The Scale: Why it Fluctuates & Why You Should Care Less About It

“I just don’t get it! I followed my macros to a T this week. Why did the scale jump up”?
I see this on check-ins a LOT!
Trust me, I have been there too.
We work hard in the gym, eat our veggies, drink our water....but we step on the scale and it’s up 2-4lbs?!?! Like WHAT??
Here’s the thing: our body is a powerful machine, but it’s not a robot.
Stress, Sleep Quantity/Quality, Training, Carbohydrate Intake, Water Intake, Digestion, Period Health, etc...
All of these can impact what the scale says and all of these are things that a robot can’t control or adapt to.
IT IS NORMAL TO SEE FLUCTUATIONS IN THE SCALE.
Let’s go through an example of what a week could** look like:
Monday: Got a full 8 hrs of sleep. Weight was 160.
Tuesday: You had an unexpected deadline at work come up Monday and you were up all night thinking about it. Weight was 163.
Wednesday: You get to the gym early and train legs HARD. Weight was 161.4
Thursday: You wake up and can hardly walk because DOMS. Weight was 164.2.
Friday: You are off today so slept in and got 9 hours of sleep. Weight was 159.6
Saturday: You spend the day with family hiking. Weight was 160.1.
So, if the scale isn’t always reliable, then how can I accurately monitor progress?
BIOFEEDBACK!
How do you feel?
Are you getting stronger?
Do you have more energy?
Is digestion better?
Are you sleeping through the night?
Are your clothes fitting better?
Remember, the scale is just ONE piece to the puzzle.