Proof the scale is a bad tool for measuring progress.

sourmash1973
sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I did a little experiment to show just how much my weight changes in one day. I just want to add, my scale is very accurate. About once every couple of months, I check it with two 50 Lb plates and it's always dead on at 100 Lbs. So here was my day yesterday, and then a new weigh-in this morning.

5:00am- Weighed in at 213 Lbs after using the bathroom.
3:00pm- Weighed in at 216 Lbs. I intermittent fast, so I had nothing to eat all day at this point. All I had was unsweetened tea and water all day, a combined total of 1 gallon.
5:00pm- Weighed in at 214.4. This was AFTER weight training, cardio, 32 oz of water and a 802 calorie shake, probably 16 oz.
5:00am (this morning)- Weighed in at 212.4 after using the bathroom. This is my new low, by the way. :)

So, in a 24 hour period, I gained 3 Lbs and then lost 3.6 Lbs. It goes to show you that you can't trust the scale. Use the mirror and circumference measurements. I hope this helps some of you guys/gals. It should be a real eye opener.
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Replies

  • sourmash1973
    sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
    Bumping this so it might help someone. :)
  • selanrael
    selanrael Posts: 32
    I agree, when I weigh myself several times a day the amount can be off several lbs. Now I usually weigh every morning, but only log/report once a week or so :)
  • Joreanasaurous
    Joreanasaurous Posts: 1,384 Member
    I have been on MFP for almost a year now and have GAINED 7 pounds... But I look way better than I did before so I say screw the scale.


    However, if the scale motivates people, then who cares?
  • staceypunk
    staceypunk Posts: 924 Member
    Congrats on your new low! I weigh myself in the AM when I get up, and then about 1 hour later after my workout. I always weigh about one half pound lighter after dropping buckets of sweat! I have learned never to weigh throughout the day becuase it does fluctuate and just discourages me.
  • MackLuster77
    MackLuster77 Posts: 24 Member
    How does that prove anything? Have a routine and weigh yourself at consistent times.
  • sourmash1973
    sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
    I would just like to add, I DO use the scale, religiously! I just do it with a light heart.
  • onematch
    onematch Posts: 241 Member
    I agree, when I weigh myself several times a day the amount can be off several lbs. Now I usually weigh every morning, but only log/report once a week or so :)

    This is me too. I like to see a loss for at least two days in a row before I log it in.
  • DreamOfSunshine
    DreamOfSunshine Posts: 911 Member
    I agree, when I weigh myself several times a day the amount can be off several lbs. Now I usually weigh every morning, but only log/report once a week or so :)

    Me too! I do it so I can stay informed ... but I record it only on Mondays and I've already accepted the daily fluctoation thing. In the spirit of helping someone with the info ... I have daily differences of up ot 8 lbs!! ( I drink a lot of water lately ) I panicked... came off in less than 36 hours ... :) Just relax, take pics and enjoy the results! :)

    OP, thanks for sharing! :)
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
    the scale is a decent indicator of progress. over a significant length of time it will show if what you are doing is working.


    your problem is having too short of a time frame. weight change in a 24 hour period really doesnt mean much. if i drink a pound of water and weigh myself did i just gain a pound? technically yes but its not fat/muscle so it doesnt really matter.
  • Leather_N_Lace
    Leather_N_Lace Posts: 518 Member
    Amen!!! I measure every Wednesday morning. In 60 days I have lost a cumulative 40.5 inches... I have only dropped 11.6 pounds though..(My tracker says more because I am only looking at the 60 days I have consistantly tracked on Wednesdays)

    I lift weights and I'm about to begin Crossfit.. So I am more focused on the measurements than the scale at this time.
  • snowmanluv
    snowmanluv Posts: 200 Member
    Thanks for posting this. I have stepped on the scale at various points when you realized you didn't in the morning. Now I measure with the tape and will take scale measure every couple of weeks instead of daily.
  • sourmash1973
    sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
    A couple of people are missing the point and maybe I should have titled it different. I was posting this for people who use the scale too often and get discouraged about fluctuations in water weight.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    The scale can be trusted to be accurate if it is properly calibrated. What can't be trusted is your body maintaining a constant weight for any length of time. Fluctuations in water retention, body waste retention, glucose all affect your body weight. A scale should be used to monitor weight loss/gain trends.

