Are you weighing yourself daily? That sounds depressing, frustrating and not very motivating. Our weight fluctuates 2 - 4 pounds DAILY so if you're looking to check your progress, doing it daily isn't going to give you a good picture and you're probably going to get pissed off. It's frustrating to be on a healthy kick only to see the scale stall or move in the wrong direction, but if you keep a few things in mind and weigh yourself with consistent variables you'll be a lot happier to step on the scale and you'll get a more accurate picture of your weight.
Here are 6 easy ways to weigh Yourself and
NOT go Crazzzy....
1. Always Weigh Yourself at the Same Time Each Day
The proper time to weigh yourself each day is right upon waking up, if your sleeping schedule is relatively the same all the time. This is because it’s the easiest way to ensure you’ve digested your food and haven’t introduced anything new that could throw it off. You can’t blame your weight on that glass of wine you drank late last night!
2. Always Weigh Yourself Naked, on an Empty Stomach, After a Bowel Movement (If Possible)
This is probably the most important rule that you must follow. You need to create that mathematical baseline with which to compare weights. Obviously food, clothing (and excrement!) weigh something. So if you always make sure you have the least amount of each every day when you weigh yourself, you will be able to accurately compare the previous day’s weight.
But if you’ve had breakfast, put on jeans and sweatshirt, drank 2 glasses of orange juice and haven’t pooped yet — your weight isn’t going to be comparable with yesterday’s, when you wore just your lightweight pjs, had only 1 glass of orange juice, skipped breakfast and maybe already had your morning poop.
Can you see how all of these different factors would affect it differently…?
3. When You Have Too Much Salt, Wait 2-3 Days to weigh
Excessive consumption of salt can cause your body to retain water. If you’ve overindulged in particularly salty foods, it’s usually a good idea to wait a few days for your body to regulate itself back to normal, all the while drinking more water in order to flush out that salt that you consumed and try to get it back to regular levels.
There’s nothing more annoying than getting on a scale, feeling great, expecting a certain number and having it be way higher than you expected…but only because of salt. You truly cannot trust the scale at these times. And for your sanity, it’s best to wait it out and get back to it once you’ve regulated your salt/water balance.
The obvious lesson on this one is to try to never have too much salt.
4. If You Overindulge over the weekend -Don’t weigh yourself first thing on Monday morning -Give Yourself 3-5 Days to Come to Baseline
The same as with the salt recommendation, overindulgence will give your body more of a lot of things than it’s used to — whether it’s alcohol, salt, sugar, gluten or dairy…and if you have more than usual, you can’t really trust the scale as your body is working it’s magic to try to return back to normal.
So the weight you see for a few days won’t be quite correct or accurate, and you are better off (physically, mentally and emotionally) just waiting it out until you’re back to average.
5. Record Your Weight In A Visible Place
Try recording your current weight on the bathroom mirror with a dry erase marker, as a way of motivating yourself. One thing to note about this technique though, is that you need to be gentle with yourself about it. If I’m feeling heavier or down about myself, I generally don’t start to record it until I know I’ve lost the top few guilt-pounds. :) Then I start recording. And most importantly, I never record it if it goes up, but only if it goes down. That might take me longer to go down, but I find it’s great for my psyche to always stay in the lowest weight mentality, with the serious intention to keep going.
And I can tell if I’ve gained, maintained or lost just by looking in the mirror, so if I think I haven’t lost anything, I will generally not weigh myself that day, just to avoid the anxiety.
This is all being gentle with my feelings, and knowing that I’m doing the best I can, and that it will go down eventually, when I’m in this weight-loss mode. Just some days are easier than others….but I always know it will get better.
6. Always Use The Same Scale
Very important. Scales are very sensitive instruments with a myriad of manufacturers, materials that they are constructed out of, and calibrations. If you are counting on the measurement of everyone’s scale at the same time, you will likely be disappointed most of the time.
For instance, don’t weigh yourself on your own scale for a week and then be disappointed when you go to your friend’s house and get on the scale in the evening, after a big meal with full clothes on…or if it’s a different kind of friend and you get on their scale naked the next morning. Hey, I’m not judging.
You really need to have all the same baselines to count on the number you see. And your baseline is what you’re used to on YOUR OWN scale. Use someone else’s randomly and you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment.
(credit the watering mouth)