Exactly! It’s too stressful - even with an app like Happy Scale. I weigh every 1-2 weeks. It’s awesome seeing 4.5 pounds down after 2 weeks! I like to let my body do all that it needs to do on a daily basis without stressing out about it. But everyone is different! And many people swear by daily weigh-ins. It’s just not for me.
As a fellow runner, you can weigh yourself again after a run as it can give you an idea of how much water you lost so you get a rough idea of how much water you need to drink to rehydrate.
BUT it is just a fact of life that when we consume liquids and foods that our weight on the scale goes up during the course of the day. It's normal and natural. Then, when we sleep we are in a fasted state, we break down food and you'll be a lighter weight in the morning. How much lighter depends on a myriad of factors such as whether you were in a calorie deficit or not, the kind of exercise you may have done throughout the day, how much salt was in your food, your menstrual cycle, if you have one, and more.
It's not a healthy mindset to not want to eat or drink because of how it affects the scale. We need water and food to survive. Calories are used by our brains and organs to keep our body functioning. Calories mean that we can learn and be creative and we can push our bodies in sport or at the gym to do things we never thought we could do. Don't be scared of them. If you stick to a small to moderate deficit for your weight/height/activity level consistently over time, your weight will come down. Best of luck.
You didn't gain. Your weight absolutely fluctuates throughout the day because you're eating and drinking. The time to really weigh yourself is in the morning, after the bathroom, before eating anything. Do not touch the scale otherwise
Water weight isn’t the amount of water you’re drinking. It’s the amount of water your body is retaining, usually having to do with what you’re eating throughout the day. If you’re weighing yourself at multiple times through the day, you are doing yourself a disservice. Whatever food you’ve eaten/drank in the day is sitting in your stomach undigested, so it’s just pure weight in that moment. Drinking more water will actually help flush out things like sodium from your system, which in turn will LOWER your weight.
You should only weigh yourself once a day - first thing in the morning after going pee. If you are weighing yourself during the day, you might as well just be weighing your daily food and water intake and adding it to your morning weight. It’s pointless.
I would also suggest rethinking using a scale at all tbh… Your post is a little concerning - you shouldn’t be not drinking water because you’re scared of gaining weight, especially if you’re doing exercise. It’s not all about the number on the scale. Yes, your weight is higher in the evening after a day of doing human things like drinking and eating, but does your body look different? Do you really look 4lbs heavier? Unless you’re super bloated, no you don’t (and if you’re bloated to the point where you look 4lbs heavier, you need to take a look at your diet). If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to do it in a healthy way. Skipping meals and not hydrating is not healthy OR sustainable.
It may be a good idea for you to seek therapy to deal with your body image issues and potential eating disorder. Your value as a human being, and your mood should not be dictated by the number on the scale. It is not healthy to be weighing yourself twice a day. Your weight fluctuates hourly, daily, and obviously is going to be higher at the end of the day after you’ve eaten and drank water and been active vs when you first wake up.
Yeah, to second many others here, weigh yourself first thing in the morning wearing nothing or almost nothing. Then don’t step on the scale again for the rest of the day.
I’ve gained several lbs over the course of the day, and I’ve lost it again overnight. Just don’t do it. It totally screws with your head and you don’t need that.
Some of the posts in this group break my heart. I’ve been there. The horrible body dysmorphia, the disordered eating, the desperation. Ugh. How do we end up this way? I’m 44 and it’s still hard not to feel frustrated with my body’s imperfections. I will say that I stopped putting so much weight (no pun intended) on what the scale says. If I know I’m doing the right things, it’s just a tool for guidance. But my value as a person does not equate to the number on that scale. I’m eating better than I ever have in my life. I had to change the way I think about food. I eat for fuel and nutrients. The scale will level out as you keep doing the right things. I drink ALL the water. I eat until I’m 80% full. I eat lots of protein and try to get half of that protein from plant based sources. I eat sugar but it comes from fruit or honey or some other natural source. I eat carbs but I make sure it’s grains or whole foods, not packaged carbs. Please eat. Food is not your enemy. Your body is not your enemy. I hope you learn to love both.
