When we start a diet or when we start exercising to lose weight, one of the things we usually do is to weigh ourselves daily : “Have I already lost a kilo?” “How much have I lost with the session of cardio that I got yesterday?”, We usually think. We live pending those damn numbers that remind us each morning if we have eaten well, if we have exercised or if we have had an active day. And all for what? Actually the weight is not as important as we think .

Getting on the scale every day is not a good idea

It is true that, as we have said on previous occasions, “what is not quantified can not be improved”. In the case of weight, it is not necessary (or beneficial) that you measure it day by day , since there are numerous factors that can cause your weight to fluctuate from one day to the next, without this meaning that you have gained or lost fat necessarily.

The fact of weighing ourselves every day, although it may help to control, tends to lead to inadequate behaviors related to nutrition and sports (such as orthorexia), as well as it can make us fall into the dreaded anxiety by not see day by day the desired results on the scale.

First of all, we must be clear that looking only at the weight does not help much, since it is not indicative of our physical form : the weight shown by a conventional scale does not indicate our amount of muscle mass, our amount of mass fat or our visceral fat index, more useful parameters when it comes to knowing whether or not we are in an adequate physical form (we can know these parameters, for example, with the help of a bioimpedance scale ).

The weight, as we have said, can fluctuate from one day to the next without an apparent reason: these are some of the reasons why our weight can change daily and that we must take into account.

You have drunk a lot of water the day before

Keeping hydrated is very important for the good health of the organism, but it is not a matter of drinking water as if the world were going to end . In fact drinking lots of water can lead to hyponatremia , a metabolic condition that occurs when the concentration of sodium in the blood drops below 135 mEq / L. Obviously, if we swell to drink water it is very possible that the next day the scale marks a few hundred grams or some extra kilo, but we must be aware that this is the reason.

To stay properly hydrated we must drink when our body asks us to: although until recently there has always been talk of the famous two liters a day, this is only a convention. Drink when you feel you need it and make your most important source of hydration is water (not sugary drinks) and accompany it with a good intake of fruits, vegetables, and also infusions and creams or soups.

You have spent with salt

A high consumption of salt or sodium on a specific day can favor the retention of liquids and thus, add some numbers to the scale the next morning. The good news is that this fluid retention is usually temporary and disappears in a few days.

“But if I do not add any salt to the meals!”, You can think. It is possible, but we must also be attentive to the composition of the processed products we eat ( bag snacks , for example, tend to be well loaded with salt to provide flavor) and the sauces and dressings we use, usually with very salty formulas . You can start by making healthier snacks and by changing sauces for spices in your kitchen.

You have not been to the bathroom on a regular basis in the past few days

Having a certain intestinal regularity is very beneficial for our health. However, sometimes and usually due to poor diet or because we have not hydrated properly, we can suffer from constipation . The inability to go to the bathroom can make us add a few grams to the numbers on the scale and we feel more swollen than normal, but we must be clear that this will be solved as soon as we improve our intestinal health.

Once again, keep well hydrated and increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables , rich in fiber, can help us out of this unpleasant stalemate. An extra consumption of fiber and exercise daily are also good options.

You have eaten more carbohydrates than usual

If you follow a diet low in carbohydrates and one day you spend with them because you have made a free meal and you have chosen them as part of it is very likely that this is reflected the next day on the scale in the form of a few grams more. The simple carbohydrates also make us keep liquids sometimes, so this may be the reason why the scale has gone up.

Maintaining a sustainable diet and choosing high-quality complex carbohydrates (again: fruits, vegetables and whole -grain options of rice, pasta or breads) will prevent these sudden increases in weight.

It can also be due to the menstrual cycle

In the case of women, the time of the menstrual cycle in which we find ourselves can also make us feel more bloated or even that the scale marks a few kilograms or more. We should not worry because as the days go by our weight will return to normal. During the follicular phase (days 6 to 12 approximately) and during the luteal phase (days 16 to the end of the cycle) our weight can vary in a kilo or kilo and a half.

A good idea is to control our menstrual cycle with a mobile application (I use Clue, which is available for android and for ios ), and we will always know which phase of the cycle we are in and we will know if that weight gain can be due to the cycle.

Weighing once a week is enough to maintain control of our weight without obsessing. You can go pointing your data in an excel table or in a notebook (old-fashioned, but still effective, right?) To see your progress over time.