[Closed] How often do you weigh yourself?

Its all getting a bit...

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What happens when 2 weeks later they've lost no more and a further 2 weeks later they're back where they've started?

The diet's failed.

DrP

(edited to remove the question mark!)

about 2-3 times a year.
it's always been between 65.5-67kg depending on how much cycling.
it actually drops then raises when i have the time to get back on the bike as the tiny bit of fat goes quickly then the muscle takes a bit longer to add.
i'm stick thin though so i can go to another hole on my belt tighter but have actually put on weight as muscle is denser than fat.

I reckon that this is extremely rare although theoretically correct. Gaining muscle is pretty flipping hard.

I dunno, I reckon gaining muscle must be a lot easier for someone who's quite fat but does some reasonably hard physical exercise - hence why body builders etc bulk up first. I guess lots of fatties say this but I think I do have quite a lot of muscle as well as all the lard - I really don't think you'd guess I weigh 17.5 stone from looking at me.

I went from around size 40" waist to around 34" once and barely lost any weight at all, maybe half a stone.

3lb crap LOL

Before and after dump!

Watch myself anyway for medical records but noticed I've put on 1/2 stone in last 5 weeks thanks to a whole load of cycling.

I guess lots of fatties say this but I think I do have quite a lot of muscle as well as all the lard

Lard is heavy - you (we) need extra muscles to carry it!

If you strapped 20kg of weights on to a skinny person and made them wear it every day then they'd soon get more muscles too 😉

hence why body builders etc bulk up first.

Isn't that to ensure they're getting at least enough calories?

Never weigh myself.

I generally don't weigh myself. I go on how my clothes feel on me - if they are tight, I know I'm a bit porky and need to sort it out!

As long as the overall trend is down, you're losing weight....

Not if that "trend" is based on one weihing per week / fortnight / month.

The differences could just be sampling variance, or natural bodyweight variance, and nothing to do with overall change.

I do not weigh daily to know how heavy I am. I weigh daily to build up a dataset that provides a good baseline

Before every ride so that Endomondo gets the calorie calculation correct.

The differences could just be sampling variance, or natural bodyweight variance, and nothing to do with overall change.

And how would a more frequent weighing interval iron out that variance?
To be satisfied someone is losing weight, I'd want to see a progressive/sustained weight loss over a prolonged period of time.

DrP

What rkk01 said.

Everyday at the same time.

Everyday wiegh-in and body fat measurement (using DXA) every month 🙂

And how would a more frequent weighing interval iron out that variance?

Have you ever plotted a graph or are you just being argumentative?

To be satisfied someone is losing weigh, I'd want to see a progressive/sustained weight loss over a prolonged period of time.

If you only weigh them every, say, two weeks how would you know if their weight loss, or lack of, is actually dehydration or extra retained water?

The more data points you have the more accurate your average reading.

Before every ride so that Endomondo gets the calorie calculation correct.

That's a seriously dubious calorie calculation anyway, unless you have a heart rate monitor and the latest version of the Endomondo client on Android (which is the only one with the new method at the mo).

https://getsatisfaction.com/endomondo/topics/how_are_the_calories_burned_calculated
https://getsatisfaction.com/endomondo/topics/how_are_the_calories_burned_calculated_a_new_method

PhilW - I lost 4 lb on Friday night by eating a chinese meal, 2 bags of chocolate popcorn and drinking a lot of beer. If I can just think of a catchy name I'm going to start a diet craze.

I think DrP should be ignored for asking how having more data helps reduce sampling error.

Atm I weigh myself most mornings (and if I'm being honest, most evenings before going to bed too... 😳 )

Started when I was really pretty fat and reinforced by starting the idiet and seeing an almost daily drop for the first fortnight. I find the fluctuations quite interesting.

