It’s easy to let weigh-ins control you when you’re cutting tracking macros. While coach says to only check-in once a week, it’s easy to slide on that scale once, twice, or a dozen times a day. Every time the scale fluctuates, you worry. You hop on another scale in the guest bathroom to see if it’s just an error on your normal scale. You weigh yourself at your parents in the middle of the Saturday family BBQ. And if one of those times, the scale happens to be different, you freak. You double-check your nutrition log to see what may be causing the “weight gain”. You reevaluate how much water you’ve had and your sodium intake the night before. You beat yourself up and cancel the girls night you had planned. Somehow, despite all of your hard work, you start to think you’ve failed. It’s a dangerous spiral.
We were chatting about this one night at our coach’s house before a competition and realized that between the three of us in the room, we had six bathroom scales in the house, two of which came from another Grit Girl and my suitcases. Six scales. Three girls. It called for an experiment.
Jane Carole was nice enough to play guinea pig for us. One by one, she stepped on all five scales. No changes between them. Same clothes. Seconds apart. And still, there was a six pound difference. Six pounds across five scales. In the morning, another several pound fluctuation. Did Jane Carole gain actual weight that was going to impact the way her body performed or her clothes fit in those minutes between changing scales, or even overnight? Nope.
The scale is clearly a liar. What weighs in at 130 on one scale may be 135 on another. Someone who weighs 115 in the morning could weigh 122 just twelve hours later. Getting caught up in what the number is will overwhelm you.
In an average day, my weight can fluctuate by as much as six pounds. Other girls I’ve spoken with see daily swings that can be as many as 10 pounds! It’s all about how our bodies respond to what we do in a given day.
When you’re using the scale to track weight loss, consistency is key. A few tips to win in the war with the scale:
- Weigh in at the same time, on the same day, every week. If you know you tend to carry a lot more water after Thursday’s heavy leg day, weigh in every Thursday instead of Friday. If you know you tend to splurge a little on weekends, weigh in on Friday morning instead of Monday morning.
- In general, your weight will be more consistent in the morning than at night. Too many things during the day can lead to fluctuations in weight.
- Don’t worry if you have one off week. If you’re hitting your macros and getting in your workouts, wait another week and see if it’s a trend, or if you just had one off week.
- Use the same scale. There can be a lot of variance, so try to stay away from weighing in at a friend’s house, at the gym, etc.
- Take progress pictures. You’ll see changes in your body – good or bad – that the scale may never show.
Most importantly, remember the scale is just one measure of progress – it’s not the only measure, or even the most accurate. Being “fit” is more about how you feel than the amount you weigh. I’m currently 10 lbs heavier than I was last summer. It’s easy to get freaked out by that, but I’m lifting more, less tired, and my clothes still fit the same. Yes, I weigh more, but I’m also more fit than I was. What are you working for?