Stupid Scale Question

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Skittles6617
Skittles6617 Posts: 247 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, I know this is stupid. But I weight first thing every morning. I wear the same clothes every time I weigh. Now, the first time I get on the scale it will say one thing (it is digital), I can get on it 30 minutes later and it will ALWAYS be about a pound less. Which weight am I supposed to take? How weird is that???

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  • Skittles6617
    Skittles6617 Posts: 247 Member
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    Okay, I know this is stupid. But I weight first thing every morning. I wear the same clothes every time I weigh. Now, the first time I get on the scale it will say one thing (it is digital), I can get on it 30 minutes later and it will ALWAYS be about a pound less. Which weight am I supposed to take? How weird is that???
  • iftcheiaf
    iftcheiaf Posts: 960 Member
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    Always go with the lowest weight. You've earned it! :wink:
  • debmac63
    debmac63 Posts: 459 Member
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    :smile: I weigh every morning; after I go to the bathroom and after I have done my morning workout. (I have to work out in the morning or I won't do it.) That's the weight I log for the day. I have had days where I could get on the scale after an hour or so and my weight may go down a bit but that's usually because I haven't eaten yet. I would say to take your first weight of the morning as your official weight that day. Hope this helps.:flowerforyou:
  • MFS27
    MFS27 Posts: 549 Member
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    There's so many things that can make us heavier/lighter. I would avoid re-weighing in such a short time span.

    I tend to weigh twice a day - 1st thing in the AM (before shower, after bathroom), and last thing before I go to bed. So keeping things consistent over time gives me pretty good indicators of where my weight is.

    Some folks say to limit yourself to once a week, or less - but don't get too caught up in the number on the scale. Keep up the good work!
  • Skittles6617
    Skittles6617 Posts: 247 Member
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    Thanks, I just found that odd. I would weight in the morning after I potty..hehe...and then after I get ready for work. Always less....
  • GoingToLoseIt
    GoingToLoseIt Posts: 171
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    Apparently, most studies show that your weight can fluctuate up to 5 pounds throughout the course of the day! I think most people feel that weighing only once a day, at the same time every day, is the best way to gauge what your actual weight is. Otherwise, the natural fluctuation can make you feel like you are gaining/losing weight when you really haven't. Hope that is helpful!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    Haha. I weighed in one morning and it said 149.5...Hurray-ran for my camera to take a photo to remember how it felt to be under 150.....10 seconds later got on the scale and was 150.5 :noway:

    I sooooooo wish I hadnt gotten back on as it ruined my day! :laugh: :angry:

    Ok-so we have a lot of discussion about weighing too much. I am trying to weigh 1x a week. Friday morning.

    I have seen my weight fluctuate 5 pounds in one day. The bottom line is you wont, cant, will NOT gain FAT in an hour. It is water retention, that cup of coffee, your breakfast.

    Think about it. You weighed all your food, right? 5 oz this 3 oz that...it adds up to a pound 2 hours later!!:wink:
  • Lauren882
    Lauren882 Posts: 102
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    Oh gosh, I'm a basket case about the scale and mine is always less when I get home from work (which is nice) but since I officially weigh every Sunday morning I force myself to go with that weight no matter what.

    I've had issues with scales in other places (doctor's office, gym, etc) but I got some great advice from people here to just stick with your own scale and be consistent about weighing in at the same time, same day and that's when you'll notice the long term changes.

    Hope that helps!


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  • rheston
    rheston Posts: 638
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    I've been trying to track my weight with a separate log seeing which foods stick with me longest, how sodium content affects water weight retention, etc. So, because of this, I've been focusing more on toning myself this summer and not so much the weight. What I usually do is weigh myself in the morning after my constitution and then again after I work out -- I too work out in the morning or its lost to me.

    After the weigh-in for working out I will shower, etc. and before I dress will step on the scales once again and have found that I can weigh as much as 0.5 to 1lb less than when I was on the scale before. I've just credited this phenomenon to the body still working after the workout. I only really pay attention to the first weigh-in as a more accurate reading though.

