How much fluctuation?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2006
How much fluctuation?
9
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 10:16am

How much is it normal to fluctuate day to day? According to my scale, I've gained 5 pounds since yesterday! WTF?!?!? I'm trying not to let it bother me too much because I guess it could say that I'm down that same 5 pounds by tomorrow. Maybe the lesson here is that I shouldn't weigh myself every single day, but once a week to get a better average? Any thoughts are appreciated.

Holli

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2006
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 10:23am
There are several things that can cause your weight to fluctuate from day to day. Being on or near your period, water retention, what you have eaten....stuff like that. I only weigh myself once a week. On Fridays, frist thing in the morning before I eat or drink anything. I never weigh myself when I'm on my period. It only depresses me. Up until now I have not been "trying" to lose weight, just keeping track of my gain and loss. JMO

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2006
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 10:28am

I too weigh every day. Some folks think it is a bad idea, some a good idea. There are several diets that recommend it. You do have to be aware it can go up and down within a five lb range though. What depressed me a little while ago is it went up 3 lbs and stayed there. As of today I am still up those 3 and some but with the night I had last night, I am shocked it isn't higher.
My point, if you want to weigh everyday, then just be aware that it will fluctuate. My rule of thumb since I have lost a few lbs is not to let it fluctuate over my starting point of 259.5 LOL!! currently I am 255 (257.5 today but like I said last night was a doozy with food and well fun (alcohol)). Try not to let it get to you and good luck.

Angela
259.5/255/200 (1st goal)

 

Angela

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-03-2005
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 10:40am
I am addicted to weighing myself everyday also. I go thru the same crap. Up and down and up and down. Drives me nuts too. You are not alone.

 
 
 
 

 
 
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2006
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 3:16pm

from what I understand you can fluctuate +/- 5 lbs in a 24 hr period. and if you're going to worry about it, then weighing yourself everyday probably isn't the best thing for you to do. BUT.. I'm with you.. seems like every time I go by a scale I'm steppin up on it. I just only use one weigh in a week as well as measurements to judge my progress.

I think my reasoning for an every day weigh in is.. that I lost 80 lbs a few years ago.. and then my bad habits creeped.. I convinced myself that I only had 1 soda when I actually had 2, and I began "treating" myself almost every day because "once and awhile wouldn't hurt". Or I didn't need to workout today because I had a long hard day at work and that burned off plenty of calories. How did I explain the extra weight or that my clothes wouldn't fit? the dryer shrank them, my time of the month, .. it's just water weight.. yes ma'am I am the queen of fooling myself. So I weigh myself daily so that if I notice a weight increase, it's something that I'm going to watch closely and not be so easy going about it.... so to me.. +5 is ok as long as it's not +5 for the rest of that week.

hope it helps :)

My First 10% of Body Weight

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-01-2006
Sun, 05-07-2006 - 6:23pm

Hi, Holli--

Me too, me too! Five pounds could be any number of things. Did you weigh in at the same time of day, with the same clothes or lack thereof, are you premenstrual, did you have a lot of salty food the day before, are your allergies holding five pounds of snot in your head? (Ewwwww! Did ya smile?)

I weigh just about every day, but only keep a weekly weigh-in chart. The chart is a reminder to look at the big picture-- the daily weigh-ins hopefully motivate me to make little adjustments during the week (a personal kick in the butt, if you will). Some people are really good about just sticking to plan and knowing it will work out for the best, but I'm not that confident.

Weighing every day, you have a pretty good idea that this is an anomaly. If you weighed in weekly, and you happened to be temporarily up a few lbs. like today, how would you react? Your answer might help you decide whether to change your scale visits...

But whichever, there will probably still be WTF days!

Misha
275.5/258/135

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2006
Mon, 05-08-2006 - 6:58am

I'd say the +/- 5 lbs is normal... As already mentioned, it could be your cycle, eating more salt a night before (water retention), and so on. Don't think that you have actually gained 5 lbs of fat overnight (which is physically impossible because you need to eat 17,500 calories to do that).


My own experience tells me that weighing in everyday is actually good because when I weigh-in on Monday and that particular day was by coincidence the day of the +5 high, I will really get depressed. But if I weigh-in daily, then I know where the fluctuations are. But again, I use only the Monday weigh-in for the 'official' weight and that goes in my ticker. I've also heard of people who weigh in daily and record that, then take an average of all the records and see how they're doing in that week.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-13-2005
Mon, 05-08-2006 - 9:17am
I weigh everyday, first thing in the morning, but I only record my weight once a week (the monday weight). I think the batteries in my scale are going though, because when I weighed this morning it showed a HUGE difference from yesterday (over 7 lbs), so I got off the scale and got back on and that time it showed no change from yesterday. Guess I need to go buy new batteries today.............
Alllison Mommy to Eleanor, born 05/11/10 Blighted ovum 08/25/11 Due with #2 09/05/12
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-21-2006
Mon, 05-08-2006 - 9:52am

Thanks, everyone! Guess I should have figured...today the scale went back down 4 pounds! Which is about where I figured I should be. It's been fluctuating a lot, but I think that may be because I just started watching what I eat two weeks ago. Doesn't the most change occur in the first couple of weeks?

Holli

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2006
Tue, 05-09-2006 - 2:03pm
you should'nt be weighing yourself every day it'll only frustrate you more and more every time you look at it. try once a week on the same day.like every monday.i myself dont weigh myself at all i became to frustrated i go by how my clothes feel for instance you can measure yourself this monday then next monday when you weigh yourself you;d have lost 2-3 inches which is good right but yet the scale want show my lost so i became discourage and dicided when i see a significant change and how my clothes feel then i'll weigh myself but this just me and theres others who feel the same way my doctor even told me to go by how my clothes feel for right now. i not trying to tell you to change though maybe you should go to once a week, every day is to much your weight is never the same.