How to use a weight scale

Have you ever hopped on a scale out of curiosity, been surprised/hurt by the number, and let it ruin your entire day? It happens to the best of us. While I could say “the scale is just a number” - which it is by the way - instead, I’m going to teach you how to use it so the number becomes more useful.

The weight scale is a great tool if you know how to use it. Unfortunately, most people don’t.

Your weight fluctuates greatly from factors such as hydration status, carbohydrate intake, training (inflammation), bowel movements, sodium intake, menstrual cycle, and more. Even with ideal conditions, your weight will still spike - it is completely normal. Look at the picture below to see my weigh-ins over a 3 month period.

It is impossible to remain perfectly consistent when some things just aren’t in your control.

In order to alleviate this, you should be taking your weekly average.

Not only that, you should be taking your weigh-ins under the following conditions:

• Same time every day

• Same clothing - or none

• After waking up

• After using the bathroom

• Before eating or drinking anything

Now do this 3-5x a week and compare week to week, not day to day. This will result in a totally different mindset when you see that you moved by a pound or two, if at all.

If you’re going in the opposite direction that you want to be while using weekly averages, then change your diet to match your goals. Adjust your caloric intake by 300-500 calories and see what happens.

Screenshot of my weigh-ins from 6/5/2020 - 9/3/2020.