Weight & Scale

Lounmoun

llbrixon wrote: »

Ok. I can understand the emotional aspect of not wanting to weigh daily because of not wanting to be obsessed with the scale and not be able to deal with weight ups and downs.... I just feel if you have the weight data during the week then the weight recorded will be more accurate.

Your thoughts...

I just don't care if my weight data is absolutely accurate beyond weighing on the same scale, same time of day, same conditions. The level of accuarcy from a daily or hourly weight reading isn't important to me. I don't want to know what I weigh at 1 PM on a Tuesday. I'm not anxious about the idea I might weigh a pound more one day versus the next. The reading I take once a week is enough data for me to check my progress over time and I have lost over 20 lbs doing it this way.
Why would weighing myself daily help me?
Would it change my calorie goal or logging? No.
Would I feel better about myself? No.
Would I lose more weight? No.

Christine_72

I weighed myself everyday for the past 2 years. Last month i changed to weighing every 3 days or so, just to make sure i'm on track. If i know i've been on plan with my calories than a sudden up fluctuation doesn't bother me. I don't bother weighing myself after a high sodium day, a couple days before my period or if i haven't both peed and 'evacuated'.
The pressure release of not weighing everyday is wonderful, as the i MUST weigh every single morning was starting to get on my nerves, and imo was a pointless exercise. I'll still lose weight whether i weigh everyday or every 3rd or 4th day..

mmdolly56

Obsession with the scale is destructive. It's the over all trend that matters.

llbrixon

Christine_72 wrote: »

I weighed myself everyday for the past 2 years. Last month i changed to weighing every 3 days or so, just to make sure i'm on track. If i know i've been on plan with my calories than a sudden up fluctuation doesn't bother me. I don't bother weighing myself after a high sodium day, a couple days before my period or if i haven't both peed and 'evacuated'.
The pressure release of not weighing everyday is wonderful, as the i MUST weigh every single morning was starting to get on my nerves, and imo was a pointless exercise. I'll still lose weight whether i weigh everyday or every 3rd or 4th day..

This will work.

lynn_glenmont

llbrixon wrote: »

I weigh just about daily or every few days or so basically to keep me accountable. I know all about the weight fluctuations with the salt retentation.

Weight can vary pounds within a few hours due to water retention. My debate is with others who only weigh 1x week or even worse, only 1x month.

I use a weight trend app that will guide me whether the trend of weight is either increasing or decreasing.

I have seen my weight with a 7 pound increase one day and 2 days later the extra weight is gone. I have seen a pound difference within an hour. I use all the weight data as a tool to keep my weight stable.

Help me to understand the reasoning for weighing 1x week or monthly.

llbrixon wrote: »

When I see folks post a half pound weight loss for the week, I feel this loss could not be accurate because of all the fluctuations in weight during the day. I would tend to accept a half a pound week loss if.....that half pound weight loss has be measured for several days.

Your opinion...

Why do you care what other people do? Why do you need to judge whether their losses are accurate?

I only weigh once a week because it's often enough to keep an eye on the trends. I don't need to be bothered with tracking daily fluctuations. If I weigh 1/2 pound less when I wake up after I use the toilet this Saturday than I did last Saturday, using the same scale both times, I don't see how that is inaccurate. I average my four or five weekly readings each month to get a monthly average. I don't see what benefit I would gain from collecting 30 data points a month and using a graphing app to see the trend, rather than just collecting four or five data points and eyeballing the trend. I'm in year four of tracking my calories daily and my weight weekly. I don't see that weighing weekly has harmed my loss or maintenance.

But it doesn't bother me if you or anybody else wants to weigh daily or multiple times a week.

elisa123gal

If find those of you with spread sheets..graphs..weighing apps...who are fascinated with weight fluctuations like aliens. Now, I think it works for you and that is great. It keeps you engaged and interested in the science of the body.

Yet, i do not weigh myself for now. I will when I go down another size and my stomach has all the fat gone. I simply know it takes time and I'm not going to let the number on the scale discourage me. I'm down a size and I can tell my stomach is much smaller in my 88 day log in run.

Many people get down and use the excuse of the scale not moving down as a reason to quit. That's why they don't weigh as often as those comfortable with knowing the number.

For example. My husband is a big believer in weighing .. he says it motivates him. Yet, since we both joined Planet Fitness 3 months ago.. he is still at square one.. gained any weight he lost recently.

yet I'm making steady progress.

fitoverfortymom

I weigh most days, but only log it officially on Tuesday mornings. The fluctuations don't bother me, and I have even seen 5lbs up in the evening disappear by morning (I love sleeping the fat away). It's not obsessive for me, bit sometimes I play with macros and I see how that plays out.

biggsterjackster

I weigh daily because I am obsessed with my weight that I try to maintain. If I see the weight go up I take extreme measurements the next day to get it right back down.

