Difference between scales

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misssmarita
misssmarita Posts: 130
in Health and Weight Loss
How much weight can be added if you weigh in differently than you normally do? Normally I weigh in before breakfast, after I've been to the bathroom, naked, on a Monday morning. But yesterday I was at the gym and they had a scale and I just couldn't help myself. It showed me as weighing 127.1 kg, which equals 280.2 lbs, which is two lbs heavier than when I started on MFP :( Increadibly discouraging. But it was about four in the afternoon, I'd had both breakfast and a snack earlier that day, as well as water, and I was fully clothed and wearing shoes. But could all that really equal that big of a gain? I weighed in on Monday and I was 277.2 lbs. It just seems strange to me that I gained three lbs in 48 hours, when if anything, I should have lost a little. Would greatly appriciate some clearing up.

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  • CandaceHoweth91
    CandaceHoweth91 Posts: 288
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    Scales can be "off balance" . That is why you must weigh on the same scale all of the time. Take a 10 pound weigh (any weight that you know weighs that much) and if it weighs 10lbs then great if it weight 8 or 12 then it is wrong. You also can weigh different if you have gone to the bathroom that day (pooped) or if you have drank alot of water, etc. Same time of day, same-ish clothes, and same scale are your best bets (:
  • CandaceHoweth91
    CandaceHoweth91 Posts: 288
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    muscles weighs a lot too
  • misssmarita
    misssmarita Posts: 130
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    Thanks for the answer Candace. I know how important it is to weigh in at the same time, with the same scale, in the same clothes, and preferably in the morning. That's why I have a routine, and why I thought that three lb gain in 48 hours sounded a bit strange.
  • CandaceHoweth91
    CandaceHoweth91 Posts: 288
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    Even on the same scale I will gain 5 pounds over night but it depends on how much I drink and eat too before hand. So I always make sure I weight myself hungry and thirsty lol.
  • jelr
    jelr Posts: 98 Member
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    shoes and clothes alone probably weigh up to three pounds. If you weighed naked before but in clothes, even in light gym clothes, at the gym you will automatically see an increase of probably 3 lbs.
  • misssmarita
    misssmarita Posts: 130
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    So probably nothing to worry about then? Because I did the math, and even though I had a rough night on Tuesday, I should be down nearly 1 lb.
  • Beethoven1827
    Beethoven1827 Posts: 102 Member
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    If it's not the set of scales you normally use, just ignore it completely. We bought a new set of scales a while back, which showed me as 3lb lighter than the old ones. You can betcha I didn't magically gain or lose the weight according to which scale I stood on - it's just that at least one set is innacurate (probably both!). Not to mention that the clothes you wear weigh an amount, the food and drink you've eaten during the day weigh another amount, and in any case, the body flucuates through the day, the week, the month. It's the long-term trend that matters, not each individual measurement.

    Stick to your scales at home, and think long-term. Honest, it's the way to go!
  • aszwarc
    aszwarc Posts: 200 Member
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    Clothes make a huge difference! My bathrobe and slippers together weigh 2.2 pounds, and that's not even with shoes or anything. And water will make a huge difference. "A pint's a pound, the world 'round" is the saying, and it means that water-based liquids weigh about a pound for each pint of volume. So if you had 2 cups of water during your workout, that's another pound.
  • GoddessG
    GoddessG Posts: 175 Member
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    Next time you are at the gym, intending to go directly home, weigh yourself right before you leave, then weight yourself again immediately upon returning home - wearing the same things - no using the bathroom first. (Or preferably, take your scale to the gym and compare the measurements.

    I can lose a pound and a half or more with a bowel movement, and remember that your lunch is still in your stomach and upper intestines. If you drank 20oz of water after your workout, that's another pound and a quarter.

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