, it was for dramatic effect.

Thanks for your reply.

canadafats

Yes, it tells horrible lies!! I may have stomped repeatdly on my scale because I was so frustrated. May have. It's possible. Great progress so far!! :happy:

HAHA! Thank you!

canadafats

WOW you have done fantastic.................. In two weeks?????????? You have done very very well!

You must be proud

Thanks so much! I suppose I am pretty proud. I really do feel better than I have in years.
Also, you look like an Amy Winehouse Fembot in your profile pic! (That's not a bad thing!)

runningcat76

That bethlaf is fantastic... my scale is such a lying jerk! My jeans fresh out of the dryer however... they never lie.

This!! Jeans never lie

SecretDuck

I know, right? I feel like I lost weight but the scales aren't portraying the whole story. Methinks, I need the tape measure.

bethlaf

That bethlaf is fantastic... my scale is such a lying jerk! My jeans fresh out of the dryer however... they never lie.

the jeans out of the dryer, and how they fit
REALLY is an honest to goodness personal method
i use to see that i have made progress!!!!!


oh and the first part of your comment was spot on too ;D

Wifey7891

the scale can be one tool to track progress but you should not rely on it exclusively. if you are noticing your clothes fitting better or image in the mirror looking more lean then things are working. you should be heavier into strength training than cardio, because it will burn more fat over long term by increasing metabolism. the scale could be deceiving because gaining muscle and losing fat will probably lead to a gain in weight. this is not a bad thing.

dianalee9

Congrats on your success!!

I'm leaving my scale and running away with the measuring tape!

deefield1968

My scales went on the blink when I turned 45. I can ride a bicycle until complete exhaustion five days a week, count calories, cut the starches and sugars, etc., and the scale, I swear, sticks its tongue out at me, gives laughs and says "ha! my evil partner, pre-menopause, and I are working to ensure you never smile again." I step off and give it the finger..... I **WILL** win!

cchew686

My scales went on the blink when I turned 45. I can ride a bicycle until complete exhaustion five days a week, count calories, cut the starches and sugars, etc., and the scale, I swear, sticks its tongue out at me, gives laughs and says "ha! my evil partner, pre-menopause, and I are working to ensure you never smile again." I step off and give it the finger..... I **WILL** win!

Lol. And I thought I was the only one giving inanimate objects the finger, including the scale, my work computer, traffic lights, and any other number of things.

canadafats

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! Another metric that really stood out for me was my Fat Free Mass (FFM) which is comprised of muscle, bone, tissue, water, and all other fat free mass in the body. In the almost two weeks I went from 182lbs to 193.8lbs!

FIT_Goat

you want to know how susceptable it is , on saturday or any day you are home weigh yourself every hour, record the weights, then weigh yourself when you get up ..... LOTS of wild numbers.

I don't think this proves what you want it to prove. Your average weight across the day would be 139.5 +/- 0.1 lbs. The scale provides a reasonable estimate of your weight that day. Granted, you did have two weights more than one standard deviation from the mean, both they were of equal and opposite magnitude.

The scale is not a liar. It is a tool. The problem is that we don't use it appropriately. Any single measurement of body weight on the scale is almost meaningless. We need multiple weights, over an extended period of time, to draw conclusions from it. The more measurements we have, the more accurate the average of those measurements will be in reflecting the likely true value. Will there be random high values? Yeah, but there will also be random low values, too. The more data we have, the better our knowledge of reality.

That day, when you claim the scale told you nothing about your weight, is probably the day when you have the best idea of your real weight.

Edit: My scale weight is an average distance of 0.34 +/- 0.02 kg (0.75 lbs) from my calculated "real" weight for each day. So, there's a lot of randomness in each day's weight. That's why I don't pay much attention to any individual weight. It's the sum of them all together that paints the real picture.

luadams2

Today, my scale was a smug *kitten*. I got on it and I had gained back a pound. So it sat there, all silent with that look on it's face. *kitten*.

Aaron_K123

Scale bodyweight fluctuates to much naturally to be able to notice how much weight you are losing in fat over the period of just one week. The scale can be a useful indicator of your progress but over the timeperiod of months not weeks and certainly not days.

If you are feeling better and looking trimmer THAT is what is important. I'd recommend still weighing yourself but take it for what it is don't get frustrated by it. Log your weight over the period of several months and a trend will emerge even though day to day week to week your weight will bounce all over the place.

Its mainly due to just fluctuations in water retention man, nothing to worry about.

I was 184.4 pounds yesterday and 186.7 pounds today. I know exactly why too, yesterday I had a bowl of Pho and Pho has a huge sodium level so with that extra sodium above my typical day I likely retained a couple pounds of water and sure enough that showed up. After a couple days of drinking lots of water and lower sodium intake I'm sure that will drop and if I drank tons of water I might artificially go the opposite way and weigh 182 in a couple of days. Its all water weight.


The fact that it takes a week to lose a pound of fat but you can put on several pounds of water literally overnight means that the scale will often "lie" to you. But over time logging the water fluctuations will average out and you will see a downward trend overall due to fat loss.

sodakat

Scale bodyweight fluctuates to much naturally to be able to notice how much weight you are losing in fat over the period of just one week. The scale can be a useful indicator of your progress but over the timeperiod of months not weeks and certainly not days.

If you are feeling better and looking trimmer THAT is what is important. I'd recommend still weighing yourself but take it for what it is don't get frustrated by it. Log your weight over the period of several months and a trend will emerge even though day to day week to week your weight will bounce all over the place.

Its mainly due to just fluctuations in water retention man, nothing to worry about.

I was 184.4 pounds yesterday and 186.7 pounds today. I know exactly why too, yesterday I had a bowl of Pho and Pho has a huge sodium level so with that extra sodium above my typical day I likely retained a couple pounds of water and sure enough that showed up. After a couple days of drinking lots of water and lower sodium intake I'm sure that will drop and if I drank tons of water I might artificially go the opposite way and weigh 182 in a couple of days. Its all water weight.


The fact that it takes a week to lose a pound of fat but you can put on several pounds of water literally overnight means that the scale will often "lie" to you. But over time logging the water fluctuations will average out and you will see a downward trend overall due to fat loss.

Ah, Pho! I have to drive 119 miles for the nearest bowl of Pho. So worth the drive and the water weight!