I hear this quite a bit when people step on “my” scale. I don’t blame them for saying this. The fact is, when I step on “my” scale, I have the same thought.
You see, I have two scales – my scale at home and “my” scale that travels with me. That is the first variable in this dilemma: two different scales.
1st variable – multiple scales – Do you have a home scale? This is the scale that should be your go-to to know what your weight is. You use your home scale most often. If you don’t have a home scale, then whichever scale you use most often is the one to use for your weight.
You are thinking, well, that makes sense, right? I mean the scale at my doctor’s office doesn’t match my scale at home and isn’t their scale supposed to be accurate? Yes, we think the doctor’s scale should be accurate; however, here are a couple more variables in this dilemma: clothing/shoes and food/liquids.
2nd variable – clothing/shoes – Please tell me I am not alone when it comes to using my home scale?? I love my weight first thing in the morning in my birthday suit. I’m not so in love with my weight once I get dressed. Then if I put on a pair of shoes, even less in love with my weight. (Yeah, the fact that we get so emotional about a number is an entirely different topic) The fact that our clothes and shoes are going to add to our weight makes sense, and so does the next variable.
3rd variable – food/liquids – Scenario – you may be fasting when you go to the doctor. Surely, you have been drinking some liquids though. And liquids do weigh a little bit (16 oz of water weighs about 1 lb). So, drinking several cups of water will add to your weight. If you ate breakfast, and maybe even lunch, before going to the doctor, that food is going to increase your weight. This does make sense, doesn’t it?
As a matter of fact, I did an experiment recently after someone told me “my” scale was wrong. I really was curious to see just how much my weight would vary throughout the day. I used both my home scale and “my” travel scale. My home scale has no decimal (ex, 150) while “my” travel scale does give weight to the tenth (ex, 150.5). There was a 1-2 pound difference between the scales, therefore, as I mentioned in the 1st variable, I am using my home scale since that is the one I use most often.
Morning 1 | 6:45 am | No food No liquids No clothes | I love my weight first thing in the morning! |
10:10 am | After breakfast Drinking liquids Clothed (no shoes) | +5 lbs (from initial weight) | |
2:50 pm | After lunch Drinking liquids Clothed (no shoes) | +6 lbs (from initial weight) | |
9:10 pm | After dinner Decreased liquids No clothes | +5 lbs (from initial weight) | |
Morning 2 | 7:30 am | No food No liquids No clothes | +1 lb (from initial weight) |
Noon | After breakfast Drinking liquids Clothed (no shoes) | +6 lbs (from initial weight) |
This experiment shows the variation of my weight at several points during the day. It also shows the variation of my weight from one morning to the next.
My personal viewpoint is don’t step on the scale every day, unless you have a very important reason that you need to. As I said before, we get wrapped up on the number showing on the scale whether we are trying to lose weight or not. When trying to lose weight, it can be discouraging to step on the scale every day and see these fluctuations. Once a week, maybe a couple times each week, should be sufficient. A lot of the time we can tell where our weight is at by the way our clothes are fitting us.