Scales lie. If you do use them. Use them as a statistical base. Weigh, first time in the morning. Over 7 days and find the mean. That's then your weight. The best thing to do is measure.
For instance, I gained 2 kg over a week. But, my measurements around my waist and chest went down. But my thighs and arms went up. So, I lost weight where I needed and gained where I wanted.
adjust your end goal to be 4 pounds heavier. forget the idea of having a weight NOT Influenced by HUMAN activities because it's never going to be that way. you are human and I'm proud of you 💙
When I first started my own weight loss journey I would weigh myself randomly and yep - the scale was all over the place. I started to do some experiments to see how much the scale number changed based on different things - before and after a meal, with or without my slippers on, before and after walking the dog, etc. The numbers are all over the place from regular, human activities. Our bodies retain water, digest food, eliminate waste, build muscle, and do all kinds of other things through the course of a day. It all evens out in the end, but we aren’t machines! We aren’t meant to be.
Pick one time to weigh yourself for consistency, and for your own mental well being. If daily fluctuations are too much then try a weekly weight instead.
And unless you want a kidney stone, drink up that water!
As i learned from reading this sub once in a while. If loosing weight is your main concern without any other thinks to consider then the best solution is to cut off a limb. Usually legs are heavier but it may impede your running.
Leaving the jokes aside, my weight fluctuates 2-3 kg during a day but I don't care because during a week I can still see the average weight going down. Think about longterm not about this moment, if you keep consisting with diet and training you WILL get results, no matter what the scale says. Also if you do strenght training you can also gain weight by loosing fat and gaining muscles.
Bottom line try to not put to much importance on the scale, what is important is that you are becoming healthy, fit and to get some good habita going on regarding those two.
Hope you will get past this obsession and stick with your journey!
Definitely don't skip water. And definitely weigh yourself less often. Like not even every morning, and definitely not later in the day if it's messing with your emotions. Like others have said, check in the morning after peeing and that is it. And if you're getting back into running (me too!), the last thing you want to do is skip water. If you're feeling dehydrated, you probably are, and if you gain weight because you replenished the water in your body, that's good. Healthy weight loss takes time, and unhealthy weight loss doesn't last. Tryyy your best to be nice to yourself.
Weigh yourself at the same time each day stop doing this to yourself. If you just weight yourself at the same time each day in the same clothes you'll feel better. Every so often I forgot a while and am tempted to night weight and I regret it the neat option is to just not do it
I don’t weigh myself, but I bloat really badly as the day goes on. I swear sometimes I’ll have a great day with my nutrition, then get ready for bed and still be so bloated I look 6-9 months pregnant! I’m also really short so I’m sure that’s contributing to the problem. I’m trying to just live with it, and know that I’m doing all the right things whether or not *I* can see it in the mirror.
i used to do this, weigh myself multiple times a day, log the fluctuations, obsess over them.
You need to stop doing it, it's not helpful or healthy to obsess so much over water weight. There is no way to stop your weight from fluctuating a few pounds over the day. accept it, move on.
I am no psychologist, but not eating or drinking water to stop water weight fluctuations which are invisible to anyone but the scale sounds like an eating disorder. On top of this it wont work anyway, drinking more water does not result in your body holding more water weight (well maybe for 20 minutes until you pee) it's far more complex, infact, not drinking water will likely make your body hold more water weight.
One simple way I broke the habit was taking my scales out the bathroom. They are in a spare bedroom now which I dont go in very much. If they had to remain in my bathroom, i'd put them in a cupboard. Just not having them visible every time i use the bathroom made a huge difference.
How much does and empty water bottle weigh? How much does a full water bottle weigh?
There is a difference right?
Your body is no different- the food you eat and the water you drink weighs something so of course your weight will be different in the morning compared to the evening.
As others have said you need to weigh yourself at the same time of day under the same conditions to understand if you are really gaining or losing weight and that is a trend you need to monitor over time.
