Why Are Scales so Fickle?

[GradyCat 3,696]

I do of course realize that scales only measure a specific point in time. And I also of course realize that I shouldn't obsess over a number on a scale or weigh myself multiple times a day.

That being said . . .

How is it that at 4:30 am I can weigh one thing, then at 6:30 am be 1 pound lighter, than at 8:00 am be 1/2 pound heavier even if I haven't eaten or drank anything? Plus don't even get me started on weighing after a bowel movement . . . my weight actually goes UP! How is that possible?

I WANT to weigh just once a week, but I find myself checking the scale every morning as soon as I wake up.

Just venting . Anybody else want to throw their scale through the window?😁

[Guest]

On one hand, I've been on that thing every single morning for 13 months. I've re-weighed in the morning if I thought it was wrong. Up to 4 times.

On the other, no matter what that number says, it doesn't change facts on the ground. You won't look or be different from the number changing. You're worth a million, Grady, no matter that number.

For a perspective, and yes I'm vastly overstepping my boundaries here and you're completely fine to tell me to STFU, I can't help but wonder if those regain pounds could be feeling like a burning platform? That they need to go before one would get 'back' to taking a more forgiving approach to this whole project?

I wonder if I might feel the same? That sure, the moderation, flexible control, allowing myself to take it one step at a time etc. are good, but would they be replaced by an intense focus on the last 200 grams of regain if regain happened? Would that work for me?

Just thinking out loud, really.

[vikingbeast 987]

Bathroom scales aren't precision devices.

Let me give you the advice my nutrition coach gave me. Weigh as often as you want, but pick ONE day a week and average the last week's worth. Then track your average. Because maybe you slid your scale and it's balanced differently. Maybe you ate something salty or drank a little wine and you're bloated. Maybe it's almost time for Aunt Flo to visit, or you overdid it at the gym, and are retaining Water.

But the average won't lie to you. And so, on days like yesterday where I had a bunch of salty food for NYE and then weighed in heavy, it averages out over the week, and I see I am losing about 2 lbs. a week.

[Arabesque 7,522]

LOL! I hear you @GradyCat. It takes 24 hours for my scales to recognise weight loss after breaking a couple of days of Constipation. 🤷🏻‍♀️

As @vikingbeast said, bathroom scales are not precision instruments. The Dept of Weights & Measures don’t regularly check them. Stand on them differently, weigh on different surfaces, humidity, changes in temperature, etc. plus our own digestive & voiding cycles & variances, etc. have to be expected.

Unless you eat & drink the exact same things in the exact same quantities at the exact same times, pee & poop the same volume, burn the same number of calories, etc. you can’t expect your weight to be exactly the same every day or even at the same time.

I weigh almost every day for my own accountability. I allow for what I’ve worked out is my fluctuation range. It’s only if I go above or below that range that I get cautious but even then I review what I’ve been eating, drinking, physically doing, peeing, pooping, etc. to see if it’s something I’ve caused (food, fluids, activity), if it’s just life (stress, health, physiological cycles, etc.) or my scales. Then I either ignore it or make the necessary adjustments.

[GradyCat 3,696]

So I'm grumpy this morning because the scale said I gained a pound since yesterday. I did NOT gain a pound. I usually get up really early and go to the gym, but the scale has started my whole day off wrong. I know better than to let it get to me, I really do, but it's clouding my morning already because the numbers had been creeping down and suddenly it jumped up a whole pound in a day for no reason. Sigh. I HATE THE SCALE!!!!

[Hop_Scotch 1,633]

It;s very typical for weight to fluctuate on a daily basis, if someone can't handle the daily fluctuations they should weigh weekly or monthly.

The daily fluctuations are not fat gains or loss, they are typically related to temporary Fluid retention gains or losses. As long as the long term weight is stable (if goal weight is reached) or the long term trend is downwards (for those in weight loss mode) its all good.

[Summermoose 194]

I’ve gone through all that and then some!
I had anorexia which turned into bulimia when I was a teenager so I weighed myself obsessively. It was an instrument of absolute torture and it breaks my heart when I read about others struggling with scales as well. Please don’t let it get to the point where it has that much power over you that it begins to negatively affect your life. Nothing about the semblance of control you feel you are grasping at when obsessive weighing starts is any sort of actual control. Your body does what it wants and your weight loss is happening regardless of you weighing yourself so often or not. It’ll only drive you crazy and make you unhappy.
I’ve been ordered by my surgeon to only weigh myself once a week (forever!), and have been able to stick to it. My husband knows about my history and keeps an eye on me as well ☺️
If you or anyone else would like to chat about this for some support, please do let me know. 💕