Is weighing yourself everday a bad thing?

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acevaz
acevaz Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
I heard weighing yourself everyday rather than weekly is a bad thing. I find that it helps me control me but @ the same time can discourage if I don't see a change. Any one has any thoughts ?
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  • traceysturn
    traceysturn Posts: 196
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    Toatally discourages me - My weight fluctuates everyday! I weigh in every Thurs morning after my "morning duties" & buck nekked.
  • kerrera
    kerrera Posts: 43
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    i weigh in every day and i really should not. Just like tada i go up and down. i have started to break the cycle down to every third day now!
  • hkystar
    hkystar Posts: 1,290 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/101545-your-scale-and-you

    Check out this post which starts with an article being quoted about how it helps some to weigh everyday. I personally do it and think it helps me keep on track (even with the discouraging ups thrown in).
  • anvy0530
    anvy0530 Posts: 1,606 Member
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    I've done both. When I find that daily weighing becomes discouraging, I stop doing it and switch to weighing weekly. I think that you should do whatever works for you and keeps you chugging along.
  • ErinGiam
    ErinGiam Posts: 396 Member
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    Do whatever works for you! It is discouraging to see the ups and downs of your weight everyday but for some it might actually help because then you know what your doing right, or doing wrong.
    I weigh myself a few days a week, but every Tuesday morning I make sure I step on that scale...

    Good luck on your journey!! :happy:
  • mrsw510
    mrsw510 Posts: 169
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    I think it definately depends on you as an individual. I weigh everyday because I find it keeps me more accountable, I can't tell myself "oh I can eat that because I have 6 days before I weigh, I can burn it off by then" . I have 1 day that is my offical weigh, thats the weight I log for the week.

    Some people find the daily flucuations discouraging, for me as long as it doesn't keep increasing I am fine.
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
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    I weigh myself every morning and it's a good thing and a bad thing. I can at least see how I'm doing in terms of day to day, and if the number isn't what I want to see it's extra motivation to work harder, cut back sodium, etc. However, I'm a bit neurotic and the past week I've gotten myself in a bad mood every morning when I see what the scale says. I've been bouncing between about 176.2 and 177.4 and it doesn't seem to consistently land on the same number. One day it's 176, today its 177.0, it's a pain. So that being said, I can see the benefits in weighing a few times a week or weekly. I'm just too scared to try it. If I were smart this week, I'd stop weighing myself until Friday when I do my weekly check in with my 10 Week Challenge group.
  • Luckymam
    Luckymam Posts: 300
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    Guilty of it. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it!
  • Raina0512
    Raina0512 Posts: 216
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    I weigh myself on M/W/F. I like it, just so I can see any progress and see how one day of eating changes it. It lets me know what foods to avoid and how much I should cut back.

    :) Do what makes you feel good!
  • miqisha
    miqisha Posts: 1,534 Member
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    I dont weigh everyday....It can be very discouraging.....because you dont lose weigh everyday.....

    I usually weigh every Monday morning.....but I am not going to weigh for a couple weeks...let me rephrase that I am going to try and not weigh every week.....its easier said than done

    I started weight training...so I know I am going to build muscle which weighs more than fat....so as not to get discouraged, even though I know what is causing the weight gain or no weight loss....it still affects the mind

    Do what works for you? However, mentally I dont think its a good thing
  • Shy1979
    Shy1979 Posts: 75
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    I weigh myself every day. It helps me a lot to keep me on track, diet and exercise wise. But I know some people prefer to only weigh themselves once a week or once a month.
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
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    I heard weighing yourself everyday rather than weekly is a bad thing. I find that it helps me control me but @ the same time can discourage if I don't see a change. Any one has any thoughts ?

    This message comes from somebody who, not too long ago, did indeed weigh herself every day, sometimes MORE than once per day!

    I now weight myself once per week and record that weight and then TRY not to think about it until my next weigh-in a week later.

    I found that weighing myself every day was bad for a few reasons, one of those being that it encouraged me to become obsessive and being obsessive is nothing but bad, obsession consumed my every waking moment, it encompassed everything in a diet (and exercise) that bordered on becoming unhealthy mentally as well as physically.

    Weighing myself every day, I found that no matter how good I had been the previous day, my weight was prone to fluctuate - it is natural to do that, but if I found a pound went on one day, I would become depressed and this was NOT the idea when I first started my eating and exercise plan lol.

    I would also find that at the beginning the weight would fall off and all would be goodness and light, but as the weight loss started to even out and become less, it would bother me and then I would get fed up, then depressed and then, horror of horrors I would start to think "what is the bloody point" - then I would start to comfort eat, not exercise as I would be feeling depressed and so on and so forth and round and round in circles.......

    All I am saying is be very careful if you do weigh yourself every day, because one bad day which results in a pound or two going back on or no loss recorded could nudge you towards despondency and that is definitely not a good point to have in your weight loss CV :wink:
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    my wife does weight herself all the time, I just think it might as you said cause you to be discouraged if you eat a meal and gain a pound or something.

    I usually only weigh myself about 1-2 times a week, I know what I eat, I know I am not going overboard so I just like to see the drop at the end of week
  • AnnieeR
    AnnieeR Posts: 229
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    I really, really think it depends on the person. I don't think people should feel bad about weighing every day UNLESS it makes them feel bad or sets up the day poorly, in which case it might be smarter to weigh once a week. I weigh every day and it keeps me focused - if it creeps up for more than a day I know I need to look a bit more carefully at what I'm doing and eating and if it creeps down it gives me a lift. If it made me depressed or lessened my resolve I wouldn't do it.
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
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    I'm a "scale-a-holic" and not only do I weigh once a day -- but sometimes I weight several times a day!! I am working really hard on not weighing even once a day because i truly find that in the morning when I weigh before getting dressed, I totally, 100% let that scale number set the tone for the day. Like today it was the same as last night. Usually when I weigh in the evenings before bed (and after dinner), I will be up about 1.5 from what my am. weight will say. This am. however, my weight was the same as last night! I was really upset this morning and have been thinking about what I am doing wrong -- I'm staying within my limits AND I've even started exercising for the past week -- for probably the first time in many years! I just have to keep telling myself my muscles are sore and it's also that time of month so I'm having fluid retention too!! But just seeing that scale number the same is frustrating and discouraging. Why do I put myself through that every day?

    Weighing every day is a really bad habit for me.
  • austinusn
    austinusn Posts: 38
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    I think erileah said it best -- do what works for you. I have done both and find that weighing myself everyday works best for me because I feel more accountable to what I eat. Now granted, the scale does fluctuate and can go up to 2-3 pounds in either direction everyday but once you realize that's normal, you can get past that. I also have done a weekly weigh in but I find that if i weigh in - say on Monday, then you could have find yourself "slacking" a little on the other days knowing you won't have to do your weigh in until the following Monday -- make sense?

    Maybe an everyday weigh in with only 1 day a week counting as the "official" one. Bottom line is try both and realize that if you do it everyday, there WILL be fluctuations to expect. Just remember that you want the fluctuations to go consistently down rather than up all the time. :)
  • mworld
    mworld Posts: 270
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    What you got to watch out for is weighing yourself everyday on a scale that ALSO meausres your body fat via Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis.

    The current belief is that the electrical current and its affects on your body's molecular structure were never meant to be used in a daily setting. In fact, current safety standards are based on a sole safety test that had the subject undergo one weighing per 30 day period. The fact that the study only found an insignificant increase in the likelihood of multiple myeloma and brain tumors is in fact significant beacuse we obviously weigh oursleves more than once a month!!

    Support groups have started to document similar symptoms amongst participants in the hopes of raising awareness and getting the FDA to respond to obvious safety issues and correct safety standard setting guidelines. Major symptoms reported thus far have been: Decrease in sexual activity, increased hunger, insomnia, and back pain.

    So be careful - the fact that I am full of it may or may not mean that it is safe to weigh yourself daily.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    I weigh daily. If I see a loss, it encourages me to keep up the good work. If I see a gain, it motivates me to work harder. To each their own.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
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    What you got to watch out for is weighing yourself everyday on a scale that ALSO meausres your body fat via Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis.

    The current belief is that the electrical current and its affects on your body's molecular structure were never meant to be used in a daily setting. In fact, current safety standards are based on a sole safety test that had the subject undergo one weighing per 30 day period. The fact that the study only found an insignificant increase in the likelihood of multiple myeloma and brain tumors is in fact significant beacuse we obviously weigh oursleves more than once a month!!

    Support groups have started to document similar symptoms amongst participants in the hopes of raising awareness and getting the FDA to respond to obvious safety issues and correct safety standard setting guidelines. Major symptoms reported thus far have been: Decrease in sexual activity, increased hunger, insomnia, and back pain.

    So be careful - the fact that I am full of it may or may not mean that it is safe to weigh yourself daily.

    wow, that is very interesting.
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
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    So be careful - the fact that I am full of it may or may not mean that it is safe to weigh yourself daily.
    Sarcasm lesson #2: type key words in caps ...

    something like: So be careful - the fact that I AM FULL OF IT may or may not mean that it is safe to weigh yourself daily.
    [insert smiley here]

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