Weighing self on the daily?

becleaux

Hey everyone,

I've found that when I weigh myself everyday or every second day it keeps me far more motivated and reminds me why I am doing this (to be able to feel better physically and mentally). Bearing in mind I do keep other records (measurements and photos).

BUT basically every Women's Health or online article I read says you should stay away from the scales and weigh yourself every week or two weeks? Thoughts?

malibu927

There's nothing wrong with weighing daily as long as the constant ups-and-downs don't derail you. I weigh every weekday morning and track it in Happy Scale to view the overall trend.

KimmyJaneTD

I weigh myself daily as well. I agree with the other comment that you're not harming anything by doing it, but you can't be the kind to be easily discouraged. If you find the scale number to be discouraging you, put it away for a week or two and focus on your other "non scale victories".

3dogsrunning

becleaux wrote: »

Hey everyone,

I've found that when I weigh myself everyday or every second day it keeps me far more motivated and reminds me why I am doing this (to be able to feel better physically and mentally). Bearing in mind I do keep other records (measurements and photos).

BUT basically every Women's Health or online article I read says you should stay away from the scales and weigh yourself every week or two weeks? Thoughts?

A lot of people get discouraged by daily fluctations or become obsessive. For that type, it is good advice. If neither are an issue for you, go for it.

I weigh almost every day. Sometimes I weigh morning and night. I don't freak out over the ups and downs. I find it interesting. For example, I learned my weight will go up after working backshift (even after sleeping and not eating for the same amount of time I would if I was getting a regular sleep).

oolou

In agreement with the above ladies, as I don't mind the fluctuations because I use a trend graph to track my weight loss.

I think the advice in the magazines you're refering to may be because there are those who may be discouraged by seeing numbers go up rather than always down, who may not understand that water weight is masking fat loss on the scales, and so may not give sufficient time for a diet to work before giving up.

azulvioleta6

I do too, save the odd day here and there.

I like information. I like to face and deal with reality. My weight does not tend to fluctuate wildly. I am not obsessive and I will not freak out if I don't like what I see.

Do what works for you.

azulvioleta6

3dogsrunning wrote: »

I weigh almost every day. Sometimes I weigh morning and night. I don't freak out over the ups and downs. I find it interesting. For example, I learned my weight will go up after working backshift (even after sleeping and not eating for the same amount of time I would if I was getting a regular sleep).

Exactly...you can learn a lot by weighing daily. I also notice that sleep is much more important than we tend to give it credit for.

samchez0

I don't think there is anything wrong with it as long as you keep in perspective that weight fluctuates and some days will be more than others. I weigh most days but only track Sunday mornings

uzovka

I do it every morning. It's part of my morning ritual now :-)

JackieMarie1989jgw

Just like others said, I think the "weigh weekly" advice is for those who get easily discouraged by weight fluctuations. Like you, I find that weighing daily helps keep me motivated and gives me constant feedback on my choices, even if it's just "I'm clearly retaining water, maybe it was all the salt in the mcdonalds fries". I dont get upset when I see small fluctuaions.
I only record my weight on mfp weekly, however

emmycantbemeeko

I do it because I love data, am motivated by and interested in it, and am pretty grounded about the fact that fluctuations are normal. I don't go on a giving-up binge if there isn't a constant steady loss.

For people who don't love data, aren't motivated by or interested in it, and do get discouraged by fluctuations and give up, which I think describes more people than it doesn't, "don't weigh daily" is good advice.

MFP is I think naturally going to attract more a certain personality type for whom data is interesting and compelling, but we're not maybe representative of the larger population. No pun intended.

Christine_72

I weigh daily too and track my weight on Trendweight. It helps smooth out the fluctuations that would probably discourage me if I didn't see it there in black and white on the graph.

kirstenb13

I do it too. For me having the data from mfp, fitbit and the scale (in the Libra app) is the only thing that keeps me going with this. Tried losing weight so many times before these things but this really helps me stay sane and on track.
So yeah, I agree for a certain type of person it really helps and if you are that type of person just keep doing it.

kgirlhart

I weigh daily. It was a little hard at first to get used to the fluctuations, but it is easier now knowing they are normal. I do feel more motivated. If it is down I always feel good but if it is up I just look at what I did the day before and if there was anything I could do better. This morning I was up 1.2 pounds. I mostly attribute that to going out for Mexican food and margaritas last night. I know not to do that every day and I'll do better today. I also got my period this morning. Nothing I can do about that so between the two I won't let it bother me. I'm sure the weight will be back down in a day or two. I did see a lady on here who was worried because she had gained .8 pound and she had been working so hard. For people like that daily weighing is probably not a good idea. Or someone who has an ED probably shouldn't weigh daily either. If it motivates you it is fine, but if it makes you feel bad about yourself then once a week or even less is probably better.

victoria_1024

I like to weigh daily because it takes the pressure off. When I weigh every week or every other week I have these high expectations and get disappointed if the loss isn't big enough but weighing daily it doesn't bother me to see the ups and downs of the scale. Like you, I used to weigh weekly or monthly based on what other people said was best but daily works much better for me!

jeepinshawn

I weigh daily, sometimes seeing the wrong number bugs me. It is getting better /easier though, and I have figured out which foods make me retain some water weight. So Soil do find the data interesting./useful .

