8 Mistakes People Make When Weighing Themselves
July 17, 2019
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The quest to lose weight can be a frustrating one. You may find yourself stepping on the scale every day, only to not see the numbers decrease. However, the scale shouldn’t be the thing you rely on to see results. When trying to lose weight, focus more on how you feel and how your clothes are fitting. There are many mistakes people tend to make when weighing themselves – in order to more accurately gauge your weight, avoid the following eight mistakes.
1. Weighing Yourself At Night
When you weigh yourself at night, you’ve got a full day’s worth of meals and fluids to account for. This can drastically change the number on your scale (by as much as eight pounds). A more accurate reflection of your weight would be to weigh yourself in the morning, right when you get up.
2. Weighing Yourself With Clothes On
Weighing yourself with clothes on won’t give you accurate results. Try to consistently weigh yourself in the nude to get the most accurate reading. If you don’t feel comfortable doing so, try wearing the same, lightweight clothing each time you weigh yourself so that you know you’re getting consistent results.
3. You Use Multiple Scales
If you weigh yourself at the gym and at home, try to pick just one scale. Scales can be very inconsistent and they will rarely give you the same readings.
4. You Use A Digital Scale
Although digital scales are convenient and tend to be more aesthetically pleasing, they also tend to not be as accurate as traditional scales (like the ones you find at a doctors office or many gyms).
5. You Weigh Yourself Post-Shower
Many people are in the habit of waking up in the morning, having a shower, and weighing themselves afterwards. However, when your body has been in contact with water, it tends to absorb a lot of it (the same goes for your hair). This can increase your weight by up to a few pounds.
6. You Weigh Yourself Around Your Period
When women experience the premenstrual week and week of their periods, it can cause you to retain water and fluids. This can increase your weight by up to eight pounds, even though it’s not an accurate representation of your regular weight.
7. Your Scale Is Positioned Wrong
In order for a scale to be calibrated correctly, it needs to be on a hard, flat surface. If your scale is currently on hardwood floor or carpet, it’s best to move it elsewhere.
8. You Weigh Yourself Every Day
It’s all too easy to become obsessive about weighing yourself when trying to lose weight. However, weighing yourself every day can lead you to becoming very hard on yourself, stress increase, and even periods of binging to combat that stress. If you’re going to weigh yourself on a regular basis, weekly or biweekly is much healthier than daily.