what should i do?

pawsmum

i joined here last week and after 3 days i thought i would give the scales a look and i lost "6.5lbs"
today should have been weigh day - been on here a week and i used the scales today and its gone up despite not having eaten enough over to put on - wait for it - 2.5lbs meaning that i would have to have overeaten by 9000 cals - going on the pretext you have to eat 3500 to put on a 1lb
what is the best thing for me to do?
dont know how accurate my scales are either for that matter

martina123321

Your body might be holding some water. maybe.

Did you weigh in the same spot?? because if your scales are like mine and add a stone because I have weighed in the living room and not my kitchen..........lol

I weigh at my doctors now so I have an accurate reading xxx

Sezmo83

Weight fluctuates daily, sometimes by quite a lot. How much sodium have you had in the last few days? Chances are its water weight, I doubt you've eaten enough in a couple of days to put on 2.5lbs. Make sure you weigh on the same scales in the same spot each time, my scales have me 7lbs heavier on one side of the bathroom than they do on the other.

Don't just weigh. Take measurements too. Quite often I find I can gain or stay the same according to the scales yet lose inches.

SailingMike

Some things I have learned...
1. In the first weeks of starting exercise program most folks gain weight because muscle weighs more than fat. SO don't just weigh yourself... MEASURE to see what your body is really doing.
2. NEVER eat less than about 125O calories... OR try to loose too much too fast. Your body goes into starvation mode and retains fat.
3. It took YEARS to put on the weight... eat HEALTHY (food pyramid) exercise regularly... and slowly it will come off.
4. SLOW weight loss is most likely to stay off long term.
5. DON"T "diet"... just learn to eat properly and exercise regularly. Make your goal "good health."
Fill out your profile, particpate on these boards, add some friends who encourage you .... and HAVE FUN with it!!

And about the scales... I was much happier when I bought a new $40 digital scale that gives the same results consistently.

"It matters not if we try and fail, and try and fail again. But it matters much if we try and fail and fail to try again."

_Ben

Two things I have personally noticed is that I feel like I retain more water weight and my solid waste aswell when I work out consistently. Increasing your fluid intake, aswell as the occasional stool softener helps.

Also make sure your using a good scale. I use a scale intended for sending large UPS packages, (my mom runs a buisness from home) so it is VERY accurate. Ill weigh sometimes on my gf's scale, and will fluctuate greatly, aswell as be off by a few pounds too.

darlilama

First, you really might consider investing in a new digital scale that's well rated so you know you're getting at least readings that are consistent, if not accurate. Second, DON'T be a slave to it! I never, ever, no matter how much I'm tempted, weigh myself more than once a week and I do it on the same day, approx same time, same place, same clothes (typically my jammies cuz I weigh myself first thing in the morning… after I potty ;0). I really like the idea of measuring yourself, too, but the same applies… every few days isn't going to tell you the long-run truth.

Patience is difficult, but is it less difficult than driving yourself crazy with what's likely normal weight fluctuations?

pawsmum

thanks for all the advice - its really appreciated

i have decided to take todays weight and have recorded a loss of 2.3lbs - which is more reasonable than a loss of 6.5lbs in 2 days

my scales are digital - cost over £50 at the time - they are weight watchers scales

they are kept flat in a spare kitchen cupboard and i weigh in the kitchen in my nightwear between 6 - 7 am on the chosen morning

if the inconsistency continues with them - will see what happens next week i will invest in a new pair

Sezmo83

My mum has WW digital scales, they always seemed fairly consistent when we did WW. They were also very consistent with telling me I'd gained weight when I was put on medication and gaining 4lbs a week, that wasn't so nice :grumble:

I weigh and measure once a week, occasionally I jump on the scales if my hubby weighs himself in the week but I don't really pay too much attention to what they say as he weighs in the evening and my official weigh in is in the morning. Measuring weekly doesn't really show results though, I'd probably be better off measuring once a month but I can't seem to break the habit.

posy43

I know a lot of people weigh first thing in the morning, but I was told by my doctor that I should not weigh in the morning and the reason he gave me was that because the body has been lying flat all night with no/very little movement, the metabolism slows right down, the processes involved in expelling the fluid from the organs and fat cells are not working as efficiently as they do when you are active and even if you go to the bathroom straight away, it takes time for the fluid levels in the body to stabilize.

Whether that is true or not I have no idea but I certainly do weigh more in a morning than I do in the evening.

I agree completely with what other posters have said that the body fluid changes from day to day and in some cases hour to hour.
The main ting is that you should find something that you are happy with and stick with it
I would love to be able to tell you that it will be fine, but no matter what you do some times the scale will not show you the result you want.
Some believe tat weighing once a month is the best ting while others weigh every day, for me weighing every day is a little too excessive and as I have tried it and found my weight fluctuated so much on a daily basis, I felt I was getting disheartened more than I was elated so I stopped and moved to weekly weigh ins, again I think it would be better to move it to once a month, but I just can't seem to wait that long.

So long as the weight continues to come off just be patient and watch it, any loss is a good loss and remember it took a long time to gain weight and it crept on slowly, take it off the same way and it is more likely to stay off