In order to weigh yourself correctly and have a faithful monitoring of the evolution of weight, it is necessary to take care as if you always weigh at the same time and with the same clothes, and preferably on the same day of the week, always trying to maintain a standard when weighing.
Weight can vary according to the time of day, meals from the previous day and changes in the body linked to food and hormone production, such as fluid retention and bloating during menstruation. So, see below all necessary care when weighing.
1. Always use the same scale
Always using the same scale will bring a reliable variation in weight over the days, regardless of the make or model of the scale used. The best option is to have a scale at home, preferably digital, and avoid storing it in the bathroom due to humidity, which can cause changes in the proper functioning of the appliance.
When weighing, the scale should always be placed on a fixed and level surface, with no carpets underneath. Another tip is to always be aware of the battery or batteries in the scale, and weigh 1 or 2 kg of rice or other object of known weight to check the calibration of the device.
2. If you weigh fast
The best time to weigh is right after waking up, as it is easy to maintain the pattern of a good fast, avoiding changes in the body caused by the digestion process. In addition, before weighing early, one should go to the bathroom to empty the bladder and intestine, and then return with nothing in the belly to have a faithful result on the scale.
3. Naked is the best option
If weighing naked is the best option because it is easy to discount the changes in the weight of the clothes, and therefore also having a simple scale at home facilitates the process. However, if you need to weigh yourself in pharmacies or at the gym, you should always wear the same clothes, so that the weight variation is only that of the body itself.
4. Avoid overeating the day before
Avoiding excesses of food, especially those rich in salt and sugar, and alcoholic beverages the day before weighing is important to avoid fluid retention, which can greatly alter the weighing result.
Thus, it is important to avoid consuming foods such as sushi, pizza, fast food and sweets the day before weighing, as well as avoiding eating out or taking too many diuretic teas to influence weight the next day. Keep your pace normal, as doing this type of practice will not show your real evolution.
5. Do not weigh yourself in the menstrual period
For women, it is important to avoid weighing yourself in the 5 days preceding the menstrual period and during the days of menstruation, as the hormonal changes that occur during this period usually cause swelling and fluid retention, not allowing a faithful balance result.
Thus, during this period the recommendation is to be patient and maintain the care with food and physical activity, leaving to check the weight when everything has passed.
Check out these and other tips in the following video:
What is the ideal frequency for weighing
The ideal is to weigh yourself only once a week, always choosing the same day of the week to do the weighing, following the recommendations mentioned above. In addition, one should avoid weighing oneself on Monday, as it reflects the excesses that normally occur on the weekend, not bringing a faithful result of the weight variation.
Having patience and avoiding weighing yourself every day is important to avoid excessive anxiety and incentives to practice sudden changes in diet to have a better result the next day, such as taking lots of diuretic teas or going completely without eating. From one day to the next, and even on the same day, it is normal for the weight to vary by about 1 kg, so maintaining a weekly weighing pattern is the best choice.
The weight of the scale does not say everything
Finally, it is important to remember that the weight of the scale does not say everything, especially when you are on a diet guided by a nutritionist and when you practice physical activity regularly. This is because throughout the process there can be gains in muscle mass and body hydration, which makes the weight increase or decrease less than desired, but still lose fat.
Therefore, a good option is to carry out at least once a month a follow-up with a nutritionist or a weighing with bioimpedance scales, which give the body composition with data on the amount of muscle mass and total fat. Find out how bioimpedance works in this video:
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