Daily Weigh-in Advice?

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sroseber
sroseber Posts: 197 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Every morning I get up, go to the bathroom and get undressed for my shower and that is when I weigh. I weigh in daily to both keep myself in check and catch myself when things are going bad before they get too bad and to motivate myself when the number goes down. I am aware that my weight will fluctuate daily. My question is how much weight (especially gain) do I blow off to fluctuation and when is it an actual gain? A certain number of lbs.? If so, how much can weight flux and how much is more likely to be an actual gain? Or is it a gain that stays a certain amount of time before it's considered an actual gain? Yeah, the scale going up at all kinda sucks but if I have some sort of perspective for what could be a fluctuation and what isn't then it might make it a little less frustrating. Are there some sort of guidelines for this?

I lost 3.6 lbs. in 5 days just by changing my diet. I'm still following my diet with only a few minor slips, and I've added 3 - 30 min. workouts (mostly cardio) since and in the last 5 days I've gained 0.6. Trying to tell myself it's just a flux but can't help but be a little disappointed that the working out hasn't shown any results yet like the diet changes did. Maybe I'm just too impatient. :)

Replies

  • crystaltrejo
    crystaltrejo Posts: 263 Member
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    I have been at this a while now and my suggestion to all of this would be weigh in once a week....peek every once in a while if need be just to see where you are at but you won't be driving yourself crazy. I was mad if I was up ounces in a day when I would weigh daily. Just my advice.
  • Soccerstar19
    Soccerstar19 Posts: 56
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    It could be fluctuation and/or muscle which is not a bad thing at all.
  • MelleyJ
    MelleyJ Posts: 198
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    It could be that your body is adjusting to the workout. I wouldn't consider 0.6lbs a gain. When your body is not sore anymore you may notice it go down again. Don't let it discourage you. I would say if you keep seeing it go up, or it stays there for more than a week you may want to change things up. Good luck and stay on track. You can do it!
  • StatutoryGrape
    StatutoryGrape Posts: 365
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    Your weight fluctuates daily, so one day you could be up a couple of pounds and be fairly low the next. It's better to just weigh once a week.
  • ashlee954
    ashlee954 Posts: 1,112 Member
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    Fluctuations vary dependant on the person, diet (sodium?), time of month, and exercise. No one can give you an exact number. You can fluctuate 2-3 lbs or 5-7. Just depends. I agree that you should only weigh once a week, especially since you seem very fixated on the fluctuations. It's gonna drive you nuts. Oh, and diet makes up 80-90% of weight loss. Exercise only 10-20%. I would concentrate more on calorie consumption whenit comes to actual losing. Exercise is great for toning, your heart, and is an added bonus to weight loss when done enough.
  • kld4239
    kld4239 Posts: 186 Member
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    I agree - once a week with the occasional peek. I weigh-in every Weds morning (no clothes, post bathroom). I find Weds works for me since I tend to eat/drink more on the weekends and this gives me an extra few days to drink more water and get back on the wagon. I also recommend taking your measurement every 3 weeks or so. It gives me something other than weight to keep me motivated.
  • AmberBarrios
    AmberBarrios Posts: 394 Member
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    with adding exercise you are building muscle so don't get too frustrated that it isn't showing any results yet. I can understand why you weigh daily I do that sometimes too especially if I feel like I have been slacking a bit. I think the fluctuation differs by person I know I can flux 5lbs! Yeah crazy I know but I only really take into account my weight on my official weigh in day.
  • xxjessikatxx
    xxjessikatxx Posts: 90
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    it can go anywhere from 1 pound more to 3 depends on water ,muscle gain..i would not worry about it ,but if you find it upsets you.Just get on the scale once a week.
  • yogalotusadg
    yogalotusadg Posts: 27
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    It usually takes about a week for weight loss / gain to register unless your losing or retaning water. so working out hard today won't show on the scale until next week. i know it's frustrating, sometimes I still catch myself weighing in everyday & getting upset with fluctuations, but I highly suggest only weighing in once a week. it's sometimes diffucult cause you want to see where you are, but being in anticipation is much better than driving yourself crazy i think! good luck, you can do it!!
  • meanness67
    meanness67 Posts: 366 Member
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    I do the same thing just to keep myself motivated and on track. I weigh everyday but make sure that I compare the values from where I was a week ago to make sure the scale is moving in the right direction. So when I weighed myself this morning, I just made sure it was less than or equal to what it was a week ago and not going up.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
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    I think you can flucuate quite a bit in a day. even a couple of pounds or so. If you have extra sodium you will retain water. You have TOM to contend with. You can check daily, but I would go with the number that is on the scale, whatever day you weigh in.

