To think my scales MUST be broken?

[youarenotkiddingme]

Ok, I'm overweight. I get that.

Luckily at 5'7 I carry it well but I'm aware and feel overweight and have adjusted my diet to eat more healthily.

I started 3 weeks ago and this week people have commented about how much less bloated my stomach looks and how clear my skin is now.

The first week of starting healthy eating I lost 1lb. I accept my loss will be slow as I've not yet started a regular exercise routine alongside it.
Week 2 my scales say I've lost 4lb.

This week is the week I've had comments about how I look like I've lost weight.
So I get on this morning and I e PUT ON 7lb in a week

To me that seems a MASSIVE amount to change in a week (4 seemed a lot to me!)

AIBU to think something is wrong with my scales or anyone she'd any light on how that can be possible?

Oh and I should add this gain means I'm now heavier than I was when I started and the heaviest I've EVER been

No advice, but I'm with you. I've cut down on my alcohol intake (a lot!) and am gutted that it's not showing on the scales. Or (more importantly) clothes are still digging into my big tummy and are very uncomfortable to wear.

I'm going to lurk on your thread, if that's ok, and hope there'll be some advice along soon that helps us both.

Good luck!

sounds like either your scales are broken or your period is due to me.

are the scales on a hard even surface? have you always weight yourself at the same time (best is in the morning after going to the toilet)
7 pounds is quite a lot of gain, for normal weight fluctuation 1-2 either way would be expected.

Do you have digital scales? I find they are more accurate . Also most structured diets recommend only weighing once a week because of fluctuations. If you look like you e lost weight then its probably water retention I get this every month in my cycle. Have you noticed a loss of in your measurements instead? Like do your clothes feel looser?

Are they electrical scales? It doesn't sound right tbh. The best advice I can give is to totally ignore scales and just continue to make healthy choices. Go by how you feel/look. Fitting into a size smaller is a much more inspiring feeling then being a slave to numbers on a scale. Well done. Over the past 6 months I've changed my eating habits/ activity level and im feeling soooooo much better for it.

Do you weigh the same time of day?

What's the battery level of the scales? That can send them a bit crazy if they're running low.
Else, what the others have said, weigh at same time each week, period due, standing on a solid flat and level floor?

Weight same time every week. On a Saturday morning.

Yes they are digital. They are the ones that show fat percentage and water levels too.

My water is apparently a little under what you'd want and my body fat is 3% greater than it was a week ago 😫
I know water reading can affect this so I tend not to pay close attention.

Period could be due. They've been a little unregulated lately after years and years of very 28 days to the day! Last month was 25 days but I actually can't remember exactly 'when' my last one was. How bad is that?!

I've been so proud of eating plain chicken, homemade quiche packed full of veg, eggs, fruit and yoghurt. Not had pasta or bread for a weeks.
Now I just want a huge slice of to cheer me up and because knowing see if I can lose a few pounds doubtful the wrong thing instead 😂

I would bet it's your period. That's a big gain especially when you've been eating healthily, so it must be water weight! See what happens when your period is finished before you reassess.. I put on 5/6lbs before my period usually.

How demotivating. Quiche is high in calories though.

Any chance you might be pregnant?

My quiche shouldn't be! I make a very thin crust and use soya milk! It's more filling than egg/milk - in fact I'm surprised it binds but it does!

I'm just thoroughly annoyed but hope you're all right and it's water and my period comes! (I don't think I've EVER wished it to arrive )

Definitely not pregnant!

The Christmas story was a one off publication

I just asked because you couldn’t remember your last period!

It was definitely last month! I have remembered now though as tried to remember what I was doing at the time!

So yes - it's due any time now as I won't know if it's 25 or 28 days!

I'm pregnant and have just bought my first set of digital scales, this week I went from 10 stone 11 to 10 stone 7 IN ONE SHIT.

I think daily monitoring of pounds lost is a poor indicator and you really need to plot it on a chart over a week or so with several measurements and various times.

Ah, just seen you do it weekly, maybe do it a few times and average it? Rather than just once?

I don't put much faith in household scales, as mine give me a different reading in each room, and different readings in different parts of the rooms... prob the floors!

I just use the ones you put 50p in at the local leisure centre about once a month if I'm keeping track.
Pharmacies have them too.

I'm pregnant now, so I'll eat what I want and leave the weight worry up to the midwife 😄

Well.... I drank lots of water due to my scales saying water % low.
Had a huge shit - and lost 2 of those 1lbs!

So I'm now back to where I started but with those saying 5/6 lb possible when period due it could account for those 5 suddenly reappearing.

Or my scales really are broken

I used to just weight myself once a month and have had scales for years and years.

I want to weigh weekly as I want weight to drop but also monitor that I'm not gaining any iyswim? It's easier to change small things if I stay the same - demoralising to have to start again from scratch because what did seem to work - isn't!

Another one saying it does depend a bit on your toilet needs - I have IBS (probably) and after a bad day visiting the loo a lot, I can lose a few pounds as my intestines are then entirely empty. I'm probably a bit dehydrated too. Sorry if that's TMI, but it can make a difference!

you say that your periods are usually regular but recently haven't been. are you of an age where you could be peri menopausal? I only ask this because my weight went bonkers for a couple of years during this time.

depressing to say but once I had gone through the menopause I have never been able to lose weight like I used to. I was at a diet group before and easily lost 2 lbs a week even with a bit of cheating. now its half a pound if I stick to the letter of it. just another little joy of getting older.

Do you move your scales at all? Makes a massive difference on mine if they are in a slightly different spot. Literally, 1 inch to the right of where I normally have them and it shows 4 lb heavier.

I weigh daily and use trendweight.com to average out the bumps and show the trend (think apps like Happy Scale do the same kind of thing). Your weight will fluctuate depending on what you've eaten when, your time of the month, how much exercise you've done (if you've got the DOMS then you body may hold on to water whilst repairing your muscles). Keep going, it'll drop again.

I recently had my scales repaired under the guarantee as they were so unreliable. I was told that scales should not be moved at all to get an accurate reading. I weigh about 10lbs more if I put them onto a carpeted floor.

Since I have kept the scales on a hard floor in the exact same place they are really accurate.