4 Reasons Why Your Bathroom Scale is Not Accurate
Your bathroom scale can be your best friend or worst enemy–depending upon the number it shows you when you hop on. If your day is colored by the number your scale reads, think again. Here are 4 reasons why your bathroom scale may not be giving you the most accurate reading of your body weight.
1. Water
Did you know that your body weight can fluctuate 1-5 pounds or more in a single 24-hour period? From hormones to what you ate to how humid it is outside, your weight changes just about as often as Madonna changed her style back in the ’90s. One reason why your scale may not be accurate is water retention.
If you don’t drink enough water, your body will safeguard what water it has and hold onto it. Similarly, if you eat a salty lunch or add a bit more olive juice to your evening martini, you body retains water rather than excreting it. Both of these phenomena will cause the number on the scale to go up.
2. Hormones
A few days before you menstruate, you’re likely to hold onto water as your body prepares itself for a period. The change in estrogen and progesterone levels during this time causes your body to retain more fluid than usual. Luckily, this bloated feeling passes within a few days, so it’s probably best to avoid the scale or be aware that it will be slightly skewed during the first few days of your period.
3. Glycogen
Glycogen is your body's store of energy. When you eat carbohydrates, your body converts what it needs for immediate energy into glucose, and the rest gets stored in your liver or muscle in the form of glycogen. Glycogen can account for up to 5 pounds: one pound for the glycogen itself and the other 2-4 pounds for the water that surrounds it. So when your carb intake dips, so do your glycogen stores, and so does the number on the scale.
4. Exercise
Engaging in rigorous cardiovascular exercise expels water from your body through sweat. You may have already done this test on your own by weighing yourself at the gym before you hit the Stairmaster and then again afterward and found that you lost a pound or more. Sorry to disappoint you, but you actually just lost a pound of water. Remember, our bodies are 60% water. Once you replenish your fluids, the number on the scale is likely to pop right back up again.
Aim for a Healthy Weight
Experts recommend weighing yourself once a week, preferably under the same circumstances--same time of day, same clothes (on or off) and before you have eaten or drunk anything. Daily weigh-ins can start to make you insane and will inherently vary. Some women prefer to not weigh themselves at all and instead rely on other markers, such as how their clothing fits. Keep in mind that the scale weighs it all: bones, fluid, organs, fat, muscle, and food. The important thing is to aim for or maintain a healthy weight, whether you use your bathroom scale or a pair of your jeans.
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May 1st, 2010 at 7:05 am
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