How much does your weight fluctuate naturally

[eveningprimrose]

Not on a diet as such - but the pounds have been creeping on - so recently I cracked and bought scales.
I notice my weight goes up and down like a yoyo by 3 pounds constantly and 5 sometimes without there being any difference in my appearance. I'm not a very big person - about half a stone more than I should be really - so its not that I'm so heavy that 3-5 pounds are nothing.
Just thought I would ask you diet gurus if this is normal? I always weigh myself naked first thing in the morning - so I feel the weight should be more or less the same. Is it usual to put on/ take off 3-5 pounds overnight without any change to eating drinking patterens.
Should say that they are good expensive scales- unlikely to be faulty.

I don't know because I never weigh myself (I don't diet or need to lose weight, either), but I think that probably my weight does fluctuate close to that much (judging from how my clothes fit).

It happens to me too. I can put on 5lbs overnight without having eaten or drank too much, and then lose them the next day. I don't have an explanation, it happened when I was a size 8 too.
That's one of the reasons why I only weigh myself once a week now.

Seriously? You weigh yourself every morning? Why?!

And I imagine that everyone's weight fluctuates.

That sounds harsh, Aunty. I get the impression that most women weigh themselves daily, especially it they think their weight is a problem to manage. So it's not a weird thing to do at all.

Nevertheless, I tend to think that daily weighing is often not helpful in managing a tendency to gain weight, so would encourage OP to have a multi-pronged strategy. Hope you're ok, OP.

Harsh? I'm just shocked that anyone would weigh themselves that often. I don't anyone that does that.

I thought the diet bods recommend a weekly weigh in only.

Weekly or less makes sense to me, too, but I think A LOT of women weigh themselves more frequently. see this Yahoo thread.

I don't have scales in my house at all... or else I would struggle to resist a daily weigh.. the info really wouldn't be helpful, but it touches on too many irrational things.

Disclaimer: I am a scientist so know how to measure things properly and appreciate the need to consider all variables!

The diet people may recommend weekly weigh ins but from a 'scientific measurement' point of view it is completely useless, and will only tell you your weight within a few pounds. As many have said, weight can vary by a few pounds from day to day. The weekly weigh in won't tell you if you have put on 3 pounds of fat in a week or are retaining water and you won't know for sure for several weeks, monitoring the trend over time. If you really want to know how your weight varies, weigh yourself twice a day (morning after toilet) and evening before bed. You will probably find you lose 2/3 pounds overnight. Do this for a few days/couple of weeks adn you will see a variation. However, unless you are also measuring body fat % and/or inches you still won't know if you have gained or lost fat (which is what we should really be looking at when considering 'weight' as if you are also exercising, you could build a good few pounds of muscle so the scales could go up but you would also get thinner (I am currently at my slimmest in my adult life but a stone heavier than my lightest weight due to proper regular exercise.)

I don't weigh myself every day. My OP was worded badly - by " I always weigh myself naked first thing in the morning" I meant when I do weigh myself it is always unclothed and unbreakfasted - so that cant account for the fluctuations.
Having said that I have gone through phases of doing it every day in the hope that I can pinpoint why these devilish pounds are rolling on or off. But they are too sneaky for me ...