Why I weigh daily (repost)

257_Lag

This is a repost from a few weeks ago since the images stopped working for some reason.

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I am a daily weigher and love it. Every morning, wake, pee, weigh, log it. I have learned a lot through this like what a high sodium day does to me or hot weather or a HARD workout or a big change in my workout routine - they all add a few temporary pounds for me but they truly are temporary. The fluctuations fascinate me, they don't upset me in the slightest. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, everybody has a different mentality when it comes to how often to weigh yourself.

I fully understand the concept of weighing once a week or even once a month but this can be very upsetting if you weigh on a high peak day. Look at my chart below and consider these two senarios:

Monthly
Let's say I weighed ONLY on the 2nd day of the month.

May 2 - 239.5
June 2 - 239.5
CRAP! I didn't lose anything this entire month!

How about weekly?

Sunday May 12 - 237.9
Sunday May 19 - 238.9
WHAT! I worked hard all week and I GAINED 1 whole pound!

Both of these people are are not happy!

You be the judge, how in the world have I lost weight when I gained a pound in one week or went a whole month with no loss?



Just sayin'

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And adding this one just for anyhow. Can you tell when I started lifting? That's what a change in workout can do but again, it's only temporary. With the humidity about to break and my body getting used to lifting I am certain it will turn around very soon!

nikkohli

It's like this post was meant for me! I just started lifting last week and I have "gained" about 4 lbs. Now, I know I havent really gained--truly, intellectually, I know that. I have just really increased my workouts and their intensity and my muscles are rebuilding. But it has been discouraging to see the scale creep up this past week so I logged on to see if I could find a post about how long this "gain" will last and saw your post Thanks for cheering me up!

Now, how long will this "gain" last? :laugh:

sati18

another daily weigher here too and totally agree - awesome helpful post thank you for sharing

ooo and well done on that steady downward trend there!

Corystormy

I also weigh daily. It is very interesting to see it change daily depending on my workout and diet.
What app to you use to track the weight? I think I might want to try that. I am very visual, and need to see the numbers.

primalpam

Great post. Agree 100%

BernadetteChurch

Interesting post. I find the fluctuations fascinating as well.

257_Lag

I also weigh daily. It is very interesting to see it change daily depending on my workout and diet.
What app to you use to track the weight? I think I might want to try that. I am very visual, and need to see the numbers.

That app is an Android app called "Libra" but there are a lot of similar apps for all operating systems.

ilovefitness36

I used to weigh daily a few years back, because my mother told me I looked chubby, and I wasn't. This hurt my self-esteem severely. At the time, I was 5"2, and 115lbs. So I became obsessed. In my opinion its an unhealthy obsession, and it doesn't do anyone any good. Weight fluctuates generously throughout the day and you don't get a true number.

I just look in the mirror and start paying attention to how my clothes fit. I weigh myself once a month. If there is no change, there is no change. As long as I am not gaining 'fat', I'm ok.

Currently, I am 129lbs, I workout 4 times per week, eat relatively healthy, I'm on anti-seizure medications (that I'm not convinced are the culprit because I've been on them for years), and I've gained 14lbs. My body fat percentage is 28%. I am not THRILLED about my weight, especially because all this working out, and my inches have not changed and my weight keeps creeping up.

Yet, I refuse to weigh myself every day. I won't ever get into that habit ever again. It wreaks havoc on self-esteem for me.

ZenBJR

Yep I weight daily as well. I don't get demotivated doing so. Obviously. Having lost 111 pounds so far :P

susanstuart18

I'm a daily weigher as well. Weighing each morning helps me be accountable for each day.

professorhuggins

I used to weigh daily a few years back, because my mother told me I looked chubby, and I wasn't. This hurt my self-esteem severely. At the time, I was 5"2, and 115lbs. So I became obsessed. In my opinion its an unhealthy obsession, and it doesn't do anyone any good. Weight fluctuates generously throughout the day and you don't get a true number.

I just look in the mirror and start paying attention to how my clothes fit. I weigh myself once a month. If there is no change, there is no change. As long as I am not gaining 'fat', I'm ok.

Currently, I am 129lbs, I workout 4 times per week, eat relatively healthy, I'm on anti-seizure medications (that I'm not convinced are the culprit because I've been on them for years), and I've gained 14lbs. My body fat percentage is 28%. I am not THRILLED about my weight, especially because all this working out, and my inches have not changed and my weight keeps creeping up.

