Scale going up and down!

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F3R1980
F3R1980 Posts: 31 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'd rather blame the scale rather than myself or my body weight fluctuation but is it normal to be 1 or 1.5 kilograms up one day and the following days I see a constant loss of 200 grams per day?
I keep eating the same and went from 45 mins stationary bike to 1 hour recently.
I also do weights, not too heavy 10kg dumbbells x2
Suggestions?

Replies

  • Bearbrat
    Bearbrat Posts: 230
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    That is the nature of the scale, it fluctuates wildly. Depending on the time of day you weigh, how much salt you're eating, the amount of water you're drinking. There are so many variables. I still drive myself nuts with the numbers on the scale, it's one habit I haven't been able to break. I have been leaning more towards my tape measure and the fit of my clothing now, but I still faithfully get on my scale every morning.

    I'd suggest measuring yourself, then taking your measurements maybe once a month.......start watching how your clothing fits, take some before pictures. Just try not to become too dependent on the numbers on your scale.
  • beautifulwarrior18
    beautifulwarrior18 Posts: 914 Member
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    My suggestion would be to quit weighing yourself everyday. First, weight is a horrible measure of progress because muscle weighs more than fat. If I were you I'd weigh myself once a week and take my measurements once a month to determine your success. If you are honest with yourself about what you eat and how much you exercise and you'll be fine.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    My suggestion would be to quit weighing yourself everyday.

    Funny, I weigh myself everyday because of fluctuations. I record them in a spreadsheet so I can see exactly what's happening. Weight can fluctuate by lbs each day. Some days I suddenly weigh 3lbs more than the previous day, then I'm back down again the next. So if I only weighed once a week and I look like I've gone up, how will I know if it's just one of those days?

    I think more information is always better, but it's all about finding what works for you. Measurements are better, though my measurements seem to fluctuate as much as the scale. It's all about tracking overall average progress over time, I think.
  • F3R1980
    F3R1980 Posts: 31 Member
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    Thanks for all the responses. My nutritionist just told me more or less the same. I explained her the situation and related the scale numbers to salt + muscle built
    I'd rather weigh myself everyday and measure weekly.
    What is somehow strange is the fact that my calories goal is 1200 (as per MFP and my nutritionist recommendations). Today I mentioned her all the activity I am doing (1 hour stationary bike 6 times a week and weights, around 30 minutes, 4 times a week) and what is the amount of net calories I should eat. She was like all puzzled about the net calories and she told me to stick to 1200-1300 calories per day regardless of the amount of exercise I do.
    Does this makes sense for you guys?
    Thanks!
  • F3R1980
    F3R1980 Posts: 31 Member
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    Anyone? :)
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    Regarding eating back your exercise calories, it depends. The idea behind MFP is that you eat them back because you're already on a deficit. Some people eat them back, some eat half of them back, some don't eat them back at all. It's not completely unheard of to not eat them back, but most people here would probably say that you should eat them back (or at least some of them back) if you're doing that much exercise and only on 1200 a day. Personally, I don't tend to eat them back, though I might be a bit less strict on gym days and go maybe 100 cals over.

    If I were you I'd probably follow my personal trainer, but you've gotta find what works for you. If you've worked your butt off in the gym, eaten your daily calories and are dying of hunger, probably best to eat something. Try different things, see what works best and what makes you feel best.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Thanks for all the responses. My nutritionist just told me more or less the same. I explained her the situation and related the scale numbers to salt + muscle built
    I'd rather weigh myself everyday and measure weekly.
    What is somehow strange is the fact that my calories goal is 1200 (as per MFP and my nutritionist recommendations). Today I mentioned her all the activity I am doing (1 hour stationary bike 6 times a week and weights, around 30 minutes, 4 times a week) and what is the amount of net calories I should eat. She was like all puzzled about the net calories and she told me to stick to 1200-1300 calories per day regardless of the amount of exercise I do.
    Does this makes sense for you guys?
    Thanks!

    Doubtful muscle build is moving the scale. If you eat only 1200-1300 calories per day with that exercise, you're netting probably somewhere around 1000. That would PROBABLY put you in a pretty extreme deficit and you won't build muscle mass past any noob gains on that.

    My weight has moved around 4lbs in the past 24 hours...it happens.
  • ssgolds
    ssgolds Posts: 8
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    For what it's worth, I weigh myself every day which helps keep me on track. Yes I do measurements and pics as well. A typical month looks like this:

    feb13.jpg

    All I'm concerned with is the trend. As long as I'm moving in the right direction overall, I'm good.
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
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    For what it's worth, I weigh myself every day which helps keep me on track. Yes I do measurements and pics as well. A typical month looks like this:

    feb13.jpg

    All I'm concerned with is the trend. As long as I'm moving in the right direction overall, I'm good.
    Yep... Looks familiar!
  • FatOldBat
    FatOldBat Posts: 3,307 Member
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    Funny you should mention this, I've been tempted to get on the scale many times since joining MFP just this past Tuesday. But at 59, a veteran of too many diets, I know how dispiriting it can be to see a gain after a day of being 'good'. So once a week it is.
  • Bearbrat
    Bearbrat Posts: 230
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    For what it's worth, I weigh myself every day which helps keep me on track. Yes I do measurements and pics as well. A typical month looks like this:

    feb13.jpg

    All I'm concerned with is the trend. As long as I'm moving in the right direction overall, I'm good.
    This, you completely explained what I was trying to say with this
  • F3R1980
    F3R1980 Posts: 31 Member
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    The idea is not to build more muscle... not for now I guess. I want to lose weight.
    I'll keep a chart myself and start with measurements
    Thanks for the help. Much appreciated!

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