Weighing yourself after a workout?
Options
lucyluvhandles
Posts: 138 Member
So went for a jog this morning and when I got home I weighed myself. I was a couple of lbs down, which is awesome for me but is this accurate?
0
Replies
-
Your weight will vary throughout the day depending how what you eat and eliminate (including what you eliminate through sweat). It's accurate, but the different weight you have a few hours from now (when you'll probably have had stuff to eat and drink) will also be accurate.1
-
Probably not - water weight can fluctuate a lot. It can also depend on a full stomach, waste not eliminated, etc.
I weigh at the same time of the day everyday. If the fluctuation is frustrating, then cut back on weigh ins. You're looking for downward trends.2 -
lucyluvhandles wrote: »So went for a jog this morning and when I got home I weighed myself. I was a couple of lbs down, which is awesome for me but is this accurate?
You sweated out some water...
Body weight naturally fluctuates wildly throughout the day and from day to day...weight management is about long term trends, not the actual weigh in to weigh in number.
If you go eat a couple pounds of food and get on the scale, guess what happens? And yes, it will be accurate...because the scale is only measuring weight...not all weight is fat.5 -
It's only accurate if you always weigh after a workout. The most important thing is to weigh with consistent conditions each time. If you don't you will see a lot of fluctuation. If you haven't been weighing after a workout then the weight loss is due to dehydration.2
-
It's probably accurate. The question is whether it's meaningful.11
-
once a week weigh ins are more accurate1
-
I always weigh after a run right before jumping in the shower (so only when I run at home). As long as I'm consistently weighing this way I'll know if my weight is creeping up or going down.3
-
In the summer, for fun, I'd weigh myself right before and right after my long runs. Think the most I ever lost was 5-6 lbs in one go. Of course that was just water weight, and was a good reminder to rehydrate. Otherwise, as others have said, it's only meaningful if that's when you have done all your other weigh ins.1
-
once a week weigh ins are more accurate
Why is that? Weighing every day gives you accurate data so you can monitor trends and pinpoint things that may influence your weight. I choose to weigh daily in the morning right after I wake up. Weighing daily is just another tool in my weight loss tool box that has helped me reach my goal. If you stress about minor fluctuations weekly or even monthly may work better. It's just personal preference.1 -
once a week weigh ins are more accurate
Why is that? Weighing every day gives you accurate data so you can monitor trends and pinpoint things that may influence your weight. I choose to weigh daily in the morning right after I wake up. Weighing daily is just another tool in my weight loss tool box that has helped me reach my goal. If you stress about minor fluctuations weekly or even monthly may work better. It's just personal preference.
For most of us our activities on each day of the week doesn't change much from week to week, but there are significant changes from day to day. By weighing once a week on the same day at the same time there is a higher likelihood that the events leading up to the weigh-in are consistent.0 -
As many people have pointed out accurate can mean many things. Boxer often weigh in for a fight after spending hours sweating, just to get to a certain weight. But are you looking for one moment in time. If this is for a Biggest Loser contest and this is the final weigh in great, but in between it means a lot less.
I was always told weigh in once a week the same time, ( I have been told weighing in everyday you start to go blind to it a little,) like after you have first gotten up on Friday and use that for comparison purposes, writing it down. I can step on the scale at other points, but those I do not record.
So to specifically answer your question, unless you are going to do the exact same run every single time, sweating out water weight, before weighting in, you might feel that the fluctuations are artificial in the big picture. And in the end the only person you are helping or cheating is yourself.0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »once a week weigh ins are more accurate
Why is that? Weighing every day gives you accurate data so you can monitor trends and pinpoint things that may influence your weight. I choose to weigh daily in the morning right after I wake up. Weighing daily is just another tool in my weight loss tool box that has helped me reach my goal. If you stress about minor fluctuations weekly or even monthly may work better. It's just personal preference.
For most of us our activities on each day of the week doesn't change much from week to week, but there are significant changes from day to day. By weighing once a week on the same day at the same time there is a higher likelihood that the events leading up to the weigh-in are consistent.
I guess I'm not following your logic. If I weigh myself every day, but just choose to record that weight once a week I'll still have the same numbers. Or if I record it every day, (which I don't unless I show a loss), at the end of the week the results are still the same. I understand what you're saying about events being consistent. I just don't see how that is pertinent.3 -
once a week weigh ins are more accurate
Why is that? Weighing every day gives you accurate data so you can monitor trends and pinpoint things that may influence your weight. I choose to weigh daily in the morning right after I wake up. Weighing daily is just another tool in my weight loss tool box that has helped me reach my goal. If you stress about minor fluctuations weekly or even monthly may work better. It's just personal preference.
i don't like seeing the number go up or staying the same. it discourages/confuses me, and can confuse a lot of other people. for example the OP thinks 2 pounds after a work out was real weight loss.1 -
once a week weigh ins are more accurate
Why is that? Weighing every day gives you accurate data so you can monitor trends and pinpoint things that may influence your weight. I choose to weigh daily in the morning right after I wake up. Weighing daily is just another tool in my weight loss tool box that has helped me reach my goal. If you stress about minor fluctuations weekly or even monthly may work better. It's just personal preference.
i don't like seeing the number go up or staying the same. it discourages/confuses me, and can confuse a lot of other people. for example the OP thinks 2 pounds after a work out was real weight loss.
