Hey everybody - I had something interesting happen this morning and I'm hoping somebody can help me understand how this works a bit better.

First off - I understand how insignificant scale weight is on a day to day basis. I'm sure alot of factors come into play such as water retention, food in the digestive system, etc, but over the past couple of months I've been keeping track of how my scale weight changes throughout the day just out of curiosity and can almost always guess what it's going to be exactly. I usually hop on the scale several times a day and jot it down. This is my first thing in the AM weight and before bed weight over the last 9 days...

175, 178
175, 179
175, 180
175, 177
175, 181
174, 180
174, 178
174, 183
173... (this AM)

It's been really consistent first thing in the AM and just about as consistent in the evening, but what's strange to me is that yesterday I ate ALOT of food. I didn't keep track of the calories (it was basically a eat anything cheat day) , but I had

Breakfast - 120g oatmeal w/1 cup soymilk and 28g Whey protein
- Whole wheat bagel
- a bananna

Throughout the day I had a total of 4 sandwhiches, 3 tunafish and 1 big turkey sandwhich. and another two banannas. I ate an entire large 1015 Onion, A huge bowl of organic squash soup, Also 220g of cottage cheese. Later in the afternoon I had a natural PB sandwhich - 32g natural peanut butter. That's 10 slices of bread by 6:30pm! :eek:

In the evening I had a Met-RX shake, and for dinner I had 1lb of baked Tilapia, 8oz shrimp, and 4 servings (an entire box) of Mango salsa CousCous made with a tablespoon of olive oil. Right before bed I had a half cup of oatmeal and another 110g of cottage cheese. Throughout the day I drank about a gallon of water.

Obviously, that's quite a bit of food for one day - but my real question is how can I go to sleep weighing 183, and wake up 6.5 hours later weighing 10lbs less??? I urinated first thing in the morning, but it wasn't 10lbs of fluid! :D After eating all that food yesterday, I really expected to be a few lbs heavier this morning (The food itself had to weigh several pounds at least!) What happens in those 6.5 hours that makes my scale weight change that much??

I'm curious as to the science behind how this happens.

Thanks!
-=Kyle

very interesting observation. im also curious as to why thats happening.

Also, for the record - there were no bowel movements at all that day or prior to weighing myself the following AM so aside from fluids and what was burned as calories anything I ate was still present and being digested.

Who knows, but I bet you really had to take a huge one the next day!


Hey everybody - I had something interesting happen this morning and I'm hoping somebody can help me understand how this works a bit better.

First off - I understand how insignificant scale weight is on a day to day basis. I'm sure alot of factors come into play such as water retention, food in the digestive system, etc, but over the past couple of months I've been keeping track of how my scale weight changes throughout the day just out of curiosity and can almost always guess what it's going to be exactly. I usually hop on the scale several times a day and jot it down. This is my first thing in the AM weight and before bed weight over the last 9 days...

175, 178
175, 179
175, 180
175, 177
175, 181
174, 180
174, 178
174, 183
173... (this AM)

It's been really consistent first thing in the AM and just about as consistent in the evening, but what's strange to me is that yesterday I ate ALOT of food. I didn't keep track of the calories (it was basically a eat anything cheat day) , but I had

Breakfast - 120g oatmeal w/1 cup soymilk and 28g Whey protein
- Whole wheat bagel
- a bananna

Throughout the day I had a total of 4 sandwhiches, 3 tunafish and 1 big turkey sandwhich. and another two banannas. I ate an entire large 1015 Onion, A huge bowl of organic squash soup, Also 220g of cottage cheese. Later in the afternoon I had a natural PB sandwhich - 32g natural peanut butter. That's 10 slices of bread by 6:30pm! :eek:

In the evening I had a Met-RX shake, and for dinner I had 1lb of baked Tilapia, 8oz shrimp, and 4 servings (an entire box) of Mango salsa CousCous made with a tablespoon of olive oil. Right before bed I had a half cup of oatmeal and another 110g of cottage cheese. Throughout the day I drank about a gallon of water.

Obviously, that's quite a bit of food for one day - but my real question is how can I go to sleep weighing 183, and wake up 6.5 hours later weighing 10lbs less??? I urinated first thing in the morning, but it wasn't 10lbs of fluid! :D After eating all that food yesterday, I really expected to be a few lbs heavier this morning (The food itself had to weigh several pounds at least!) What happens in those 6.5 hours that makes my scale weight change that much??

I'm curious as to the science behind how this happens.

