Exercise Before weigh in?

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krissybug72
krissybug72 Posts: 35 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was just wondering is it better to weigh in before or after a work out? Tomorrow is the first weigh in for the "Biggest Loser' competition at work. I know on the actual TV show they have a "last chance" workout.

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  • Cheylaing
    Cheylaing Posts: 99
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    I've often asked myself same..strangely enough I seem to have lost more if I havent exercised,but even if you do exercise before weigh in an it doesn't show today it will show next weigh in :-)
  • MelissaGraham7
    MelissaGraham7 Posts: 405 Member
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    I can drop 3-5 pounds with a 10-mile run, etc. and while I sometimes monitor that to see how much fluid I've lost, my weigh-ins for official reasons always happen first thing in the morning, before workouts so I'm not playing mind games with myself.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    I tend to "swell up" a little after working out, guess it is to do with fluid around the muscles. That goes after a few hours.

    I usually weigh in first thing in the morning, before any exercise.
  • bett_boop
    bett_boop Posts: 89 Member
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    i've always thought the same! I would be suprised if you could weigh anymore after exercise (provided you didn't drink a lot) but any loss could be sweat. This reminds of a time I weighed myself before bed... the next morning I weighed more than I did the night before - how is that possible???
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I was just wondering is it better to weigh in before or after a work out? Tomorrow is the first weigh in for the "Biggest Loser' competition at work. I know on the actual TV show they have a "last chance" workout.
    Don't cheat yourself.
    Weigh in first thing in the morning - don't try to "sweat off" weight.
    The best time is right when you wake up after a good poo but before you eat breakfast.
  • debloves2ride
    debloves2ride Posts: 386
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    I was told by a health professional one time that if you weigh after work outs or before it doesn't matter, just be consistent. If you are measuring then it does make a difference, because after exercise your muscles do "swell"
  • carlie_carl
    carlie_carl Posts: 285
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    I do it after exercise, but I wait until ive had a shower and drink a pint of water and naked (i know some people dont feel comfortable doing that, I didnt at first) but I feel it makes my weigh in pure, I do this every friday night, same routine, training wise and eating wise so im not mis guided by any ups and downs during the week
  • jquanalyciadestiny
    jquanalyciadestiny Posts: 2
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    Thanks that was very helpful.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    What matters is that you are being consistent and weighing in at roughly the same time and under the same conditions. If you're going to weigh in after your workout, you should make sure that's how you do it every time...

    Note that after exercise you will likely have lost fluids which will show up on the scale as a loss...failure to weigh in under the same conditions in the future may show a "false" gain because you would be retaining those fluids. IMHO, this is all just a bunch of smoke and mirrors and trickery...playing with your fluid levels and what not.
  • XxCaz89xX
    XxCaz89xX Posts: 29
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    Anything lost will only be water weight anyway... I tend to weigh more after exercise as your muscles swell .
  • deedzzz
    deedzzz Posts: 220 Member
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    Your muscles will retain some water + If drink water during your workout your weight will increase
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    As you gain more experience with this, you'll see that your weight can fluctuate by like 3-4 lbs daily depending on what you've consumed and gotten rid of.

    I *think* working out makes you retain some water in the short term... I think, but then, if you're working out hard, you're also sweating...

    Try weighing yourself before and after. I'd bet there's very little difference.

    If you want to maximize your weight loss to win the competition, make sure you're eating enough fiber to keep things moving along, and you might try working out in sweats (but this is not safe for everyone, so be very careful and make sure you're well hydrated otherwise)
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
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    Boxers cut weight before weighing by sweating out water, I know I lose weight during a cardio session so I would say before the workout to be honest with yourself, I weighed myself before and after a hard two hour cardio session and lost almost 800g despite drinking 500ml of water during the workout.
  • hellynewman
    hellynewman Posts: 26 Member
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    I was told by a health professional one time that if you weigh after work outs or before it doesn't matter, just be consistent. If you are measuring then it does make a difference, because after exercise your muscles do "swell"

    I agree, i think as long as you're consistent, every week, then it shouldn't matter. I tend to lose weight after a work out, but mainly because i've lost water and am dehydrated. So i feel to weigh after a work out is cheating myself a little bit. I always weigh myself first thing on a friday morning (after going to the bathroom, and naked) and i find the same routine works well, because i'm unlikely to be anywhere else other than my own house on a friday morning.

    When i got weighed at a Weight Watchers Class years ago, it was held in my local gym, so i always used to workout before the WW class, then on days i couldn't make it to the gym and went straight to the class, i blamed weight gain on the fact i never worked out first and would beat myself up about it. Not really a healthy attitude or mindset to get into so i find this way much easier!

    Sorry for waffling, hope that all made sense!

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