Why you shouldn't weigh yourself at the end of the day? (2023)

Is weighing yourself at the end of the day accurate?

You should step on the scale first thing in the morning. That's when you'll get your most accurate weight because your body has had the overnight hours to digest and process whatever you ate and drank the day before. And you should try to turn that step into a regular part of your routine.

Daily weight fluctuation is normal. The average adult's weight fluctuates up to 5 or 6 pounds per day. It all comes down to what and when you eat, drink, exercise, and even sleep.

During the day, when you're eating and drinking, those foods (and fluids) add weight—at least until they're digested and excreted. Just a cup of water adds half a pound, for example—and 20 percent of most meals are water, which adds up to a lot of extra weight.

"We can weigh 5, 6, 7 pounds more at night than we do first thing in the morning," Hunnes says. Part of that is thanks to all the salt we consume throughout the day; the other part is that we may not have fully digested (and excreted) everything we at and drank that day yet.

Yes, You Do Lose a Little Bit of Weight

“Most stool weighs about 100 grams or 0.25 pounds. This can vary based on a person's size and bathroom frequency. That said, poop is made up of about 75% water, so going to the bathroom gives off a little bit of water weight,” says Natalie Rizzo, MS, RD.

If you're losing inches but maintaining your weight and you regularly strength train, you may actually be losing fat and gaining muscle. The process of gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is called body recomposition. Most scales don't differentiate between the amounts of body fat and muscle you have.

“Everyone's weight fluctuates throughout the day, and especially from morning to night,” says dietitian Anne Danahy, MS, RDN. “The average change is 2 to 5 pounds, and it's due to fluid shifts throughout the day.” If you see fluctuations of less than 5 pounds, you needn't worry.

You're Dehydrated

Dehydration causes your body to retain excess water, which can lead to 5 pounds of weight gain overnight (5). When you feel thirsty and drink a lot of fluid at once, you'll absorb the extra fluid quickly and it shows up on the scale within 24 hours.

Since many people can't eat enough in a day or two to actually gain 5 or 10 pounds, if you notice a dramatic increase on the scale, chances are it's due to water, says Anita Petruzzelli, M.D., owner and medical director of BodyLogicMD.

The Role of Glycogen

You may end up weighing more in the morning simply because your muscles are storing more glycogen. The same phenomenon happens in the opposite direction when eating low-carb. You can drive your muscle glycogen fairly low by eating a low-carb diet.

How did I gain 2 pounds overnight?

In some people, especially those who have been dieting or fasting, a meal high in carbohydrates, such as pasta or rice, can be stored as glycogen. Glycogen is stored with water, which causes an individual to gain water weight very quickly – as much as 2 pounds overnight.

You've gained muscle.

And here's an often overlooked fact: Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue. So as you gain more muscle and lose fat, you change your overall body composition, which can result in a higher weight, but a smaller figure and better health.

Overeating one day will not have much impact on your weight, but it will surely leave you feeling bloated. You can have an extra slice of your favorite cheesecake occasionally, but do not make this your habit.

People who drink too much water might gain weight suddenly due to swelling and excess water in the bloodstream. If you're drinking more than 10 cups of water each day and notice swelling or discoloration in your hands, lips, and feet, consider cutting back on your water intake and see if your symptoms subside.

“Your skin is the largest organ in the body and absorbs fluid easily,” says Dr. Keith Kantor, a leading nutritionist and CEO of the Nutritional Addiction Mitigation Eating and Drinking (NAMED) program. “After a swim or a shower, your body can absorb 1 to 3 cups of water, increasing your true weight by a few pounds.”

According to colon cleanse providers (colonic hygienists), an adult can have between 5 and 20 pounds of residual stool in their large intestine (colon), leading to health problems such as excess weight gain, fatigue, and brain fog.

A person may lose a very small amount of weight when they have a bowel movement. How much weight this is differs for every individual, but in general, it is not significant. As the body passes stool, it also releases gas. This can reduce bloating and make a person feel as though they have lost a little weight.

For the average human of a height from 5 - 5 1/2 feet (1.5 - 1.7 meters), the colon can hold 20-25 pounds (9.5 - 11.3 kilograms) of fecal matter. Typically, a one-foot length of colon can accumulate 5 or more pounds, and a 5-foot tall person has roughly a 4- to 5-foot colon.