That's why we have all these great forums on here. Education through reading posts from those in the know have made my weight loss so much easier. I don't worry too much about the numbers at this point and I actually didn't before because I knew (or maybe just felt within) that I was doing this right...finally. Took me 40 years to figure it out, sadly.0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »once a week weigh ins are more accurate
Why is that? Weighing every day gives you accurate data so you can monitor trends and pinpoint things that may influence your weight. I choose to weigh daily in the morning right after I wake up. Weighing daily is just another tool in my weight loss tool box that has helped me reach my goal. If you stress about minor fluctuations weekly or even monthly may work better. It's just personal preference.
For most of us our activities on each day of the week doesn't change much from week to week, but there are significant changes from day to day. By weighing once a week on the same day at the same time there is a higher likelihood that the events leading up to the weigh-in are consistent.
I guess I'm not following your logic. If I weigh myself every day, but just choose to record that weight once a week I'll still have the same numbers. Or if I record it every day, (which I don't unless I show a loss), at the end of the week the results are still the same. I understand what you're saying about events being consistent. I just don't see how that is pertinent.
You're right that if you only record numbers once a week you have the same numbers. But presumably you aren't going to step on the scale six more times for no reason. So the question becomes, "What do we do with those numbers?" Are we trying to figure out on which day we are heaviest? Why do we care? It seems to me that that only thing we really should be concerned with is our change in weight. The actual number on the scale is just a number, but the amount it has changed tells us something. If we are trying to lose weight, we want to see it drop by a pound or two each week. If we are maintaining weight we want to make sure it hasn't dropped or gone up much. When you weigh daily you see big changes in a short period of time, but those changes are usually water weight, so they don't really tell us anything.4 -
Most people are correct here that your weight every day is gonna change a lot, and day-to-day differences don't mean much. However, what I do to combat this is to take the 7 day average of the last week's worth of weigh-ins. This way, I factor in my weight every single morning, but one giant swing one day will not alter the average that much.
If you don't weigh yourself every day, you probably should consider doing so for a host of other benefits.1 -
I drive truck 6 days over the road and can lose as much as 4 pounds over a day and half, I'll get home Friday about 2pm weigh my self then go to gym for about 2.5 hours then sat am going to gym for about 3 hours or so , spend 2 nights out of truck weigh myself Sunday am before I go to work and down about 4 pounds from Friday , so I always take Sundays weight0
-
TimothyFish wrote: »TimothyFish wrote: »once a week weigh ins are more accurate
Why is that? Weighing every day gives you accurate data so you can monitor trends and pinpoint things that may influence your weight. I choose to weigh daily in the morning right after I wake up. Weighing daily is just another tool in my weight loss tool box that has helped me reach my goal. If you stress about minor fluctuations weekly or even monthly may work better. It's just personal preference.
For most of us our activities on each day of the week doesn't change much from week to week, but there are significant changes from day to day. By weighing once a week on the same day at the same time there is a higher likelihood that the events leading up to the weigh-in are consistent.
I guess I'm not following your logic. If I weigh myself every day, but just choose to record that weight once a week I'll still have the same numbers. Or if I record it every day, (which I don't unless I show a loss), at the end of the week the results are still the same. I understand what you're saying about events being consistent. I just don't see how that is pertinent.
You're right that if you only record numbers once a week you have the same numbers. But presumably you aren't going to step on the scale six more times for no reason. So the question becomes, "What do we do with those numbers?" Are we trying to figure out on which day we are heaviest? Why do we care? It seems to me that that only thing we really should be concerned with is our change in weight. The actual number on the scale is just a number, but the amount it has changed tells us something. If we are trying to lose weight, we want to see it drop by a pound or two each week. If we are maintaining weight we want to make sure it hasn't dropped or gone up much. When you weigh daily you see big changes in a short period of time, but those changes are usually water weight, so they don't really tell us anything.
I agree with you, however, the daily weigh in for me is just part of the process and keeps me focused. As far as actual, real weight loss, my numbers have continually trended downward. I seldom have had the number increase even over a day. It works for me and ultimately that's all that matters. For some people, those who don't understand the daily fluctuations it can be counter productive. I understand that. However, you will find many people on here who also weigh daily for the same reasons I do.
3
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 394 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 956 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions