I CANT STAY OFF THE SCALE!!

dcgi

It doesn't give you any meaningful data to weigh in everyday for the simple fact that if you're keeping yourself properly hydrated your weight will yo-yo throughout the day and going to the loo will change that significantly.

Stick to doing it once a week because at least then you have a proper trend as to your weight and not a volatile set of readings that will only end up needing to be averaged into a weekly reading to make sense of them anyway.

The best advice is to weigh in once a week, and do it the same day and same time every week.

For me it's Tuesday morning (naked to get a accurate reading) as I perform my abolutions.

thin1dayplease

Yes! For the last week I have put the scale out of my sight in the cupboard. I have got it out once to weigh though . It will be coming out tomorrow though because its weigh-in day!

tigerblue

I weigh daily. If I didnt, then I might not see any progress form weeks, since I have a very small deficit. Basically, my 0.4 per week loss can be masked by water weight, or even not going to the bathroom as much!

I take a weekly average and see if it goes down.

Lady_Grell

I try to stick to once a week - try being the key word. I know that I can get overly worried over nothing. I might appear to be 2lbs heavier from one day to the next, but I know that it's just natural fluctuations. At the same time, I do freak. It's like the rational part of my brain shuts down when I look at the numbers. What I did was to remove the scale from the bathroom. When I didn't see every time I stepped in there, slowly the urge subsided. I still cheat from time to time on the whole only once a week thing, but I do so a lot less often when the trigger, this being the scale, isn't so readily available and in sight.

arkham_ma

I do, and it can be rough not to let the ups & downs daily get to you.

I often weigh a few times a day, but keep in mind that there are a lot of factors influencing fluctuations.

The only weight I track is the one first thing in the morning. And I only track that in 1 of my apps. On MFP & the app I use for fitness, I only track 1 weigh-in per week. Fridays.

Zara11

I weigh in every morning first thing. I use an app called Happy Scale to log the daily weigh ins, which helps smooth over fluctuations. I went up almost a full pound this morning but no sweat - app still shows I have a downward trend so I'm on track and will keep eating well & working out and it will all be good At this point it's interesting to see how the numbers jump around, but when I start to eat poorly, seeing a number go up is a reminder to get back on track and that if I get back on track, this will be a-okay.

joeboland

I got rid of my scale a while back - best decision I ever made. I rarely even bother weighing myself anymore, now that I'm about where I want to be. I agree that weighing yourself daily is an unhealthy habit that is going to bear false promise on some days, and completely discourage you on others (your body weight is going to fluctuate every day). Are you seeing muscle definition? Going down in clothing sizes? Weight is just a number that has very little bearing on how healthy, in shape, or attractive you actually are.

DemoraFairy

dcgi wrote: »

It doesn't give you any meaningful data to weigh in everyday for the simple fact that if you're keeping yourself properly hydrated your weight will yo-yo throughout the day and going to the loo will change that significantly.

Stick to doing it once a week because at least then you have a proper trend as to your weight and not a volatile set of readings that will only end up needing to be averaged into a weekly reading to make sense of them anyway.

Funny, I think the exact opposite. Weighing once a week you're not only cutting your data down to a seventh, but you won't know where you actually are with your weight because you won't know where you were the day before or the day after. As you say, we fluctuate everyday. So let's say one day you fluctuate 3lbs heavier. It wasn't there the day before and won't be there the day after. But if you happen to weigh on the day you're fluctuating, you won't know that, and you may get disappointed because you haven't lost or have gained that week. I simply don't see how less data could, from an analytical point of view, be better.

I agree that there's not much point in weighing multiple times a day as your weight then comes down to what you're eating & doing that day, but in the morning things like that haven't affected you yet. And as tigerblue said, if you're aiming for a low weight loss, then it'll be ages before you really see a loss since it can get so easily masked by fluctuations. Weigh every day though and you're 7 times more likely to find a new low.

girlperson666

I weigh and log daily! I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Obviously, fluctuations are going to happen, bigger meals and smaller meals (or bigger days and smaller days!) are going to happen, weight isn't entirely consistent or reflective of how healthy you are. So long as the overall trend is downward, I think i'm doing alright!

...and sometimes i'll weigh myself before and after going to the bathroom just to see how much it weighed

wolfsbayne

I weigh daily. Every morning and sometimes when I'm done with a workout just to note the difference. It's how I keep myself accountable.

cindyangotti

Hi. I am also a scale addict. I weigh every single morning and after every single workout.

allyxnatara11

cindyangotti wrote: »

Hi. I am also a scale addict. I weigh every single morning and after every single workout.

yeah i always want to know how im doing

yopeeps025

allyxnatara11 wrote: »

cindyangotti wrote: »

Hi. I am also a scale addict. I weigh every single morning and after every single workout.

yeah i always want to know how im doing

So even when you do things correctly the scale will not always show that. So can you honestly say you don't change anything when the scale does not reflect the correct things you are doing?