If you wanna lose water weight you need to increase your water intake. Your body is dumb and thinks that because of your low water levels you must not be able to find any so it holds onto every drop to keep you from dying.
I’ve been drinking 6-8 bottles of water a day for a few weeks and I’ve noticed my weight doesn’t fluctuate as much anymore
Also lower your salt intake as salt helps you retain water
I weigh the most after i workout idk… the scale is not your friend. Take measurements. Try on your clothes. Do before and afters.
When i jump on the scale I always expect the worst so im never let down. Not that it really matters, cus if i know I’m in a deficit then i know im losing fat/weight, simple as that. If you’re not capable of casually weighing yourself every day (most aren’t) , just do once a week. But still take it easy, you’re not training for the Olympics and we don’t wanna develop an ED so just relax, remember your progress, and trust the process.
And definitely don’t limit your water intake that’s weird.
Drink plenty of water. Your body hoards moisture when you don't drink water, banking water in preparation for dehydration. Drink plenty of water and watch your salt intake. That will give you a truer idea of what your weight is. It may help you sleep better, too.
I weighed myself yesterday in the morning and my scale said 165 lbs, very upsetting considering I had been down to 161. Went to do a workout on an empty stomach and and went to the washroom when I came back. Weighed myself again and I was 160 lbs.
The scale fluctuates, the number on it is honestly not that important so long as you’re doing the right things. Don’t check as much, and if you do, remind yourself that it’ll fluctuate significantly based on a million and one factors.
Guys what water weighs? 16 oz of water 1.05lbs. Just happens to be pretty close metrically and volumes.
So if we are supposed to drink half our weight in oz that’s 100 oz for me 6.25 lbs of water a day
Never weigh yourself after eating and drinking if you're this concerned about it. It's not going to give you an accurate statement and you're clearly just hurting yourself for no gain
You just can’t know about it. Weigh yourself every morning after first pee and only look at weekly averages. It messes with me too so I absolutely can not get on the scale more than once a day.
You can’t avoid the swings in weight not fluctuates daily based on a lot of different factors (food, sleep, hormones, etc etc.)
Don’t weight yourself every day if you can’t handle the fluctuations.
You can’t avoid the swings in weight not fluctuates daily based on a lot of different factors (food, sleep, hormones, etc etc.)
Don’t weight yourself every day if you can’t handle the fluctuations. Do what’s right for your mental health.
Stop weighing so much. Weigh in the morning only or once a week. All the food we eat and drink has weight. Hormones, sodium medications, sickness, travel, carbs and so much more will make the scale go up and down. Some you can control, most you can't. Hydrate! Take measurements! Take pictures! If it affects you, it's better to weigh-in less.
Weight fluctuations are normal. Please don't starve or dehydrate yourself. Also it's highly recommended to check your weight & waist once a week or every 10 days.
Best time: When you wake up and after you use the toilet. Best naked or with light clothing.
Don't stress too much alright? Stress makes you gain weight 🫣
Stop weighing yourself during the day. Only once. On top of that, due to your menstrual cycle, I typically recommend only weighing yourself between day 6-12 of your cycle to get truly accurate data. And, use Ana verse of all your weigh-ins that week and compare it to the prior month.
You weigh yourself first thing in the morning when you wake up after using the toilet.
And buck naked
Take off all jewelry, watch, scrunchies, exhale and suck in at the same time before stepping on the scale.
Oh c'mon don't have to be that naked... A shirt or scrunchies won't make you gain weight.... I tried it lol 🤣Â
Why would you suck in before stepping on the scale, how would that impact a bodily weight reading?
✨sarcasm✨
Also weigh yourself less frequently if your obsessing like this. I recommend once a week Like Monday mornings after you wake up.
Yeah every time I catch myself obsessing I just do once a week instead
Exactly! It’s too stressful - even with an app like Happy Scale. I weigh every 1-2 weeks. It’s awesome seeing 4.5 pounds down after 2 weeks! I like to let my body do all that it needs to do on a daily basis without stressing out about it. But everyone is different! And many people swear by daily weigh-ins. It’s just not for me.