MalkinMagic71

biggsterjackster wrote: »

I weigh daily because I am obsessed with my weight that I try to maintain. If I see the weight go up I take extreme measurements the next day to get it right back down.

That's not a good thing. Daily fluctuations happen. You have to learn to accept that.

trigden1991

I track my calories, weight, exercise and body measurements frequently so I can track my progress and see how daily differences affect my body.

Gamliela

I use a measuring tape. I measuree waist and belly button every morning. I measure calf muscle, thigh and hips depending on excersize levels to know if the swelling has gone down so I can juedge when to excersize again.

The scale is a deceiver imo because it weighs food, pooh, edema, muscles, fat, brains in all the same way. I could weigh a few pounds more for any number of reasons.

I can travel the world with a tape measure.

Madelinec117

Reading everyone's posts, I think my brain works differently. I weigh almost every day but only post the significant losses. The way my brain works - weighing daily keeps me accountable every day. If I only weigh once a week, I will know if I go off track early in the week I'll have "x" number of days to make up for not sticking to the plan so I won't be as strict with myself at the beginning of the week.

ummijaaz560

I can go days without weighing myself. I dont care how much I weigh right now because I only have fat to lose in my stomach. I am focused on weight lifting and losing inches at this point. I use my measuring tape once a week.

My food scale is enough right now, because I weigh everything I eat I know I'm on track.

llbrixon

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

llbrixon wrote: »

I weigh just about daily or every few days or so basically to keep me accountable. I know all about the weight fluctuations with the salt retentation.

Weight can vary pounds within a few hours due to water retention. My debate is with others who only weigh 1x week or even worse, only 1x month.

I use a weight trend app that will guide me whether the trend of weight is either increasing or decreasing.

I have seen my weight with a 7 pound increase one day and 2 days later the extra weight is gone. I have seen a pound difference within an hour. I use all the weight data as a tool to keep my weight stable.

Help me to understand the reasoning for weighing 1x week or monthly.

llbrixon wrote: »

When I see folks post a half pound weight loss for the week, I feel this loss could not be accurate because of all the fluctuations in weight during the day. I would tend to accept a half a pound week loss if.....that half pound weight loss has be measured for several days.

Your opinion...

Why do you care what other people do? Why do you need to judge whether their losses are accurate?

I only weigh once a week because it's often enough to keep an eye on the trends. I don't need to be bothered with tracking daily fluctuations. If I weigh 1/2 pound less when I wake up after I use the toilet this Saturday than I did last Saturday, using the same scale both times, I don't see how that is inaccurate. I average my four or five weekly readings each month to get a monthly average. I don't see what benefit I would gain from collecting 30 data points a month and using a graphing app to see the trend, rather than just collecting four or five data points and eyeballing the trend. I'm in year four of tracking my calories daily and my weight weekly. I don't see that weighing weekly has harmed my loss or maintenance.

But it doesn't bother me if you or anybody else wants to weigh daily or multiple times a week.

I care because I want infrequent weighers to have an accurate weight each week or each month.

Even weighing every few days will give you more data than no data except the one time you weigh. If there is a decrease in the weight, then great.

But, if the weight is an increase, the weigher should recheck that weight the next day or in a few days to see if that weight increase is accurate.

For those of us maintaining our weight, like me, daily weighing or weighing in every few days is beneficial to me. Not weighing at all got me into being overweight in the first place. Without the scale telling me my weight, it was ok for me to keep eating the way I wanted. I knew I was over weight, I just did not want the scale to tell me "You are how much?" "It is time to get serious and lose the weight." Stepping on the scale and letting folks on MFP know my weight will keep me accountable.

Weighing in daily or every few days will give me an idea what my weight is doing so I can make adjustments.

This is a debate after all.

cmriverside

Wait. So you want to make sure we know how often and how to weigh ourselves?

:huh:

When I'm in weight-loss mode, I weigh daily. Now that I'm in Maintenance, I weigh weekly. It shouldn't be (and it doesn't) fluctuating seven pounds! Not if I'm logging food.

llbrixon

cmriverside wrote: »

Wait. So you want to make sure we know how often and how to weigh ourselves?

:huh:

When I'm in weight-loss mode, I weigh daily. Now that I'm in Maintenance, I weigh weekly. It shouldn't be (and it doesn't) fluctuating seven pounds! Not if I'm logging food.

I want infrequent weighers to be aware of their weight because of fluctuations the weight they enter could be incorrect. That is why when weight is measured several times a week you may get a true reading of your weight.