To weigh or not to weigh?

08_GreenEyedMomma

So I had an epiphany. I think. At least for me maybe. I know when I'm counting calories/exercising that I tend to weigh myself A LOT more than usual. To the point that it kind of becomes obsessive. And I also tend to get really happy on the days it goes down. And really discouraged when it goes up, or stays the same. I have a digital scale, so even if it only goes down .02 after a day, that's great. But not so great when it goes up .02.

An idea came to me the other day. I stepped on a scale last on 2/29. I'm going to count that as 3/1, and not do it again until 4/1. I've tried the once a week idea, but I still end up obsessing over it and do it multiple times each week. Same with every other week. I almost look forward to doing it, and then I do it "just to get an idea if I'm progressing, but it won't really count till ______day". The problem there is it fluctuates, and it might be lower on Weds, but Sat is "weigh-in day" and it's the same as last week, or just higher than Weds. Realistically, I'm not eating enough (and never really have) to gain 2lbs in 3 days. Or lose 2lbs in 3 days. But that's not what you think when you see the number on the scale not moving. At work I look at trends over the course of a month, I don't know why I don't look at trends the same way within myself.

RosemaryBronte

I think your idea of a monthly weigh in sounds good. I find that I get very discouraged at fluctuations in my weight and I'm best to stick to weekly weigh ins but I can't help checking more often. Under it all there's a kind of continual anxiety which I'm trying to manage with walking and meditation. For me the slogan is that if I fix the way I live my life then I can fix my weight issues. It's working very slowly. Counting calories is useful because I've discovered that I can have some treats in moderation and that makes me feel happy.

amusedmonkey

If it's causing you anxiety, try a monthly or bimonthly weigh in. Personally, I like to weigh in every day because I would feel anxious if I wasn't able to watch trend to see if my diet is working (and because numbers are pretty).

6502programmer

Many people don't weigh in daily. Usually, it's the anxiety that you've experienced that leads them to do it. A lot weigh in weekly, as it lets them closely track progress and still filter out the "noise" of regular fluctuations. I would worry that monthly weigh ins would not give enough feedback and allow for corrections to patterns or habits.

nomoyoyoing

Yeah..I broke up with my scale last week. It wasn't giving me what I wanted, so....

Kidding aside, I put it away and probably won't weigh myself again for at least a few weeks. It stresses me out too much and we all know what stress can do. I decided to not be too scientific in my approach to getting back in to shape and instead, just work hard and enjoy delicious and nutritious food. Hopefully soon my clothes will fit better, which is more gratifying that what the scale says, in my opinion.

ready4weddings

I agree with all the above, its a tricky one. Is there another way to measure progress like calorie /exercise counting? Then if you manage your daily calorie/exercise goal then that evening reward yourself with a non food treat? Just a thought? Might work for you. I like to weigheach day as I'm very new to dieting and like to see what impact my daily diet/exercise is having as it motivates me but yes when it's not I do get very disheartened rather than motivated so I understand!

08_GreenEyedMomma

6502programmer wrote: »

I would worry that monthly weigh ins would not give enough feedback and allow for corrections to patterns or habits.

I had the same thought, but I also thought a month isn't really that long & I'm just starting out (been tracking calories for about 2 weeks now). I would love to weigh weekly, but it gives me anxiety obsessing about it. I'm already prone to anxiety over a variety of things so if I can eliminate or reduce one, it's worth it to me. I'll continue tracking calories & can monitor any bodily changes by clothing fit during the month. If it takes me 2 mths to do what I could have done in 1 with weekly weighing but it's less stressful on me and keeps me from obsessing too much I'm ok with slow & steady. At least for now. If the month timeline gets too long for me I'll go to biweekly.

stephanie20314

I weigh monthly. It's best for my sanity right now. I'll probably up it to every other week when I hit weightgoal#3.

liftsalltheweights

I would worry that monthly weigh ins would not give enough feedback and allow for corrections to patterns or habits.

How so? My weight fluctuates +/- 2-3 pounds a day. What "feedback" could I possibly be getting from those types of daily fluctuations?

SugarDarlin1959

Here is my 2 cents worth, Weigh monthly, but weigh 3 days in row. Why, because if you consume more sodium on any given day it may take a couple of days for things to level out. If you are lifting weights, your weight may not change. So along with the monthly 3 day weigh-in also measure yourself, chest, waist, lower abs, glutes, thighs. Also take a selfie in the same thing such as a swimsuit or undies so you can see the changes. Just know that visual changes may not be seen within a month. Be consistent in the way you track your progress from what you wear to the time frame.
Connie

08_GreenEyedMomma

liftsalltheweights wrote: »

I would worry that monthly weigh ins would not give enough feedback and allow for corrections to patterns or habits.

How so? My weight fluctuates +/- 2-3 pounds a day. What "feedback" could I possibly be getting from those types of daily fluctuations?

I think they meant weighing weekly with that. You're right though, there is too much fluctuation between days to get any useful feedback from daily weigh ins.

amusedmonkey

heatherrt06 wrote: »

liftsalltheweights wrote: »

I would worry that monthly weigh ins would not give enough feedback and allow for corrections to patterns or habits.

How so? My weight fluctuates +/- 2-3 pounds a day. What "feedback" could I possibly be getting from those types of daily fluctuations?

I think they meant weighing weekly with that. You're right though, there is too much fluctuation between days to get any useful feedback from daily weigh ins.

That's exactly the kind of feedback you want from daily weigh-ins. You are able to establish a reliable trend where these fluctuations are evened out into an average. If people weighed in daily (or monthly) we would see a lot less "I'm not losing weight" threads because a week's loss can easily be masked by one bad water retention day where it appears like you had no loss for a week or two. Daily or monthly weigh-ins control for that.

sarahbetherck

I was weighing obsessively and it was killing me. I gave my scale to my bf and now I only weigh once every 2 weeks at the gym with my trainer. It's been much better for me to not even have the temptation in the house.

rankinsect

liftsalltheweights wrote: »

I would worry that monthly weigh ins would not give enough feedback and allow for corrections to patterns or habits.

How so? My weight fluctuates +/- 2-3 pounds a day. What "feedback" could I possibly be getting from those types of daily fluctuations?

Because it's still a data point that can be trended. If you have a month with 31 data points, even if they have an error of +/- 3 lb each, it's still far more accurate of a trend than a month with 1 data point and the same +/- 3 lb error. As you have enough data points, the errors tend to average out, so the accuracy of your trend line improves greatly.

Yes, weighing daily, you'll see tons of fluctuations, but you can identify them AS fluctuations, because you have enough data to see the trend.

mimigingerbread

I like to weigh in daily. First thing in the morning every day... Weighing more than once a day doesn't make sense, I don't think. I put the weights in the happy scale app because it goes on the trends rather than up and down each day.

positivepowers

I tend to weigh daily and if the scale goes up, even a little, I'm bummed all day. Maybe I'll follow your epiphany as well. I know that I'm losing because I can see the trend, just not every day. Now, where to hide the scale so I won't see it until weigh-in day . . .

6502programmer

liftsalltheweights wrote: »

I would worry that monthly weigh ins would not give enough feedback and allow for corrections to patterns or habits.

How so? My weight fluctuates +/- 2-3 pounds a day. What "feedback" could I possibly be getting from those types of daily fluctuations?

This:


My weight is all over the place on a daily basis, but is trending down in the long term. Weighing daily helps me see this, but I can accept the normal fluctuations.