If you're a man, woman weighing over 164 pounds or a female who regularly exercises and you aren't losing weight eating 1,200 to 1,500 calories daily, it may be time to see a doctor. Hormone imbalances – such as underactive thyroid – can decrease your body's metabolism and inhibit or prevent weight loss from occurring.

Why do I look skinnier but weigh a lot?

Muscle is denser than fat, and as it is more compact within your body, as you gain muscle mass, you end up looking thinner, no matter your physical weight. So, if you've been doing a lot of strength training lately, it's likely this is the reason that you're looking fantastic but not dropping those numbers.

But you didn't actually gain five pounds of fat in a single day. After all, gaining a single pound of fat requires consuming about 3,500 calories more than you can burn off. So to gain five pounds in a day, you'd have to eat nearly 20,000 calories in just 24 hours.

Exercise, eating habits, and even whether you drank any alcohol the night before can all affect the number on the scale. Generally speaking, though, you are going to weigh in with the greatest consistency in the morning when you have not eaten or participated in strenuous physical activity in several hours.

Since many people can't eat enough in a day or two to actually gain 5 or 10 pounds, if you notice a dramatic increase on the scale, chances are it's due to water, says Anita Petruzzelli, M.D., owner and medical director of BodyLogicMD.

The length of time that it takes to lose water weight depends on how much water you're retaining, the cause of the water weight gain, and the action taken to lose it. If you have one high-sodium meal and then return to normal, healthy dietary habits, you'll likely return to your normal weight in 1-2 days.

As you work out, you are building lean muscle which weighs exactly the same as fat but is leaner. if your clothes are looser but the scale is the same, this is because of the lean muscle you have built.

Most people will retain 8 to 15 pounds of excess fluid before they see leg and belly swelling. However, symptoms such as coughing and shortness of breath, loose stools, nausea and feeling full when without eating much may develop at the 5-to-7 pound mark" says Dr. Lewis.

You'd think that going on a strict diet and exercise regimen would help you drop pounds quickly, but most people actually gain weight at first. If this has happened to you, don't give up on your goals just yet.

Is it normal to fluctuate 10 pounds?

The reality is, small changes in weight are completely normal and expected. Body weight can shift throughout the week and even during the day. In fact, an average adult can lose or gain two to eight pounds over the course of a few days.

Bloating may occasionally add a pound or two, but it doesn't actually signify weight gain. A simple way to tell the difference between bloating and weight gain or fat is how your stomach looks and feels. If your stomach is tight and hard, then bloating is the cause. If your stomach is soft and thick, then that's fat.

For example, to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week — a rate that experts consider safe — your food consumption should provide 500 to 1,000 calories less than your total weight-maintenance calories. If you need 2,325 calories a day to maintain your current weight, reduce your daily calories to between 1,325 and 1,825.

It's most likely your overnight weight gain came from sodium and carbs. However, if you're sensitive, intolerant or allergic to inflammatory foods, eliminating them is the only way to stop the cycle. Corn, soy, dairy products, wheat, and gluten are the top foods affecting inflammation.

Bloating, gut health issues and hormonal changes can make you hold onto more water weight. The water weight usually settles down after your period. If you are not regular, or your fiber intake has been inconsistent, this can be a reason why you gained weight overnight.

Eating too few calories can be the start of a vicious cycle that causes diet distress. When you cut your calories so low that your metabolism slows and you stop losing weight, you probably will become frustrated that your efforts are not paying off. This can lead you to overeat and ultimately gain weight.

The idea is, your body wants to use your fat to keep you alive, so you don't burn as many calories,” explains Spiegel. “This lowers your metabolic rate, which means you're using less calories. If you cut back your calories too much, it hinders weight loss.”

The combination of your pumped up muscles, dehydration and overworked muscles might make you feel well toned then, a few hours later, you appear flabbier despite the exercise you know should be making you lean. Your muscles have pumped up but your excess body fat has remained.

Binge eating is when a person eats a much larger amount of food in a shorter period of time than he or she normally would. During binge eating, the person also feels a loss of control. A binge eater often: Eats 5,000–15,000 calories in one sitting.

How many calories do you have to eat to lose a pound a day?