Shrinking_Erin

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

I do too, save the odd day here and there.

I like information. I like to face and deal with reality. My weight does not tend to fluctuate wildly. I am not obsessive and I will not freak out if I don't like what I see.

Do what works for you.

I'm the same!

scolaris

I weigh every morning upon rising, but I use Fitbit's weekly average as my 'official' weight. I also delete the highest weight of the week, so it's a six rather than seven day average. Works like a charm for me!

RodaRose

I weigh daily but I record the weight once a week.

TnZMom

I tried weighing daily, but get frustrated by how the scale keeps moving up for two weeks out of the month. So now I weigh once per month on the same day of my cycle.

kommodevaran

I think the warning about weighing every day is ready for revision. Modern digital scales are very accurate, and knowing that day to day fluctuations are normal, is important to be able to use the data properly. How often one should weigh oneself, has to be a personal choice.

Jonna13

I weigh daily. Helps me see fluctuations during Ovulation and my TOM, also keeps me accountable on a daily basis. I think it's fine to weigh in daily (same time of day, after "doing your business" etc.), as long as you don't get frustrated or discouraged with temporary weight gain like water weight.

haviegirl

I weigh at least three times each day, and only keep the lowest one. I love having all the data and seeing how my weight fluctuates with my food/water intake and activity. Last week the scale didn't move at all, despite my very close food tracking and only eating back about half of my exercise calories, so I knew I was due for a nice drop. And poof! On Monday, the scale finally reflected the previous week's hard work. All the information, plus my hard work, keeps me going in the right direction. I'm motivated by it.

cassieknights951

I weigh daily and log daily too
It helps to keep me on track - if I keep loosing daily it makes me want to continue and if I do put on (luckily only happened twice) it gives me the kick up the bum to continue and re evaluate what I'm eating.

CoffeeNCardio

I've always weighed daily and as a result I now know the difference between "this is just your period calm down" and "I've not been logging well I need to tighten up". So no scary "but how could I not have lost!" moments because I can estimate with pretty good certainty whether the scale weight is valid today or just a result of AF.

bunnycheekz

I weigh myself daily first thing in the morning. I record it on the My Fitness Pal app in lbs as well as with the photo recording on the app. Helps me to see where i was, where i'm at, and where i'm going to be eventually. Good luck everyone!

gfjay

I weigh daily, but only track losses. In an average week I only have a loss on 2 days (3 at the most). Even though I have more "bad days" than good on the scale, I've lost a significant amount of weight over the last 7 weeks. If you can be focused on the long-term and not get upset when the scale shows a gain, then weighing daily can be very motivating. If seeing an increase freaks you out, then weekly is probably better.

Cherimoose

Body fat doesn't change more than a few ounces each day, so even if scales only measured body fat and not water (which they don't) weighing daily, for me, is as productive as watching water boil. I'm ok with twice a week.

becleaux wrote: »

I've found that when I weigh myself everyday or every second day it keeps me far more motivated and reminds me why I am doing this (to be able to feel better physically and mentally).

If you're trying to feel better physically & mentally, how about tracking that daily?

feisty_bucket

Weighing daily is best (more data is always good) but so many people get emotional over it that people hesitate to recommend it.

If you only weigh twice a month, say, and you're at the bottom of a five pound daily fluctuation range for Weigh Day 1 - and then at the top for Weigh Day 2? Cue the MFP posts about "It's not working, I'm frustrated, I'm gonna quit!"

alizesmom

I'm a daily weigher because I find the information essential to keep me on top of my game. Not weighing feels like the first step to not logging. I guess I'm one who likes structure.

AnnPT77

I'm a data geek, so I've weighed daily for years (and recorded the result), even before trying to lose weight. I think that let me start on MFP with an excellent understanding of what makes me add water weight, and when it's likely to drop off. I'm also completely unfazed emotionally by fluctuations; I only worry about trends.

These days, I log my daily AM weigh-in in a trending app (Libra, in my case), and new lows in MFP.

If you think about the full spectrum of Women's Health's (or like publications') articles, not just about weight but also appearance, dating, etc. . . . well, it starts to seem like maybe they're targeting a core readership that may not always be entirely mature, level-headed, or commonsensical. People who are emotional about scale readings for these or any other reasons probably should weigh themselves less often.

Ignore WH, do what works for you.