gained weight overnight?

Alright don’t panic!

Let’s get to the bottom of this “gaining weight overnight” thing.

First of all lemme clear it up that weight gain and fat gain are two separate things. I get it I use weight loss and fat loss interchangeably in most of my content but they’re not exactly the same.

Weight loss/gain includes weight lost from fats, blood, waste, water, etc. basically everything going on in the body.

Fat loss/gain refers to weight lost from fat. Nothing else.

Your daily weight fluctuates every single day and that’s completely normal. You could be eating the exact same foods for 2-3 days and everyday your weight slightly changes. That’s normal. That’s weight. That’s everything going on in your body that’s likely not fat.

Things that effect day to day weight include eating more salt than usual, working out more than usual, more active than usual, getting sick, stress, frequency to the toilet etc. All those things aren’t things you gotta worry about for your fat loss progress, but be aware that they can affect your day to day weight.

The problem with worrying about overnight weight gain is that it’s misleading. You're worrying about the wrong thing. I mean go weigh yourself now, go drink a bottle of water and go weigh your again. You definitely gained some weight on the scale, but that bottle of water definitely did not make you gain fat.

The scale number changes with the most minor details. Weighing yourself in a pair of jeans and tee vs in pajamas will give you two different numbers. Weighing yourself before and after a meal will give you different numbers. The number on the scale isn’t some definitive reflection on your fat loss progress.

The scale isn’t a tool to tell you your self worth or tell you how you’re currently progressing towards your journey. It’s merely a tool that tells you how much you currently weigh objectively. The scale doesn’t know how much salt you ate last night, the scale doesn’t know you’ve been backed up for 2 days “number 2-wise”, it knows nothing. All it tells you is how much you weigh currently.

So what is the number on the scale good for?

That number is just data.

If you gather enough data over time then you can make an analysis on your progress. In other words measure your day to day weight, use it to calculate your weekly average, keep doing it for a couple of weeks and compare your weekly averages to each other for a much more clear cut idea on how you’re doing with your weight loss journey.

Short term changes on the scale is meaningless.

If you gained weight overnight, it’s normal. It’s meaningless.

If you lost weight overnight, it’s normal. It’s meaningless.

Overnight weight no matter which direction it goes isn’t a reflection of your fat loss progress. It’s just how our complex human body works. It’s normal. It’s not something to panic over.

Now if you want to be as accurate as possible with the scale here’s how I’d recommend you weight yourself on a daily basis:

Weigh yourself first thing every morning in minimal clothing after having gone to the toilet but before eating or drinking anything.

With a constant weighing habit and schedule, the degree of which your scale number fluctuates greatly lessens. I mean if you weigh yourself today after breakfast in pajamas, tomorrow you do it after dinner in work cloths, day after you it the way I recommended, you’re gonna have 3 very different numbers. Weight fluctuations will still occur doing it the way I recommended but the fluctuations will be a lot less and make a lot more sense.

Of course at the end of the day, if you’re someone that really gets upset & bothered by the number on the scale, I’d suggest just stop weighing yourself. You don’t need to weigh yourself to lose fat. There are many other different methods to measure progress, if the scale is a source of negativity in your life it’s not worth it.

That number isn’t worth your tears.

—Po