Saturday, September 03, 2005
When You Should and Shouldn't Weigh In
Like the song says: "For every thing there is a time." If your weight loss and self-esteem are in any way tied in any way, when you weigh can be as important a what you weigh.
Do:
First thing in the morning after your first trip to the washroom. This is the most accurate weigh in you'll get. If you want a good gauge of your current weight.
Before exercise: Again, this is close to accurate.
When you're not depressed: If you're in a bad mood, the last thing you need is an excuse to slide on your diet.
Don't:
After a large meal-- or large glass of water: All you'll be doing is weighing the food you ingested. Water has zero calories, but a liter of water weighs over 2lbs.
After exercise: Your workout will have left you dehydryated. Your weigh in will not so much show you how many calories you've burned, as how much water you've left in the gym.
Weigh in everyday: Your weight can fluctuate. I weighed my fit little daughter. She came in at 52lbs.; the next day: 50lbs.. Two pounds of swing on a 50lb girl. Choose two days of the week thaty are generally good days. Make those your two weigh in days and skip the other five days.
Remember:
Friday's indulgence is Monday's flab: Even though you get the sugar/insulin benefit from eating soon after you eat, excess calories and missing calories cruise around your body for upwards of two days. In other words, if you have a double cheeseburger then weigh in and see little change, you might think you've dodged the bullet. Wrong. By the same token: exercise will strip off water right away, but lost calories and lost fat will take a couple of days to make their way out of your body. So, if you sweat off half a litre, then drink that back, you'll think you did nothing for your weight loss. Give it some time.
+/- 1%: If your weight can swing randomly 1%, you have to factor in that when you weigh in. If you weigh 200lbs-- a +/- 2lbs is a 1% swing. If you weigh 300lbs-- a +/- 3lbs is a 1% swing. When you cheer because you lost two pounds, remember the +/- 1% rule.
tags: dieting, obesity
Do:
First thing in the morning after your first trip to the washroom. This is the most accurate weigh in you'll get. If you want a good gauge of your current weight.
Before exercise: Again, this is close to accurate.
When you're not depressed: If you're in a bad mood, the last thing you need is an excuse to slide on your diet.
Don't:
After a large meal-- or large glass of water: All you'll be doing is weighing the food you ingested. Water has zero calories, but a liter of water weighs over 2lbs.
After exercise: Your workout will have left you dehydryated. Your weigh in will not so much show you how many calories you've burned, as how much water you've left in the gym.
Weigh in everyday: Your weight can fluctuate. I weighed my fit little daughter. She came in at 52lbs.; the next day: 50lbs.. Two pounds of swing on a 50lb girl. Choose two days of the week thaty are generally good days. Make those your two weigh in days and skip the other five days.
Remember:
Friday's indulgence is Monday's flab: Even though you get the sugar/insulin benefit from eating soon after you eat, excess calories and missing calories cruise around your body for upwards of two days. In other words, if you have a double cheeseburger then weigh in and see little change, you might think you've dodged the bullet. Wrong. By the same token: exercise will strip off water right away, but lost calories and lost fat will take a couple of days to make their way out of your body. So, if you sweat off half a litre, then drink that back, you'll think you did nothing for your weight loss. Give it some time.
+/- 1%: If your weight can swing randomly 1%, you have to factor in that when you weigh in. If you weigh 200lbs-- a +/- 2lbs is a 1% swing. If you weigh 300lbs-- a +/- 3lbs is a 1% swing. When you cheer because you lost two pounds, remember the +/- 1% rule.
tags: dieting, obesity
