Is the Scale Fooling Me

Reodyn
Reodyn Posts: 7 Member
edited December 2024 in Motivation and Support
I've been at this weight loss thing for about a year and often times I'll notice no progress on my scale at the end of the week. This is a huge morale blow most of the time but I know I've been good. No overeating, daily exercise.. so on and so forth. I check my weight consistently every time I wake up. Is there something I don't know, could a large portion of the weight on the scale be water weight, am I just heavier because i'm building muscle? Anyone else have this problem that could ease my mind?

Replies

  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    How much weight have you lost so far over the course of the year? Are you ultimately continuing to trend downward?

    Water weight fluctuates over the short term, so some weeks it is certainly normal not to see a change. But over time, your weight should be moving downwards if you are in a calorie deficit.
  • Reodyn
    Reodyn Posts: 7 Member
    edited June 2019
    I've lost around 50 pounds since June of last year. According to my scale I've mostly been maintaining for about a month now (with fluctuations of a pound or two up or down) which is a bit odd considering recently I've been a bit more zealous with my fitness.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Are you using a food scale to count calories?
  • Reodyn
    Reodyn Posts: 7 Member
    I use information found on packaging and general consensus for serving sizes and calorie amounts around the web.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    Reodyn wrote: »
    I use information found on packaging and general consensus for serving sizes and calorie amounts around the web.

    How many calories are you targeting a day and how much is your target rate of loss? This type of method is pretty inaccurate. Without weighing you could be significantly off in your intake. That may have worked when you had more to lose and a higher deficit, but it may become more difficult now.

    The other area is if you just started a new, more intense exercise routine, sometimes your body holds onto some more water for muscle repair. However if it's been a month, that should be starting to go away.
  • Reodyn
    Reodyn Posts: 7 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Reodyn wrote: »
    I use information found on packaging and general consensus for serving sizes and calorie amounts around the web.

    How many calories are you targeting a day and how much is your target rate of loss? This type of method is pretty inaccurate. Without weighing you could be significantly off in your intake. That may have worked when you had more to lose and a higher deficit, but it may become more difficult now.

    The other area is if you just started a new, more intense exercise routine, sometimes your body holds onto some more water for muscle repair. However if it's been a month, that should be starting to go away.

    I aim to intake around 1700 calories daily. To maintain I'd need to take in around 2500. I'm aiming for a pound or two of loss a week. Over the winter I found it difficult to go out for walks because of the cold. Now I walk for 3 to 4 miles a day and recently I've been doing a lot more aerobic exercises, however much that factors in.
  • Reodyn
    Reodyn Posts: 7 Member
    I hadn't thought of using a food scale but I'll seriously consider it.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,436 Member
    Reodyn wrote: »
    I hadn't thought of using a food scale but I'll seriously consider it.

    Check out that first thread I linked above. It has lots of hints on how to use a food scale more efficiently.
  • Reodyn
    Reodyn Posts: 7 Member
    Reodyn wrote: »
    I hadn't thought of using a food scale but I'll seriously consider it.

    Check out that first thread I linked above. It has lots of hints on how to use a food scale more efficiently.

    I will. Thank you.
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