Weighing yourself can be a tricky and important factor depending on your goals.

Weighing yourself can be a tricky and important factor depending on your goals.

However, it does not always give you the results/ number you want. This can then throw you off and make you second guess everything you have been doing.

If the number is not what you expect or does not align with your goals.

Then what?

What do you think?

How do you react?

I go through a few questions, which will explain why the number is not what I was expecting.

1. What is the time?

This will remind me of what I have drunk, eaten and…. bowel movements. All of which will play a small role in what number the scale gives me.

On average a poop can weigh ¼ to 1 pound.

1. How much have you eaten?

Same as above, if you have had breakfast or even lunch, this will impact your daily weight and affect the number of scales.

On average, breakfast eaters can be 0.44kg (15.5 ounces) heavier.

1. How many carbs did you eat the day before?

In short, carbohydrates are a food source utilised within the body as a primary energy source. Effectively like petrol or diesel for your car. When we consume carbs within the body, it is stored as an energy source within the muscles and liver. It is not stored as carbs. It gets broken down into glucose and then stored as glycogen within the liver and muscles. Around 100g of glycogen is stored in the liver, and 300g is stored within the muscles in the body. Therefore, we could have stored less glycogen on one day and then consumed a heavy carbohydrate dinner the day before. Which then could have been stored within the body, thus causing you to be slightly heavier the next day. Add this, along with a large intake of water, can cause you to be heavier the next day.

1. Water intake, how much have you drunk?

You could have also gained a few pounds of water. Therefore, you would be more hydrated than the previous day, which is only a good thing. The body’s water weight can fluctuate between 5–6 pounds per day. 6 pounds is 2 kg, and is .4 stone.

1. Heavier clothes?

Sounds simple, but a heavy T-shirt or bottoms can impact the scales by a few pounds.

Next time you weigh yourself, go through these questions and don’t beat yourself up over them.