Yet, I refuse to weigh myself every day. I won't ever get into that habit ever again. It wreaks havoc on self-esteem for me.

The way I see it, there are two different reasons to weigh yourself daily. If you are weighing because of an unhealthy obsession, that's a bad idea and it fuels unhealthy behavior. But it sounds like this guy falls into the second reason--because he is a logico-mathematically natured person and considers relevant data an important part of his health plan. Check out what he is saying--he's not obsessed with the numbers, he's using the numbers to plot overall trends.

As far as weighing differently throughout the day, that is true, but notice that he is weighing at the same time every day with the same routine. That's the correct scientific approach to taking daily data, and notice that he isn't freaking out over swings in weight (which you can see on the graph) which are probably based on water intake/exercise fluctuation, but rather he is focused on the way his weight is trending using a line of best fit over a long period of time.

ngyoung

I also weigh daily. It is very interesting to see it change daily depending on my workout and diet.
What app to you use to track the weight? I think I might want to try that. I am very visual, and need to see the numbers.

That app is an Android app called "Libra" but there are a lot of similar apps for all operating systems.

What are all the vertical white lines on either side of the orange one supposed to indicate?

I also weigh daily even 2 times a day. Once before bed and once in the morning on empty bladder. I am like you and I like to see the trend and effects certain circumstances have on my weight to make more informed decisions when introducing new meals and such.

lorettasnewbeginning

I too weigh daily. I am not "obsessed" with it, but I think it helps me to stay "on" consistently. Without daily weigh ins, I think I am more tempted when I have an "off" day, to wait until the weigh in cycle to get back in the saddle.

icimani

I weigh daily too. I understand why some people don't, but for me it works. Actually I weigh 2x a day - first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

I don't obsess over it, but it keeps me mindful. It reminds me to eat better and move more, and not fall back into old (bad) habits. And like you, it allows me to see the overall trend and not get crazy over every tenth of a pound.

Zaniejane

This is an excellent post! I think the reason I weigh in so much is for the unpredictable "hits" which is what causes the addiction. It's like gambling, drugs, or runner's high.

TeachTheGirl

When I was overweight, I was obsessed with the scale readings. I'd cry even if I had gained 0.2 from my previous weigh in. It wasn't a healthy habit for me. But now I weigh in daily on WiiFit because it's FUN and even when I see gains, the trending path is still downward and I can see that from the graph and it's more reassuring for me.

MelissaL582

I weigh daily too and I completely agree with your post. :-) It's fascinating how your body works.

Jessica_D_Shadow

Hmm, I may actually have to start weighing in daily. I keep weighing in weekly, and sometimes day to day when It's way to high.

Ex: Other week I was 199.4lbs SO EXCITED to be in ONEderland. ...The next week after an ER visit & then outdoors all the rest of the week. I was a scary 205lbs! O_O Even when I was under calories all week. =( It was so depressing that I refuse to log it. LoL! But I have pretty much been weighing myself almost daily and it's been going down each day. 204lbs, 203lbs, now 202lbs. So, I'm assuming it was just a phantom gain from the heat & outdoor activities. At Least I can hope right?! LoL

Mommylicous

I weigh daily as well, and I love that Libra allows me to set a goal date and show me how my progress compares to my goal. It lets me see that even though I don't seem to have huge losses, that I'm ahead of schedule for my goal! Plus, like others have said, it helps me see what us the result of yesterdays behaviors. If my weight stalls out, then I know I need to drink more water, or eat less junk.. keeps me from getting myself back in a deep water-weight hole.

cindylu35

Daily weight taken every morning when I wake up and then right before I eat breakfast. Oddly enough, it's lower on my 2nd weight!

Doing this makes me feel accountable for every day, but I don't take the numbers TOO seriously! I NEVER log a weight that's higher than my last one. As long as I stay on track for exercise and food, I blow off the higher number to mean hormones or water or humidity or sodium or the circus just came to town. lol There's NO reason for me to be gaining, so I ignore it and just move on to the next day!

ifaber

I weigh daily too. I understand why some people don't, but for me it works. Actually I weigh 2x a day - first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

I don't obsess over it, but it keeps me mindful. It reminds me to eat better and move more, and not fall back into old (bad) habits. And like you, it allows me to see the overall trend and not get crazy over every tenth of a pound.