Thanks!
-=Kyle

did you take a dump?

also, when your body digests the food, the weight of the food will be gone.

you're also breathing during the night, losing water like that, as well as probably sweating a little, losing water like that, etc, etc, etc.

there are plenty of other reasons, but i also believe you raised your metabolism eating all that food, and it probably burned off a few more calories that way. obviously, that's not an invitation to just go cheat everyday, but you know how cheat days 'trick' the body into never adapting to a certain caloric intake? it works for a lot of people, and probably worked in your benefit.

What happens in those 6.5 hours that makes my scale weight change that much??

I'm curious as to the science behind how this happens.

Thanks!
-=Kyle

Bad scales?? I think digital is best but watch batteries.

did you take a dump?

also, when your body digests the food, the weight of the food will be gone.

you're also breathing during the night, losing water like that, as well as probably sweating a little, losing water like that, etc, etc, etc.

No bowel movements ("dumps" :o ) that day or prior to weighing myself in the AM. I wondered about sweating and figured I lost a bit via perspiration, but hadn't though about breathing. Still, isn't 10lbs alot of mass to sweat/breath/digest away in 6.5 hours?? I've eaten quite a bit today as well (I'm not worried about putting on an lb of fat at the moment - more concerned with not losing any additional weight) I weigh 181 right now - we'll see what happens in the AM..

Bad scales?? I think digital is best but watch batteries.

I've got two scales, (a Taylor and a cheap "Sunbeam") both are digital and are relatively new. They've also both been really consistent (I can hop on and off over and over and get the exact same number - the Sunbeam especially) A bit over two weeks ago I also had a doctor's visit and had my BF% measured the same day and it was accurate to the pound with both the Dr's scale and the one at the place I had my BF% taken.

I can also weigh myself, pick up a 15lb dumbell and it'll display exactly 15lbs difference..

I'm stumped! :spaz:

No bowel movements ("dumps" :o ) that day or prior to weighing myself in the AM. I wondered about sweating and figured I lost a bit via perspiration, but hadn't though about breathing. Still, isn't 10lbs alot of mass to sweat/breath/digest away in 6.5 hours?? I've eaten quite a bit today as well (I'm not worried about putting on an lb of fat at the moment - more concerned with not losing any additional weight) I weigh 181 right now - we'll see what happens in the AM..

While it is true that the burning of calories basically changes to heat and leaves the body through your skin(85%), lungs(10%) and urine(5%) and a small amount in feces. When you drink more water, more can leave by urine. But adding up to a 10 lb drop, I don't think so.

Do you sleep cool? The cooler you are, the more that escapes in the warming up process.

Do you sleep cool? The cooler you are, the more that escapes in the warming up process.

Penguins would ask for a blanket in my bedroom! I do keep it frigid at night so that may account for some of it. I'm under a down comforter and a few other blankets but I've always heard that most heat escapes from your head. Today was a workout day but I've eaten quite a bit as well (good clean food, but ample amounts of it) I'm curious to see what will happen in the AM.

Just to make this more interesting and visual..... ;) I just took this just now after stepping on the scale 20 times in a row. I got 182 nineteen times and got a 183 once. It's 2:07am Central time and I'm about to eat something and head to bed. I'll see what it is in the AM. The Taylor scale read 181.7 but it's not backlit and is hard to read.

http://www.reek.org/~ninepin/DSCF0075%20(Small).JPG

The blackness in my left toe happened when I stubbed my toe running from a giant Rottweiler while doing 1am cardio.. (I usually walked 3.5 miles, but in this case got my first taste of actual RUNNING :p 3 months later it's still looking rather ugly. Hopefully it'll get better one of these days. The following night I got chased by that same dog and he/she quickly became familiar with the concept of pepper-spray.. :D

Well, I just woke up at 9:40am and once again, my scale weight has dropped.

http://www.reek.org/~ninepin/DSCF0079%20(Small).JPG

The Taylor scale also reports that I weigh 10lbs less. I'm wearing the exact same thing I was when I went to bed. Even more remarkable is I can put the camera down and it'll report 171 every time, pick the camera back up and it's 172.

I realize how completely insignifigant all this is in fitness terms and it doesn't really bother me, but I'd like the downward trend to stop and so far it hasn't. Once again I ate quite alot of food yesterday and plan to today as well. :eat:

Well, I just woke up at 9:40am and once again, my scale weight has dropped.

http://www.reek.org/~ninepin/DSCF0079%20(Small).JPG

The Taylor scale also reports that I weigh 10lbs less. I'm wearing the exact same thing I was when I went to bed. Even more remarkable is I can put the camera down and it'll report 171 every time, pick the camera back up and it's 172.

I realize how completely insignifigant all this is in fitness terms and it doesn't really bother me, but I'd like the downward trend to stop and so far it hasn't. Once again I ate quite alot of food yesterday and plan to today as well. :eat:

cool. I'm not too surprised. On a normal non-cheat day, my weight can be 6 pounds heavier at night than in the morning. The next morning it's back to the weight of the previous morning.

