I stumbled apon this very cool artice...very interesting and great for everyone that hates the darn scale and its fluctuations!!


THE SCIENCE OF SCALE FLUCTUATIONS - By Leigh Peele

I have had the pleasure of training and consulting some of the strongest people in the world. Actors, doctors, coaches, athletes, government leaders, models, etc. These are people who can train for hours at a time. They spent years in school studying to better themselves and some run our lives with the decisions they make.

Put these leaders, these champions on a scale, and if that scale doesn’t say what they want it to, they will weep before your eyes. I have held a 6’2 and 230lb pure muscled man in my arms as he wept. All because of the scale.


The Weight of Measure

There are a few types of scales used to measure weight. The main ones used today are balance, spring, and strain gauge.

Balance scales are used very little by everyday society as a means of measurement. A balance scale works off a lever comparing a known weight placed against the tester. A classic example of this would be Justice Scales.

A widely used method for weight, and was the standard for many years, are spring scales. These scales work on either a stretch or compress system. A stretch system is what you will find at a grocery store when weighing produce. Place an object on the scale and the distance the spring stretches, based upon its set expansion, will determine the weight.

The reverse is what is used in bathroom weight scales with springs. The amount compressed in distance is the determining factor here.

The last method is a strain gauge scale, it measures the strain of an object. A wire or many wires send out a current when weight bends the plate that it is attached to. That amount of stress is calculated and the read out that you get on a digital scale is the collection of those calculations.

There are pros and cons to every weight system. Usually different scales produce different read outs. You will find most quality scales are within a few pounds of one another for the average persons daily weigh needs. No system is without flaws and if needing to make weight for a particular event make sure you test on their scale if possible. The important thing to note is that is the only time your weight should ever matter.

Let me repeat that.

The only time your weight number is important is when you are in a competition that involves weight class. I am going to teach you how to conquer the rest of the time with the art of logic, science, and nutrition.

Essential Body Mass

The human body is made up of various bones, skin, organs, tissue, muscle, fat, water, etc. At a point there is only so much of that weight you can get rid of. For the sake of this article let’s call this Essential Body Mass (EBM). This is a little different than Lean Body Mass (LBM) because you can lose or gain a certain degree of LBM. At the end of the day there is a certain amount of EBM that you must maintain. Sorry, but you can’t make weight by removing your liver or extracting your femur.

If we set aside organs, bones, and body hair it leaves us a few places where we can store fat, muscle, and water as these are you main additions to body weight.

Fat-You have a certain amount of essential fat in the body. This fat is needed for a multitude of reasons and functions in the body. The rest of the fat you store when you eat in an excess of calories for your energy needs. You can store this fat subcutaneously (right underneath the skin) or viscerally (in between organs, mainly abdominal).

Muscle-You have a certain amount of essential muscle in the body. Without it movement would not be possible. The rest of the muscle you have is gained through various living of life or by breaking down and rebuilding that tissue via training. Muscle is more dense than fat. This means that 5 pounds of muscle takes up less space than 5 pounds of fat. It doesn’t weigh more than fat, 5 pounds is 5 pounds. This is a common saying that drives me nuts.

Riddle: What weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of rocks?

Water- A huge amount of your body is made up of water. Lean muscle tissue and blood contain about 80% water, where as a fat cell contains about 20 to 25% water. Water helps transport nutrients, oxygen, and waste products in and out of cells. It is necessary for all digestive, absorption, and circulatory functions.

Water is needed to regulate the body’s temperature and to provide energy. It also helps moisten skin and regulate hormones, emotions, and maintains normal electrical properties of cells. If your body drops even 2% of its water storage, you start to function worse, feel fatigued, and are more prone to health problems the further it drops. Simply put, no water in the body equals a whole lot of a mess.

Daily Changes

We talked about what you can’t change. Here are the things that can change. On a day in and day out basis, dieting down or not, eating in a surplus or not, these things are going to change and are affected by your activity.

Food Weight

The weight of an item you eat is going to change the weight you are. This may seem like a “duh” but I can name many moments where I had someone weight themselves after they ate, and were heavier, and freaked out.

