Question For Those Who Weigh Themselves Daily
skaterickets
Posts: 5
I'm not really looking to discuss how often to weigh yourself, or wether daily is better than weekly etc. I do it once a day and it works for me. However I do have a question for other people who weigh themselves everyday. Firstly I am VERY consistent-- I weigh myself at the same time in the morning after I go to the bathroom, and have the same diet/ water intake. I never get numbers that bounce up and down but I still don't like the inconsistency of the numbers.
As opposed to dropping like 0.1-0.2 per day it's very sporadic. For example I will be at 153.4 for like 4 days and then suddenly drop to 152.5 then stay there for maybe 6 days and drop to 151.1. Does this happen to anyone else? Is my scale just ****ty?
If it helps here is a screenshot of my progress:
http://imgur.com/DD9jDlP
http://imgur.com/BoKFdgL
As opposed to dropping like 0.1-0.2 per day it's very sporadic. For example I will be at 153.4 for like 4 days and then suddenly drop to 152.5 then stay there for maybe 6 days and drop to 151.1. Does this happen to anyone else? Is my scale just ****ty?
If it helps here is a screenshot of my progress:
http://imgur.com/DD9jDlP
http://imgur.com/BoKFdgL
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Replies
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very normal. its water weight
its not just diet that effects water retention, stress, exercise, environmental factors, sleeping patterns all play a role. thats why you have to look at trends over time not just day to day weight0 -
^yup.
Mine did the same thing in weight loss. Sometimes, it goes up a p o in or two as well and then goes back down. Ah, the scale. Ever will I hate you. Take measurements too! And pictures! They'll be more telling when the scale is being mean!
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Yes, sometimes it goes through phases where it stays the exact same for days, other times it fluctuates rapidly.
:sad:0 -
Yup, mine does that too. I weigh daily but only log my weight on Friday's. I weigh first thing in the morning after I use the bathroom and before I get dressed. If I've had something salty or soda I know for sure the number will be higher the next day.0
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Yep same here, must be totally normal. Wouldn't worry about it.0
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Weight loss is not going to be linear, you can't expect to lose .1 or .2 pounds everyday to end up at a 1 pound per week loss.
It is perfectly normal to not lose anything or even see an increase from day to day. Most people shouldn't weigh everyday because of this. If you do weigh everyday take your weekly average at the end of the week and eventually you should see a trend that is going down.0 -
From my experience I'd have to agree. It's normal all things considered. I can flucuate a lot day to day whether I consume a lot or very little...no rhyme or reason.... Yea it's frustrating to see it bounce around at times but as long as I'm the same a week later in maintenance or down if trying to lower all is good!0
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Yep.0
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My weight for any given week fluctuates up and down daily for that week. Not huge fluctuations, usually less than 1 lb, then I'll randomly see a big drop. On Saturdays, I average the daily weights and enter it into a separate spreadsheet. It allows me to see my weekly trends better and is more accurate than depending on a single weight for that week. (I enter my daily weight into MFP)0
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yep im usually at a pound loss for a day, will shoot up to 2-3 pounds up, then suddenly be four pounds down when all is said and done. it's odd but as long as the big picture/general trend is moving the the right direction, i dont stress about it.
my weights for the past two weeks:
Weight 6/24/2014 132.7 lbs
Weight 6/23/2014 134.5 lbs
Weight 6/22/2014 131.4 lbs
Weight 6/21/2014 131.8 lbs
Weight 6/20/2014 132.3 lbs
Weight 6/19/2014 132.3 lbs
Weight 6/18/2014 133.6 lbs
Weight 6/17/2014 132.9 lbs
Weight 6/16/2014 133.6 lbs
Weight 6/15/2014 134.9 lbs
not worried about it because i am now bouncing around 131-135, rather than bouncing around 133-137 as i was two weeks ago - so i can see a difference and itll all keep slowly going down eventually. i track every day just for personal interest BTW.0 -
Very, very normal. As long as the overall trend is going in the direction you want, you're doing great!0
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It's normal. One day I will weigh 129 and two days later 132. Depends one what you eat, how much sodium you've had, how much water you've been drinking, and work outs. I'm sure there are a ton of other reasons, but I'm not a Dr.
