If you're tracking your weight, it is helpful to know when exactly to weigh yourself to get an accurate scale reading. After all, weight can fluctuate over the course of the day, depending on what you eat and how you are feeling.
Scales provide a quick reading of your current weight, whether you're trying to gain or lose pounds. But because water retention, timing, and other factors often impact the accuracy of the readings, you must consider weighing yourself at a time when there is minimal interference from such.
Knowing how to read a weight scale balance should help you accurately track your progress in your healthy weight journey. But whether you use that or an ordinary bathroom scale, knowing the best time to weigh yourself is what truly makes a difference.
Here's some expert advice on the best time to weigh yourself with that in mind.
When to weigh yourself to get your true weight?
It is said that the best time to weigh yourself is upon waking up, before having breakfast. Weigh yourself before eating or doing anything. That's because filling your stomach would have you weighing more, and doing something could have you weighing less. Make sure to do none of the other tasks before stepping on the scale for the most accurate reading.
You may or may not drink a glass of water before jumping on that scale, though weighing yourself before having a drink should show a more accurate reading.
However, more important than the time is the consistency in which you weigh yourself. Thus, if you've started weighing yourself before bed at night, make that the routine time to do so. Otherwise, you may not be able to track your progress accurately.
The same goes for the scale, the setting, and the conditions surrounding the process - they must be kept as consistent as possible. In this way, you get the most accurate reading even when you don't actually weigh yourself first thing in the morning.
Weight fluctuation
Our weight fluctuates every time we eat or drink something; that's perfectly normal. So, if you've suddenly gained a pound or five after a hearty breakfast, there's no need to be disheartened by this.
Weight can fluctuate a lot in 24 hours, which is to be expected given food and water weight. Anything we take into our bodies adds to our weight, but you need to realize that this isn't anything permanent.
According to health professionals, water retention is what contributes most to weight fluctuation. And this is influenced by factors such as the kind of food you eat and the amount of exercise you do. Some foods make you bloat more than others.
Weight fluctuation during the day can range from five to six pounds, depending on the person's lifestyle. This weight loss or gain can be attributed mostly to the amount of liquid you take in and release.
If you do heavy exercise, you will lose more liquid through sweat than you take in through drinking. Thus, you may find that you weigh much lighter immediately after the session than you did just before it.
Another factor that influences water retention is the amount of salt or sodium content in your food. So, you may feel a bit bloated and on the heavy side after consuming sodium-rich takeaways than you did while ordering.
It's important to keep in mind that scales are simply one form of collecting data, and you shouldn't rely too much on them. By itself, such a method does not accurately represent your journey to your ideal weight.
So, how do you track your weight accurately?
Here are some easy tips to get the most accurate scale readings when weighing yourself:
- Weigh yourself at the same time daily. Ideally, this should be first thing in the morning, but you can also pick a moment that works better for you and stick to that time.
- Determine your average weight from daily readings taken over the course of the week. This should provide a more accurate figure than weighing yourself once every week.
- Be consistent. Use the same scales and weigh yourself under the same conditions as much as possible. So if you weigh yourself in your underwear, don't wear a pair of jeans or any other set of clothes the next time you do.
- Take advantage of technology. There are different apps for keeping track of your progress and measuring results; use them.
- Listen to your body. The scale may indicate a positive change, but your body may disagree with it. Listen to your body first.
Scales are not the be-all-end-all of your healthy weight journey. The moment you feel they do more harm than good, get rid of them. There are tons of other ways to track your progress, such as how you look in photos, how your clothes are fitting, and, most importantly, how you're feeling about yourself. Those are all worth paying more attention to than some dumb old scale.
