The weighting game

Posted on 11 August, 2016

To weigh oneself, or not to weigh oneself: that is the question.

When it came to health, body image and weight loss, I used to be very much ‘anti-scales’. I hated weighing myself. My theory was that because I was always disappointed with the number on the scales, I would feel worse about my body and therefore was better off using other methods.

To be fair, there are plenty of other ways to go about it – a good one is just the way your clothes fit. Generally, when the skinny jeans get a bit tight we know we’ve probably hit the pizza or wine a little too hard and might have gained some body fat. You can also take measurements, go off how you look in the mirror or just how you feel.

These methods are totally fine – particularly if you’re happy with your weight and body composition and are looking to just maintain where you’re at. If that’s the case, fantastic – more power to you.

But what if it’s not?

I was reasonably happy with my body but I did feel like for the amount of training I was doing and the effort I was putting in my diet, I would have liked to have seen more results. Nothing drastic, but maybe a bit less body fat and a bit more muscle definition. I decided to weigh myself (at my parents’ house, because I didn’t even own scales at this point) – and lo and behold, I had the same experience I always had. The number was higher than I expected, leaving me disappointed and feeling lost.

I needed some direction – so I headed to good old Kmart and bought myself some scales.

Why? Because I had a specific goal of losing body fat and to do that I needed to be able to measure my progress in a specific and consistent way.

The ‘consistent’ part is particularly important

The problem is that when you just check in and weigh yourself randomly, there are so many variables at play. Which scales are you using? If you weigh yourself on the scales at the gym one day and at your scales at home the next, you’re likely to get different results. The same goes for weighing yourself at different times in the day – if you’ve just polished off a big plate of dinner, you’re obviously going to be a little heavier than you were in the morning after going to the loo.

The other thing to remember is water retention – if you have you’re premenstrual or have your period, you’re likely to be holding a lot of water and so will be heavier. The same goes if you have a salty meal at home or at a restaurant. So don’t freak out!

“Weight Loss isn’t a straight line”

I’ve been weighing myself every day for about a few weeks now and one thing has really stood out to me: that even when you’re eating really well and exercising and in a calorie deficit, weight loss isn’t a straight line.

If I look at my results in a chart – which I do – it does not read as a smooth downward slope. It is a series of peaks and troughs that reflects where I’m at in my cycle, what I’ve eaten and sometimes an unexplainable flatline or climb. I literally gained a kilo and a half after a particularly delicious date night, and I also lost 700 grams in a day. It’s the overall direction of your progress that matters.

So why is the accuracy important?

Well, if you’re not semi-regularly measuring your progress in an accurate way, then all you’re looking at is random results. I could have weighed myself one morning and then two weeks later in an evening after dinner when I was premenstrual, and seen a massive fluctuation – perhaps incorrectly making an assumption I’d gained lots of weight.

For me, this was the issue with the aforementioned methods.

The mirror certainly wasn’t reliable – not only is it hard to notice changes when you’re constantly seeing your reflection, but we all have days where we feel bigger than we probably are. Similarly, there were days when my jeans felt tight because I was just bloated, or because they shrank in the dryer, or (perhaps the most likely culprit) because I ate too many pancakes at breakfast.

Is it necessary to weigh yourself every day?

Probably not – but that depends on what your personal goals are. However, regularly weighing yourself – say once or twice a week, at the same time of day – can help track progress, particularly if you’re trying to lose body fat.

I can see how some people battle with the idea of weighing yourself every day. If you’re someone with a history of disordered eating or who struggles with obsessing over the number on the scales then it is probably not for you.

For me, the funny thing is that now that I weigh myself daily, I don’t feel half as stressed about the number on the scale. In fact, it’s removed the anxiety and it’s now just something I do – like brushing my teeth.

Do I see it as a measure of my self-worth? Absolutely not.

Does it stop me from having nice meals out with people I love? Oh, hell no.

Does it ruin my day when the number is higher than expected? Nope.

Instead, I see it as a tool in reaching my health and fitness goal, an indicator of how successful my methods are, and a way to better understand my own body. If you’re working towards a specific goal and struggling to measure your progress, it might help you too.

Disclaimer: This article is anecdotal and not intended to replace dietary advice given by a medical or nutrition professional.