We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Weight question

Posts: 21
edited November 2024 in Getting Started
Every morning I wake up at a different weight. I sometimes wake up at a weight of 177.4. Other times like today I wake up at 180. Why is that? Could it just be the amount of water and food I take in before I do to bed?

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Replies

  • Posts: 46 Member
    you shouldn't really take too much notice when weighing yourself daily, it fluctuates too much. concentrate on a weekly weigh in otherwise you'll confuse yourself.
  • Posts: 46 Member
    that just made my day.
  • Posts: 2,261 Member
    Every morning I wake up at a different weight. I sometimes wake up at a weight of 177.4. Other times like today I wake up at 180. Why is that? Could it just be the amount of water and food I take in before I do to bed?

    Pretty much.

    I have noticed that if I don't drink enough water, I can "gain" up to 6 pounds overnight. If I drink a minimum of a gallon of water during the day, I will be closer to my lowest weight the next morning. If you are going to be a daily weigh in kind of person, don't freak out unless the weight stays high for like a week.

    I am a daily weigh in kinda girl, and I have been fluctuating within the same 6 pound range for most of 8 months even though I have 60 pounds left to lose. I'm not worried, I know that my body is composition is changing. Eventually the scale will move in the right direction.
  • Posts: 482 Member
    I enjoyed the post very much. Weighing yourself everyday is just too much stress. Once a week should do it.
  • Posts: 2,065 Member

    Water retention and... poop.

    Weigh yourself once a week, same day after visiting the restroom. This is my ritual for weighing myself. Hope it helps:

    source: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1030215-and-on-the-7th-day-he-said-thou-shall-weigh-yourself
    Well I love this, not my weigh in ritual but have taken up creeping the creeper...it is a worthy cause.
  • This has just made my day :')
  • Posts: 102 Member
    That or dodgy scales. I was three pounds heavier than yesterday. Must be the scales but so disheartening.
  • Posts: 3 Member
    taunto wrote: »

    Water retention and... poop.

    Weigh yourself once a week, same day after visiting the restroom. This is my ritual for weighing myself. Hope it helps:

    source: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1030215-and-on-the-7th-day-he-said-thou-shall-weigh-yourself

  • Posts: 3 Member
    Lol enjoyed your post with a pinch of humour to start the day, all is well.
  • Posts: 313 Member
    According to John Walker's The Hacker's Diet which is an interesting perspective on "diet" page 54 you take in 13.5 lbs of food/water/oxygen a day but depending on how efficient everything processes we don't operate on a perfect 24 hour cycle to use all that so you get those fluctuations. I think that is semi comforting to keep in mind we are not robots and CICO doesn't operate at perfect 24 hour scale either.
  • Posts: 35,753 Member
    seanr456 wrote: »
    Every morning I wake up at a different weight. I sometimes wake up at a weight of 177.4. Other times like today I wake up at 180. Why is that? Could it just be the amount of water and food I take in before I do to bed?

    Congratulations: You have a human body! That's how healthy human bodies work.

    Here's my way of looking at it: We don't have a "true weight".

    Rather, we have a current weight range of a few pounds, and a long-term weight trend (up, down or level).

    When I weigh myself on any given day, I'll see some random value in my current range, the exact number depending on whether I just drank 2 cups of water (a pound); or went for a sweaty bike ride and forgot my water bottle so I'm dehydrated; or ate something with lots of carbs or sodium last night so held water weight; or ate something with a bunch of fiber that's still vacationing in my digestive system; or variations on those themes.

    The long term trend shows up when I compare those individual weigh-ins over a long period (weeks to months). Then I know whether I'm gaining, losing, or staying the same.

    I suggest you read this very informative thread:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear
  • Posts: 13,342 Member
    Fluctuations are completely normal, once you get a handle on that then the scale number doesn't matter so much. The main thing is the overall trend is either going downwards if your aim is to lose.
  • Posts: 275 Member
    I suggest entering your weight into a trending app like Libra (Android) or Happy Scale (iPhone). As it accumulates more data, it will smooth out those fluctuations and help you see your actual weight loss trend, instead of getting thrown by the (totally normal) daily fluctuations.

    Also, weigh yourself at the same time daily (preferably right away in the morning), in the same (or no) clothes, right after going to the bathroom.
  • Posts: 17,562 Member
    The zombies have been awakened!
  • Posts: 35,753 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    The zombies have been awakened!

    Oops. ;)
  • Posts: 13,342 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    The zombies have been awakened!

    oh no!! I hate when I don't notice the date of a thread :/
This discussion has been closed.