How the scales lie to us!

Extract from sheet given to me by the nurse:

How many times have we said - don't weigh daily and yet here we are again on the scales leaning to the left and the right, before and after a trip to the loo and dressed or undressed.

So - you can't resist this life by numbers then? If you can't get rid of the habit then TRY to understand what you may be reading in the numbers. You may then throw them away.

Our bodies are about 60% water. There are normal fluctuations in the body's water content and this can really panic someone who is a number addict.

Two things influence water retention, i) water consumption ii) salt intake.

Strange as it sounds, the less water you drink, the more your body will retain. If you are even slightly dehydrated your body will hang on to its water supplies with a vengance, possibly causing the number on the scales to inch upward. The solution is to drink plenty of water.

Excess salt (sodium) can also play a big role in water retention. One teaspoon of salt contains over 2,000mg of sodium. We should generally try to eat around 1,000 and 3,000mg of sodium a day. Sodium is a surprisingly sneaky substance. We think of salt being at its highest in things like crisps and nuts BUT a food doesn't have to be savoury or salty in taste to have a lot of sodium in it. An instant packet of dessert can contain 1,000 mgs per 100gms and some contain almost four times as much sodium as an ounce of salted nuts.

It is very common for women to retain several pounds of water prior to menstruation but it usually goes as quickly as it comes. To reduce the retention the key is to drink more water, reduce high sodium foods and up your exercise.

Another factor that can influence those little digital numbers is glycogen.

Glycogen is like a fuel tank/energy reserve full of stored carbohydrate. Some glycogen is stored in the liver and some is stored in muscles. This energy reserve weighs more than a pound and its packed with 3-4 pounds of water when it is stored.

Your glycogen stores shrink during the day if you fail to take in enough carbs. As they are used and you are sensitive to appetite you will experience a small, imperceptible increase in appetite. Your body will store this fuel reserve along with its associated water.

It is normal to experience glycogen and water weight shifts of up to 2 pounds per day even with no changes to your calorie intake or activity level. These fluctuations have nothing to do with losing fat, although they can contribute to panic states when you stand on the scales.

Other factors - most people tend to forget about the actual weight of the food they eat. For this reason, if you are going to weigh yourself, do it first thing in the morning before you have had anything to eat or drink. A weight gain in one day isn't fat it can be the weight of the food and drink you have consumed in a meal!

To store one pound of fat, you need to eat 3,500 calories more than you body is able to burn. In other words, to actually store a meal as 5lbs of fat, it would have to contain 17,500 calories!!! Hardly likely, or even humanly possible!

When you gain 3-4lbs overnight, relax it is likely to be water, glycogen and the weight of your dinner.

The best way to work out if you have lost weight ... How do you look? How do you feel? How do your clothes fit? Are you rings looser? Do your muscles feel firmer? These are the true measurements of success. If you are excercising and eating and drinking mindfully then a small number gain is nothing.

NUMBER FLUCTUATIONS ARE PERFECTLY NORMAL. EXPECT THEM TO HAPPEN, TAKE THEM IN YOUR STRIDE!