If you are a scale junkie, you might not like what I have to say.
If you get on the scale multiple times a day, and let those numbers decide what kind of a day you’re going to have, you are not only driving yourself crazy, you’re also wasting your time.
Your weight fluctuates day to day, hour to hour, three, four, even five pounds at a time. It’s normal, and it has nothing to do with how well you have been dieting or how hard you have been exercising. You can’t control it.
If you are a rational human being, you know that it is impossible to gain five pounds of excess fat in a day unless you entered a pie eating contest. So why would you let that stupid number on the scale rule your life?
Next time you freak out about your weight, keep these scale saboteurs in mind:
Your last meal. The last meal you ate can wildly effect your scale reading. If you ate a big meal, that food is sitting in your belly undigested, adding pounds. It’s like that meal is standing on the scale next to you. Once it digests, poof!… it’s gone.
Healthy Foods. The healthiest foods are often the heaviest in terms of weight. Fruits, veggies and foods with insoluble fiber are the greatest food choices you can make. But because they are bulky and full of water, they will stick in your system longer than the average meal.
Sodium Bombs. Foods pumped full of sodium, like canned soup and frozen meals, will puff you up, make you retain water and inflate your scale reading. It does the same to your arteries, so it’s best to stay away from sodium bombs all together.
Dehydration. Drinking water is the best thing you can do for weight loss, even though being low on water can give you a false low reading. If you had some cocktails the night before, or a few cups of coffee this morning, you are probably dehydrated, which will have you weighing in a few pounds under your healthy and hydrated weight. That number means nothing if you are starving yourself of water for it.
Weighing in is important for weight loss motivation and to keep track of your progress, but it should be done in a specific way. For the most accurate scale reading, weigh in on an empty stomach at the same time every week, or if you must, every day… but only once a day and then let it go. Or, for a truly accurate reading of your progress, track your body fat percentage.