Lots of different factors can affect the reading that the weighing machine will give you though, and it’s always worth keeping these in mind.
In fact, some people often wonder “do you weigh more after you eat?”
The short answer is a general yes. On the whole, you will usually weigh more after you’ve eaten a meal.
However, this isn’t necessarily actual weight that you’ve gained, it’s simply the case that the food is still going to be passing through your digestive system.
However, there is plenty more to learn about it, as well all the other factors that might affect your weight on the weighing scales.
We’ve got all the information for you below in our handy article.
Do You Weigh More After You Eat?
Typically speaking, you will usually weigh more after you eat.
If you’ve just eaten a meal and you step onto the weighing scales shortly after it, then the figure that the scales give is likely going to be higher than you expect.
However, this does not mean that it’s accurate.
This is because the food that you’ve just eaten is still going to be in your body. If you picture a big steak pie, where would it go when you eat it?
Well, it’s got to pass through the digestive system in order to be broken down into bits, with all its nutrients being extracted.
At the end, much of it will come out as waste when you defecate.
When you’ve just eaten a meal, that food could take as many as eight hours to pass through your digestive system properly.
Therefore, if you weigh yourself right after eating, or really at any point in those eight hours and before you’ve defecated, then the weight reading that the weighing scales gives you is not going to be accurate of your actual weight.
Scientifically speaking, your weight is decided by the number of calories that you are consuming compared to the number of calories that you are burning off.
This is what determines your actual weight, and so weighing yourself just after you’ve eaten is not going to be the most accurate representation, because the food and its weight is still sitting inside you.
Additionally, water also weighs something, so that temporarily affects your weight too. However, both water and healthy foods will pass through your digestive system quicker.
What Else Causes Weight To Fluctuate?
However, weighing yourself after you eat is not going to be the only interesting factor that might cause your weight to change and fluctuate over short periods of time.
In fact, the weight of an average adult will fluctuate up to 5 or 6 pounds every day, which means that it can be hard to get a proper reading of your actual weight.
If you want to reduce the chances that your weight will notably fluctuate, eating a healthy and balanced diet that is on par with the amount of calories that your body uses every day is your best chance.
Food Or Water Intake
The key reason that weight fluctuates is down to the amount of food and water that you’re taking in regularly, and how and when you’re doing it.
There have been suggestions that a person’s weight will be at its highest on a Sunday night.
This is because a lot of people will splash out a bit at the weekend, drinking alcohol and eating more than they might throughout the working week.
Therefore, it is also suggested that a person’s weight will be at its lowest on the Friday morning, just before all this change and after five days of regular eating and drinking.
If a person has a weekend like the one we’ve just described, then Wednesday is probably going to be the best day to weigh yourself, because it will likely give you the most accurate reading.
That’s because it’s the mid-point: just before the big weekend and in the middle of the regular eating and drinking five-day period.
It’s not the highest and it’s not the lowest, rather the in-between and accurate figure of your typical weight, without all those other factors shifting it.
Exercise
Exercising is an essential way to lose weight, though you may not notice an immediate difference if you’re drinking enough water.
When you exercise a lot, you sweat, and the water that you lose as sweat reduces your weight – just one of the things that reduces it.
However, water also weighs something, and so if you’re hydrating during the exercise then you’re putting the weight back on that you’ve been sweating off.
Sodium And Carbohydrates
Food that has a lot of salt (which contains sodium) and carbohydrates can also cause your body to retain water, which might cause your measured weight to go up for a short while.
A good way to minimize the water retention is to not have processed foods or sugary drinks, as well as eating foods that are rich in magnesium to balance out the levels of sodium.
Potassium-rich foods will also do the trick to balance the sodium.
Urine And Stool
Of course, your urine and stool also have a weight to them.
If you use a weighing scale while you’ve still got plenty of the two in your body, then their weight is going to add to the measurement.
Medications
Some medications cause the body to retain water, alter your metabolism, and up your appetite.
Medications like insulin and beta-adrenergic blockers therefore may affect the short-term weight.
Final Thoughts
You typically weigh more right after you eat, but it isn’t an accurate depiction of your weight.
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