The food you eat, has weight. The fluid you drink, has weight.

Exercise: Grab a full gallon of water and go stand on the scale with it and then without it. I rest my case.


Water Retention

Retention: To hold on to, to hold back within.

Retention comes in all forms and reasons. From hormonal to glycogen storage, you can retain water in various places on the body, in large amounts, and for extended periods of time. I am going to cover the main causes of retention and how they occur.
1. Edema

There are many causes and sublevels of edema. Edema is classified mainly as swelling from an accumulation of watery fluid in cells, tissues, or serous cavities. This can range from mild to severe and the reasoning behind it varies. Anything from electrolyte imbalances, kidney problems, allergies, injury, and exercise can contribute on mild to severe levels.

If you have sock rings, swollen calves, or a puffy face, technically these are forms of edema on small levels. If you live with this constantly then you are likely dealing with issues of electrolyte balance in the body and need to focus on maintaining a better state of that, as much as you can as it is impossible to control, but possible to manage.

What to do?

•Make sure to stay properly hydrated.
•Make sure you are getting enough of your sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and zinc.
•Make sure you are getting proper rest and time off from training.
•Make sure you are focusing on taking care of your joints and muscles.

2. Glycogen Retention

Muscle holds a massive amount of water. A lot of times people accuse diets of being “muscle eaters” but this isn’t usually the case. Usually they are muscle drinkers because one of the first things to go when you begin dieting down is the water stored in your muscles, especially if taking part in an extreme diet or one that is very low in carbs (even if higher in calories).

The reason that carbs are so important is because glycogen storage is pulled mainly from carbohydrate intake. Though a small amount can be taken from protein, it is never on a large enough level to maintain adequate or noticeable glycogen retention. That “plump” look you are going after with your muscles, to have them be filled and defined, is from storage of glycogen in the muscles. However, if you are not lean enough to see this definition pronounced, all you are going to really notice is that you fat looks fuller on the days you eat carbs.

This is a big reason why carbs get the witch hunt. It isn’t the glycogen’s fault, it’s your fatness. Lose the fat and learn to love what the carbs can do for you.

What to do? Put the carbs to work by pulling them into the muscles by lifting and training the body. Go for “plump” not “bloated.” Keeping a lower body fat level also helps with partitioning in general.

3. Hormonal/Stress

This applies to men or women, but I will say that women are going to be affected more by this on larger levels. Stress and hormonal imbalances or just general readjustments in the cycle system lead towards heavy (I do mean heavy) fluctuation in your water balance.

Stress is included in this as the triggers are very close and affect hormonal behavior. For example, if you are stressed out, crying, and can’t sleep, you are going to look and feel very much the same as you do on your period no? This is not to be confused with the crying and puffiness that actually happens around your period time either. Women are notorious for carrying their emotions on their sleeve and in most cases it’s underneath it as well.

What to do? Calm the f*%k down. There are some hormones and issues you can’t control. For the ones you can, take care of yourself and your body will take care of you.


Weight Loss isn’t Linear

Like I stated before there are so many ways you can change the course of your weigh-ins. Unless you eat the exact same thing every day and do the exact same things, in the same city, and moving at the same pace, you are going to land at a different point from day to day.

If looking for change then you have to watch the overall pattern to understand where you are really falling. That is of course, if you think the scale should matter in the first place. That is a different story though isn’t it?

The problem is that weight loss isn’t linear. Fat loss has shown to be more linear, but weight loss isn’t at all. What this means is that weight loss hardly ever has constant downward progression. There are usually two main determining factors for this.
1-Body fat percentage

2-Severity of Deficit

If you provide the same percentage of deficit for a male at 29% body fat and a male at 12% body fat you are going to see a much faster rate of weight loss for the male with larger body fat. Larger bodies store more water along with their fat mass and muscle mass. As you increase in fat and muscle you will also increase at a steady rate with water. This is why we can see someone just increase so fast in the scales as the weight comes on.

You don’t normally gain 6 pounds of fat when you go up 6 pounds on the scale. Depending on your body’s setup you can gain 2 pounds of fat and 4 pounds of water. Therefore the reverse is also true.