AzTriathlete

If your a serous athlete that is monitoring weight for training and race weight. Then once a week is ok. Always on the same day and same time each week. Mine is Friday mornings right after I get up and use the restroom. If you are dieting to loose weight once a month. Same deal, same day same time each month. First thing in the morning is best because our weight fluctuates durning the day.

allyxnatara11

So even when you do things correctly the scale will not always show that. So can you honestly say you don't change anything when the scale does not reflect the correct things you are doing? [/quote]


honestly is just the numbers i like to see if my workout changed anything as far as they go.
I'm always changing my workouts but i don't get destroyed if the numbers arent what I want.

allyxnatara11

@yopeeps025 ^^

yopeeps025

allyxnatara11 wrote: »

So even when you do things correctly the scale will not always show that. So can you honestly say you don't change anything when the scale does not reflect the correct things you are doing?

honestly is just the numbers i like to see if my workout changed anything as far as they go.
I'm always changing my workouts but i don't get destroyed if the numbers arent what I want.[/quote]

So differences in water retention is what you want to see? That takes everyday weighins?

allyxnatara11

yopeeps025 wrote: »

allyxnatara11 wrote: »

So even when you do things correctly the scale will not always show that. So can you honestly say you don't change anything when the scale does not reflect the correct things you are doing?

honestly is just the numbers i like to see if my workout changed anything as far as they go.
I'm always changing my workouts but i don't get destroyed if the numbers arent what I want.

So differences in water retention is what you want to see? That takes everyday weighins?

[/quote]

I WANT TO SEE EVERYTHING! lol

yopeeps025

allyxnatara11 wrote: »

yopeeps025 wrote: »

allyxnatara11 wrote: »

So even when you do things correctly the scale will not always show that. So can you honestly say you don't change anything when the scale does not reflect the correct things you are doing?

honestly is just the numbers i like to see if my workout changed anything as far as they go.
I'm always changing my workouts but i don't get destroyed if the numbers arent what I want.

So differences in water retention is what you want to see? That takes everyday weighins?

I WANT TO SEE EVERYTHING! lol

fixate on scale weight is a bad habit.

999tigger

91octain wrote: »

If your a serous athlete that is monitoring weight for training and race weight. Then once a week is ok. Always on the same day and same time each week. Mine is Friday mornings right after I get up and use the restroom. If you are dieting to loose weight once a month. Same deal, same day same time each month. First thing in the morning is best because our weight fluctuates durning the day.

Why once a month? Why cant she weigh as often as she likes as long as she is consistent, she undestands fluctuations and it helps motivate her?

allyxnatara11

@yopeeps025 thats why this post was created to talk about it

elphie754

I weigh everytime I wake up for my "day" (I work nights so my day starts at 6pm lol). I record every morning because I like to be able to see the effect things like sodium and water intake have only weight so that I can not get discouraged if I see a spike after a high sodium day.

yopeeps025

allyxnatara11 wrote: »

@yopeeps025 thats why this post was created to talk about it

Glad to see that we both agree its a little issue. Well for me weigh loss is a goal but it comes after like
List of top my priority goals:
1)fat loss ( if needed single digit body fat% to rid as much chest fat as I can)
2)get as strong as possible until bulk phase (refer to 1. for muscle definition that I want)
3) have more sex and health
4) There pants I brought during my last weight loss attempt that I never got down into.
5) Scale weight

Surprised that scale weight is last and there are things more important to me? Scale weight really does not tell too much of anything.

c_leeee

I weigh myself every morning before getting dressed for work. It's become a routine for me. I don't really have an emotional reaction at all to the number on the scale I just use it as another means of measurement along the way. (well that's not completely true if it goes down I do get excited, but not nearly as excited as when I get to wear a size lower in jeans!) I also only log my losses but only if I've had that loss for 2 days.

Jgasmic

I weigh throughout the day because I think it's interesting to see what affects it. I log it into Happy Scale every morning, and log into MFP on Fridays. I also like to weigh before bed because I like seeing how much I "lose" overnight. The number on the scale isn't as important as how I feel and look, but I like having the information. It keeps me honest.

Aaron257

I also weigh every single morning, but only after I have used the restroom. If i was you though, don't adjust too dramatically if you gain a lil weight even if you worked out and were strict on the diet. I only use the daily weight as motivation and try not to change up my routine based on it! Good luck to you!!

KBurkhardt08

If weighing all of the time isnt upsetting you then I dont see a problem with it. I only weigh myself once a week because if I dont see results I get upset. Its all up to the person. If it ever starts to bother you, then maybe you can start trying to do it less often. For now, dont worry about it

tigerblue

joeboland wrote: »

I got rid of my scale a while back - best decision I ever made. I rarely even bother weighing myself anymore, now that I'm about where I want to be. I agree that weighing yourself daily is an unhealthy habit that is going to bear false promise on some days, and completely discourage you on others (your body weight is going to fluctuate every day). Are you seeing muscle definition? Going down in clothing sizes? Weight is just a number that has very little bearing on how healthy, in shape, or attractive you actually are.

I definitely agree that the scale only tells a small part of the story. However it can be difficult to find any other good gauge for progress. Right now, I seem to be losing in places you don't measure--like just above the chest, under the arms. Or at a certain place on my hips, or my arm or wrist, etc. unfortunately for me, the waist, which is where I measure, and where I would like most to reduce, doesn't change much.

It is hard to be consistent with fat calipers.

And clothing--I can convince myself that I can squeeze into pants a size too small! (Just because you CAN put it on doesnt mean you SHOULD wear it in public!). Especially now that so many pants have lyrca! And low waists! The fat just squeezes out over the top. But surely I have not gained any weight, because I can still button them, right?

So if anyone could give me a better measure of progress than the scale, well I would love that.

I also agree that more data is better. But it definitely takes the right mindset!

999tigger

I supplement it with performance data from the gym where i log everything , times, speed intensity, weights etc. Im just as interested in getting faster, fitter, stronger.

JLCrunch

I weigh daily, first thing in the morning after bathroom, before shower and log it into a physical calendar. I find it keeps me accountable. I also keep my scale in a separate bathroom that I only use in the mornings for showers. Out of sight, out of mind. Any time I go out of my way to use that restroom, I weigh and get yelled at by my DH. He keeps my obsessive behavior in check.