5 Reasons Why Your Weight Can Fluctuate And Isn’t An Accurate Representation Of Your Health
Weight can fluctuate for many reasons. It fluctuates throughout the day, throughout the month (especially if you are a female with a menstrual cycle). There are many factors that influence the numbers on the scale. The top 5 are listed below for you. Have a read and remember your body is an incredible being, in a constant state of renewal and movement within. With so many actions constantly occurring all at once, it is no wonder the scales need to be considered a fluid state of being also.
1 – You might have hormonal conditions, PCOS, Endometriosis, thyroid conditions, or just a hormonal imbalance due to nutrient deficiencies. Heck, even just having your period can cause increased numbers on the scale. These fluctuations are because of water retention, inflammation, and difference in hormones (different hormones create signals for different things within the body, and not just reproductive hormones, blood pressure which can cause sodium and water retention).
2 – What you eat does affect your weight for the next day.
Consumed a high sodium meal? – It’s likely you’ll retain some extra fluid.
What about eating high carbs? – That will increase the glucose in your system, increase the need for insulin, and in turn increase promotes storage of fat tissue (known as adipose tissue). Now, this isn’t to say that carbs are bad – just that if you have eaten increased carbs the day before you weigh yourself this can impact the number on the scales.
3 – When did you last work out? Weight-bearing exercise is great for your health and has incredible positive impacts on bone health. However, when you do weights it creates micro-tears within your muscles which need repairing. This causes small amounts of inflammation and in turn, can increase weight for a small amount of time.
4 – When was the last time you had a bowel movement? Constipation means reduced bowel movements or reduced elimination of waste from our bodies. It means that our waste is sitting in our bowels, it isn’t ideal for our health for other reasons (blog on why it is important to move your bowels daily coming soon), however, when we talk about numbers on the scale, this is certainly a contributing factor.
Imagine your body is a juice machine. You put in the veggies and fruit, the juice is extracted and the pulp is separated out. Imagine if the pulp was to sit there for days at a time, slowly being compacted down, with more water being drawn out each day. More and more pulp being added to the pile each day. Eventually, this adds up to some weight. This isn’t to say you should take a laxative before you step on the scales – it simply means it can contribute to the number you see. And if you are constipated, it is a good idea to consult your doctor and naturopath about how to improve this, discover what may be contributing to it and how to improve your overall gut health.
5 – Your weight can naturally fluctuate throughout the day. As you eat and drink, you will naturally consume the weight you have consumed. This is especially why it isn’t a good reason to weigh yourself daily. Food consumed daily will fluctuate and so will your weight.
This food is necessary to nourish your body and provide the nutrients it needs to survive and thrive. See 10 Reasons Why The Scales Aren’t A Good Measure of Health.
Bonus reason 6 – Scales only measure weight. They don’t measure or separate adipose tissue from muscles, bones, and fluid unless you have fancy scales. And even with those fancy scales, fluctuations can and will occur.
It is best not to weigh yourself more than every 2 weeks – especially if seeing the numbers on the scales upset you or put you in a negative mindset. It is important to remember that you are more than the number on the scales, and your health is more than just your weight.
If you are struggling with your health and want to see how natural medicine can assist you today, book in for a free 15 minute chat to see how I assist you to create your optimal health.
