False scale readings?

[mrsroyale 71]

Hello all,

So here is my dilemma... I weigh myself every morning and always use the same scale and try to do it at the same time each day...

Has it happened to any of you that all of a sudden you lose, lose, lose and one day the scale starts going back up?

Last week, for example, I was losing evry day, I got down to 183.6...and then two days in a row it went to 184.6 and today 185.8.

Nothing changed, I did not eat any more or less than usual... But this is certainly concerning. I was just wondering if anyone had the same experience?

[chasingpolaris321 214]

Our weight fluctuates daily based on a number of factors (water intake, where you are in your menstrual cycle, how much Water your body is retaining on any given day, bowel movements etc). I would pretty confidently say that the scale isn't giving you false readings and is instead just demonstrating that our weight is more than how much body fat we have. As many suggest on this site, either weigh less often so you can get a better sense of whether things are generally moving downwards, or learn more about the factors that cause weight gain or loss and become more comfortable with daily fluctuation. I weigh daily and don't get discouraged anymore by day to day fluctuation. Hope that helps, and good luck!

[James Marusek 5,244]

Your body weight will fluctuate by several pounds on a daily basis. Many things can cause this fluctuation such as Water weight gain, the clothes you wear, the time of day. Generally I weigh myself first thing in the morning, butt naked before Breakfast. This tends to be my lowest weight. My clothes, coats and shoes can add 5 pounds to my weight. So generally the weight at the doctor's office is higher. The problem may also be due to your scale. After I had surgery, my scale was giving me all types of bad readings. I would step on the scale and weight myself and then repeat a couple seconds later and get a totally different reading, sometime a 5 pound difference. So I replaced my scale with one that was accurate to 0.2 pounds, repeatable readings, and a large visible backlit digital reading. I am half blind and since I weigh myself with my glasses off, it was difficult to step off the scale and bend down and read the results before the scale went off. Some digital scales will give erratic readings when the batteries are low.

[karen_marie 220]

This reminds me of a weird problem I had in my last apartment. My scale never seemed to be accurate, and I would have to weight myself like five separate times in a row and take an average. I realized that the floor wasn't level! That wreaked havoc on the scale trying to accurately weigh me.

It's probably not what the issue is for you (@chasingpolaris321 is totally right in the daily fluctuations). I ended up having to find the one place in my apartment that was hard flooring and level to weigh myself - and it happened to be the front door entry. Since I tend to weigh in my birthday suit, I had to make sure that door was triple locked haha.

[fruitandveggies 456]

+1 to everything everyone else said, but also the humidity in the air, if you took a shower or bath, if you worked out, if you pooped, how much salt your food had, etc. It's so incredibly sensitive! I'm fascinated by it, so I weigh every day. I like to know what foods make me retain Water or the impact the weather has on my weight.

[Alohagal 3]

Very good to know, I'm experiencing the same ups and downs. I weigh before getting in the shower. Today I gained 2 lbs. Crazy!

[SarahannElizabeth 7]

I am 20 days post op, been on pureed food for 6 days have lost very little weight 235 start dropped 12lbs (223) on the pre op prep now 209 after 20 days. I thought I would loose more in the beginning was told today by my nutrientest i was driving myself crazy and stop weighing myself. Any body else start off slow.

[LeezaSleeved 24]

I was literally having the same problem I am 2 weeks post op and gained 2 pounds over 3 days. I was so scared. I have been keeping up my same regime and I honestly thought something was wrong with me. Hopefully this regulates over the next few days. I'm ready to get back on track to my weight loss goals.

[MauiLolly 32]

I was a little slow getting started after my gastric bypass after 3 weeks I had lost 17 lb and I was a little disappointed. Am I doctor asked me when was the last time you lost 17 lb in 3 weeks! And that made me feel silly! Consequently, the next week I lost 10 lb! One night I had to pee like 6 times during the night and I felt like I was losing weight during those hours! And I actually was! I weighed myself each time after I went to the bathroom and the scale went down every hour!

You will find that you will lose a bunch of weight and then it'll level out for a while and then you'll lose a bunch of weight again. I'm 3 months post-op now and have lost 51 pounds! I had to buy all new clothes already and I still have weight to lose of course!

My weight loss has a pattern to it. You may find that yours will as well.

Everybody told me not to wait every day but I can't help it! However I do understand all of the factors involved and like someone else said it is interesting to see what does cause a little bit of Water retention, bloating, Etc. I think that helps us to be more aware of what foods are good weight loss foods and what foods may not be.

Hope this helps! Just hang in there and relax and let this wonderful process do its thing!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using BariatricPal mobile app

[hap314ness 90]

This happened to me last week! I second what everyone else has said. There are so many factors that could lead to the inconsistencies. It's even worse when your scale gives you one number and then the Dr's office says something completely different (and usually higher than you'd like).

Let us know if you move the scale to a level place and notice an improvement.

[monica8773 25]

My doc said weigh once a week. You’ll drive yourself crazy. I panicked because I weighed and was down to 202 (morning weigh in) well I went into dr office and weighted at least 4lbs more. I have to remember that I am succeeding and I’m taking this on one pound at a time!!


HW 228
CW 217
GW 125

[monica8773 25]

I am 20 days post op, been on pureed food for 6 days have lost very little weight 235 start dropped 12lbs (223) on the pre op prep now 209 after 20 days. I thought I would loose more in the beginning was told today by my nutrientest i was driving myself crazy and stop weighing myself. Any body else start off slow.

Yes. I started at 222 and was down to 217 the morning of my surgery. We aren’t going to have those “woah, you’ve lost a ton of weight” gasps that some may get. Slow and steady.


HW 228
CW 217
GW 125

[dreamingsmall 1,125]

Weigh once a week or even once every 2 weeks if you can stand the long weight. Much more satisfying. Much less stressfull. I know people who weigh everyday to get an average. But if gains will worry you don't put yourself through it. The gains balance themselves out and if you weigh less you may miss them. You may have just had a little Fluid on-board. Keep going I can't wait to get to 180s! Go girl!