"True" Weight

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skinniestminniest
skinniestminniest Posts: 26
in Health and Weight Loss
Let me just say - I know the number on the scale isn't everything and I certainly haven't let it discourage me at all, but I'm just curious how others perceive their weigh ins.

Say you get on the scale and you see a new low. For me, that low was 187.5 this week. Then two days later, your weight might bounce back up to 189.5. What do you consider to be your 'true' and 'actual' weight? The 187.5 when your body was possibly lighter from not eating a heavy meal the night before or whatever other reasons... or the 189.5?

Just curious if people take their lowest low as their true weight or the number they bounce around most often during the week.

Thanks!

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I record my weight once a week...Monday mornings. I am not a daily weigher...no point to many fluctuations happen in a course of a day or a couple of days such as water retention from workouts, for women ToM...etc..

    Anything beyond that doesn't get recorded (normally) unless there is something going on like the 2nd week of February when I recorded my losses all week as I was going on vacation and wanted to know my weight before I left.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    If you really want to get a good idea of what your weight "actually" is, you have to collect data over a period of time and do a regression. In essence, weigh at the same time every day using the same routine for about 30 days, then do a linear regression on that data. The points on the line are the best guess of what your actual weight it without the variation due to water, etc.

    As for my ticker, it updates automatically every time I step on the scale, so I don't really care if it is totally accurate or not. It is what it is.
  • angf0679
    angf0679 Posts: 1,120 Member
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    I weigh myself first thing in the morning, before eating. I go by what weight I see on the scales then.
  • d2footballJRC
    d2footballJRC Posts: 2,684 Member
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    Best to weigh yourself, first thing in the morning after you do your business. (#1 or #2)

    So jump up on the scaled naked, on a predetermined day (Friday mornings are great for most people as they tend to indulge on the weekend a bit).. Then you can do a little dance as the numbers go down!
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    by the way, this is a good read:
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/how-to-weigh-yourself-accurately/

    There is a link there that tells you how to do the regression too.
    I record my weight once a week...Monday mornings. I am not a daily weigher...no point to many fluctuations happen in a course of a day or a couple of days such as water retention from workouts, for women ToM...etc..

    Glad that works for you, however, I will mention that without the data (and fluctuations) you don't have enough info to make an informed decision. For example, last week, I dieted hard all week for a social event that I was a food judge for (10 micro meals and desserts!). I started teh week at 193 lbs, Saturday morning I was 186 lbs - mostly water weight, but about 2 lbs of actual fat. Monday morning I was 194 lbs. Again, mostly water weight. If I had only weighed once a week, I would not know what happened. I see people do this all the time and think their diet isn't working just because they relax a little on the weekends.
  • pennyllayne
    pennyllayne Posts: 265
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    All of those weights would be actual weights because that is what you actually weigh at that point in time. However, it doesn't necessarily mean anything in terms of fat loss because fluctuations occur naturally. If I am eating consistently I will weigh in every day and I get the best idea from taking an average of all my readings all week. If your weight goes down one day but then back up for the rest, it's likely the higher one is your actual weight. My weight doesn't fluctuate a lot on a day to day basis unless I eat more calories one day, so I know if I eat consistently and my weight lowers then I am losing weight.

    I don't recommend becoming obsessive and weighing in every day if that is a problem for you, but it can be discouraging if you weigh the same time every week and one week it increases because you may have eaten more the day before and just be retaining water, then you will think you have lost nothing. Weight will fluctuate on a daily basis depending on what or how much you've eaten and this is especially true if you do calorie cycling or something similar. So I like to keep track of my daily fluctuations but I don't get discouraged if it increases one day as it will usually decrease the next day. You should keep track of measurements as well as the scale isn't the ultimate decider of fat loss.

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