I just know why mine goes up and down. Drives me crazy some days, but I'm a daily weigher and sticking to it. 0 -
Mine can go up for a few days and then drop. Friday-Sunday I was holding steady at one weight. Today I'm two and a half pounds down from that. Since I started strength training this month and was hitting TOM, this was pretty expected.0
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I wanted to get my graph out of my blog, but didn't quite manage. You can see 6 months of daily weigh-ins here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/nelinelineli
After one year of daily weigh-ins I can assure you the scales are going to go up and down by over 5lbs, even overnight. Some periods, they show the exact same number for a whole week, some others - they bounce up and down in a chaotic manner.
Muscle inflammation, hormonal factors, weather, meal timing, size, sodium, potassium content, alcohol consumption... they all "chime in". I suggest using a site like Trendweight.com to help you plot the average weight, which is the closest you'll get to estimating the "real" weight, as low and high values are equally deceiving. You may be dehydrated today, bloated tomorrow
As for the "laddered" profile, that's a well-observed effect (you can see it in my weigh-ins as well - "plateaus" followed by drastic drops). As far as I know there aren't any definite explanations for why that happens, but it's definitely "a thing" 0 -
Yes.....same for me.0
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I am completely obsessed with scale, the only reason I weigh every day. I do it at exactly the same time, etc. I do bounce up and down but not by much. I also plateau. My longest was two weeks. All that said, I pay much more attention to my trending weight than the daily numbers. If you use the Reports here you can see your weight loss over time and it is much more satisfying to see that than the every day up one down two routine.0
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Hi There,
I track everyday too because I travel a lot and am never guaranteed to be home the same day each week to record my weight (not to mention, what is that's a really bad day one week or a really good day). I like to see an average, or a trend if you will. My weight can fluctuate up to 2.5lbs for what appears to be no rhyme or reason.
Charlene0 -
Wow thanks for all the replies! I'm just so surprised that my water weight or whatever it is, will retain for like 4 days and then drastically drop... but it's good to hear there isn't anything wrong.0
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Lots of reason your weight will fluctuate daily - water weight, food still digesting, etc...
If the fluctuations bother you AND you have an iPhone - I'd suggest the app: Happy Scale
It is specifically for daily (or frequent) weighers - once you have a number of entries it will offer you the option to use "predicted weight" and it uses a mathematical equation to predict your actual weight and erase the fluctuations.0 -
Yes, my weight changes like that too-It can stick for several days and then drop three pounds or it may go up four pounds over night. I weigh every day but I actually track my daily weigh-ins on an app I saw suggested on one of the boards (can't remember who it was that suggested it now)-Libra. It actually takes the daily weigh-ins and makes a trendline on the graph for you and I know as long as my trend line is heading down I am ok, even if my weight sticks at the same place for a couple of days.0
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What's killing me is not only do I have the fluctuations like your experiencing, I've gone from the upper 130s to low 140s. It's maddening. BUT, all my clothes fit exactly the same if not better and I'm running faster than i did a year ago. So, while I'd love for that scale to move back to the 130s, I'll say I'm good where I'm at!0
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Sounds totally normal to me.
My fluctuations can be 3lbs in a day or 5lbs in a weekend. Often I know why (salty foods, alcohol, big meals, long cycle ride, heavy training.....), sometimes it's a complete mystery.
My final weight loss was 2lbs in three weeks and then 2lbs in two days without changing anything.0 -
Very normal. Other things affect your body's weight. Sodium, hormones, time of the month, stress, sleep. Even when you try to be 100% consistent, things vary. Its the overall trend that matters.0
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Mine is slower. Typical 7 days of weigh ins for me is something like this:
Monday 180.2
Tuesday 179.8
Wednesday 179.2
Thursday 180.2
Friday 180.0
Saturday 179.4
Sunday 179.0
(sorry if this is TMI but the only time I see a jump of like 3 lb downward in a week is the week preceding my period)0 -
Yes...I have the same problem - I weigh myself every single morning when I wake up - and I can be up or down by a pound or whatever. I am maintaining so the reason I weigh every morning is because I want to make sure I am not losing anymore weight...the gain is okay as it is not by much and most likely water retention but if it gets too low then I know I have to eat more.0
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very normal. its water weight
its not just diet that effects water retention, stress, exercise, environmental factors, sleeping patterns all play a role. thats why you have to look at trends over time not just day to day weight
True that !! During my 36 pound loss over 6 months, the TREND was down. The daily weight varied up to 8 pounds per day. The weekly trend was encouraging but the monthly trend was best.
