Scale discrepancy

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packersfan0103
packersfan0103 Posts: 250 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I read somewhere don't weigh daily. Then I read something else that you should weigh daily due to fluctuations and get an average. Wondering what others think. Today I weighed myself and weighed 2 lbs. less. Started thinking, ok this scale must be off. Ugh. Then I thought. I know, I'll weigh myself with my 15 lb kettlebell. Scale is not off. Trust me I'll take the lower weight. Feedback please.

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  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,472 Member
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    Daily weighing may be too in tune with a short term view. If you're thinking in terms of a minimum trend line of 3 months, and you should, 13 WIs will tell you what you want to know.

  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    I weigh almost daily same time in the morning, after toilet, same level of dress, same scale. I look at the trend and try not to freak out at high spikes. The biggest spike I ever got was two days after a big hike this summer. I guess I was a bit swollen. Anyway, it went away quickly, giving me the lowest weight of the summer.

    Anyway: You need some metric to know how you are doing. A once-weekly weigh-in is susceptible to the same variations as you will see daily. It's best (from the data standpoint) to average several days to see how you're doing.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I started out weighing weekly with my trainer. The first time I went up 5 lbs I was shocked and devastated because my eating and logging was on point. He explained to me about natural fluctuations. I had never heard of that and wasn't sure whether to believe him. So I bought myself a scale and started weighing daily. He was right. Then I started trending it in Happy Scale app. My daily weights look like a roller coaster, but I follow the trend. I've continued weighing daily now that I'm in maintenance. As said above, it's a data point, and data is your friend. I can practically guess what my daily fluctuation will be based on historic patterns. If I were to weigh only weekly, I would miss a lot of low days and those keep me going, even in maintenance.
  • wittsabouther
    wittsabouther Posts: 26 Member
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    I weigh daily and in the morning. It helps me stay accountable for my previous days actions.
  • packersfan0103
    packersfan0103 Posts: 250 Member
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    Thank you all for the input. I think I will try the daily thing and also try not to let the higher days get to me. A year ago I was a surrogate and carried twins. Although I've lost all of the pregnancy weight my clothes still fit a little snug. I have an old pair of jeans that I am finally able to put on with out too much of a struggle but have some serious muffin top action going. So I was thinking of trying the old jeans on maybe every other week as a guide as well.
  • Aint2Proud2Meg
    Aint2Proud2Meg Posts: 193 Member
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    I weigh daily and I cannot stress enough how much using a trending app ( I use Libra) keeps me sane. Sometimes I'll feel like I've made no progress for awhile but I'll see that I'm still losing ~2 lbs a week. Then I'll feel silly for a bit but relieved I'm still on track.
  • OldHobo
    OldHobo Posts: 647 Member
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    I weigh daily, second thing every morning. Write it down in the Daily Weight column. Next to that is the Weight/5 Day Roll column, where I write down the mean average of today and previous 4 days. The 5-day rolling average means more to me.
  • alteredsteve175
    alteredsteve175 Posts: 2,718 Member
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    I weigh daily. I see lots of fluctuations. Carbs (and especially beer) will cause an upward spike. No worries. I know that the trend is downward. I also use Libra for the trending input. Be prepared for the ups and downs if you decide to weigh daily.
  • pogiguy05
    pogiguy05 Posts: 1,583 Member
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    I think it is up to you, just don't take the fluctuations seriously. I have seen a 5 lb swing depending on how my day goes. If I get busy and I dont drink enough water I can lose 5lbs, but once I am able to hydrate and eat most if not all of it comes back on. The one thing is the OVERALL effect and that you see it come down as time goes on. Did I mention I can be a very compulsive scale user. I have the fitbit aria scale and I simply delete most of them anyways. As long as I am documenting and watching my intake and going to the gym almost everyday I am not worried.
  • Runagain_4
    Runagain_4 Posts: 97 Member
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    Whatever works best for you. When trying to lose, I definitely do better weighing in daily. It keeps me accountable and reduces the anxiety of stepping on the scale (which I definitely experience after a long period of no weigh-ins). It also allows me to course-correct fairly quickly if I see an upwards trend over the course of a week. I can sometimes see 2 lb fluctuations in a day (up or down); if I'm eating right and exercising regularly, weighing in daily shows a trend that continues to go downwards despite the fluctuations. I use Happy Scale on my phone and weightgrapher on my laptop. They calculate differently (my trend weight is higher on weightgrapher) but I don't mind and really don't focus on the number on the scale as long as both trends are going down!
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    I started out weighing weekly with my trainer.

    I can see that having someone else involved could alleviate anxiety. (Or make it worse, depending on the person!)
  • packersfan0103
    packersfan0103 Posts: 250 Member
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    Runagain_4 wrote: »
    Whatever works best for you. When trying to lose, I definitely do better weighing in daily. It keeps me accountable and reduces the anxiety of stepping on the scale (which I definitely experience after a long period of no weigh-ins). It also allows me to course-correct fairly quickly if I see an upwards trend over the course of a week. I can sometimes see 2 lb fluctuations in a day (up or down); if I'm eating right and exercising regularly, weighing in daily shows a trend that continues to go downwards despite the fluctuations. I use Happy Scale on my phone and weightgrapher on my laptop. They calculate differently (my trend weight is higher on weightgrapher) but I don't mind and really don't focus on the number on the scale as long as both trends are going down!

    Thanks. I think I'll look at that Happy Scale app. I also get a bit of anxiety with a weekly weigh in. Although I know it is completely normal to see fluctuations I just don't like when it swings upwards. Thanks again.

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