You need to burn 3500 calories a day to lose one pound a day, and you need anywhere between 2000 and 2500 calories in a day if you are doing your routine activities. That means you need to starve yourself the whole day and exercise as much as to lose the remaining calories.

If you get on the scale and see your number go up, it's simply because your blood volume level has increased due to the large quantity of food that you've eaten. The high sodium content in certain prepared foods also causes the body to retain fluid, thus causing a higher number on the scale.

Drinking water may temporarily increase your metabolism, increase feelings of fullness, and help relieve constipation, all of which may be beneficial for a flatter stomach.

And drinking a glass or two of warm water in the morning can help you in losing weight and belly fat. It will help in cleansing your system. Drinking water reduces appetite and calorie intake and helps in maintaining hydration levels in the body.

“Carbs such as bread, white rice, and pasta retain water,” Cruise says. “Try to cut down on carbs and your bloat will likely diminish.” Replace carbs with good fats, like avocado and coconut oil, and avoid trans fats. “Eating a low-carb diet flushes out water by reducing inflammation and glycogen levels,” says Dean.

For example, one hair alone can withstand a strain of 3.5 ounces — almost 1/4 pound. Water can affect some properties of your hair. For example, your hair can weigh 12 to 18 percent more when it's wet. Wet hair can also stretch 30 percent longer without damage.

WATER OR MOISTURE DAMAGE. Drifting is another common problem scale users may face. Drifting occurs when a scale's display continuously fluctuates and is generally caused by water exposure. Water in the scale's indicator, junction box, load cells, cables, or internal components is known to cause erratic readings.

“Everyone's weight fluctuates throughout the day, and especially from morning to night,” says dietitian Anne Danahy, MS, RDN. “The average change is 2 to 5 pounds, and it's due to fluid shifts throughout the day.” If you see fluctuations of less than 5 pounds, you needn't worry.

For all of us, the best time to weigh ourselves is in the morning. That's the time you'll find your true weight. Always use a calibrated, accurate scale, and do it first thing when you wake up. I like to recommend weighing in one day a week -- the same day each week.

When should you not weigh yourself?

A person should also avoid weighing themselves on the days before their period. During the week leading up to menstruation, hormones cause fluctuations in weight. These fluctuations can temporarily affect weight measurements.

Most significantly, your body is dehydrated because you haven't been consuming any liquids for several hours. So in the morning, you're carrying about 3-5 pounds less water weight than you are in the afternoon. So this really is the primary reason you weigh less in the morning.

Mostly, losing weight is an internal process. You will first lose hard fat that surrounds your organs like liver, kidneys and then you will start to lose soft fat like waistline and thigh fat. The fat loss from around the organs makes you leaner and stronger.

Clothing. Wearing clothing while weighing yourself can add up to two pounds—more if you're wearing shoes. Again, this isn't a big deal if you consistently weigh yourself wearing the same thing, but since our clothes vary with our moods and seasons, it's best to go without when you step on the scale.

As soon as you bend down, the muscles in your body that do the bending also act to pull up the lower half of your body. So this reduces the pressure your body places on the scales, and make you appear to weigh less.

If you weigh yourself at night, you're going to weigh more than you actually do, according to Discover Good Nutrition. Weigh yourself first thing the mornings, after your body has had a full night to digest your food. Otherwise, you'll be seeing higher numbers that don't correlate to all of your hard work.

Your weight can fluctuate throughout the day based on many factors, such as hydration, what you eat, and hormones. Thus, it's best to weigh yourself first thing in the morning. As you measure your progress, you'll also find that you get more accurate results by weighing yourself at the same time each day, too.

At night while we sleep, our bodies have a chance to get back into balance. Excess fluid that has accumulated during the day moves from the body's cells into the bloodstream, where it makes its way to the kidneys. In the morning, when we get up, we get rid of this extra fluid by peeing.

So while you probably already know that it's best to weigh yourself first thing in the morning — before you've eaten or used the bathroom — you should also add one more parameter to the list: before showering. “Your skin is the largest organ in the body and absorbs fluid easily,” says Dr.

You have lost water weight due to the heat from the shower. Your body is trying to keep its temperature constant and attempts to do that by evaporative cooling (which doesn't work quite as well in the humid environment of a shower).