    A gallon of water weight 8lbs. If you retain just 2 cups of water that's a pound. Don't obsess about it.
  • nightbird1103
    nightbird1103 Posts: 34 Member
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    I agree with the once per week weigh ins.
    I personally hate the scale. For me, it's historically been a no win situation. If I've lost weight, in my head, I'm "cured" and then become lax with my diet. If I've gained, I become frustrated and go crazy with food. LOL.
    To be honest, I usually just stand in front of the mirror before showering and turn to the side. Body changes are usually a pretty good indicator of how I'm doing.
    I also like what one of the previous posters said about diet and exercise. Weight loss happens in the kitchen. Fitness happens in the gym. I can work out like a maniac. If my food isn't in check, nothing comes of it.

    best to you.
  • sroseber
    sroseber Posts: 197 Member
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    A gallon of water weight 8lbs. If you retain just 2 cups of water that's a pound. Don't obsess about it.

    Good to know, thanks!
  • sroseber
    sroseber Posts: 197 Member
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    Fluctuations vary dependant on the person, diet (sodium?), time of month, and exercise. No one can give you an exact number. You can fluctuate 2-3 lbs or 5-7. Just depends. I agree that you should only weigh once a week, especially since you seem very fixated on the fluctuations. It's gonna drive you nuts. Oh, and diet makes up 80-90% of weight loss. Exercise only 10-20%. I would concentrate more on calorie consumption whenit comes to actual losing. Exercise is great for toning, your heart, and is an added bonus to weight loss when done enough.

    Thanks, I didn't realize the exercising made that little difference in the weight loss (I understand I still need to do it for the toning and building muscle since muscle burns fat) that explains a lot about what's been going on. Thanks for the info.
  • sroseber
    sroseber Posts: 197 Member
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    I do the same thing just to keep myself motivated and on track. I weigh everyday but make sure that I compare the values from where I was a week ago to make sure the scale is moving in the right direction. So when I weighed myself this morning, I just made sure it was less than or equal to what it was a week ago and not going up.

    Thank you for understanding the daily weigh-ins. Seems like everyone else's response was just to weigh-in once a week. I know what happens when I don't keep in check daily so I'm not going to go to once a week weigh ins. What I wanted from this post was advice on how to keep fluctuations (especially the ones that go up) in perspective. So, thank you for your insight of comparing this day to the same day last week. I think that will be very helpful instead of comparing today to yesterday.
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
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    I will admit to weighing myself daily in the mornings. I don't let the minor ups and downs bother me though. It's when it stays the same for a couple weeks that it bugs me. I wait until I get the same (or less) reading 3 days in a row before I log it in. It is a fun beginning to a day when you see new numbers there.:happy:
  • melindapipkin
    melindapipkin Posts: 66
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    i would try to do weekly weigh ins, i used to weigh myself daily and i became too obsessed with it, good luck on your journey u can add me as a friend and we can motivate each other
  • emmyvera
    emmyvera Posts: 599 Member
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    I do the same thing just to keep myself motivated and on track. I weigh everyday but make sure that I compare the values from where I was a week ago to make sure the scale is moving in the right direction. So when I weighed myself this morning, I just made sure it was less than or equal to what it was a week ago and not going up.

    This is what I do as well and it works for me. I like to figure out and work with my good and bad habits so I can break them right away (like taking in too much sodium or not drinking enough water). But that is my motivation. Everyone is different.

    I'm a very type "A" personality and I'm surprised that I could do this, but it for me it sure does and I've found a happy medium. I'd say don't pressure yourself with it every day, if it consumes you. Once a week is a great way to check in too!!
    Good Luck :happy:

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