Dr. Ashley LucasPhD Nutritionist & Dietitian | Owner & Founder PHD Weight Loss & Dr. Ashley Wellness

Stop weighing yourself Do THIS instead

26 Jan 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:45

Short YouTube monologue (Dr. Ashley Lucas) advising viewers not to rely on the bathroom scale as the primary progress marker. The speaker explains that short-term weight fluctuates due to water retention, hormones (including menstrual-cycle effects), digestion, sodium, and stress, and gives an anecdotal example of large temporary weight gain from water retention around the menstrual cycle.

Chapters

The scale is not the best progress marker and it will drive you crazy if you just keep stepping on the scale and expect it to go down every single week. The scale is going to shift based on day to day weight changes that are driven by water, by hormones, digestion, sodium, and stress. If you are around your menstrual cycle, for example, a lot of women will gain significant weight. Like I've seen women at PhD gain 68 pounds in a matter of a few days just from holding on to water. So hormones definitely impact. You just need to recognize what else is going on in your life when you step on the scale and it's not budging or not moving in the direction that you expect it to.