WEIGHING SCALES - A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD

For the majority, weighing ourselves can often be accompanied by questionable mixed feelings. A shift in the wrong direction can lead to a myriad of negative reactions, none of which would be conducive to a healthy eating, fitness and lifestyle regime. However, the right education in regards to scale fluctuations can steer most in a positive direction, enabling you to form a more informed analysis and conclusion.

For the majority of my clients (who’s aim is fat loss), I advocate weighing in every morning and then taking a weekly average. If that average falls approx 0.6% each week, then both the client and I know we are on the right track. If after 3 weeks there is no reduction in weight, then I will amend the clients nutrition plan. This way, we are always getting feedback from the body and evolving what we are doing to stay on track to hit our goal.

Now, without the correct education, daily weighing can become a negative  process. Weight loss, or more accurately - FAT LOSS, is not linear. Fat loss will show peaks and troughs throughout a week, month, year etc. But the key here is the OVERALL PICTURE, not a weekly snapshot.

So why the fluctuations? Well, this is the important take home message. There are a number of reasons why your weight will fluctuate, even though all the correct steps are being taken.

Carbohydrates and Water; Even during a calorie deficit, eating more carbs on one day can create an acute weight gain. The simple reason for this is not that the carbs have made you gain fat, it’s that for every 1g of carbohydrate you eat, you store 3g of water. So, 250g of carbs being stored within your muscles, a further 750g of water is also stored. This then shows up on the scales as an extra 1kg (2.2lbs)

Food Volume; Similar to the extra weight gain via carbs, day to day the volume of food in your stomach will change and this is represented on the scales. Again, it’s no reflection on fat gain, just there’s simply more inside you than on previous days. You can also see how this, combined with irregular bowel movements, will result in an acute weight gain.

Hormones; Day to day the balance of hormones will vary and therefore a resulting factor of this is an increase in fluid retention.

Stress; An increase in stress increases cortisol. This hormone is involved in fluid regulation and can therefore have an influence on water retention and weight gain.

Weight lifting; One of the desirable side effects of weight training is causing micro trauma within the muscle cells. This trauma results in a level of inflammation and this inflammation can then create greater water retention. 

So it’s not surprising that weight fluctuates on a day to day basis. Now thats clear, don’t let these fluctuations have a negative impact on your progression. Understand that these fluctuations are natural, they will always happen, but the important factor to look at is the bigger picture over a much larger period of time.