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Original poster

Are my scales broken or am I??

13 replies

Ilmb · 27/08/2018 10:15

For 10 days Iv been on a ‘diet’ as I need to shift half a stone. Iv no time had sugar, processed crap etc and calories been 1200 ish a day. I lost over 2lbs as of Saturday and was very happy. Got on the scales today and Iv put it all back on?!? I went on the scales 3 times to check they weren’t broken and sadly they seem to be working fine! Why have I put it back on?! Physically as active as possible and haven’t had any lazy days....?
Help!

OP posts:

Silversun83 · 27/08/2018 11:06

This is why you should only weigh yourself once a week..! Are you pre-menstrual? You can put on a few pounds in the days leading up to your period due to water retention.

BillywigSting · 27/08/2018 11:08

Also 2bls can be down to whether or not you've had a poo and how much you've had to drink/eat, and time of day.

I'm lightest at around 8am, after going to the loo, before breakfast and before I've had a lot to drink.

They say once a week for a good reason

FuckMyUterus · 27/08/2018 11:09

Echo as said above, only weigh yourself once a week. It could be something as simple as not having had a bowel movement, having drank more water etc. Your weight, especially if you're only talking a lb or 2,is not a constant value, it changes throughout the day. Well done on the 2lb loss, fingers crossed for lots more!

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MrsLettuce · 27/08/2018 11:11

Yeah, I occasionally have as much a 7lbs water weight when I'm premenstrual. More normally it's 2-4lbs which can still be a shock if I'm dieting, weighing to regularly and not aware enough of my cycle

MrsLettuce · 27/08/2018 11:11

Too

Original poster

Ilmb · 27/08/2018 11:24

I’m not pre menstrual... although Iv just read that too much salt can cause retention which weighs more... I somehow forgot I had some Doritos last night... very salty.. I’m kind of hoping it’s that!

I know I know I should only weigh weekly but Iv had a nightmare with my weight... for the last 6 months or so it keeps creeping up and as I’m short it doesn’t take a lot to look ‘fat’. For some reason I’m having to keep max of 1200 a day to lose, I never had to do thAt before!

OP posts:

BarbaraofSevillle · 27/08/2018 12:26

Advice to only weigh yourself once a week is total bollocks, scientifically, and won't help the OPs problem. Bodies don't have an exactly weekly cycle of hydration, digestive cycles, food consumption etc etc.

If you want a better handle on your weight, you should weigh yourself every day and you will see all these fluctuations. That, combined with rational acceptance that it's simply not possible to lose or gain more than a pound or so of fat, if that, in one day, will give you more information about how weight, which isn't a great way of checking how much body fat, which is what you're actually interested in, you've lost. It's only the trends over time that matter, not the day to day fluctuations, that are mostly nothing to do with fat percentage at all.

EnidButton · 27/08/2018 13:21

I think it's normal. We all bob up and down slightly depending on what we've eaten and drank and the time of month.

I was pleased to have lost 6lbs. Back to my usual weight, not much lost but what I was aiming for. Weighed myself 3 days ago and still fine. Job done I thought. Weighed myself today and it's all back again. I am on my period so it'll be that because unless I've eaten a whole mammoth for every meal in 2 days, it's not fat. Can be frustrating though.

dudsville · 27/08/2018 13:27

I've goee to weighing myself monthly or every other month, same time of my cycle and always first thing after going to the loo but before eating and drinking. It's much more satisfying looking less frequently but that may not be enough when you're dieting? Could you do every other week? Good luck op! I'm not actively dieting but have made changes to my eating patterns since April and I can see a stay slow weight loss. That pace would be frustrating if I was checking more frequently but as it is I'm quite happy with it.

lovesugarfreejelly63 · 27/08/2018 13:44

Limb, instead of constantly weighing yourself why don't you weigh your food instead. So easy to pile food on a plate without thinking about portion size. Worth a try.

Silversun83 · 27/08/2018 14:00

@BarbaraofSeville And that is a good route to obsession...

Yes, it is unlikely that a person will manage to catch their weight at exactly the same point of water retention, bowel movements etc but if you keep as many of the variables the same as you can (time of day, after going to the loo etc), if you are successfully losing weight, you will see the numbers reflect that as the weeks goes by. Or, ditch the scales and go by measurements!

DN4GeekinDerby · 27/08/2018 14:34

You're not broken, the human body is just complicated and the scale is just one of many ways to measure progress and often not the best one. Measuring waist or arms, photos, how a certain item of clothing fits, improvements in physical ability might be more useful for you. You need a progress measure that is less likely to demotivate you.

A PT I know gives the exact opposite advice from BarbaraofSeville in that he doesn't recommend the scales at all but at most monthly (and for women who still menstruate, at the same part of your cycle) with the reminder that most scales only tell you your weight and nothing to do with fat loss (some home scales do show body fat percentage but some reviews of them I've seen suggest they can really off). Muscle loss can bring weight down much faster than fat because it takes far less energy to burn a pound of muscle as fuel than a pound of fat. It's not the goal for health or appearance but the scales will say the same for the same weight loss from either. That's why there are a variety of fat loss measurements beyond the scales though for most simple measurements, photos, or using the same item of clothing is more motivating than calipers for most people, I think.

Also, alongside the good move of activity, removing crap and a calorie target, you may want a protein target to help prevent the muscle loss while on low calories if you haven't already. Simple measure: 1.5-2 grams of protein per kg of your weight plus a bit of resistance training can help to avoid losing what you don't want while losing the fat.

Original poster

Ilmb · 27/08/2018 14:52

I haven’t measured myself, just weighing and the mirror! I will do this today. My stomach is definitely less bloated so I know I’m doing thgonna right thing diet wise. I do weigh/log everything hence how I know how many calories I’m eating. A pair of my skinny jeans felt looser but then I just thought it’s because they needed washing

So I’m between 58-60kgs... DN4 how would I work that’s out? Sorry I’m really really bad with maths

OP posts:

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