2 questions: water loss and when to weigh

miss no stars

First off, out of curiosity, why is it that you lose water when you're "dieting" pretty much before anything else?

Secondly, when should you weigh yourself to monitor progress (and likewise do waist measurement)? Morning, afternoon, evening? Cos I notice that my weight can fluctuate by about a kilo throughout the day so I'd like to know what my "true" weight is...

menoscemo

Hey.
You lose water at first because if your food intake was bad pre-diet, your body is full of toxins (salt, preservatives, sugar etc). Your body retains lots of water to keep these toxins diluted in your body. When you start eating better, you are taking in less toxins and so your body is able flush the old ones out. Although it sounds strange this is why it is important to drink loads of water, the more water you drink the more water weight you lose as your body can dilute the toxins and flush them away.

As to when to weigh yourself, most people recommend first thing in the morning after visiting the loo. This is because you will be at your lightest in the morning and during the night your body will have had time to process and digest food and drink from the night before (and you will generally have gotten rid of it in the morning). You should always weigh in with the same clothes (or none). Only weigh in once a week as day on day your weight may flutuate due to water retention and there is no point getting yourself stressed out about your weight everyday.

rubadub

^^ +1 to all the above. Also personally I would weigh myself on a weekday since at weekends I am drinking and would be further dehyrated due to alcohol.

Take photos too to track progress, and measure various places, not just waist. Photos are important since progress is slow, it is like a child growing up -if they grow up in your house it goes un-noticed, but see a friends kid once every year or so and they can appear to have shot up overnight.

EileenG

But if you take semi-naked photos on your phone, I strongly suggest you do NOT use them as your screensaver. It tends to freak out people who pick up your phone by mistake.

fatmammycat

*Guffaws*:D

Photos are a good idea, and I think -if you're going to use a scale at all- weighing yourself once a week, say a Friday morning, is plenty, otherwise folk get a bit obsessed and overly anxious.