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do you weigh yourself before or after a shower?

leamj87
leamj87 Posts: 20 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey MFP! I normally weigh myself on Thursday mornings after I pee but before I shower. I weighed myself today and sighed because it was the same as last week and the week before. So I hopped in the shower, did my business, and then got out and dried off. I don't know why I did it, but I weighed myself again, with my hair actually still damp and I was a pound lighter!

I cannot think of any explanation and wanted to see when YOU guys weigh yourself, or whether you've seen it go down like this!
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Replies

  • JenAiMarres
    JenAiMarres Posts: 743 Member
    Nice!! Weigh before I shower b/c I think my body retains some of the water!! Lol!! We all have our rituals!
  • migoi357
    migoi357 Posts: 173 Member
    I've done the same thing by accident in the past, now I just do it for fun. I consistently lose about point four pounds when I take a shower. Since our scale is one of the electronic ones with metal pads to stand on, my current theory is that it has to do with the dampness of my feet/skin and electrical conductance.

    Folks at work have suggested my shower is too hot and that I'm shrinking a bit.
  • runnercheryl
    runnercheryl Posts: 1,314 Member
    Before here, too. I KNOW my hair doesn't weigh that much when wet, but try actually getting that through to me...
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
    I've noticed that weighing myself five minutes apart will give different results. I think my scale just isn't htat accurate.
  • NoMoreJellyRolls
    NoMoreJellyRolls Posts: 142
    When I weigh myself I usually do it 3x in a roll to see which # I get the most or about the same. EXAMPLE If the 1st weight is 200, 2nd 205, 3rd 202, the i either do a 4th weigh-in to double check or even it out at 201, final weight. My R.D. said digital scales can be 5 pounds off from each other. NEVER WEIGH ON CARPET!!
  • JasonKnight85
    JasonKnight85 Posts: 67 Member
    I've noticed I weigh between .5lb - 1lb less after a long hot shower/bath. I got a small bathroom so I can get it pretty close in feeling to the sauna at the gym just letting the shower run on hot for a few minutes.

    The obvious answer is sweat, at the gym I fell asleep in the sauna once for 3 hours and came out like 2.5lbs lighter.
  • raindawg
    raindawg Posts: 348 Member
    I usually weigh right before stepping into the shower. Sometimes if I want to check it again I'll weigh after too. It rarely changes.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,760 Member
    Maybe your shower is super hot and you sweat it out? I've noticed I can wake up retaining heaps of fluid, then will lose a lot of my puffiness in the shower...
  • Yagisama
    Yagisama Posts: 595 Member
    I usually shower with very warm water so I get the sauna effect all the time and sweat a bit. I usually weigh 0.1 kg less after the shower. :)
  • salvationsdying
    salvationsdying Posts: 205 Member
    I do it before, simply because I have hair down to my knees and it retains tons of water no matter how well I towel dry and I almost never blow dry so I will get a real result before. I also use the toilet first lol
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    I've never thought about before/after a shower. I try to do it in the morning, preferable after a good poop, before any food. That may or may not be before a shower, depending on my schedule for the day.
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  • arainiday1
    arainiday1 Posts: 1,763 Member
    yeah i also weigh before, but after i pee.... cause, well you know lol
  • jeremywm1977
    jeremywm1977 Posts: 657 Member
    I take a really warm shower and hope that I shrink in the wash.
  • jeremywm1977
    jeremywm1977 Posts: 657 Member
    I take a really warm shower and hope that I shrink in the wash.

    .......and not that kind of "shrink". (I actually read that sentence in my head after posting..........facepalm)
  • tycho_mx
    tycho_mx Posts: 426 Member
    Both. Scale (Tanita) has a body fat reading and it sometimes is very sensitive to low conductivity. The protocol I follow calls for wetting the plants of the feet. It's a bit of a pain because of the large fluctuations, and the "athlete" setting reads too low body fat but the "normal" setting reads a bit high (as compared to a DEXA a couple of years ago).

    The scale is not that sensitive to weight fluctuations, maybe helped by a hard, level surface. Maybe that's what is equivocating the readings?
  • kaaaaylee
    kaaaaylee Posts: 398
    I always figured the hair holding water thing, but this saturday I'll be weighing in before and after shower for sure. Cool stuff.
  • sarahcav123
    sarahcav123 Posts: 128 Member
    I take a really warm shower and hope that I shrink in the wash.

    Hahaha! We can all dream...
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    I think taking it to such an obsessive level where this becomes a consideration is a bad thing psychologically, personally.
  • djprice_69
    djprice_69 Posts: 115 Member
    I'm not too worried about weighing before or after a morning shower. There is another morning ritual, however, where I sit & think about life for a few minutes, that has a much more dramatic impact on what the scale says before & after.
  • MrsSausage58
    MrsSausage58 Posts: 143 Member
    I've never weighed after a shower but I'm going to now! Haha.
  • laurie04427
    laurie04427 Posts: 421 Member
    I weigh before the shower because I have a ton of hair so I figure I'd be carrying that extra water weight lol. And I actually think my skin may have absorbed some water. Not sure if that even makes sense though, but anyhow thats what I do.
  • tcbs99
    tcbs99 Posts: 23 Member
    I weight before. One thing I have noticed is when I weight right after getting out of bed I weight more. I have to get up and walk around and allow my body to settle before I weight.
  • Libby283
    Libby283 Posts: 288 Member
    I weighed myself three times before my shower and twice after. All five times was the same weight.
  • jodyblanchard
    jodyblanchard Posts: 99 Member
    I take a really warm shower and hope that I shrink in the wash.

    .......and not that kind of "shrink". (I actually read that sentence in my head after posting..........facepalm)

    " Do women know about shrinkage?" George Costanza
  • TX_Rhon
    TX_Rhon Posts: 1,549 Member
    I weigh before. Your weight fluctuates constantly. Pick a time and stick to it.
  • djprice_69
    djprice_69 Posts: 115 Member
    I take a really warm shower and hope that I shrink in the wash.

    .......and not that kind of "shrink". (I actually read that sentence in my head after posting..........facepalm)

    " Do women know about shrinkage?" George Costanza

    "It shrinks?"


    "Light a frightened turtle!"
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  • UtahWI
    UtahWI Posts: 239 Member
    LOL at shrinkage! Love! ^^
  • MrsZ_71
    MrsZ_71 Posts: 5
    I weigh first thing in the morning (usually on a Monday because I have managed to exercise loads over the weekend) always after going to the loo and before I drink my tea :). I always shower on a Sunday night so I suppose it is after a shower ;)
This discussion has been closed.

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