But I don't gaze at myself in the mirror... 😉

Every Saturday or Sunday morning. Then I write it on the calendar. It's encouraging to see the weightloss from the start of the year

Muscle weighs more than fat, so someone who is overweight can completely change their physique, lose fat and gain muscle and still weigh exactly the same.

A kilo of fat weighs [i]exactly[/i] the same as a kilo of muscle 🙂

I suspect a lot of the weight people put on when increasing exercise is probably water, rather than muscle. Does the body react to exercise by storing more glycogen? And every gram of glycogen stored needs 4g of water?

I think DrP should be ignored for asking how having more data helps reduce sampling error.

I think MrP should be ignored for asking how having more data helps reduce sampling error.... 😉

Unless, of course, the "Dr" bit is for a non-medical or non-scientific PhD...!

A kilo of fat weighs exactly the same as a kilo of muscle

But how much does a kilo of feathers weigh?

If you only weigh them every, say, two weeks how would you know if their weight loss, or lack of, is actually dehydration or extra retained water?

The same can be said (and is likely to be more pronounced) for making daily measurements. The day to day [b]natural[/b] variability in a person's weight make 'daily weigh ins' for the purpose of clinical weight loss 'not so useful'.

I'm also aware that the greater number of data points can make more accurate graphs, but for [b]this[/b] purpose, it frequently proves to disappoint or over-exaggerate the actual effect (or lack of) of ones perceived diet.

Plus... I didn't ask how having more data would iron it out - I asked how more frequent weighing would do!

DrP

A kilo of fat weighs exactly the same as a kilo of muscle

But how much does a kilo of feathers weigh?

And what would happen if you put them both on a conveyor belt? Would the feathers take off?

I reckon that this is extremely rare although theoretically correct. Gaining muscle is pretty flipping hard.

Extremely rare amongst people who don't lift weights and eat tons of carbs. Gaining muscle is harder than losing fat, but it is not that tough to gain a stone of muscle. The trouble is, most people want to do it in 5 weeks rather than 5 months.

It wieghs 1kgf. Nothing weighs a kilo 🙂

GrahamS - that was merely a little jape.

A kilo of fat weighs exactly the same as a kilo of muscle

🙄

But, as you (probably) know - that's not the point being made. A given volume of muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat

I think DrP should be ignored for asking how having more data helps reduce sampling error.

If you are weighing yourself at the same time every day then you are potentially just reinforcing a sampling error.

You really need to weigh yourself every hour.
Or perhaps randomly throughout the day and night. 😀

I'm thinking of putting my office chair on a set of scales... I could live stream the results?

Now you're talking. You'd have to account for the weight of anything you pick up though.

But, as you (probably) know - that's not the point being made. A given volume of muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat

Hence the smilie in my post.

Nothing weighs a kilo

This is true, but a kilo of fat and a kilo of muscle both weigh the same, assuming no variation in gravity.

You'd have to account for the weight of anything you pick up though.

I could have a seperate set of digitial scales for this purpose next to my mouse?

I could live stream the results

Do it Yeti. Here's a question you could answer

How does flatulence have an effect on your weight? If you do an absolutely massive fart, would you gain or lose weight?

I think I'll need some pretty precise scales for that.

Has anyone weighed themself whilst having a wee?

Phil.W proper LQTM (laugh quietly to myself) reading your last post.

I try to do it every morning then log it on an iphone app, I find it helps me loose weight. This morning I am 4 pounds heavier than friday morning, weighing myself motivates me to eat salad.

I find it helps me [b]loose[/b] weight

Ahem it's lose.

How does flatulence have an effect on your weight? If you do an absolutely massive fart, would you gain or lose weight?

Hmmm... methane is lighter than air - so presumably you get heavier as you expel it?

(obviously your actual mass won't change, unless it is a particularly moist one)

as the methane's now in the atmosphere does the earth get heavier?

A given volume of muscle weighs more than the same volume of fat

But... a variance in volume can be achieved without any variance in either weight or muscle/fat composition.

Nope the air gets lighter.