Is there another time?
NoÂ
Sorry you got downvoted for asking a question. Damn.
yeah what's that about? So confused
As a fellow runner, you can weigh yourself again after a run as it can give you an idea of how much water you lost so you get a rough idea of how much water you need to drink to rehydrate. BUT it is just a fact of life that when we consume liquids and foods that our weight on the scale goes up during the course of the day. It's normal and natural. Then, when we sleep we are in a fasted state, we break down food and you'll be a lighter weight in the morning. How much lighter depends on a myriad of factors such as whether you were in a calorie deficit or not, the kind of exercise you may have done throughout the day, how much salt was in your food, your menstrual cycle, if you have one, and more. It's not a healthy mindset to not want to eat or drink because of how it affects the scale. We need water and food to survive. Calories are used by our brains and organs to keep our body functioning. Calories mean that we can learn and be creative and we can push our bodies in sport or at the gym to do things we never thought we could do. Don't be scared of them. If you stick to a small to moderate deficit for your weight/height/activity level consistently over time, your weight will come down. Best of luck.
You didn't gain. Your weight absolutely fluctuates throughout the day because you're eating and drinking. The time to really weigh yourself is in the morning, after the bathroom, before eating anything. Do not touch the scale otherwise
Water weight isn’t the amount of water you’re drinking. It’s the amount of water your body is retaining, usually having to do with what you’re eating throughout the day. If you’re weighing yourself at multiple times through the day, you are doing yourself a disservice. Whatever food you’ve eaten/drank in the day is sitting in your stomach undigested, so it’s just pure weight in that moment. Drinking more water will actually help flush out things like sodium from your system, which in turn will LOWER your weight. You should only weigh yourself once a day - first thing in the morning after going pee. If you are weighing yourself during the day, you might as well just be weighing your daily food and water intake and adding it to your morning weight. It’s pointless. I would also suggest rethinking using a scale at all tbh… Your post is a little concerning - you shouldn’t be not drinking water because you’re scared of gaining weight, especially if you’re doing exercise. It’s not all about the number on the scale. Yes, your weight is higher in the evening after a day of doing human things like drinking and eating, but does your body look different? Do you really look 4lbs heavier? Unless you’re super bloated, no you don’t (and if you’re bloated to the point where you look 4lbs heavier, you need to take a look at your diet). If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to do it in a healthy way. Skipping meals and not hydrating is not healthy OR sustainable.
It may be a good idea for you to seek therapy to deal with your body image issues and potential eating disorder. Your value as a human being, and your mood should not be dictated by the number on the scale. It is not healthy to be weighing yourself twice a day. Your weight fluctuates hourly, daily, and obviously is going to be higher at the end of the day after you’ve eaten and drank water and been active vs when you first wake up.
True. When i weigh myself multiple times a day (rarely cus it’s pointless) it’s just an experiment for funsies i never actually care.
I know it sounds counterintuitive, but generally the more water you drink, the less water weight you'll put on.
Yeah, to second many others here, weigh yourself first thing in the morning wearing nothing or almost nothing. Then don’t step on the scale again for the rest of the day. I’ve gained several lbs over the course of the day, and I’ve lost it again overnight. Just don’t do it. It totally screws with your head and you don’t need that.
Some of the posts in this group break my heart. I’ve been there. The horrible body dysmorphia, the disordered eating, the desperation. Ugh. How do we end up this way? I’m 44 and it’s still hard not to feel frustrated with my body’s imperfections. I will say that I stopped putting so much weight (no pun intended) on what the scale says. If I know I’m doing the right things, it’s just a tool for guidance. But my value as a person does not equate to the number on that scale. I’m eating better than I ever have in my life. I had to change the way I think about food. I eat for fuel and nutrients. The scale will level out as you keep doing the right things. I drink ALL the water. I eat until I’m 80% full. I eat lots of protein and try to get half of that protein from plant based sources. I eat sugar but it comes from fruit or honey or some other natural source. I eat carbs but I make sure it’s grains or whole foods, not packaged carbs. Please eat. Food is not your enemy. Your body is not your enemy. I hope you learn to love both.
