A little bit of advice I was told and want to pass on

chrisleyland314
chrisleyland314 Posts: 39 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Weighing yourself.

Females and males when weighing yourself if you don't already know it's best to weigh yourself on the same day of every week, at the same time (preferably in the morning before food after toilet break).

But I know hormones and other factors can play a big part in weight fluctuations so this bit of advice I heard should help. Weigh yourself every morning and average your weight on the Sunday of every week.

This should give a better reading to your actual weight, instead of waking up one day, stepping on the scale and realising you've put on weight and think F this diet I've not cheated at all and I'm actually gaining weight.

Hope this helps.

Replies

  • HippySkoppy
    HippySkoppy Posts: 725 Member
    All round solid advice, especially the concept of not panicking over weight fluctuations and being aware that weight loss is not linear. Nice one!!
  • Hiro_Protagonist
    Hiro_Protagonist Posts: 40 Member
    edited August 2016
    This is basically what I do when cutting or bulking. I punch the numbers into Excel and figure out my average loss (or gainz) as well as monitoring fluctuations and possible causes and apply changes to my program when necessary.

    Tis solid advice but sometimes it is not a good fit for everyone. Some individuals get too fixated on the scales leading to unnecessary stress, obsessiveness etc...

    My take is do what works best for you (realistically)
  • chrisleyland314
    chrisleyland314 Posts: 39 Member
    @Hiro_Protagonist very true and I've been guilty of it myself. But it's quite hard when your 20%+ of BF to see a pound of weight difference so I believe weighing yourself can give you a measurable result of what your doing is right (providing your honest with yourself and true to your diet).

    I also believe it's a good habit to get into (when losing weight/bodyfat) as long as it's done once a day not every other hour then, yes it is obsessive and mentally unhealthy and needs to be put into check.

    A lot of things can become obsessive when it comes to fitness and weight management. There needs to be a balance.

    Don't know who I'm quoting here but this pretty much hits the nail on the head, "health and fitness should enhance your life, NOT be your life."

  • chrisleyland314
    chrisleyland314 Posts: 39 Member
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Nah ...a weekly average isn't enough, particularly when you have fluctuating hormones to cope with. Also the nature of weight loss, once you get into it, is not linear can be whooshes and stalls

    Better to use a trending app like libra or Happyscale or one of the sites like trendweight.com or Weightographer.com

    They trend over 4-8 weeks which is far more appropriate than 7 days

    This formula can be adapted over the course of weeks and months of needs be. Same principles just more data, which is what I'm guessing your websites do.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    chrisleyland314 wrote: »
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    Nah ...a weekly average isn't enough, particularly when you have fluctuating hormones to cope with. Also the nature of weight loss, once you get into it, is not linear can be whooshes and stalls

    Better to use a trending app like libra or Happyscale or one of the sites like trendweight.com or Weightographer.com

    They trend over 4-8 weeks which is far more appropriate than 7 days

    This formula can be adapted over the course of weeks and months of needs be. Same principles just more data, which is what I'm guessing your websites do.

    Yes they do more though as they extrapolate a trendline and give guidance on how much you are actually consuming compared to your actual TDEE from your personal biometric data

    #datageek
  • chrisleyland314
    chrisleyland314 Posts: 39 Member
    edited August 2016
    @Sued0nim Oh ok fair enough. But you calculate your TDEE and also log what you eat through this app...
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    chrisleyland314 wrote: »
    @Sued0nim Oh ok fair enough. But you calculate your TDEE and also log what you eat through this app...

    The TDEE produced by any website is merely a guide. Having your own personal data allows you to calculate it accurately using your own numbers over time.

    I use Happyscale. I need 8 weeks to know what's really going on as I can go up to 4 weeks with no losses on the scale but then have several whooshes over the next two or three. If I was either a weekly weigher or a two weekly averager I'd be cutting way too hard and thinking my TDEE is much lower than it actually is.
  • chrisleyland314
    chrisleyland314 Posts: 39 Member
    @VintageFeline ok fair enough if that works for you then all credit to you! I'm just trying to pass on a bit of advice that I think some people will find helpful. Best of luck with your fitness journey.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Lots of good points being made by everyone in this thread.

    I weigh daily and use Happy Scale.

    Good OP. I started out weighing weekly, and got to a point where my hands would shake before stepping on the scale, it made me so nervous.

    Having the Happy Scale data and seeing the averaged downward trend was incredibly helpful.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I'm not disputing your advice @chrisleyland314 ..it is far better than weighing regularly and flinching with every fluctuation

    It just doesn't go far enough

    Knowing ones actual TDEE is far superior to guesstimates from online calculators ...TBH MFP gives NEAT calculation not TDEE ...until you enter your exercise and then many people get that wrong and massively overestimate

    Bio-feedback from your own data is key and there are so many free resources nowadays it seems silly to be taking an arithmetic mean
  • chrisleyland314
    chrisleyland314 Posts: 39 Member
    @Sued0nim ok yes I will agree that having an actual calories burned method, with using your websites or a Fitbit to give a genuine TDEE is better than using predetermined calculators, that estimate your calorie expenditure. But as I have said, this is a bit of advice for people who fluctuate in weight day to day and not to panic.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Weighing ourselves isn't rocket science, it should be common sense for us to realise that first thing is the best time to weigh in before eating/drinking and after using loo.
  • joans1976
    joans1976 Posts: 2,201 Member
    Good advice all! I was obsessing over numbers about 12 weeks in to my life style change. I weighed once a week (same day/time/etc) and would get really upset if I gained. I learned about The Happy Scale app from someone on here and now I weigh daily and the stress of numbers is gone as I can see that overall, my weight is going down. I also have been focusing more on just how my body feels, how my clothes feel and I do monthly measurements.
    It was scary though because I was obsessed with the numbers so easily, before I even realized I was obsessing.
    This is a long journey and I know I have a lot more to learn!
    Happy MFPing!
    Thanks for all the great advice!
  • chrisleyland314
    chrisleyland314 Posts: 39 Member
    @joans1976 good for you! Happy for you
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,145 Member
    I use Trendweight to track my weight fluctuations because math is hard (let's go shopping!). I agree with OP's general advice.

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