This Chart Explains What These Numbers Actually Mean on a Bathroom Scale.
Sometimes you like a bathroom scale, and sometimes you want to throw it in the bin and set it on fire. You may not always match the numbers, but if you take emotion out of it, your scale is trying to tell you something. This diagram will help you figure out what exactly.
When the number comes up, most people probably only think, “Shit, this is not what I wanted to see.” (If so, congratulations!) But if we just think for a moment to think about what that really means, we will realize that weight loss progress or overall health cannot be accurately summed up with one piece of data. The weight of one day can be drastically different from the weight of the next. You may have eaten too much the day before, which is why you have stored more carbohydrates as glycogen. Perhaps you have bloating and are holding more water because this is the time of the month . Or maybe you are dehydrated. As Talens writes:
The real secret to interpreting scale is storytelling. Most people use the scale as a final number, rather than piecing together a story using the appropriate chunks of data. By itself, the scale number is useless when you need to troubleshoot.
If you have a specific weight goal, you need to match the weight to weights using other data such as waist measurements, gym strength, and bloating. Track it all down for a week or so, then use the chart below to help you make actionable decisions instead of worrying and giving up (or doing something more radical).
Understanding Scale, Bloating and Weight Loss | Dick Talens Fitness