weigh-in disappointment

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mamabanana
mamabanana Posts: 62 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Every morning I weigh myself a few minutes after I wake up. it is usually what I expect it to be Slowly but surely, I lose a pound. This am, I did my exact weigh-in routine at the same time and lost 3 lbs, I almost jumped for joy. I got the kids ready for school, then about 45 min later I decide to weigh myself before jumping into the shower. To my disappointment, I was the same as the past 7 days. I know weight fluctuates throughout the day, but I did not eat or drink between the weigh-in time. My scale is usually pretty damn accurate, so my question is how much is water retention?
Learning from this error, I now vow to weigh only once a week, but it is discouraging.

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    my question is why did you weigh yourself 2x in 45mins...

    don't be discouraged just let it go...lots can happen in 45mins...and if nothing changed then the scale shouldn't have...

    or

    It was in a different place on the floor or something changed.
  • Chickee8586
    Chickee8586 Posts: 155 Member
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    Absolutely limit your weigh ins to once a week. It's very defeating to see the daily adjustments that take place. Don't let the scale determine your outlook.

    I weigh in on Monday mornings. That way, if it's a good number, it's made Monday better. If it's not such a good number, well then Monday already sucked, right?
  • ActuarialChef
    ActuarialChef Posts: 1,413 Member
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    Absolutely limit your weigh ins to once a week. It's very defeating to see the daily adjustments that take place. Don't let the scale determine your outlook.

    I weigh in on Monday mornings. That way, if it's a good number, it's made Monday better. If it's not such a good number, well then Monday already sucked, right?

    I like this outlook :smile:
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
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    I agree that you should weigh less frequently. It can be really disheartening to not see the numbers move, or to see them go up sometimes! For this reason, I weigh every 6 weeks or so.

    As far as what to do now, just keep going. Keep eating sensibly, keep exercising... Don't give yourself an excuse to give up!
  • sillyvalentine
    sillyvalentine Posts: 460 Member
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    This is why I threw my scale out. I never got the number I wanted and it often made me throw the whole day away. Now I weigh in once a month or less at the doctors office and I always see a good number after a whole month!
  • TomTomato
    TomTomato Posts: 223
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    Absolutely limit your weigh ins to once a week. It's very defeating to see the daily adjustments that take place. Don't let the scale determine your outlook.

    I weigh in on Monday mornings. That way, if it's a good number, it's made Monday better. If it's not such a good number, well then Monday already sucked, right?

    ^ This.
  • cnl91_W
    cnl91_W Posts: 89 Member
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    Absolutely limit your weigh ins to once a week. It's very defeating to see the daily adjustments that take place. Don't let the scale determine your outlook.

    I weigh in on Monday mornings. That way, if it's a good number, it's made Monday better. If it's not such a good number, well then Monday already sucked, right?

    Hahah ^ this! Monday is my weigh in day, too. I don't like seeing my weight jump up 3lbs overnight, so the once weekly weigh in tends to prevent that.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,775 Member
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    I weigh myself every morning, naked, after I pee, about 5min after waking up. I log that scale reading every day. Sure, it jumps up and down, sometimes 2-3lbs from day to day. I use that info to evaluate my previous days eating and activity.

    But what I really like is watching the continuing downward trendline. Weighing and recording EVERY DAY insures that I'm not manipulating the data, selectively recording only the readings I like. That keeps me accountable and my weight loss real.
  • Toadlily
    Toadlily Posts: 17
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    i use calliope's method too - i weigh daily and evaluate the trend - there's even apps for doing the weight trend! i know that i am on track when i am weighing in daily below my trend line - if i weigh in at the trend line or above, i know to adjust my eating - either eating less or logging more accurately, and to get a little bit more active - nothing crazy. losing weight is a hard, long, slow process - and it's taken awhile to learn to use the tools i have - logging, weighing, activity monitors, etc. good luck to you calliope! and to the OP, too.
  • bobbiejof33
    bobbiejof33 Posts: 55
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    Scales suck. Period. So don't let them regulate your day/life etc. I was VERY scale obsessive. Weighing up to 5x a day. I had my fiancé throw the scale out when I wasn't home, as I can't do it myself, and now I weigh in on Saturday mornings at a friends house. We take our measurements and weight and keep a journal. Its really awesome actually :) I weigh in Saturday mornings cause I know weekends are hard, and I feel like I have more time to be good between one Saturday to the next lol
  • tayloryay
    tayloryay Posts: 378 Member
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    Did the scale give you that same number multiple times or just once? If it was just once, the lower number may have been a fluke. Digital scales are finicky. Make sure you zero it out every time before using it. And if it's going to affect your mood or self-esteem, I'd definitely limit the amount you weigh-in!
  • Blokeypoo
    Blokeypoo Posts: 274 Member
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    I don't believe the ups any more than the downs - just because we like one more than the other doesn't make either real!

