Do not totally rely on the scale!
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bekahlou75
Posts: 304 Member
This is for anybody that puts all their faith in the number on the scale. Do not only rely on the scale for your results. The scale will show you as a different weight every single day. Only use it as information for beginning and then don't get obsessed with it. If you don't believe me, weigh every day and notice how it's not reliable.
The scale will show that I gained 3 pounds in one day, then 1 pound lower the next, then 2 pounds higher the day after that. Take measurements. Look at your body and notice if your belly looks smaller or if your thighs look thinner, etc. Notice how that dress falls better over your hips than it used to before you started this journey. Then if your scale shows an overnight 5 pound weight gain you won't be discouraged and give up.
The scale will show that I gained 3 pounds in one day, then 1 pound lower the next, then 2 pounds higher the day after that. Take measurements. Look at your body and notice if your belly looks smaller or if your thighs look thinner, etc. Notice how that dress falls better over your hips than it used to before you started this journey. Then if your scale shows an overnight 5 pound weight gain you won't be discouraged and give up.
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Replies
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If you are going to weigh daily then use a trend app (Libra, Happyscale) to follow progression rather than random data points.20
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I put my faith in the other scale... the food scale. I use it to verify I am in a calorie deficit. As long as I am I know I am losing weight regardless of what the bathroom scale says.
Body measurements are not always reliable either because they are often not done exactly the same each time.
Progress pictures and NSVs like clothes fitting will help. People should definitely pay attention to everything not just a number on the scale.
The bathroom scale is fine as long as you understand this:
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
Sometimes it will take time for weight loss to show up.18 -
Everyone’s body weight fluctuates every day for many reasons. Fat gain/loss is only one of those reasons. Your scale shows you what you weigh at the moment you step on it, including that fluctuation, which does not make it an unreliable tool. It simply means that you need to become comfortable with your body’s natural weight fluctuations, and understand that most sudden changes on the scale are not due to a change in body fat. A weight trend app is one way to help understand these fluctuations.6
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I've been a daily weigh-er for years now. The data from the weigh-ins has been insightful and has taught me lot about my body's natural fluctuations/patterns.11
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Also, the scales themselves can be unreliable. My last scale would show a 1lb difference depending on if I got on it putting my right foot first vs. left foot. So, in order to get a consistent reading I had to weigh the same time everyday, leave the scale in one place and not move it, AND always step on with my left foot first! I finally ended up throwing out that scale and bought a new one in order to save my sanity.2
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Scale weight fluctuates for a million reasons. Use a trending app to help understand what’s actually happening.
And it’s best to use any and all metrics that are important to you - measurements, photos, scale weight, fitness accomplishments, etc.
When I started, I had 100 pounds to lose. It took a LONG time for my losses to be enough to affect my physical size (meaning clothes didn’t fit better, no change in size or shape for a long time). It’s been 7 years and I STILL don’t alwsys see a change in the mirror.
For quite a long time, the scale was the only thing showing me progress (albeit within the context of fluctuations). Had I not seen my trending weight going down over time, I would have been very discouraged about the process.
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There is a lot of truth in the number I receive on the scale on any given day.
If I stick to the same diet 3-4-5 days and exercise the same (and its not TOM) the scale will be quite consistent. When you put in dietary and or hydration differences, for example my weekend eating, how I ate over those two days will show normal fluctuations. Add in hormonal changes if they are near, the scale result is quite truthful.
If you weigh daily, its simple... find you a weight trending app, this will ease the frustrations due to normal fluctuations going on at any given weigh in.6 -
In my view, day-to-day, we have a current weight range, cycling up and down within a few pounds. It's fun to watch it, see what it does, and infer why. (It's mostly about water retention and digestive contents.)
Over weeks to months, we have a long term weight trend: The range gradually moves down (loss), up (gain), or stays about the same (maintenance). That's what we watch to see what's happening with body fat.
Over months to years, muscle mass can also be a factor, but not mostly by surprise.
Seems pretty straightforward, and not worth stressing over.
Just my opinion, though.
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bekahlou75 wrote: »This is for anybody that puts all their faith in the number on the scale. Do not only rely on the scale for your results. The scale will show you as a different weight every single day. Only use it as information for beginning and then don't get obsessed with it. If you don't believe me, weigh every day and notice how it's not reliable.
The scale will show that I gained 3 pounds in one day, then 1 pound lower the next, then 2 pounds higher the day after that. Take measurements. Look at your body and notice if your belly looks smaller or if your thighs look thinner, etc. Notice how that dress falls better over your hips than it used to before you started this journey. Then if your scale shows an overnight 5 pound weight gain you won't be discouraged and give up.
Agree with the annoying fluctuations.
I like to use clothing as an idea also.1 -
I have very confusing weight trends, and sometimes trending apps show my trend as me gaining (in the short term) when I'm losing. It's really disheartening.
I keep a spreadsheet in addition to using a trending app and can see over the longer haul the bigger picture of my overall trend because of my silly weight fluctuations.
Bear in mind, these fluctuations aren't wild swings, they're all in the realm of 2-3 pounds, but I'm tiny and they matter to me since I'm trying to lose vanity weight.
Still, over time, the scale is a useful tool for me and has been all along.1 -
"The scale will show you as a different weight every single day."
Which is true, it's also expected and normal.
"If you don't believe me, weigh every day and notice how it's not reliable."
I do weigh every day and it's very reliable as the bathroom scales simply measure my total body weight at the time I step on them. That my weight is up/down/same from one day to the next day is true. What it isn't is a problem.
If you can't measure it then it's harder to manage it. That doesn't mean it's only as "information for beginning" if your desire is to manage your weight long term then measuring it is pretty important.8 -
I have about 5 sets of clothing hanging in my cupboard and once I fit into one size I leave the slightly smaller size hanging in full view for me to see. Once a week I try it on so I can see and feel if I have lost any weight.2
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I weigh every single day. My weight is highly reliable. It slowly goes up between 2 and 7 lb in the week before my period, suddenly jumps by about 2 lb right before my period, stays up for the week of my period, and then goes down suddenly in the week after my period. The remaining week, it's usually pretty much the same every day.
Deep familiarity with this pattern, and that the only valid weight comparisons are between similar times in subsequent cycles, is how I avoid getting discouraged. Also, daily weighing means I can now predict the start of my period two days before, which is well useful
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For those of you who weigh daily, is it important to do it at the same time every day and same clothes ect?0
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TavistockToad wrote: »yes
naked, after you pee when you first get up, ideally.
Thanks @TavistockToad! Going to download Happy Scale
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I need to dl one of those tracking apps too. I weigh almost every other day now and progress is slooooow. I'd like to see the trend.0
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I need to dl one of those tracking apps too. I weigh almost every other day now and progress is slooooow. I'd like to see the trend.
Worth getting!
Be conscious that the trend, too, can sometimes mislead (note GottaBurnEmAll's comment above). This is doubly true before one accumulates a good set of starting data points in the app, 30 days or so.
If one is a food scale user, faith in that develops over time, and is helpful to recognizing when the trend-line misleads.
It's all just statistics and technology, so a handy toolset, but sadly not a crystal ball.2 -
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I weigh everyday, the number fluctuates but it is data and I am a data nut! I also like mini goals so I do measurements(weekly), photos(monthly) and clothing. I celebrate every victory!2
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