For most people, the scale is an end-all-be-all in determining progress, but the scale doesn’t tell the full story. The scale is simply just a tool to identify trends. One of the many factors that can make the scale easily manipulated is water. Did you know that water fluctuation can be 2-5 pounds on any given day? If you don’t believe me, experiment for yourself. Wake up and weigh yourself, then don’t eat or drink anything and go for a run in some heavy clothes. The hotter the better. Upon returning from your run, step on the scale. Don't eat or drink a single thing. You’ll surely see a decrease in your weight. This does not mean we lost weight through one workout. This is what we call unrealized weight loss. The same would be for weight gain.
Let’s walk through another scenario. Say you’ve been super adherent following your RESOLVE Nutrition plan with coach Deb, and she authorizes a free meal. You go off the rails and eat all your favorite foods until you can’t breathe. You step on the scale the next day and notice that your weight is now up 3 pounds. No, you didn't gain 3 pounds overnight. That's not how weight gain works. You have much more food in your system and I can guarantee you are experiencing some heavy bloating or retention of water due to high carbs and sodium. Following this day, getting back on track will result in your weight regulating back to where you were and potentially lower.
These are just two scenarios of many on why our water can fluctuate. Water fluctuation can happen due to sodium intake, carb intake, hormones, and exercise. The number on the scale each morning is not absolute. What we want to see is an overall trend that heads in the desired direction. A healthier way to use the scale would be to weigh yourself every 3 days and take the average over the next 2-4 weeks. This will Identify a clear trend. So the next time you think you gained 5 pounds over the holiday weekend, talk yourself off the ledge and just get back on track. IT IS NOT REAL!
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