For your next experiment, sleep standing up, on the scale. Make a time-lapse movie of the readout instead of before & after pics. Post results here.

:lol:

lol

lol.

Something I have noticed is either you have the biggest feet I have ever seen - or thats a little tiny scale.

My weight fluctuates about 7 lbs a day (and drops overnight)- a lot of it depends on how much water I'm drinking.

I bet its just water fluctuations - you are just exceeding most peoples expectations in that arena.

hahaha

it's true, though. you've got some wicked ass water weight fluctuations. it's perfectly normal.

also, are you weighing yourself naked? try doing that for a day, and seeing how it works. if it's still the same difference, just call it a day and don't worry about it too much.

most people would give an arm and a leg to lose weight like that ;)

Your body wasn't used to the extra calories so it burned it off. Your metabolism changes daily and this reflects that.

just call it a day and don't worry about it too much. most people would give an arm and a leg to lose weight like that ;)

Well, it doesn't worry me at all - It's totally consistent from morning to morning. I'm just curious about what happens to that 10lbs overnight.

- As to the "weigh yourself naked" - well, I'm wearing a pair of pajama pants that weigh less than an lb, but I'm wearing them both in the evening as well as in the morning so what I've got on stays constant. After I'm fully dressed I weigh about 8-10lbs more.

As to the size of my feet - I'm 6'2" and wear a size 12 :D

Again - I'm really not concerned about the weight loss / gain day to day but am curious how that happens while sleeping. 10lbs is quite a bit of water.

10 plds difference seems alot, but its all relative.

I personally gained 5 plds after breakfast this morning from my morning weight.

In the mornings, I am usually 3-5 plds lower due to food buring off, releasing heat as it does work (consumes calories), and water being shed (skin, lungs, etc)

One note though, Most people here drink or aim to drink 1 gallon of water a day. Many people I'm sure near 2 gallons of water a day

2 Gallons of water --> 16 POUNDS! Add in food throughout the day, you are looking at putting in a solid +20 Pounds of food/water into your mouth per day!. I started using the scale early on (I just started my transformation Mar 1.2005, but now I really don't use it anymore or give it any credit)

Just go have your bodyfat percentage and lean mass % tested each month (like I am) under the same conditions (ie: morning, evening) that should be good.

Just to make this more interesting and visual..... ;) I just took this just now after stepping on the scale 20 times in a row. I got 182 nineteen times and got a 183 once. It's 2:07am Central time

Get more sleep, people who get less sleep usually gain more fat. Now I know you need weight but muscular weight. This won't solve the overnight loss but try to get a minimum of 8 hours sleep. When you get to working out, you need time for recovery and rebuilding.

Sorry, just had to chime in. This post is cracking me up. :lol: I thought women were the only ones that were that obsessed with the scale. Actually I think my mom may have you beat on that end.

I like the "try to sleep on the scale and do time lapsed photos of it." It would make a good documentary.

I thought women were the only ones that were that obsessed with the scale.

LOL I think you're missing the point - The changes in weight don't bother me one bit, the point of this post was simply to try to understand why this occurs overnight while sleeping. I'm sure the body does quite a bit of "maintenance" while sleeping but 24oz of water/food/whatever disappearing per hour got me curious.. :confused:

Think of it this way: When I was in college I would routinely drink 15 beers in a night. That's about 11 pounds of liquid. Oh and I would eat like a whole pizza which is probably 3 pounds of food. Sure I would pee out a few pounds, but at the end of the night I also drank about 10 glasses of water so I wouldn't be as hung over. (another 10 pounds).

So that's 24 pounds in and maybe 10 pounds out in the form of 5 or 6 really long whizzes. Then the next morning maybe sit on the throne for awhile and lose another 2 pounds plus another 'void' adds 2 pounds so I'm at a net +10 pounds yet I would generally weigh a few pounds less than I did before starting the process, so it seems that during sleep you can really kill a lot of excess water weight.

If you really want to do an experiment, see what would happen if you fast for a day-I bet the weight loss overnight on the night of fasting would be much less than 10 pounds-maybe just 3.

And I don't think you're obsessing over weight-it's obviously just curiosity :D

:lol:
Thats a pretty big fluctuation but im sure its just your fluid retention during the day and its dispersed by your body while you sleep.
During the day you dont go so many hours without food or drink as you do while asleep.

i drink about 2 gallons a day, but don't you pee most/all of it out? so you couldn't really account a 16 lb gain on drinking 2 gallons of water, or could you? if so, then i'll start drinking about 4 gallons day :lol:!