Ditto for me too. I weigh daily and log them both in a notebook and on the Withings app. Looking back in my notebook and seeing the trends of weight loss and gain help to give me a good reference point of what has been working, what didn't work, etc. I also measure monthly to 'balance' so to speak my weight logs. If I see that I changed up my routine, have gained a couple of pounds, but loss some inches, I know what I am doing is WORKING. Plus, daily weigh ins remind me to stay focused on being HEALTHY. I love daily weigh ins!!!

kaseymei

Very interesting.. Thanks for sharing. Really helps put things in perspective!!

ninerbuff

Nothing wrong with weighing daily as long as you're not living and dying by the numbers on the scale.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

SunnyH137

Thanks for sharing this. I am very new to this site. I too weigh daily--sort of. I am blessed to be able to split my time between the city where I work half the week and the mountains on weekends. My city scale is very unreliable, sometimes showing a three pound loss when there isn't any. DH still likes it, so we keep it. In the country I have a newer and reliable scale and when I'm there I weigh every morning. While I was on WW I used to not enter in my weight if I gained. No more! Here I will enter the truth, and your post helped me to see how it will help rather than hurt.

Martucha123

too lazy to weight in every day,
but I get your point

salladeve

For me I weight daily because I can't trust that I actually lost unless I see the progression on a daily basis. I know that might not make sense, but if I get on the scale once a week and it said that I lost 2.6 lbs (like I did this week), I would not believe it, or log it because I would think it is the scale or something else, never that I actually lost (I know I have mental problems, LOL). If I'm weighing every day I see the progression even if it is just a fraction of a lb.

I know this doesn't make sense but I have tried every crazy diet out there for over 40 years now and this is really the first time that I can say I don't FEEL like I'm on a diet, therefore it is always a shock when I get on the scale and it is down (even by a fraction).

DanIsACyclingFool

I've said it before. It's precisely because your weight fluctuates hourly that you need to weigh MORE often, not less.

If you are going to weigh yourself and use it as a metric of change you must weigh often and consistantly. Anything less and you are missing the data. My graph is steadily downward too but WAY more erratic than OPs and by several lbs. There is NO WAY weighing less often than daily will yield me useful information.I usually do twice a day. Oh, and record every weight, not just the losses, or losses that persist 3 days, or only on Fridays, etc.

If my program isnt working I'll see it within 10 or 12 samples, maybe even take a few more to be sure before I go changing everything around. So maybe 14 days and I'll know whether or not I'm responding or not because I'll have a statistically significant sample. Weekly weighers won't know ANYTHING from their WEIGHT for at least 2 weeks, and won't be able to draw firm conclusions from their weight for something like 3 months. Monthly weighers need a year for the same validity. So they'll have to use something else...nsv's, inches, whatever to know whether their program is doing anything for them. But inches won't work on everyone, they don't work on me for example, because my fat distribution pattern is so spread out. I have to lose many lbs to see a change on a measuring tape. And the change is so subtle, I can't even be sure its not measurement error.

If your body shows you your program is working in some other fashion, terrific. Weight is just a number for you. If you want to weigh for fun, general interest, giggles, fine, do it when you feel like it. If the scale triggers unhealthy behavior, I get it. Don't weigh! But if you're weighing for a reason, ie to gauge your progress, you NEED to weigh often. Anything less, and you are violating a fundemantal rule in signal sampling called the Nyquist limit and your data is aliased (ie it's a misleading respresentation of your true weight pattern).

BernerValet

I also Daily Weigh and I agree 100%.. More numbers make it easier to establish an accurate trend line and moving average. More Data provides a more accurate picture over time - Just like tracking stock movements. All Data goes in The Moving Averages and Trend Lines smooth out the daily fluctuations - and the big picture appears.

pwittek10

I weigh every morning and every night
I just like to know where I stand

257_Lag

What are all the vertical white lines on either side of the orange one supposed to indicate?

The tips of the vertical lines are the daily weights. If it is above the orange line then it is the top of the vertical line that is the days weight. If it is below, then it is the bottom of the vertical line.

The orange line is determined by the average of the past X number of days.

To all my fellow Libra users, I only recently found a setting called "Smoothing Days" under settings-advanced settings that controls how much each days value affects the trend line. Play with it, very cool.

Daisyboohoo

I also weigh daily! It really motivates me! If I loose I feel way to go - Yeah, and if I pick up I know I must be extra strict!
Thanks for sharing...