my scale is playing mind games with me , help I'm confused

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jessVanL
jessVanL Posts: 20 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been counting calories for 3 odd we
eks now and I didn't weigh myself but I rate I was marinally heavier then I was I aware, so at the two week mark I plucked up the courage to step on the scale and to my relief and marginal horro I was 70.6kgs which kinda confirmed my suspicion that I was weighing more then I had estimated. So this morning I was feeling good about myself , my thighs look smaller and the gaps bigger and my love handles have shrunk .... Well to my absolute horror according to my scale I've picked up 3kgs ... This can't actually be possible surely? Literally someone complimented my weight loss yesterday?
Help please

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  • jlewis326
    jlewis326 Posts: 53 Member
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    Muscle weighs more then fat so if your working out, that could be it. Also, it could be water weight. My advice, get a food scale and weigh your food. You woukd be surprised how easy it is to underestimate serving size when logging.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    When you're weighing yourself, make sure you are weighing around the same time every day and either wearing nothing or the same clothes each time.

    Also, the scale should be used more to track trending. I've weighed before and after taking a shower and one day I can lose a pound and another time I can gain a pound. Doing nothing but taking a shower. You can't get hung up on the exact numbers on the scale. Weigh yourself once a week. Track the numbers for a couple months, if your weight is constantly going up, make adjustments to your calories or exercise. If they are going down overall, then you should be on the right track.

    Bottom line, don't focus on the scale so much. It's just a tool to track a trend. Weight loss isn't linear, it won't always just drop...sometimes it goes up for a bit then drops, or stalls, or consistently goes up for a bit, or consistently goes down for a bit. Track the changes for a couple months and then make any adjustments if and when needed, track a few more months, make adjustments as needed, etc.
  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 901 Member
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    Are you being consistent with when you are weighing yourself? It is recommended for in the morning, after you've used the restroom, but before you've eaten/drank anything. Naked or in the same clothes each time would be a good idea for consistency.

    Are you near your 'cycle'? That affects it suddenly and hard for MANY women. May also be holding onto water weight if you've had any sodium-heavy foods recently. Many factors make our weight fluctuate hard.

    That said, my scale DID derp hardcore on me and was screwing up, way back when. How old is it? Is it dial, or digital? If digital, are the batteries dying? If dial, I recommend getting digital for accuracy... My dial was off on my first after not even owning it long, would still reset to 0 when off. Turns out it was mis-weighing me by roughly 15lbs... Lower than I actually weighed. That was a painful 15lbs to have to lose 'again'.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
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    jlewis326 wrote: »
    Muscle weighs more then fat so if your working out, that could be it. Also, it could be water weight. My advice, get a food scale and weigh your food. You woukd be surprised how easy it is to underestimate serving size when logging.

    She is very unlikely to have put on 6kg of muscle by accident. It takes time and concerted effort to gain muscle.

    Much more likely to be water weight fluctuation, although 6kg is a LOT so I would also ask how old the scale is, when its batteries were last replaced and whether perhaps you need a new one, OP? Scales get erratic when they are old. It is pretty much impossible to put on that much fat (or any tissue including muscle) in the course of a week. 6kg of fat means you ate an extra forty six thousand calories. Which, I don't know much about you, but I can pretty much guarantee you didn't do that in the course of a week.

    Why not give us a few more details, like your height, weight, age and how much you are trying to lose, how you log your food and what your habits are, and we can help make sure you get started well. But my hunch is that you need a new scale.
  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 901 Member
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    jlewis326 wrote: »
    Muscle weighs more then fat so if your working out, that could be it. Also, it could be water weight. My advice, get a food scale and weigh your food. You woukd be surprised how easy it is to underestimate serving size when logging.

    Quick note, muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. Muscle is denser, so there is less of it in volume than the same weight of fat... But a pound is a pound. And you also don't build muscle that fast.

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