Do you feel frustrated each time you step on the bathroom scale? Fret not because it is perfectly normal for those numbers to shift throughout the day or week — it doesn’t necessarily mean that your weight loss efforts are not paying off. Having an idea on some of the causative factors for your shifting weight and knowing how often or when to step on the bathroom scale can give you assurance that you are on the right track.
Just because you are a pound heavier today than yesterday doesn’t necessarily mean that you did something wrong that had sabotaged your attempt to attain a nicer physique. That additional pound is likely to go away in a day or two.
Up for a While
You see, weight fluctuations are dictated by certain factors that can have an impact on the amount of fluids in your body. For instance, tons of water that you guzzled down will surely register on the bathroom scale, although you can be sure that the numbers will gradually decrease as you pee or sweat away all the water you consumed.
The consumption of salty foods can also make your weight increase temporarily. Salt is something that can cause water retention, which will surely be picked up by your bathroom scale. Constipated? Then you can expect to see additional pounds, but you can be sure that they will go away the minute you get rid of those waste materials. In fact, experts say that it is very much possible for you to gain as much as 5 temporary pounds a day!
Down Momentarily
Similarly, it’s not just temporary gaining of weight that you may experience, but also short-lived reductions. For instance, it’s very much likely for the numbers to drop when the weather is hot and you are sweating profusely — especially if you’re not drinking enough fluids to replace lost ones. Sweating it out at the gym can instantly cause you to become lighter.
As you can see, just because you gained or lost weight doesn’t necessarily mean you got fatter or thinner. There are so many factors that can impact the readings on your trusted bathroom scale.
Magic Day of the Week
So how often should you step on your bathroom scale? Actually, such may be done on a daily basis. In fact, some fitness experts say that you can do so as a form of assurance that you are still on the right track, although again it’s important to note that fluctuations in weight can be expected throughout the day, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
However, according to a Finland study, there is a particular time of the week wherein you can really obtain the perfect bathroom scale reading: on a Wednesday.
Experts who conducted the study say that any other day of the week can show dramatic fluctuations in your weight, mainly because of an increase in food and beverage consumption that tends to happen during the weekend. Parties, romantic dinner dates, hanging out with friends — all of these things that tend to take place on weekends can definitely make you gain extra pounds, but not necessarily the kind that’s permanent.
Perfect Reading
At the start of the week, you gradually ditch pounds that you have gained over the weekend by means of burning them as well as going to the bathroom to discard them. And come Wednesday, you would have eliminated much of those temporary pounds, giving you a more precise reading when you step on the bathroom scale.
That’s exactly what the Finland study revealed: researchers weighed 40 overweight participants nearly 3,000 times during an entire year, and they found out that Wednesday weigh-ins gave the most accurate readings.
When weighing yourself on Wednesdays, do it at the same time each time, and while you’re wearing the same amount of clothes. Similarly, you should use the very same bathroom scale during your regular weigh-ins for consistency.
Sources: independent.co.uk
