Weigh In Times?

  • What time of the day do you take your weight? I've been doing it first thing in the morning, as soon as I get up, is that the most accurate? I know it varies throughout the day, so when is the best time to weigh in?
  • First thing in the morning is usually the lowest.
  • About 2 hours after I wake up (and after breakfast!!!) is normally my lowest weight of the day.
  • The timing of the "lowest weight of the day" can vary from person to person, depends on everything from your diet to how you retain and release water retention to the workings of your digestive system (when you're likely to poo).

    It's also misleading to try to determine which weight is the "most accurate," because that implies that some of the weights are accurate and some are not... they all are accurate but they don't necessarily reflect only body fat. The weight on the scale will be affected by water retention and the weight of undigested food and food waste in the body, you can't separate those factors.

    You (and all of us) don't have a "true weight," we have a weight range. Fluctuations aren't inaccuracies or anomalies, they're just part of our "real weight," which is a range, not a number.

    Since we want to measure pounds lost (and we're really wanting to lose fat and excess water, not muscle and necessary water), we want to be able to say we've lost x number of pounds, not x-y number of pounds. But really that's the fault of the human mind, not a fault of the body.

    I think it's important to remember that because otherwise you drink a glass of water, get on the scale and think "Oh my God, I gained a pound, what have I done wrong?"

    It doesn't matter when you weigh, as long as you're comparing the weight to weights taken under similar circumstances, and you not stress over normal fluctations (so you need to know what your normal is, when it comes to fluctuations).

    For me, my normal fluctation is about 5 lbs, and my PMS/TOM fluctation is almost twice that. Since I'm a daily weigher, that would cause me some terrible stress if I expected to see no variation, or if I thought that being up 3-5 lbs meant I was gaining or failing to lose weight.

    Since I know the fluctations are normal, I have to compare my weight not day-to-day, and even not week-to-week, but for sanity's sake, and because I'm a slow loser, I have to compare today's weight to last month's weight.
  • I usually weigh the minute I wake up (because I'm so excited to see if I've lost, lol) but not on days when I don't sleep well. I find I'm consistently 2-2.5 pounds lower than my pre-bed weight when I get up, except if I've only slept a few hours I don't get that drop.
  • I weigh first thing in the morning because it's the closest I can come to standardization; nothing I have just eaten or drank (or haven't eaten or drank) will skew it, and I'm always wearing the same thing so I can't blame anything on my shoes
  • I also weigh first thing in the morning, before I eat or drink anything, that way the circumstances are always the same. However, during Ramadan I have been weighing in the evening before breaking the fast, which would be similar to first thing in the morning.

    Like kaplods said, I don't think it necessarily matters what time of day you weigh, but more so that you continue to weigh at that same time to compare lbs lost.
  • I think the main thing to consider with your weigh-ins is keeping the environment consistent. You should weigh in at the same time on the same day(s) and wear similar clothes or no clothing. As been pointed out, our bodies are very different and results are impacted by what we eat, how much water we retain, etc. so early mornings may show lighter weights for some of us while others may show lighter weights later in the day.