How much should my weight fluctuate?

Weight fluctuation is a very common thing but we get asked all the time how much should my weight fluctuate. On average you can see a 1-5lb fluctuation throughout the day. So to show you how much it can fluctuate we decided to do a test on how much our weight can change throughout the day. There are several reasons why weight can fluctuate but the biggest reason we did this is to show you that just because you weigh different from one time to the next doesn’t mean you put on fat.

If you want to get the most accurate weight measurement you should weigh yourself everyday, right when you get up and after you use the bathroom. Keep track of your daily weigh ins and you will see trends and patterns and it will give you an accurate idea of are you losing weight or gaining weight. If you want to learn more about the benefits of daily weigh-ins check out our youtube video

So let’s go on this journey of several weigh-ins on the day. The first side by side comparison below is of my initial weight right when I woke up (left) and right is after I went to the bathroom (right). You can see I had a 1.4lb drop just from going pee. Did I lose fat? No, that was literally the amount of fluid I eliminated from my body. That’s it. Nothing special, just doing a regular bodily function and I lost weight. 

The next pair of pictures is my after the bathroom weight and right before I left for work. I gained 1.6lbs and now weigh more than when I woke up. In that time I had roughly 24 ounces of water and had eaten 2 meals. I gained weight because I put things into my body. If you eat a pound of food, you are going to be a pound heavier. Depending on the food I ate could mean I retain extra water. If it was a carb or salty I will retain water weight longer.

These images are on a different scale but that’s okay. I don’t want to compare them to the at home scale. So I did a before my workout (left) and after my workout (right). You can see that I lost 1.4lbs during my workout. No, I did not lose 1.4 pounds of fat. I would have had to burn 5000 calories during my workout. A quick google search says that you can burn 700 calories an hour running (side note: I don’t believe that to be an accurate number). At 700 calories per hour it would take me about 7 hours to burn 5000 calories. I have zero desire to work out for 7 hours in a day. I lost 1.4lbs of water weight through sweat. It was 87 degrees in the building (we currently don’t have A/C). A prime temperature to sweat a lot.

The last set of images. My weight after I used the bathroom and my weight right before bed. A 2.4 pound difference from the start of the day to the end of the day. Sure, there is a possibility that I might have gained some weight, either fat or muscle but I will never know. I literally have no other data to compare it to.

That’s the point. All these weigh-ins didn’t matter because I have nothing to compare it to. I don’t have the weigh-ins from the day before. I am just showing you how much my weight fluctuated throughout the day. There isn’t a right answer or normal. If I tried I could probably get my weight to fluctuate 7 or 8lbs if I ate poorly. Weight fluctuation is a normal thing and it happens every day. It means absolutely nothing if you don’t have data points to compare it to. The only data point you should be comparing is what you weigh first thing in the morning and after you use the bathroom. That will give you a better indication if you are doing the right thing. Hopefully that helps with how much your weight should fluctuate.

Check out our website here.

Need help with workouts here are some for free

Find our previous blog posts here

Take a look at our instagram @riseabovefitnesstraining
Follow us on Facebook

POPULAR POSTS
Schedule Your free intro
Talk with a coach about your goals, get the plan to achieve them.

START HERE.

fill out the form below to get started!

Take the first step towards getting the results you want!

By providing your phone number, you agree to receive text messages from The Strength Revolution

learn more about our membership options

Fill out the form below to get started.

By providing your phone number, you agree to receive text messages from The Strength Revolution