    Saying the scale is a bad tool for measuring progress is like saying your bank balance is a bad tool for measuring your net worth. It all depends on the moment in time you check. This morning I was poor as a church mouse according to my bank balance, because my utility bill had been drafted out of my account. Thirty minutes later I am sitting high on the hog because my direct deposit paycheck posted. I look at the overall trend. Is my balance trending higher or lower? It's the trend that matters, not the moment by moment fluctuations.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    Everyone I know who weighs themselves frequently understands that there are fluctuations. We don't usually weigh ourselves several times a day because those micro-changes aren't meaningful. We look at what our weight does from week to week, and during the week if we see an increase we make a change.

    We also weigh ourselves under the same conditions at more or less the same time to create consistency.

    The scale isn't a "bad tool," it's just a tool. It's all in how you use it.
  • sourmash1973
    sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
    A couple of people are missing the point and maybe I should have titled it different. I was posting this for people who use the scale too often and get discouraged about fluctuations in water weight.

    Sorry for the bad thread title. I suck at titles.
  • missability
    missability Posts: 223
    I agree, when I weigh myself several times a day the amount can be off several lbs. Now I usually weigh every morning, but only log/report once a week or so :)

    ^^^^...I do the same....weigh every morning for my own charts and record keeping, but only log it on MFP when I hit a new low.

    I to have done that little experiment....on the day I did it...I weighed in the morning after potty before food, then 5 hours later after a NAP, showed a gain of 4 pounds!!! Later, after supper I had a loss of 6 ounces, and yet the next morning was down 1.2 pounds from previous morning!

    I agree, the scale is a poor, or at the very least NOT the only measurement of success!
  • janatarnhem
    janatarnhem Posts: 669 Member
    I agree, thanks for posting this. I was a compulsive, every day weigher. :sad:
    The mess it made of my head was unbelievable , looking back now ! :sick:
    Then got down to once a week. :smile:
    Currently, was at twice a week - once for MFP (Monday) and then I had to weigh in on Thursdays as I joined a biggest loser group at work - weigh day for all had to be Thursday! :ohwell:
    However, this month, the biggest loser weigh day has changed (? why) to a Wednesday ...so I'm biting the bullet and just gonna weigh in on a Wednesday!:flowerforyou:

    I don't know why I couldn't just skip the weigh in for MFP on the Monday?!!!!!!!:bigsmile:
  • markbolch
    markbolch Posts: 24 Member
    I fluctuate 3-5 pounds through the course of the day but make my first morning weight the official. I Also record my body fat percentage and weight daily and it goes to Trend Weight which creates a trend line over time. Its a pretty cool free website. I just started doing this a few weeks ago with a fitbit electronic scale. One thing I have noticed recently is I have increased my calories along with exercise and my weight fluctuates a little up and down but the trend is pretty much a flat line about the same BUT my body fat percentage is trending down and my lean weight is trending up while my fat weight is trending down. In a nutshell while my weight is stagnate and not changing much my body fat is doing the correct thing. If all I tracked was my weight I would be disappointed but I am making good progress. And of course how my clothes fit and the tape measure is always a good indicator. Bottom line scale weight is a good tool but not always everything as many have mentioned. I have switched gears where I dont care what I weigh and the number I chase is body fat % .
  • bookdeity
    bookdeity Posts: 37
    I had always heard that i fyou are going to track weight, just make sure to be consistent with when you weigh in. If you are going to weigh when you get up after going to the bathroom or weigh yourself after going to bed, just make sure to do that everytime (whether it's every day or once a week, etc). I think that is more accurate as far as being able to track progress.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    The scale CAN be a good tool, but it is just a tool - one of many in an arsenal of weight loss tools. And when you're dealing with people, there will always be exceptions. Just in your post, you used the scale as a tool to show your daily fluctuations in your weight. But if you weight yourself at a consistent time, i.e. first thing in the morning, it can definitely be a good tool, especially over a span of time, and especially if you're looking to lose a lot of weight (like me!).

