Can someone explain to me...

jb06592
jb06592 Posts: 19 Member
edited November 29 in Health and Weight Loss
How can I weigh 163.3 pounds this morning and this evening I weigh 159.2? Not that I'm complaining, but what is my real weight here??

Replies

  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Did you eat food all day? Did you weigh yourself on the same scale both times? Did you weigh yourself with a full bladder in the morning?
  • cthakkar1985
    cthakkar1985 Posts: 137 Member
    Ways you could've lost weight throughout the day -

    1) Going to the bathroom
    2) Exercising
    3) Sitting in a sauna/sweating in some other way

    Did you do any of these things throughout the day? Your "real" weight is hard to define because it can fluctuate a lot throughout the day. Just weigh yourself everyday at the same time, call that your "real" weight and check once/week
  • jb06592
    jb06592 Posts: 19 Member
    AJ_G wrote: »
    Did you eat food all day? Did you weigh yourself on the same scale both times? Did you weigh yourself with a full bladder in the morning?

    I had a smoothie for breakfast and a grilled chicken sandwich with a salad for lunch. I could have possibly had a full bladder this morning when I weighed myself. It was the same scale
  • Clobern80
    Clobern80 Posts: 714 Member
    Things that change the number on the scale daily/hourly:
    • Changes in Glycogen Stores
    • The Restroom
    • Sodium
    • Dehydration
    • Illness
    • An exhausting workout
    • Certain supplements such as creatine
    • Your menstrual cycle
    • Life
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    jb06592 wrote: »
    How can I weigh 163.3 pounds this morning and this evening I weigh 159.2? Not that I'm complaining, but what is my real weight here??

    They are both your "real weight" for that moment. Your body doesn't have a true weight, it has a weight range of about 5 pounds. Changes in hydration levels, clothing, food, water, or waste in your system, can all affect your weight from hour to hour and day to day. Pick a consistent time and consistent conditions to weigh yourself and stick to that.

  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    jb06592 wrote: »
    AJ_G wrote: »
    Did you eat food all day? Did you weigh yourself on the same scale both times? Did you weigh yourself with a full bladder in the morning?

    I had a smoothie for breakfast and a grilled chicken sandwich with a salad for lunch. I could have possibly had a full bladder this morning when I weighed myself. It was the same scale

    Yea I'm guessing there was some sort of problem with one of the weigh ins. Maybe the scale wasn't on a flat surface or something like that. I suggest you stick to only weighing yourself in the morning, after you go to the bathroom, and on an empty stomach. If you do that, it will at least be consistent and as accurate as possible.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    According to a NASA study, the typical human being takes in about 13.5 pounds of food, oxygen, and above all water every day, and excretes about the same weight of carbon dioxide, urine, and solid waste. The key word is "about." The quantities rarely balance exactly in a 24-hour period. See the chapters "The Rubber Bag" and "Signal and Noise" in John Walker's free online book The Hacker's Diet.

    If you want to track progress, the best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning, after urinating but before doing anything else. That will probably be the most consistent weight. But it is not your "true" weight any more than any other measurement.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    Why weigh yourself twice a day? Or even once a day? Long term loss happens over weeks and months, not over 8 hours. :)
  • elykt
    elykt Posts: 20 Member
    Lots of other people have said it but try to weigh yourself at the same time and place everyday. That'll give you the most consistent numbers. I do it every morning when I get up, before I eat and dress and after using the toilet. Your weight will fluctuate a few pounds for many reasons.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    jb06592 wrote: »
    How can I weigh 163.3 pounds this morning and this evening I weigh 159.2? Not that I'm complaining, but what is my real weight here??

    There is no "real" weight...body weight isn't a static figure...nobody weighs exactly XXX Lbs...it fluctuates constantly with water retention/release, more/less waste in your system, ingesting food and drink, etc.

    You should pick a time and consistently weigh in at that time and under the same conditions.
  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
    bwogilvie wrote: »
    According to a NASA study, the typical human being takes in about 13.5 pounds of food, oxygen, and above all water every day, and excretes about the same weight of carbon dioxide, urine, and solid waste. The key word is "about." The quantities rarely balance exactly in a 24-hour period. See the chapters "The Rubber Bag" and "Signal and Noise" in John Walker's free online book The Hacker's Diet.
    That'
    If you want to track progress, the best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning, after urinating but before doing anything else. That will probably be the most consistent weight. But it is not your "true" weight any more than any other measurement.

    That's a really nifty factoid to carry around, there.
  • pansamanchada
    pansamanchada Posts: 158 Member
    bwogilvie wrote: »
    According to a NASA study, the typical human being takes in about 13.5 pounds of food, oxygen, and above all water every day, and excretes about the same weight of carbon dioxide, urine, and solid waste. The key word is "about." The quantities rarely balance exactly in a 24-hour period. See the chapters "The Rubber Bag" and "Signal and Noise" in John Walker's free online book The Hacker's Diet.

    If you want to track progress, the best time to weigh yourself is first thing in the morning, after urinating but before doing anything else. That will probably be the most consistent weight. But it is not your "true" weight any more than any other measurement.

    dude if you were a girl Id be in love right now :D
  • emmycantbemeeko
    emmycantbemeeko Posts: 303 Member
    Plug that once-a-day-under-the-same-conditions weight everyone is recommending in to a trend-calculating service like trendweight to smooth out the noise and give you an idea of whether you're gaining, losing, or maintaining over time, and help you stop thinking of a single data point as telling you much about the real issue you probably care about, which is not how much you weigh, but what that tells you about the amount of fat you're carrying.

    Because a fluctuation of a few pounds between morning and night is not telling you anything about fat gain or loss (you didn't manage a deficit of 14,000 calories today, did you?) and obsessing over this will drive you crazy.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    What everyone said.

    Blood pressure fluctuates wildly all day, too. Which reading is accurate? All of them...at the time. The best way to know where you are at is to look at the average.
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
    Try using a weight app that tracks your fluctuations. I have been using happy scale for iphone. It lets me know what my "moving average" is.
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