You are fitness conscious and watching the weighing scale daily? Stop this temptation and the urge to weigh yourself every day. As this will cause more frustration and hamper the weight loss journey.

There might be slight or significant change in weight from morning to evening and these changes are normal to happen.

What causes fluctuation in weight

The change in weight from morning to night is not due to change in body fat mass but the change in body water causes the change in body weight.

In this article we shall discuss the factors causing changes in body weight from morning to night.

Body fluid – The water content in the body changes throughout the day as the water is lost through urine, respiration, sweat etc. Working out in a hot temperature depletes the water from the body. The lost water from the body is then replenishes by intake of water and water containing foods.

Salty foods cause water retention and this adds up-to few pounds. Some people are sensitive to sodium and this results in deposition of sodium in various body parts of the body. Consuming frozen foods, sauces, processed foods etc are high in sodium. You might consume low calorie food and still see no changes in weight. This occurs due to intake of foods with low fat and high sodium content.

Carbohydrate diet such as bread, pasta, rice etc adds on to the body weight. Each gram of carbohydrate retains three grams of water and so the water weight in the body increases. Also, the refined carbohydrates are high in sodium.

The fluctuating fluid or the bowel movement brings changes in weighing scale. The fecal matter excreted out brings slight changes in weight depending upon the transit time. The transit time improves with an intake of food rich in fiber. The weight of such foods and fluids are temporary and goes away after passing of urine and stool.

Certain medications can impact your diet plan. Some medicines tend to increase appetite and also retain water in the body. Treatment of diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, migraines etc might cause significant weight gain.

A woman may experience bloating due to fluid retention before the start of menstruation and also during the menses. Thus, when a woman goes through a menstrual cycle the hormonal changes causes eating mindlessly and hence fluctuation in weight.

Consuming alcohol results in urine output and excess urine output can cause decrease in weight. Loss of fluid causes imbalance of body fluids and it ultimately results in water retention also overeating salty foods causes water retention.

Various factors are linked to weight fluctuations. The changes are due to changes in water weight of the body. Hence one cannot decide how much weight changes occur in a day. A slight shift in weighing scale is normal and one need not worry to see the changes. The matter becomes a concern when there is continuous rise in weight for more than 5-7 days.

So, we have discussed the factors responsible for weight loss. We can conclude that weight changes in some days of the months or for some time or slight changes in weight from morning to night is a result of change in water content in the body and not due to change in fat mass.