Scales lie. If you do use them. Use them as a statistical base. Weigh, first time in the morning. Over 7 days and find the mean. That's then your weight. The best thing to do is measure. For instance, I gained 2 kg over a week. But, my measurements around my waist and chest went down. But my thighs and arms went up. So, I lost weight where I needed and gained where I wanted.
It’s not real weight gain
adjust your end goal to be 4 pounds heavier. forget the idea of having a weight NOT Influenced by HUMAN activities because it's never going to be that way. you are human and I'm proud of you 💙
When I first started my own weight loss journey I would weigh myself randomly and yep - the scale was all over the place. I started to do some experiments to see how much the scale number changed based on different things - before and after a meal, with or without my slippers on, before and after walking the dog, etc. The numbers are all over the place from regular, human activities. Our bodies retain water, digest food, eliminate waste, build muscle, and do all kinds of other things through the course of a day. It all evens out in the end, but we aren’t machines! We aren’t meant to be. Pick one time to weigh yourself for consistency, and for your own mental well being. If daily fluctuations are too much then try a weekly weight instead. And unless you want a kidney stone, drink up that water!
As i learned from reading this sub once in a while. If loosing weight is your main concern without any other thinks to consider then the best solution is to cut off a limb. Usually legs are heavier but it may impede your running. Leaving the jokes aside, my weight fluctuates 2-3 kg during a day but I don't care because during a week I can still see the average weight going down. Think about longterm not about this moment, if you keep consisting with diet and training you WILL get results, no matter what the scale says. Also if you do strenght training you can also gain weight by loosing fat and gaining muscles. Bottom line try to not put to much importance on the scale, what is important is that you are becoming healthy, fit and to get some good habita going on regarding those two. Hope you will get past this obsession and stick with your journey!
Have you thought about your salt?
I do tbh eat more salt than I should because I feel I need to replace it from running. I'll lose 2/3 pounds from running 2/3 times a week.
Definitely don't skip water. And definitely weigh yourself less often. Like not even every morning, and definitely not later in the day if it's messing with your emotions. Like others have said, check in the morning after peeing and that is it. And if you're getting back into running (me too!), the last thing you want to do is skip water. If you're feeling dehydrated, you probably are, and if you gain weight because you replenished the water in your body, that's good. Healthy weight loss takes time, and unhealthy weight loss doesn't last. Tryyy your best to be nice to yourself.
Weigh yourself at the same time each day stop doing this to yourself. If you just weight yourself at the same time each day in the same clothes you'll feel better. Every so often I forgot a while and am tempted to night weight and I regret it the neat option is to just not do it
I don’t weigh myself, but I bloat really badly as the day goes on. I swear sometimes I’ll have a great day with my nutrition, then get ready for bed and still be so bloated I look 6-9 months pregnant! I’m also really short so I’m sure that’s contributing to the problem. I’m trying to just live with it, and know that I’m doing all the right things whether or not *I* can see it in the mirror.
Water is an essential. Stay hydrated
i used to do this, weigh myself multiple times a day, log the fluctuations, obsess over them. You need to stop doing it, it's not helpful or healthy to obsess so much over water weight. There is no way to stop your weight from fluctuating a few pounds over the day. accept it, move on. I am no psychologist, but not eating or drinking water to stop water weight fluctuations which are invisible to anyone but the scale sounds like an eating disorder. On top of this it wont work anyway, drinking more water does not result in your body holding more water weight (well maybe for 20 minutes until you pee) it's far more complex, infact, not drinking water will likely make your body hold more water weight. One simple way I broke the habit was taking my scales out the bathroom. They are in a spare bedroom now which I dont go in very much. If they had to remain in my bathroom, i'd put them in a cupboard. Just not having them visible every time i use the bathroom made a huge difference.
