Why your scale lies (and how to read it)

Your weight can move 1–2 kg from one day to the next without any change in fat. Watch the trend.

Daily noise

Water, salt, carbs, what is in your gut and your menstrual cycle can move your weight by 1–2 kg overnight. None of that is fat.

The trend line

bitetracking computes a "trend weight": an average that gives more weight to recent days but does not jump with a single spike. It is the method popularized by John Walker in The Hacker's Diet.

How to use it

• Weigh yourself at the same time, ideally in the morning after the bathroom.
• You do not need to weigh daily, but the more often, the sharper the trend.
• Watch the purple line and the weekly rate, not today's number.

Sources

• Walker J. The Hacker's Diet. 1991 (fourmilab.ch/hackdiet).

General information; not a substitute for a health professional.