Most Accurate Way to Measure Your Weight

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Jory330
Jory330 Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey guys!!

So I'm having some trouble figuring out the best way to get the most accurate weight of myself. I usually like to have a bowel movement, and not eat or drink anything after dinner the night before (so it's almost like fasting for 12 or more hours). Any other tips to ensure I get an accurate reading?

Also, the frequency of weight measurements. A friend recommended I weigh myself 3 times a week, then take the average of those three measurements and make that my weekly weigh in. What does everyone think about that? What does everyone else do?

Any tips or tricks would be awesome, thank you!

Replies

  • ShellyShuey
    ShellyShuey Posts: 162
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    Whoa... don't obsess... Weigh once a week, first thing in the morning before food or drink.
  • Jory330
    Jory330 Posts: 2
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    I know it may seem borderline obsessive, however I've had experiences where I'll get on the scale and it'll read something like 153, the next couple of days it's 157, and one week later it reads 160 (all while on a diet to lose/maintain weight!). So Obviously, theres a big discrepancy between food/water being held within my body thats throwing off my measurements (it also doesnt help that Im not very regular, and thus could be holding days worth of food). Call me anal retentive, but I just want to ensure accuracy as best as I can.
  • LJC44
    LJC44 Posts: 221
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    Go by how your clothes feel. The scale is always fluctuating so it may discourage you. If I eat a sh*tload one day, the scale will seriously go up like 7 lbs and go down 7 lbs within the next 2 days. Or you could always get it measured by a professional :)
  • nuttyfamily
    nuttyfamily Posts: 3,394 Member
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    Whoa... don't obsess... Weigh once a week, first thing in the morning before food or drink.


    Ditto
  • HanPatty
    HanPatty Posts: 21
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    At the end of the day the number on the scale is just a number. It is more important how you feel and look. Weighing yourself might give an indicator that you are going in the right direction but there are other factors to become healthier/weight loss so don't worry about it too much. Maybe start taking measurements. I started doing that and it did wonders for my self esteem. My scale broke last night and I'm not even sure I will replace it.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    The time and conditions you are choosing for your "weigh in" are fine.

    As far as frequency, that's an individual choice. I am a data guy, so I weighed myself every day. The fluctuations didn't bother me. In fact it helped because the more data I collected, the better I understood the patterns. So if weight drifted up, I knew that as long as I stayed with my program, it was just a normal pattern and would drop down to a new low in a couple of days.

    That's not the best thing for everyone. So, you just have to find what works for you. There are no absolute rules.
  • LJC44
    LJC44 Posts: 221
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    The time and conditions you are choosing for your "weigh in" are fine.

    As far as frequency, that's an individual choice. I am a data guy, so I weighed myself every day. The fluctuations didn't bother me. In fact it helped because the more data I collected, the better I understood the patterns. So if weight drifted up, I knew that as long as I stayed with my program, it was just a normal pattern and would drop down to a new low in a couple of days.

    That's not the best thing for everyone. So, you just have to find what works for you. There are no absolute rules.

    Oh I weigh myself every day also :) Like you, I have figured out my pattern. I meant that for others it may be discouraging to see a gain even if it is normal. I am not saying I am not thinking "damn!" when I see the scale up 5 lbs, but I know it is normal.
  • tinana_RN
    tinana_RN Posts: 541 Member
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    Whoa... don't obsess... Weigh once a week, first thing in the morning before food or drink.


    Agree with this! Try to make it the same day every week, too.
  • Meliklotz
    Meliklotz Posts: 66 Member
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    Whoa... don't obsess... Weigh once a week, first thing in the morning before food or drink.


    Ditto
    ^^
    This.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    Once a week- get out of bed, strip, pee, weigh. Don't get obsessive.
  • mrsrobinsonlauraj
    mrsrobinsonlauraj Posts: 74 Member
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    Whoa... don't obsess... Weigh once a week, first thing in the morning before food or drink.


    Ditto

    Double Ditto

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