For a lot of people, the first thing they do in the morning is step on the scale.
That number then has far too much influence over how they feel about the day.
Someone can train well all week, stick to their calories and hit their steps. Then they see the scale up by half a kilo and start questioning everything they’ve been doing.
I see it in check-ins all the time.
The scale only tells you your total body weight at that exact moment. It doesn’t explain why the number has moved.
What the Scale Actually Measures
The scale doesn’t just measure body fat.
It shows your total body weight. That includes body fat, muscle, water, stored carbohydrates, food still being digested and changes in hydration.
When the number goes up, it doesn’t automatically mean you’ve gained body fat. A drop doesn’t always mean you’ve suddenly lost a load of fat either.
There is a lot more sitting behind that number.
I go into the difference between the two in more detail here: Weight Loss vs Fat Loss: What Most People Get Wrong.
Why Your Weight Fluctuates
Body weight can move around more than people expect.
Eating more carbohydrates than usual can leave you holding extra water. The same can happen after a saltier meal, a few drinks or a poor night’s sleep.
Hard training can affect it too. A tough leg session causes fatigue and inflammation in the muscles while they recover, which can temporarily increase water retention.
Other things that can affect the number include:
-
Eating later than usual
-
Having more food in your system
-
Changes in bowel movements
-
Stress
-
Drinking more or less fluid
-
Changes in your normal daily activity
For women, weight can change across different stages of the menstrual cycle because of water retention.
Most of these changes have very little to do with body fat.
One Heavier Reading Tells You Very Little
Imagine your weight looked like this across the week:
– Monday: 80.2kg
– Tuesday: 79.8kg
– Wednesday: 80.6kg
– Thursday: 80.1kg
– Friday: 79.7kg
Wednesday might look worrying on its own. Across the full week, there is nothing unusual happening. By Friday, the weight is lower than it was on Monday.
The increase could have followed a harder training session, a later meal or more carbohydrates and salt the previous day.
Problems start when someone reacts to that one reading.
They cut their calories again, add more cardio or convince themselves the plan has stopped working. A plan that was doing its job gets changed because of one random weigh-in.
Give it enough time before making that call.
How to Use the Scale
Try to weigh yourself under similar conditions each time.
First thing in the morning usually works best. Use the toilet first and weigh before eating or drinking. Wearing roughly the same amount of clothing helps as well.
Record several weigh-ins across the week and look at the average. That gives you a clearer picture than picking out the highest or lowest number.
Compare the averages over a few weeks before deciding something needs changed.
If your average weight hasn’t moved for two or three weeks, your waist is the same and you’ve followed the plan properly, then it may be time to review things.
At that point, I’d look at how accurately food has been tracked, whether activity has dropped and how consistently the plan has been followed. If all of that is in place, calories may need adjusted.
The scale is still useful. It just needs a bit of context.
Your weight will move up and down while you’re losing body fat. Record it, look at the weekly trend and get on with your day. That is what we use to make decisions.