With deficit severity if you provided 2 females at 30% body fat with the exact same deficit they will, on average, lose at roughly the same rate. If you put one at a more extreme deficit, at least initially, the one with the large deficit is going to lose more excess water and more linear on the scale, at least in the beginning.

Larger deficits can bring stalls or plateaus at a quicker pace and since re-feeds and breaks are needed to help aid that, you will gain back the water you lost. Still, depending on how severe the diet and the situation, majority of the time a more severe deficit (>800) is going to provide more linear results.

The “Whoosh” Factor

The “whoosh” is when you are watching your weight day in and out and there is little to small changes even with big deficits. One day, out of nowhere, the scale will drop dramatically lower than it had been registering. This is known as a whoosh.

The “whoosh” could be any number of factors and no one knows for sure. One idea, and the one that makes the most sense, is that as fat cells empty, they refill with water. After a certain point and time, under unknown conditions, these cells alleviate the water and the “whoosh” is born.

The exact trigger that brings about this is unknown. Some hypothesize that it is much like water and carb loading. The body had loaded that area with stored fat, the fat leaves but the body isn’t sure yet that these areas don’t need to stay big and open for storage. So to protect itself it fills with water and doesn’t extract until it is sure that all systems are a go.

I will say that in order to see constant steady drops maintaining an adequate intake of minerals is key. With the right vitamins and electrolyte drinks I have found that you run into less stalls, therefore running into less whooshes.

Hi there,

In an effort to condense some of the informational information and not have so many stickies, I will be adding some stuff here

Lucia
Great read on plateauing http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/501511-great-read-on-plateau-ing?page=8#posts-7150335

Excellent information on why not eating enough works against you... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

Proof that there are many eating and losing weight successfully http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/506349-women-who-eat-more-than-1800-calories-a-day

Excellent article "Metabolic Damage Why It Happens, How to Avoid It and How to Fix It" by Tom Venuto
http://www.burnthefat.com/metabolic_damage.html

While avoiding my lastest uni assignment I was researching the nature of hypermetabolic response (increased metabolism) due to increased calorie intake after a period of calorie restriction. Its most relevant to ED people but thinking back on when I upped my calories to above my BMR I had a response that seems to be repeated by a few others in the eat more group.

1. 1200 and not hungry dont want to eat more,
2. Up calories feel overfull
3. After two days of eating more I am ravenous and want even more food.
4. Feel energised and "active" continue to eat at new calorie level
5. Energy disappears for three weeks and I am exhausted.
6. Energy starts to return and I stabilize.


So how many went through step 5? I've been wondering if the metabolic response "overshoots" and for a short period of time even with the raised amount of calories you can still be undereating as the calculators out there dont take into account the metabolic response that occurs when you first start eating properly after restricting calories for a time.

This is an extract describing the hypermetabolic state experienced by recovering ED people. -

When recovering from a state of prolonged starvation, an individual suffering from anorexia will enter a hypermetabolic state. During the period of starvation, the body will enter a lowered metabolic state. When the patient begins eating a normal diet once again, the body's metabolism shoots up dramatically before stabilizing.

Read more: What Is the Meaning of Hypermetabolic? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_6828026_meaning-hypermetabolic_.html#ixzz1vV6JGmVJ

This was from FiveOhMike:
Hey Guys,

Wanted to share with you something interesting I read. These are the reasons we say ditch the scale. You want to know why your gaining weight for the first few weeks (glycogen retention) or why the scale can fluctuate wildly? Please read, i know its lengthy:

"Why the Scale Lies"

By Renee Cloe, ACE Certified Personal Trainer

We’ve been told over an over again that daily weighing is unnecessary, yet many of us can’t resist peeking at that number every morning. If you just can’t bring yourself to toss the scale in the trash, you should definitely familiarize yourself with the factors that influence it’s readings.

From water retention to glycogen storage and changes in lean body mass, daily weight fluctuations are normal. They are not indicators of your success or failure. Once you understand how these mechanisms work, you can free yourself from the daily battle with the bathroom scale.

