Why weight isn't important - How I dropped 10 pounds in 5 da

msarro

I figure this post will help those of you who don't really like scales, or why they seem to fluctuate so much.

According to my scale, I've lost 10 pounds this week. How? On monday afternoon I weighed in at 242 pounds on the shipping scale at work. Late tuesday night/wednesday morning I weighed in at 236. Yesterday put me at 234, and this morning put me at 232. Did I magically lose 10 pounds? NO! Here is a classic illustration of how the scale can lie and why you CAN NOT use it as your sole means of measurement.

You see, monday afternoon I'd had more than half a gallon of water to drink, and a rather filling lunch. I was also wearing heavy cargo pants, an undershirt, a polo shirt, carrying my cellphone, wallet, and keys. Combined with all of that, I weighed in at 242 pounds. Fast forward to tuesday night...

It was late in the night and I hadn't eaten in a few hours. I was having a glass of water here or there throughout the evening, but hadn't really eaten since about 8pm. When I stepped on the scale, I was wearing a pair of boxers. This put me at 236 pounds.

Yesterday I weighed in just prior to lunch, after having a significant amount of water throughout my day up until then. I had had breakfast a few hours earlier, and gone to the bathroom a few times along the way. I also woke up early and went for a 20 minute run, which meant I perspired a LOT. It put me at 234 pounds.

Now, this morning I stepped on the scale first thing in the morning, naked. I had just gone to the bathroom and hadn't eaten or drank anything. It put me at 232 pounds.

You see, I doubt I've lost very much real weight at all this week, or if I have, maybe one or two pounds. The rest is fluctuations based on food I'd eaten, water I'd drank, number of visits to the bathroom, clothes I was wearing, number of times I'd been to the bathroom - it all plays a part. So, the next time you step on the scale and it doesn't look like its budged, but you've lost an inch - chin up! The scale is a very rough, and imprecise tool. Take it for what it is, and don't let your weight at any given time EVER bring you down!

Have a good friday everyone!

msarro

I figure this post will help those of you who don't really like scales, or why they seem to fluctuate so much.

According to my scale, I've lost 10 pounds this week. How? On monday afternoon I weighed in at 242 pounds on the shipping scale at work. Late tuesday night/wednesday morning I weighed in at 236. Yesterday put me at 234, and this morning put me at 232. Did I magically lose 10 pounds? NO! Here is a classic illustration of how the scale can lie and why you CAN NOT use it as your sole means of measurement.

You see, monday afternoon I'd had more than half a gallon of water to drink, and a rather filling lunch. I was also wearing heavy cargo pants, an undershirt, a polo shirt, carrying my cellphone, wallet, and keys. Combined with all of that, I weighed in at 242 pounds. Fast forward to tuesday night...

It was late in the night and I hadn't eaten in a few hours. I was having a glass of water here or there throughout the evening, but hadn't really eaten since about 8pm. When I stepped on the scale, I was wearing a pair of boxers. This put me at 236 pounds.

Yesterday I weighed in just prior to lunch, after having a significant amount of water throughout my day up until then. I had had breakfast a few hours earlier, and gone to the bathroom a few times along the way. I also woke up early and went for a 20 minute run, which meant I perspired a LOT. It put me at 234 pounds.

Now, this morning I stepped on the scale first thing in the morning, naked. I had just gone to the bathroom and hadn't eaten or drank anything. It put me at 232 pounds.

You see, I doubt I've lost very much real weight at all this week, or if I have, maybe one or two pounds. The rest is fluctuations based on food I'd eaten, water I'd drank, number of visits to the bathroom, clothes I was wearing, number of times I'd been to the bathroom - it all plays a part. So, the next time you step on the scale and it doesn't look like its budged, but you've lost an inch - chin up! The scale is a very rough, and imprecise tool. Take it for what it is, and don't let your weight at any given time EVER bring you down!

Have a good friday everyone!

lietee

what about thoes who weight themselves the same everyday? meaning in the am before breakfast after pee and wearing nothing? it is possible for someone to loose a pound in a day!

msarro

It absolutely is possible, but it would require you to burn 3500 Calories to do so. Even weighing yourself at the same time every day can be different based on how much food/waste is in your digestive tract, and how much glycogen your body is currently storing for fast energy burning. In many cases, your body will store 2-4 pounds of glycogen alone!

lotusfromthemud

what about thoes who weight themselves the same everyday? meaning in the am before breakfast after pee and wearing nothing? it is possible for someone to loose a pound in a day!

Yes! The scale fluctuates. You have no control over your body's functions. . .such as how much water it's carrying. . .or waste. . .or glycogen in its muscles. You can fluctuate as much as 5 pounds within a day. (or within a night if you weigh yourself every morning).

Great post, msarro. So true, so true.

GTOgirl1969

Amen, msarro....I'm going to
my scale NOW!!!

chriss1tt

Amen, msarro....I'm going to
my scale NOW!!!

I like that one.

rogers8702

ive been told that you should never totaly belive your scale but to just use it as a tool. by ww and doctors. so i use a weekly average so to speak. but it does keep you on track if you see that number increase at least it does for me and then the next day or so it will be good again and it makes me feel good.

yellow_pepper

When you're tracking your weight (as opposed to the weight of the food you're eating), you're supposed to try to do it under the same conditions every time. In the interest of getting the lowest number , you do it as soon as you wake up, after urinating - the way you did it the last time. Had you been weighing in like that every morning, you probably would have seen much less fluctuation.