Water weighs the same in a bottle as in your body. Namely,
1.0 Kg per Litre or
100 grams per 100 ml or
1.0 pounds per 16 ounces or
0.5 pounds per 1.0 cup or
1.1 pounds per 500 ml0 -
Wow thanks for all the replies! I'm just so surprised that my water weight or whatever it is, will retain for like 4 days and then drastically drop... but it's good to hear there isn't anything wrong.
I'm not sure anyone is actually addressing your question. If I understand you're not just seeing "plateaus", you're seeing multiple days in a row where the scale reads exactly the same. Is that so? Here are the images you posted:
I have seen evidence that my scale retains its previous measurement if the new measurement is close to the previous measurement. For example, if I weighed in at 165.2 on one day, and the next day actually weighed 165.0, the scale would still report 165.2. The rumor that I heard (and it's only a rumor as far as I know) is that some scale manufacturers do this to keep people from freaking out over small daily changes.
I have worked around this in the past by taking something that weighs more than a pound with me onto the scale, weighing, and then re-weighing without the extra weight.0 -
I have seen evidence that my scale retains its previous measurement if the new measurement is close to the previous measurement. For example, if I weighed in at 165.2 on one day, and the next day actually weighed 165.0, the scale would still report 165.2. The rumor that I heard (and it's only a rumor as far as I know) is that some scale manufacturers do this to keep people from freaking out over small daily changes.
I have worked around this in the past by taking something that weighs more than a pound with me onto the scale, weighing, and then re-weighing without the extra weight.
I have this issue with our newer scale. I usually put a big dictionary on it (do people use paper dictionaries for their intended use anymore?) and then stand on it and then let it clear out and weigh myself alone again. Then I get on our older scale and compare the numbers. One weighs to the tenth of a pound and one weighs to the half pound so I like to see if they match up. FWIW, the scale that gets stuck is one of the WW body fat models.0 -
The expectation that you would see a linear drop of incremental ounces on a daily basis is completely unrealistic. Weight control is not a linear function and your body weight isn't static. Nobody weighs exactly XXX lb all of the time. You have all kinds of stuff going on here that is going to result in NATURAL body weight fluctuations. People have mentioned water retention/release...a number of things can effect this including hormonal changes, exercise, sodium, dehydration, etc. You also have the timing of food in/out...more or less waste in your system from the previous weigh in, etc.
You need to be observing the overall trend, not the day to day fluctuations.0 -
yep im usually at a pound loss for a day, will shoot up to 2-3 pounds up, then suddenly be four pounds down when all is said and done. it's odd but as long as the big picture/general trend is moving the the right direction, i dont stress about it.
my weights for the past two weeks:
Weight 6/24/2014 132.7 lbs
Weight 6/23/2014 134.5 lbs
Weight 6/22/2014 131.4 lbs
Weight 6/21/2014 131.8 lbs
Weight 6/20/2014 132.3 lbs
Weight 6/19/2014 132.3 lbs
Weight 6/18/2014 133.6 lbs
Weight 6/17/2014 132.9 lbs
Weight 6/16/2014 133.6 lbs
Weight 6/15/2014 134.9 lbs
not worried about it because i am now bouncing around 131-135, rather than bouncing around 133-137 as i was two weeks ago - so i can see a difference and itll all keep slowly going down eventually. i track every day just for personal interest BTW.
Thank you for posting your recorded numbers! I just got a digital scale a few days ago and was wondering about it as I thought I might see a small decrease every day...this was good info, I will just record it and see. I am curious too just for myself to see if I can find patterns, or what my pattern might be 0
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