Why Does My Scale Give Different Readings On The Same Day?

World Wide Web | Why Does My Scale Give Different Readings On The Same Day? |  I understand that when you are trying to lose weight, things get very personal and every single weigh-in is a somewhat emotional experience. Back when I was cutting (lost 60 lbs in 7 months), I would sometimes weigh myself once, twice or even three times a day. I'm going to try and explain to you the best I can why this is a bad idea, and why you should weigh yourself every few days instead.

First of all, there is a ton of stuff that is going on in your body at any given moment. It's not just about the fat tissue you lose or gain - consider also water intake, food content in your stomach, and various other things that can impact your weight.

For example: let's assume you get up in the morning and weigh yourself in at 200 pounds. You then go on about your day, drinking around 1,5 liters of liquids along the way, eating about 500 grams of food in total, and finally going to the gym to work out. You get back home from your training and, with anticipation, step on the scale to see whether today's workout made a difference. You terrified, however, to see that the scale is pointing to 202 pounds! Does this mean that your exercise didn't work?

Far from it, actually. The reason you noticed a 2 pound increase is because of all the other stuff you put into your body during the day (the liquids and foods that I mentioned). If during your workout you ran on the treadmill for, say, an hour, you might have burned something close to 500 calories in total. In body fat terms, that is the equivalent of around one seventh of a pound. Assuming your diet was in check, you have lost 1/7th of a pound, but also "gained" around 2 pounds from the water intake and the food you ate. Therefore, you are bound to see a spike on the scale, despite the fact that you have actually lost fat!

The thing about consumed water and food, however, is that most of it is released from your system. This doesn't happen within a few hours though - think more 12 to 36 hours. Sooner or later, you will get rid of that water intake (through perspiration and urination), as well as a lot of the food you ate (through defecation). Like I said, this will not happen in an hour or two. However, by early next morning, in most cases you will notice that your weight has considerably dropped compared to where it was the previous night.

So here is my advice to you: understand that there are certain factors that will impact how much you weigh throughout the day, and which are beyond your control. The only thing you really have control over is your diet, and how much you exercise - that's what you should be focusing on. Water intake and such will even itself out naturally and you do not need to concern yourself with that. Make sure to weigh yourself no more than twice a week, or even less than that, to avoid going into a psychotic-like state of mind. Also, I strongly recommend that you limit your salt intake on the day prior to your weigh-in day - salt causes your body to retain a lot of water for a day or two, which could even bump the reading on the scale by 2 pounds in some cases. Of course, this is just water so you don't have to worry about it - you will pee it all out soon enough.

Just stay focused on your diet and exercise. Make sure to eat less calories than what you are burning, and leave the rest to mother nature - it will work, I promise.

Article Source: EzineArticles