This whole idea of the scale "lying" is a lot of baloney. It may not be the best measure of how your body is changing but it's not false information either. If you want a better measure of whether you're getting thinner, use a measuring tape to measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs, arms, etc.

shorerider

I weight the same time every morning and yes, I have dropped more than 1 pound in a day--twice. Water weight? Maybe but both times were after going most of a week without losing anything. AND, the weight never came back, so doubt it was just water weight.

Women's weight can fluctuate more because of "women" issues and we also tend to hold onto our water more than men.

Still, I like to weigh every day--gives me inspiration even if I don't see any change because at least I know I'm not gaining? And also might need to work harder, too.

If it doesn't completely bum you out to sometimes go days without seeing a change, and you realize that weight can fluctuate daily and sometimes hourly, then I think it's ok to weigh whenever you want, as often as you want.

It's also why I wear the thinnest shirt, shorts, no socks, etc. when I go to weight at the doctors!

msarro

When you're tracking your weight (as opposed to the weight of the food you're eating), you're supposed to try to do it under the same conditions every time. In the interest of getting the lowest number , you do it as soon as you wake up, after urinating - the way you did it the last time. Had you been weighing in like that every morning, you probably would have seen much less fluctuation.

This whole idea of the scale "lying" is a lot of baloney. It may not be the best measure of how your body is changing but it's not false information either. If you want a better measure of whether you're getting thinner, use a measuring tape to measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs, arms, etc.

Thats exactly the point I'm trying to make. No matter how much you try to keep things controlled, there will be factors you can't account for. Such as things in your intestinal tract, and glycogen. Also, the amount of water in your system can vary based on salt intake, exercise performed, etc. Thats why it can vary more than 5 pounds in either direction.

This week I actually wasn't trying to track my weight loss - I wanted to see how much things varied from day to day over the course of a work week.

A scale doesn't lie, but its not a precise enough measure for what we're trying to accomplish - and it doesn't give us enough information to be the sole tracker of our success. A scale also doesn't differentiate between muscle and fat, nor does it measure body fat %. I'm just trying to make sure people understand that weight isn't the only thing they should go by if they don't see a lot of change, or if they see really drastic change. The point I'm trying to make is that there are a lot of factors that can influence the number on the scale - some controllable, some not so controllable.

moidyn

Thanks for the reminder! I really needed this because my scale said that I gained a pound and a half this week. But I ate great and add running to my work out.
Silly bodies, what are they thinking?

shorerider

A scale also doesn't differentiate between muscle and fat, nor does it measure body fat %. I'm just trying to make sure people understand that weight isn't the only thing they should go by if they don't see a lot of change, or if they see really drastic change. The point I'm trying to make is that there are a lot of factors that can influence the number on the scale - some controllable, some not so controllable.

Actually, my new scale does measure Body Fat % and BMI

it does it through the feet somehow--I read how it does but I'm not a left brain thinker, so must went over my head. Seems pretty accurate, too, as it's right there with what all the sites I've tried say.

msarro

Well spank my butt and call me sally!
I've never heard of that... I wonder if its like the metal handlebar things they have at the gym?

I wouldn't trust it with me though, my feet are like leather... came from growing up on a farm and walking barefoot all the time.

shorerider

No, my doesn't have the 'handlebar' thingie--that was another $30 for that one. This one does it through metal pads on the scale that sense something or other through your feet. The instructions say that your feet must be "slightly" moist and suggest very lightly wetting them with a clothe before weighing.

gabi_ele

I get your point and yes , the other day I ate popcorn that was very salty and I gained a pound and 2 days later I lost 2 pounds. And women when it get's to a certain time of the month our bodys tend to keep a little extra water weight too. So what I do is take all this into consideration and weigh myself every morning around the same time....if it's looking like I have gained I don't go screaming through the house ( I live in the country and no one would hear me) plus I probably would be still in my night gown and that might give my neighbour a heart attack:laugh: and I wouldn't want to be responsible for that either. If I lost a pound I update it in my tracker and pray for it to multiply:drinker:

DETERMINED2Drop

I weigh myself every day right after I go to the bathroom and stand on the scale in my underwear and bra so that it is always constant. Mine seems pretty constant and accurate, BUT I always take my measurement as well.

SoupNazi

Nice post msarro. You shouldn't sweat the small stuff like the scales. I usually give myself plus or minus 5 lbs on any given day without stressin'. You know what is funny? I weighed myself the other day with a tee and shorts on and then without...2 LBS DIFFERENCE! Who would have thought that some light cotton would weigh 2 lbs?!:noway:

iluvsparkles

im glad you guys posted this thread. Im bumping it for others to read.

You guys put it out there in a very understandable and articulate manner. Yay! Bump!

IndigoElectron

I don't have scales at home but I get weighed once a week at my local Slimming World class. I don't show huge changes in weight as I'm only small and nearly at my goal, but I do have a good example of how water can affect the scales. I put on 3 1/2 lb in one week after a weekend of food and alcohol, and lost 4 lb the next week. Now there is now way I consumed an extra 12250 calories that weekend, nor did I cut out 14000 calories the following week - I would have starved! So most of that must have been my body holding onto water.

littlespoon

Determined2drop - I am exactly the same. My scale doesnt fluctuate at all (when I weight myself at the same time every day)

iftcheiaf

For me this past week, I actually gained 2 lb, but when I did my measurements from two weeks ago, everything was the same but I had lost an inch on my thighs. So I cursed the scale and tried putting on a pair of pants from last summer and lo and behold, they fit...still a little snug, but a few weeks ago they weren't making it past my knees. So although I'm still continuing my love affair with my scale, I think it and I need a little space from each other. Sometimes it is just so negative and discouraging