    What I've been watching and documenting may not be what you're experiencing but then again it may. We have another scale in our company that I use, it's digital as well, and I will weigh myself at home fully dressed and then weigh in at the office without eating or drinking anything to try to maintain the same weight and I've found that the scales are within a pound of each other so that's validated things from home.

    You might try moving the scale around on a hard, level surface and take a couple of readings each day to see what the variance might be overall.
  • Fitness_Chick
    Fitness_Chick Posts: 6,648 Member
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    :drinker:
    Haha. I weighed in one morning and it said 149.5...Hurray-ran for my camera to take a photo to remember how it felt to be under 150.....10 seconds later got on the scale and was 150.5 :noway:

    I sooooooo wish I hadnt gotten back on as it ruined my day! :laugh: :angry:

    Ok-so we have a lot of discussion about weighing too much. I am trying to weigh 1x a week. Friday morning.

    I have seen my weight fluctuate 5 pounds in one day. The bottom line is you wont, cant, will NOT gain FAT in an hour. It is water retention, that cup of coffee, your breakfast.

    Think about it. You weighed all your food, right? 5 oz this 3 oz that...it adds up to a pound 2 hours later!!:wink:

    ahh hey Girl...were you holding your camera while standing on the scale? :laugh: Maybe that did it!

    I don't own a scale for ovious reasons...OBSESSION...I only weigh in at the gym on the same scale each time, the digital one, others in the building vary so I use the same one I started on with my eval. form day 1 their.

    I know some folks have their hubbies hide their scale and talk about having such freedom without it sitting their staring them in the face....but later then they go on the hunt for the scale. :laugh: :noway:

    I try and only weight once each week but am on a number of challenges and each one seems to want a different day for a weigh in. ACK that throws off my once a week weigh in big time:sad:

    I do sometimes do a weigh in when I know I've put in a ton of workout time...the next day I feel like I want the incentive to keep going forward so I do jump on it and feel GREAT.

    To each his own I guess..... I try not to obsess about any more than I already do in life
  • jenn10
    jenn10 Posts: 161
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    My scale will say one thing and if I reweight at the same time but my feet are not in the exact same place - the weight will be different sometimes up to a whole pound off -- so I put little pieces of tape on the scale where my toes go so I can get the most effective reading.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    :drinker:
    Haha. I weighed in one morning and it said 149.5...Hurray-ran for my camera to take a photo to remember how it felt to be under 150.....10 seconds later got on the scale and was 150.5 :noway:

    I sooooooo wish I hadnt gotten back on as it ruined my day! :laugh: :angry:

    Ok-so we have a lot of discussion about weighing too much. I am trying to weigh 1x a week. Friday morning.

    I have seen my weight fluctuate 5 pounds in one day. The bottom line is you wont, cant, will NOT gain FAT in an hour. It is water retention, that cup of coffee, your breakfast.

    Think about it. You weighed all your food, right? 5 oz this 3 oz that...it adds up to a pound 2 hours later!!:wink:

    ahh hey Girl...were you holding your camera while standing on the scale? :laugh: Maybe that did it!


    In the words of Homer Simpson. "DOH" ( hitting forhead with palm)
  • elliott062907
    elliott062907 Posts: 1,508 Member
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    lowest works for me. I was using a regular scale and it never read right. I thought I was 219 for weeks. Then I bought a scale last thursday and I was shocked. It said 230.5

    But since thursday, I have dropped my cals and upped my fitness work outs and it states 227.

    woo hoo for you and woo hoo for me working out more and eating less.
  • GoingToLoseIt
    GoingToLoseIt Posts: 171
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    My scale will say one thing and if I reweight at the same time but my feet are not in the exact same place - the weight will be different sometimes up to a whole pound off -- so I put little pieces of tape on the scale where my toes go so I can get the most effective reading.

    I love that idea! I noticed the same thing, but I was bad and tried to wiggle around till I got the smallest reading :laugh: We are having "The Biggest Loser" challenge here in my office, so I think I will try that... might be helpful for all of us :smile:

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