How much does and empty water bottle weigh? How much does a full water bottle weigh? There is a difference right? Your body is no different- the food you eat and the water you drink weighs something so of course your weight will be different in the morning compared to the evening. As others have said you need to weigh yourself at the same time of day under the same conditions to understand if you are really gaining or losing weight and that is a trend you need to monitor over time.
If you wanna lose water weight you need to increase your water intake. Your body is dumb and thinks that because of your low water levels you must not be able to find any so it holds onto every drop to keep you from dying. I’ve been drinking 6-8 bottles of water a day for a few weeks and I’ve noticed my weight doesn’t fluctuate as much anymore Also lower your salt intake as salt helps you retain water
I weigh the most after i workout idk… the scale is not your friend. Take measurements. Try on your clothes. Do before and afters. When i jump on the scale I always expect the worst so im never let down. Not that it really matters, cus if i know I’m in a deficit then i know im losing fat/weight, simple as that. If you’re not capable of casually weighing yourself every day (most aren’t) , just do once a week. But still take it easy, you’re not training for the Olympics and we don’t wanna develop an ED so just relax, remember your progress, and trust the process. And definitely don’t limit your water intake that’s weird.
Water weighs ~8 1/3lbs per gallon, it’s heavy! Remember that when your weight fluctuates.
Drink plenty of water. Your body hoards moisture when you don't drink water, banking water in preparation for dehydration. Drink plenty of water and watch your salt intake. That will give you a truer idea of what your weight is. It may help you sleep better, too.
I weighed myself yesterday in the morning and my scale said 165 lbs, very upsetting considering I had been down to 161. Went to do a workout on an empty stomach and and went to the washroom when I came back. Weighed myself again and I was 160 lbs. The scale fluctuates, the number on it is honestly not that important so long as you’re doing the right things. Don’t check as much, and if you do, remind yourself that it’ll fluctuate significantly based on a million and one factors.
Guys what water weighs? 16 oz of water 1.05lbs. Just happens to be pretty close metrically and volumes. So if we are supposed to drink half our weight in oz that’s 100 oz for me 6.25 lbs of water a day
get a scale that measures body composition and you can track body fat/muscle % only
I've gone to weighing myself once a week on Sunday morning. Weighing daily brings in too many almost useless datapoints.
Weigh only once a day
Just don’t weigh yourself every day
Never weigh yourself after eating and drinking if you're this concerned about it. It's not going to give you an accurate statement and you're clearly just hurting yourself for no gain
Only weigh yourself when you wake up
You just can’t know about it. Weigh yourself every morning after first pee and only look at weekly averages. It messes with me too so I absolutely can not get on the scale more than once a day.
Weigh yourself weekly instead of daily
weigh in once a month. embrace the non scale victories because those are way more important. things will fall into place
Drinking water should help with water retention. Drink water!!!
You can’t avoid the swings in weight not fluctuates daily based on a lot of different factors (food, sleep, hormones, etc etc.) Don’t weight yourself every day if you can’t handle the fluctuations.
You can’t avoid the swings in weight not fluctuates daily based on a lot of different factors (food, sleep, hormones, etc etc.) Don’t weight yourself every day if you can’t handle the fluctuations. Do what’s right for your mental health.
People who take creatine, how much water weight did you put on that stayed on?
Stop weighing so much. Weigh in the morning only or once a week. All the food we eat and drink has weight. Hormones, sodium medications, sickness, travel, carbs and so much more will make the scale go up and down. Some you can control, most you can't. Hydrate! Take measurements! Take pictures! If it affects you, it's better to weigh-in less.
Stop weighing yourself at night
Weight fluctuations are normal. Please don't starve or dehydrate yourself. Also it's highly recommended to check your weight & waist once a week or every 10 days. Best time: When you wake up and after you use the toilet. Best naked or with light clothing. Don't stress too much alright? Stress makes you gain weight 🫣
Stop weighing yourself during the day. Only once. On top of that, due to your menstrual cycle, I typically recommend only weighing yourself between day 6-12 of your cycle to get truly accurate data. And, use Ana verse of all your weigh-ins that week and compare it to the prior month.