Weigh in routine

Ceki wrote: »

I used to think the scale would not show a loss after a run/workout. But last week when I ran almost four miles there was a one pound loss from before the run. Then this week (yesterday) I ran five miles and here was a two pound loss after the run. I find this a bit surprising. I usually only weigh myself first thing in the morning and not daily.

I'm curious what your thoughts are on weighing in and how you work it around your exercise routines.

I don't. I find those numbers interesting/amusing but not useful in the grand picture.

I weigh(like many) First thing in the morning after dehydrating/defecating. Wearing little or nothing. That's the weight that counts.

I will hop on the scale before/after a run or before/after dinner to see what effect dehydration/feeding has, but I understand that those effects are transient.

This likely means you've lost water during the exercise, nothing more. I recommend to my clients that they take body measurements (neck, chest, stomach, waist, hips, upper arms, and upper legs). This will tell them much more than the scale.

Weighing in the morning is a good practice as it gives you a generally consistent measurement, which as a trend line can be a data point on where things are going. That said, I believe you want to be smaller, not weigh less.

Allan Misner
NASM Certified Personal Trainer
Host of the 40+ Fitness Podcast

Ceki wrote: »

I used to think the scale would not show a loss after a run/workout. But last week when I ran almost four miles there was a one pound loss from before the run. Then this week (yesterday) I ran five miles and here was a two pound loss after the run. I find this a bit surprising. I usually only weigh myself first thing in the morning and not daily.

I'm curious what your thoughts are on weighing in and how you work it around your exercise routines.

you lost water weight from your run...it's not particularly meaningful big picture data. Not to mention that body weight can fluctuate 3-5 Lbs during the day and from day to day pretty easily.

I have a Nokia / Withings scale that automatically Bluetooths my weight to MFP and other applications. Since it is easy to do and doesn't require manually logging anything, I generally weigh myself 5-6 days per week first thing in the morning. Doing this so often isn't really critical because I'm in maintenance, but I love fitness data, and I reference my stats in the past occasionally to gain perspective on where I was at similar points (ie, how much I generally weigh after the holidays)

It doesn't matter when you weigh as long as you are consistent. Comparing a pre run weight to a post run weight is not consistent.

I think it can be helpful for some people to weigh themselves often during a day until they understand the natural fluctuations in water weight and why they happen. Other people just don't seem to be able to understand the process and get confused and obsessed.

I have to take my blood glucose regularly and I frequently step on the scale at the same time since it's no additional trouble. Often I weigh myself before bed, in the morning after getting up and using the bathroom, then again about an hour after drinking a large glass of water (to take my thyroid medicine) but before eating. This last measurement - what I call my "fully hydrated morning weight" is the most consistent and representative of actual fat loss. The weight first thing in the morning after peeing and before drinking, the way most people do it, is of course lower, but far less consistent since an extra hour of sleep can mean a pound less. And of course my weight at the end of a day can be wildly misleading, since it depends on whatever I've eaten and drunk all day, minus any exercise.

Officially, I weigh myself every week, I have turned it into a routine bordering on a ritual.

Every Thursday morning I run a bath (am convinced this burns more calories than just standing in a shower), shave (getting rid of unwanted weight), after the hot bath (hoping the heat speeds up my metabolism ensuring more calories are burnt), finally dry myself vigorously with a small towel (burning more calories and getting rid of the extra weight of the water) then cross my fingers and step on the scales and log the result in MFP.

Unofficially, every time I am near a set of scales I step on them hoping the result to be lower than my official weigh in, so far it has never happened but I still check

I usually only weigh myself first thing in the morning, but out of curiosity I've done it pre and post workout. I don't ever see a significant difference. I'd assume the loss is some water weight from sweating.

I tend to weigh myself daily but really only because I like to keep track of my fluctuations. I do know that I typically see a slight bump on the scale the morning after a workout, which is then gone the next day. For example, I did a particularly rigorous workout on Sunday, and predictably had a 2.5 lb bump yesterday morning. That bump was gone this morning.

How much water do you consume while running such a distance?

Over time I've developed the mind-set that it doesn't matter much. Weigh yourself once a week right when you wake up and leave it at that. My personal belief is that watching your weight in-conjunction with observing how your clothes feel and how you perform (running, gym, etc.) should all be considerations.

I weigh first thing in the morning. I drink water while working out so would be heavier after a workout.