How do I find out my accurate weight?

[iMan323]

I'm planning to start a 12 week program. One of the things I need to know prior to the start is what my actual weight is? When must I weigh myself in order to get the most accurate reading? I mean, if you take a shit right before you get on the scale you'll be 2-3lbs lighter. If you were eating spicy foods before you got on the scale, you'll be retaining water...that could be another 2lbs easily..

How do I get it done?

 

[XFatMan]

You will be the lightest in the morning after having gone to the bathroom but before breakfast for the obvious reasons and because most people are dehydrated in the morning. It doesn't really matter when you step on the scale - consistency is the key. Do it always at the same time and you'll be fine. You'll be heaviest in the mid-afternoon - if that is of any interest to you.

 

[Biggly]

Xfatman is right, just weigh at the same time each time.

It also helps to use bodyfat calipers as a way of determining your body fat weight as opposed to your lean mass.

There's dozens of formulas out there for calorie calculation but generally if you wanna get ripped base your calories on your lean mass, if you wanna grow without gaining flab base em on your gross weight and if you wanna grow fast and don't mind some temp' love handles along the way, add around 500 to your gross - unless you're already notably fat, in which case I wouldn't recommend it.

Also make sure whatever formula you're using takes into account the fact you're working out, a lot of em are aimed at Joe Average and will be too low.

Regarding the difference between before and after a dump, few people will produce a 3lb dump, it just feels like it! If you're 250lb and on 5,000 calories a day maybe but not if you're just starting out.

Your entire question is a little off-the-wall though, because regardless of formula used an extra 2 or 3 lbs bodyweight will make very little difference to the calorie calculation. A difference yes but not as much as the 'noise' variance between one day's eating and the next. I graph my nutrition and even aiming carefully at a set target will be off by 100 calories up or down most days.

Best thing to do is to monitor your calorie intake for a week, weigh yourself for a week, get your lean mass weight and then consider your goals. Are you looking to gain or reduce weight? Then keep monitoring, over the longer term you'll see what works for you.

In theory XXXX calories is what you need but even then, are they from cream cakes or braised beef? Some people will bloat up in the same room as carbs, some thrive on them - your body type and genetics play a part. I'm no great fan of diets that go overboard on this topic but there IS a difference between people. What works for you is not necessarily the same as what worked for the guy in the magazine.


B.

 

[Biggly]

Heheh, jus' noticed you're an elite member with over 800 posts.



You were jus' teasing us, right?



B.

 

[iMan323]

Well, here's the skinny. I've been out of the loop in terms of bodybuilding for a while. I've been lifting occasionally/recreationally for functional strength, but I didn't really concern myself with my appearance for the last 2-3 years.

I got Tom Venuto's ebook and I'm about to embark on a 12 week cut. I'm trying to get everything into order because I want to be able to accurately gauge my progress. This will be a slow cut of about around a pound per week because I want to permanently change my eating habits.

So I really need to find out what my accurate weight is and what my accurate b/f% is to determine my BMR. I want this to be a very smooth cut with minimal muscle loss, so I'm trying to get everything right prior to the start.

 

[XFatMan]

No weighing method is absolute. No body fat measuring method is absolute. So I wouldn't worry about that. To give you an idea, my weight varies as much as 3 Kg / 7 lbs on a single day and my body fat varies as much as 2% on a single day. But I'm not worried about that as I can see progress by measuring every day, at the same time, under very similar circumstances. Consistency is the only thing you should worry about.

 

[Biggly]

The formula TV uses is a good one, can't remember the name of it off the top of my head but it's the same one I use in my software - but I'd suggest you add about 5% to it.

For BF measuring I recommend Accumeasure, though you can get some cheapies that are the same from Amazon, about $7

+1 for measuring daily - though I believe Tom's advice is to hide your scales? If you're not using a journal scales can be depressing but if you do you'll see those little ups and downs and recognise how things can change at weekends, even lack of sleep will affect it etc.

You need to look at things over the longer term. You can't weight yourself today and say "I weigh... " without adding "for today" on the end.


B.

 

[FitnessRubber]

I agree with consistency. Body fat and weight vary depending on time of day. So just be sure you weigh in at the same time every day and use a consistent scale.

 

[CowPimp]

Pick one day a week like Wednesday. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning after peeing but before eating. Make sure the scale is in the same place on the floor, and you are naked or in boxers only. When re-weighing yourself, keep these conditions consistent.

 

[Big G]

Pick one day a week like Wednesday. Weigh yourself first thing in the morning after peeing but before eating. Make sure the scale is in the same place on the floor, and you are naked or in boxers only. When re-weighing yourself, keep these conditions consistent.

There are a lot of people that advocate weekly weigh-ins. I disagree. My weight can easily fluctuate 3lb up or down in a single day, even if measured after a poop, before breakfast, naked, with the scale in the same place, dot dot dot.

If I was cutting, had lost 2lb that week, but was (for whatever reason) having a heavy day, the scale could potentially say I was 1lb heavier than the previous week. Then I'm either bummed at my lack or progress or I'm running like a damned lunatic the whole next week trying to increase calorie expenditure.

I say weigh-in every day. Treat each day's weight as an approximation of your actual weight. Don't start flipping out if you seem to gain a pound. It's probably just water or there's a second poop due later that day. Something anyway. Don't worry about it. As the pounds fall off you'll see it.

Plug your weight (whenever you measure it) into Fitday.com. It produces a nice little graph automatically. It's always nice to be able to look back and see the weight gradually going down, even if it does go down in an two-steps-forwards-one-step-backwards manner.

Some people in this forum will tell you I know nothing. However, bodybuilding is a results oriented game and I lost 33lb from Nov'06-Mar'07 (after also reading Tom Venuto's book) and have packed on 31lb of meat since then. Admittedly my abs are not quite so defined as they were 31lb ago, but they're not far off. I'll probably run off 5-10lb Mar-Apr'08 to get bf well into single digits. If you want results, listen to people that have acheived the results you want. P-Funk's an excellent place to start, but I personally disagree with his once-weekly weigh-in recommendation.

Happy Holidays!