    Congrats on your new low!
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    A couple of people are missing the point and maybe I should have titled it different. I was posting this for people who use the scale too often and get discouraged about fluctuations in water weight.

    Sorry for the bad thread title. I suck at titles.

    No worries. My scale also estimates body fat %. It's not completely accurate, but I use it for trend information, too. I occasionally take my measurements, but I think that method for me is the most inaccurate method because I'm not sure I'm using the same place and the same tension, etc. Even subconsciously, I can cheat with the measuring tape in a way I never could on the scale.
  • sourmash1973
    sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
    A couple of people are missing the point and maybe I should have titled it different. I was posting this for people who use the scale too often and get discouraged about fluctuations in water weight.

    Sorry for the bad thread title. I suck at titles.

    No worries. My scale also estimates body fat %. It's not completely accurate, but I use it for trend information, too. I occasionally take my measurements, but I think that method for me is the most inaccurate method because I'm not sure I'm using the same place and the same tension, etc. Even subconsciously, I can cheat with the measuring tape in a way I never could on the scale.

    Good point!
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    A couple of people are missing the point and maybe I should have titled it different. I was posting this for people who use the scale too often and get discouraged about fluctuations in water weight.

    Sorry for the bad thread title. I suck at titles.

    No worries. My scale also estimates body fat %. It's not completely accurate, but I use it for trend information, too. I occasionally take my measurements, but I think that method for me is the most inaccurate method because I'm not sure I'm using the same place and the same tension, etc. Even subconsciously, I can cheat with the measuring tape in a way I never could on the scale.

    Good point!

    I hate measuring my hips and butt the way some people hate getting on the scale. I'm a pretty low weight, but my lower body is where my body likes to hold weight no matter what I do. I guess I could establish a reference point, say, six inches down from my hip bone or something, and but I guess I don't really want to know.
  • sgk0411
    sgk0411 Posts: 105 Member
    lol I'm laying off the scale for a little bit. I got freaked out when it went from 149-150 in a day so i've decided to lay off the scale. I drink a lot of water and don't eat garbage so i think thats it. Even people who haven't seen me in a while think i've lost some. scale can bounce around plenty. its more about how I feel than what it says. This coming from someone who used to weigh 222 and now is down to 149-ish
  • sourmash1973
    sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
    lol I'm laying off the scale for a little bit. I got freaked out when it went from 149-150 in a day so i've decided to lay off the scale. I drink a lot of water and don't eat garbage so i think thats it. Even people who haven't seen me in a while think i've lost some. scale can bounce around plenty. its more about how I feel than what it says. This coming from someone who used to weigh 222 and now is down to 149-ish

    Awesome progress!
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Seems like a good tool to me. Showed added weight, showed lost weight. Working as intended.
  • sourmash1973
    sourmash1973 Posts: 149 Member
    Seems like a good tool to me. Showed added weight, showed lost weight. Working as intended.


    LOL...Good points.
  • lucystacy71
    lucystacy71 Posts: 290 Member
    When I first started losing weight, I weighed myself constantly. The scale was in my bathroom so each time I walked in there I felt the need to weigh myself once again - and would fret over the little changes. I was becoming obsessed! One morning I just became tired of it so I moved the scale into a spare bedroom that isn't being used right now. My clothes become looser day by day are enough to show me that I'm on the right track.
  • amandarama_
    amandarama_ Posts: 29
    Thanks for posting this, it's nice to see that every fluctuates just as much.

    In the past week, due to a few different factors, I've seen an 8lb gain because I'm retaining so much extra water. At one point, it was even up 11.5lbs from my normal weight. As someone who weighs myself daily (some days a couple times), I've decided that it's time to get rid of the scale for one month. I'm excited about this!
  • Aylawade
    Aylawade Posts: 22
    I also found similar to be true, but I still weigh myself daily. I use the bathroom and immediately use the scale (in the nude so that clothes don't make it inaccurate) and take note of my weight daily. I find this works well for me.

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