The scale is a liar!

Jeepon40s
Jeepon40s Posts: 15 Member
in Motivation and Support
The scale is a liar and not a great reflection of over all health, I know this. I had a very active weekend, for a change, I helped a buddy move so I was busy working and not eating. I jumped on the scale Monday morning it told me I was down 4 pounds maybe 6 depending how I calculate it. I figured it was just water weight and the number will increase, but I weighed myself this morning after a day of normal water consumption and it read the same! Honestly I am still in disbelief but IMO it is very motivating to see such a loss. No I don't have any measurements to go off of but I am able to tighten my belt by one more hole. Have you fallen victim to a misleading scale?

Replies

  • Mama530
    Mama530 Posts: 605 Member
    What a great feeling! I love the tone of excitement in your post! The scale is a fickle mistress. Success is a slow build of good choices. Congratulations! I hope this amazing feeling carries you through to
    More and more great choices!
  • Jeepon40s
    Jeepon40s Posts: 15 Member
    Cwolfman what are "wooshes"?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/46421392#Comment_46421392

    It is just a phrase for a common weight loss phenomenon where you seemingly don't really loose any weight for a bit and then suddenly have a larger drop. When you first start losing weight it is often more regular and linear and can at times be rapid with large drops in water weight, particularly if doing a low carb diet.

    After a few weeks give or take, the weight loss process becomes much less linear. There will be weeks with seemingly no loss, small losses, gains, and bigger losses. The notion of the 3,500 calorie rule is fairly rudimentary as a day to day or week to week thing as it doesn't take into account a myriad of things that are taking place in your body...stress levels and changes in hormones, fluctuations in water composition, changes in inherent waste in your system to name a few. Not to mention, the CO part of the equation can be far more variable than the CI part. However, as an average over time it works out pretty well. When I lost weight, I didn't lose exactly one pound per week for example...but the average when I was finished came to right around there for the whole period of weight loss.

    Basically, weight loss isn't a linear function and will have lots of ups and downs even when "doing everything right". Weight loss is best looked at as a trend over time. Individual data points along the way don't really say much, but they say a lot when you look at them as part of a bigger picture of long term trends. I believe you can do this on a graph in MFP, but a lot of people also use weight trend apps like Libra

  • Jeepon40s
    Jeepon40s Posts: 15 Member

    Wow good explanation.

    I am currently just focusing on my diet, which is going well atm. I plan on getting back into the gym first of the year. That is when the number on the scale may stop falling or it could fall faster. However with the muscle mass I have and my work out regimen I expect it to come to a crawl. I'm so not into long cardio sessions.

    As stated on my profile page I'm getting older now and I really just want to be healthy, mostly to stop waking up in with back pain. The back pain comes from a weak core imo plus prior injuries.

  • MaggieGirl135
    MaggieGirl135 Posts: 1,030 Member
    Although I understand your point of a scale being a liar, I have to say that mine was not. Every day, my scale would stoically accept me stepping on it and even knowing that I might be upset, it would accurately show my weight. We had an honest relationship. Every year, just before my annual doctors appointment, I would step on the scale with my clothes on and without my shoes and weighed myself. I would go to the doctors office and do the same and would be very pleased to see that my scale at home continued to not lie to me. This scale and I had a relationship for many years. A friend? Maybe. The scale was certainly loyal, always waiting for me in my bathroom. Then, a couple weeks back, when I was out of town for a week, my husband killed it. He dropped a tool on it while he was replacing the bathroom heater. Now, I really wanted the heat to be fixed, but I also wanted to continue my relationship with my scale. By the time I returned home, my scale was replaced—same brand, newer model. This one measures to 0.1 lb; the last one only measured to 0.2 lb. Oh, the guilt of liking the higher precision! So long, my dear scale…
  • GymBunnyPaige
    GymBunnyPaige Posts: 18 Member
    edited November 2021
    Although I wouldn't call the scale a "liar" since it is simply a tool that displays my relationship with gravity, I will say that I learned not to rely on my weight as an indicator of progress as much as other methods.
    While my weight did go up (I was trying to gain), it only budged by less than 10 pounds in more recent years. However, the difference in body measurements were absolutely insane.
    My waist stayed the same and even went down by an inch at one point, while everything else grew by 6 or more inches, in the span of about 8 months.
    Putting images side by side made my jaw drop to the floor. I could hardly recognize myself. I think if I showed anyone else the photo comparisons, they would assume I've gained 20+ pounds.
    People really tend to underestimate how much re-composition changes a person's appearance, I've noticed.
    Personally I think it's good to keep track of multiple metrics. Weight, body measurements, pictures, mile time, lifting records, etc. That way if the scale isn't moving as much as you expected or hoped, you can look at all your other progress and be reassured that the changes you've made to your lifestyle are in fact making a noticeable difference.
    One more thing, it's just a suggestion that helped me, maybe this won't work for you and that's fine, but I avoid weighing myself too often. The most I ever did was once every two weeks. I believe every day is not necessary, however I understand that everyone is different.
  • Eltriste73
    Eltriste73 Posts: 126 Member
    The scale is a “liar” if one wants to measure progress daily. If progress is measured, let’s say,monthly, or yearly, the scale is not a liar. I have lost now close to 40lbs, but in the last year the scale has gone up and down. This is because I am lifting weights and building muscle in addition to calorie counting.
  • cebriles
    cebriles Posts: 2 Member
    My scale lies as well. LOL But an explanation is necessary. a couple of weeks ago I dropped several pounds and attributed it to a "whoosh". Then it jumped back up and back down to the low point and stayed somewhat steady at that lower range. Well much to my surprise I had a "reverse whoosh" (if there is such a thing) and it was totally unexplainable, and unmotivating. I just couldn't believe what was going on. Up and down. Then I borrowed a friends scale for a side by side...guess what mine is fickle and lies......particularly at the low end. I changed batteries, but it is self-calibrating so no ability to make fine adjustments. I was so happy with the scale until now. Guess I'll be shopping for a new one that doesn't tell tales!

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