Buzz
Scales are unpredictable: weight decreases after urination or intense exercise, and increases after eating, drinking, or even wearing a sweater. But how significant are these fluctuations? To explore this, I weighed myself fifteen times in a single day.
140.3 pounds at 9:16am: My first weigh-in of the day. Fresh out of bed, I’m dressed in lightweight pajamas.
138.9 pounds at 9:19am: Post-bathroom visit. Turns out, my bladder can store up to 1.4 pounds of urine. That’s a new piece of personal trivia.
141.6 pounds at 9:23am: Now fully dressed in jeans and shoes. This will be my standard attire for weigh-ins throughout the day, as I’m not stripping down every time I use the scale.
143.2 pounds at 9:24am: Realized I left my hoodie on. Combined with my jeans and shoes, that’s a total of 4.3 pounds of clothing.
145.4 pounds at 10:35am: Post-breakfast, which added 2.2 pounds to my weight, including drinks.
144.4 pounds at 11:45am: After a bathroom break. Turns out, that was a one-pound bowel movement.
147.0 pounds at 2:23pm: Following a late lunch or early dinner. My bladder is also full at this point.
145.8 pounds at 2:28pm: Another trip to the bathroom resulted in a 1.2-pound loss.
145.1 pounds at 5:58pm: No significant activity in the past few hours, yet I dropped over half a pound.
144.3 pounds at 6:57pm: Same as before. Another half pound vanished. Shedding weight seems effortless!
142.4 pounds at 7:04pm: Wearing workout gear and a hoodie, I’m back to my weight before breakfast. Time for a Nike Training Club session, specifically the “Lifted by Lunges” workout.
142.3 pounds at 7:45pm: Post a 30-minute exercise session. I consumed nearly a pint of water (which weighs a pound) and sweated out an equivalent amount.
140.1 pounds at 8:15pm: Post-shower, naked, with damp hair. This marks the lowest weight I’ll register for the evening.
142.9 pounds at 11:07pm: Final weigh-in of the day, dressed in regular clothing.
142.4 pounds at 11:09pm: Now in pajamas. It’s common to lose a few pounds overnight. By the next morning, I was at 139.3 pounds, nearly matching my starting weight.
I consider myself a 140-pound individual, though my weight has ranged from 138.9 to 147 pounds. Keep in mind, most daytime measurements included roughly four pounds of clothing—so they don’t reflect my “true” weight but rather what I’d see on a scale during the day. You’ve probably encountered that gym scale or maybe even have one in your bathroom that seems to mock you as you glance at it from the toilet.
I anticipated fluctuations but was taken aback by their magnitude. It’s often recommended to weigh yourself first thing in the morning, after using the bathroom but before eating. This aligns with my lowest weight in the experiment and logically represents the most consistent measurement. Naturally, this number can vary daily based on factors like hydration levels.
