Frequent (daily) weigh-ins: what have you learned?

frosty73

For those of us who weigh-in daily or frequently, what lessons have you learned from it?

I learned that eating a large bowl of split pea soup immediately before a weigh-in resulted in a pound of weight gain. I was thinking that it would be like drinking water, my kidneys would get rid of any excess immediately, and that sure didn't happen, even after I peed! Of course the next day the extra weight was gone.

So, what have you learned from your scale?

AirCircleI

I learned from not eating gluten for a month that my weight doesn't fluxuate from, I presume, water retention. Since I have gone back to eating gluten, though not very much, my weight fluxuates again.

Dtho5159

That it sucks LOL. Im up and down and up and down most days.

melsinct

I liked weighing daily because I got to know my body well and most importantly, the daily fluctuations didn't freak me out. I always weighed first thing in the morning (after peeing) and learned:

Eating restaurant food or anything loaded with sodium would make me "gain" anywhere from 1-3 pounds for about 2-3 days

After a night of drinking, dehydration will make me "lose" 1-2 pounds for a day.

Right before I get my period, the minor bloating sets in and I "gain" 2 pounds.

I also learned my weight is pretty consistent from day to day if I lay off the sodium and alcohol!

kgchisholm

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

Teliooo

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

That the scale does not reflect my size or health.

sandown12

Tried not to as week 2 told me 5 days in id lost 3.5lbs 100% all week on weigh in it was 1.5ls taught me that we can have a different result every day :sad:

pupcamper

I liked weighing daily because I got to know my body well and most importantly, the daily fluctuations didn't freak me out. I always weighed first thing in the morning (after peeing) and learned:

Eating restaurant food or anything loaded with sodium would make me "gain" anywhere from 1-3 pounds for about 2-3 days

After a night of drinking, dehydration will make me "lose" 1-2 pounds for a day.

Right before I get my period, the minor bloating sets in and I "gain" 2 pounds.

I also learned my weight is pretty consistent from day to day if I lay off the sodium and alcohol!

Pretty much what I learned too I also learned that pop is evil for me I gain a pound or two for a day or two if I drink it - even if I have had at least 8 glasses of water that day. I have alos learned that a huge portion of pasta and rice will do the same thing, however a rgular sized portion will not. Wednesdays and Sundays tend to be kinder to me on the scale for some reason! lol

HMD7703

I do not weigh in daily any more. It was becoming an obsession. I had to educate myself (thank you Google) on weight fluctuations and what causes them. Weighing daily is simply not accurate. I weigh in 2 x's a week, always in the morning and mostly in the same type of clothes (pj's or skivies).

Now that my weight loss has stalled, I have wanted to move to measuring inch loss instead. I have yet to perfect this, as I seem to never measure in the exact same spot ?!?! Until I get the measuring bit correct, I go by how my clothes fit / feel / look on me as well as what the scale says.

kgchisholm

I agree with that.

I lose inches and gain cardio endurance consistently, even in times when the scale won't budge. It's nice to remember we're more than a number!

therealangd

I have learned:

* Weight fluctuates day to day
* My weight goes up after a hard workout
* My weight goes down after a HIIT run
* My weight goes up a for a couple of days once a month. (TOM)
* My weight goes up after a day of crappy eating
* My weight goes down if I keep hydrated
* I just found this one last month. My weight goes up if I injure myself. (This only happened once, so it could have been coincidence, but I don't think so)
* A litre of water is very heavy. Don't weigh after you drink water.
* Weigh first thing in the morning after you pee.
* Bowel movements affect weight loss.
* My weight can fluctuate up to 3 lbs from day to day.

BPayton27

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

This rings very true for me as well! I weigh daily, but only record it once a week.

I've also learned that a splurge McDonald's dinner will cause a short term colon cleanse effect, but will show on the scale a day later.

Pookylou

Not to weigh in the day after a heavy exercise day, always after a rest day!

AmyLRed

the biggest thing i have learned is that fluctuations are normal, and not to stress about being up1lb, .5lbs, etc. As long as the overall trend (weekly, monthly) is down, thats what matters. For example, last week i was 158.8, 158.6, 158.6, 158.8, 159, 159, 159, 159 and today 157.6 Once i stay steady for several days, then i know it will go down, even though it sometimes goes back up a few tenths of a pound. Who cares? i am still losing overall. I also do not log every time the scale changes, only when i get the same loss 2 days in a row. So if the scale says 157.6 tomorrow, i will weigh in on MFP. Likewise, i dont log the .2lbs gained. If it was a true gain and not fluctuations, i would. (To me a true gain would be if i got off track fora few days or a week and gained a pound or two.)

salxtai

Eating restaurant food or anything loaded with sodium would make me "gain" anywhere from 1-3 pounds for about 2-3 days

After a night of drinking, dehydration will make me "lose" 1-2 pounds for a day.

I'd never connected restaurant food/ high sodium with the upped weight - good work on linking those!
Although that may be because I'm more likely to cheat on weekends, which is when I'll go to restaurants.


And as for the alcohol - lucky you! I put on up to 2kg for the next day or 2 :grumble:

happyjoyousfree1

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

That the scale does not reflect my size or health.

Bump

I just follow my plan and weigh in once a week. more than that makes you crazy!

dadeys1

Good info. Glad to hear my "discoveries" are normal. Thanks all!

MoogieOh

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

This rings very true for me as well! I weigh daily, but only record it once a week.

I've also learned that a splurge McDonald's dinner will cause a short term colon cleanse effect, but will show on the scale a day later.

:laugh: :laugh:

_Ren

I learned not to do it.

magreen1111

It's very frustrating! I try to be diligent with my diet but if I have one night of cheating it seems that I gain back most of the weight that I've struggled to lose all week. My husband took me out for Valentine's Day and we had Thai food and wine. I gained 3 pounds overnight. Yesterday, however, I watched what I ate, exercised alot and today I found all but 4 ounces of that weight are gone. If I didn't weight myself every day I wouldn't be able to adjust my habits based on weight gain. I found it to be helpful to me in losing weight, even if it's frustrating!

Kristiehaines

I think it keeps you honest and is okay...until you hit a plateau and it is very discouraging.