Water makes up about 60% of total body mass. Normal fluctuations in the body’s water content can send scale-watchers into a tailspin if they don’t understand what’s happening. Two factors influencing water retention are water consumption and salt intake. Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more of it your body retains. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang onto it’s water supplies with a vengeance, possibly causing the number on the scale to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.

Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. A single teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000 mg of sodium. Generally, we should only eat between 1,000 and 3,000 mg of sodium a day, so it’s easy to go overboard. Sodium is a sneaky substance. You would expect it to be most highly concentrated in salty chips, nuts, and crackers. However, a food doesn’t have to taste salty to be loaded with sodium. A half cup of instant pudding actually contains nearly four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts, 460 mg in the pudding versus 123 mg in the nuts. The more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a high sodium content. That’s why, when it comes to eating, it’s wise to stick mainly to the basics: fruits, vegetables, lean meat, beans, and whole grains. Be sure to read the labels on canned foods, boxed mixes, and frozen dinners.

Women may also retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation. This is very common and the weight will likely disappear as quickly as it arrives. Pre-menstrual water-weight gain can be minimized by drinking plenty of water, maintaining an exercise program, and keeping high-sodium processed foods to a minimum.

Another factor that can influence the scale is glycogen. Think of glycogen as a fuel tank full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored the muscles themselves. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and it’s packaged with 3-4 pounds of water when it’s stored. Your glycogen supply will shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbohydrates. As the glycogen supply shrinks you will experience a small imperceptible increase in appetite and your body will restore this fuel reserve along with it’s associated water. It’s normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes in your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with fat loss, although they can make for some unnecessarily dramatic weigh-ins if you’re prone to obsessing over the number on the scale.

Otherwise rational people also tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, it’s wise to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat or drink. Swallowing a bunch of food before you step on the scale is no different than putting a bunch of rocks in your pocket. The 5 pounds that you gain right after a huge dinner is not fat. It’s the actual weight of everything you’ve had to eat and drink. The added weight of the meal will be gone several hours later when you’ve finished digesting it. Exercise physiologists tell us that in order to store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than your body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store the above dinner as 5 pounds of fat, it would have to contain a whopping 17,500 calories. This is not likely, in fact it’s not humanly possible. So when the scale goes up 3 or 4 pounds overnight, rest easy, it’s likely to be water, glycogen, and the weight of your dinner. Keep in mind that the 3,500 calorie rule works in reverse also. In order to lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Generally, it’s only possible to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. When you follow a very low calorie diet that causes your weight to drop 10 pounds in 7 days, it’s physically impossible for all of that to be fat. What you’re really losing is water, glycogen, and muscle.

This brings us to the scale’s sneakiest attribute. It doesn’t just weigh fat. It weighs muscle, bone, water, internal organs and all. When you lose "weight," that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve lost fat. In fact, the scale has no way of telling you what you’ve lost (or gained). Losing muscle is nothing to celebrate. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have the more calories your body burns, even when you’re just sitting around. That’s one reason why a fit, active person is able to eat considerably more food than the dieter who is unwittingly destroying muscle tissue. Robin Landis, author of "Body Fueling," compares fat and muscles to feathers and gold. One pound of fat is like a big fluffy, lumpy bunch of feathers, and one pound of muscle is small and valuable like a piece of gold. Obviously, you want to lose the dumpy, bulky feathers and keep the sleek beautiful gold. The problem with the scale is that it doesn’t differentiate between the two. It can’t tell you how much of your total body weight is lean tissue and how much is fat. There are several other measuring techniques that can accomplish this, although they vary in convenience, accuracy, and cost. Skin-fold calipers pinch and measure fat folds at various locations on the body, hydrostatic (or underwater) weighing involves exhaling all of the air from your lungs before being lowered into a tank of water, and bioelectrical impedance measures the degree to which your body fat impedes a mild electrical current.

If the thought of being pinched, dunked, or gently zapped just doesn’t appeal to you, don’t worry. The best measurement tool of all turns out to be your very own eyes. How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are your rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are exercising and eating right, don’t be discouraged by a small gain on the scale. Fluctuations are perfectly normal. Expect them to happen and take them in stride. It’s a matter of mind over scale