You and Your Scale: A Frenemy Relationship

In your weight loss journey, your scale is a valuable tool. Yet, while it can motivate you, it can also derail your goals if you let it.

You and Your Scale: A Frenemy Relationship

The journey to weight loss and better health is filled with a variety of tools and mechanisms to track progress. Among these, the bathroom scale reigns supreme.

It's a ready reckoner of your efforts, a quantifier of your sweat and discipline. However, the relationship between you and your scale is a delicate one, teetering between the realms of friend and foe, akin to a frenemy relationship.

I weigh myself almost daily at the same time (and after using the bathroom), not only to measure my progress in my health and fitness journey, but also to see how my activities in the past 24 hours might affect the bottom-line number.

This morning I weighed 1.5 pounds heavier than the day before.

It's common knowledge that it takes a surplus of 3,500 calories to gain one pound of body weight (which equals 5,250 calories for my added weight).

Considering I don't consume 3,500 -- let alone 5,250 -- calories in any given day, how did I gain 1.5 pounds?

Notwithstanding the possibility of the scale not always being 100% accurate (including the feet possibly being even slightly uneven), daily weight gain can be due to:

Water Retention (meaning liquids that have yet to make their way through your system)

Food that's yet to be fully make its way through your digestive system

Bloating (yes, gas does create weight)

Glycogen Stores (When you eat carbs, your body stores them as glycogen in your liver and muscles. Each gram of glycogen is stored with about 3-4 grams of water. If you consumed more carbohydrates than usual, your body might store more glycogen along with water, leading to a temporary weight increase).

Increase in muscle mass (While it's unlikely you'd gain that much in one day, it could add some to the overall number)

Inflammation (minor injuries, allergies, or other conditions can cause that and create temporary weight gain)

With that in mind, such daily fluctuations don't bother me -- and they shouldn't bother you either.

Just accept that it's something that can happen, and while it doesn't always seem to make sense ("I don't remember eating an extra 5,000 calories yesterday"), there's an explanation behind it and it shouldn't ever be viewed as a setback or failure.

So, how can you maintain a healthy relationship with your scale?

First, weight yourself daily for a week, add up those numbers, and then divide by 7. Keep track of that average and compare that week to week.

Second, notice how your clothes fit. If you're on your way, you'll start to notice them getting looser. It happened to me and it will happen for you.

Remember, the scale is just one tool in a vast arsenal aimed at better health and fitness. It's crucial to leverage its insights while also recognizing its limitations. By maintaining a balanced perspective, you can ensure that the scale remains a friend, aiding you on your path to a healthier, fitter you, rather than a foe that could derail your progress.