    I'm maintaining and weigh daily but with a level head and use trendweight to make sure that the long game is on track.
  • CarolinkaCjj
    CarolinkaCjj Posts: 622 Member
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    I weigh in on Monday mornings. That way, if it's a good number, it's made Monday better. If it's not such a good number, well then Monday already sucked, right?

    I use a similar scheme: I weigh on Friday morning at my doctor's office on my way to work - if it is a good number, great start to the weekend and if not, well, it is the weekend anyway :drinker:

    This week, I am out of town so I will have to wait until Monday and use the chickee method:tongue:
  • jmpurser
    jmpurser Posts: 22 Member
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    I found weighing daily to be a bad idea for me. Currently I weigh myself at the VA because I have to go there every two weeks anyway. I can get a very accurate weight and I'm not making myself crazy watching my weight (and my cheap scale) jerk me around every day. My weight change over a two week period is certainly significant. Over 30 minutes? Not so much.

    Good on ya for trying to be consistent. And some people DO need the daily affirmation of a number. But as others have said if you're going to weigh yourself that often don't let one day's results overwhelm you.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    I weigh myself every morning, naked, after I pee, about 5min after waking up. I log that scale reading every day. Sure, it jumps up and down, sometimes 2-3lbs from day to day. I use that info to evaluate my previous days eating and activity.

    But what I really like is watching the continuing downward trendline. Weighing and recording EVERY DAY insures that I'm not manipulating the data, selectively recording only the readings I like. That keeps me accountable and my weight loss real.

    Also what I do (my spreadsheet goes back for over a year) I log the weekly average, that way I don't get discouraged by a bad weigh in day and one calorific day won't mess up my whole week.
  • sandign
    sandign Posts: 56
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    I also weight every morning right after I get up. I accept what's on the scale the first time even if I don't like it. I know it will all balance itself out over time. But it helps me figure out if I'm doing the right things during the week.
  • eddiesmith1
    eddiesmith1 Posts: 1,550 Member
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    It was in a different place on the floor or something changed.

    this is a big one - unless you have a scale certified for trade accuracy will be an issue (I can move ours around and get 3 different weights, since I move it out of the way daily i just try and place it in the same spot

    I will pop on my trade certified scale at work occasionally but since what i wear varies with the weather it's kind of moot (beyond me having a longer term memory of what it has read before the diet)
  • mamabanana
    mamabanana Posts: 62 Member
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    It was a fluke that I did it twice in 45 min, the second time I was about to shower and forgot to put scale away from first time so I just stepped on it to give me the smiley number. Sigh, lesson learned.
  • kagevf
    kagevf Posts: 509 Member
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    open up your diary and lets see whats going on
  • jammajish
    jammajish Posts: 7 Member
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    Scales can be SO finicky (example: yesterday mine was on a weird bit of the flooring and tried to tell me I weighed 86lbs. Yep. So accurate.) and over the years I've learned to just put it away and only weigh myself once a week under the same conditions. I also often weigh in three times in a row and take the average of those weights to ensure that I'm getting the most accurate.

    Lately though, I've been taking progress pictures once a week and have found it to be so much more motivating than some subjective number that is blindly reflecting everything from muscle gains to fat loss to excess water weight.

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