how often should I weigh myself

obese2beast808

i'm on day 2 of my weight loss journey starting at 350 lbs and staying within my recommended calories but, I am wondering how often should I weigh myself to track progress ?

usmcmp

That's going to depend on you. I weigh myself daily because I like seeing fluctuations. I only "count" my Friday weigh in. If seeing the scale go up from time to time is going to frustrate you it's probably a good idea to weigh only once per week or even once per month.

L1zardQueen

I weigh everyday, ups and downs don't bother me. I am looking at the big picture.

Spudicus190

Weekly or longer. If you go daily 2 things, 1) you will obsess 2) if you didnt lose or slighly gained weight you might become discouraged.

FireTurtle75

I weigh every night then every morning. I don't fret the fluctuations. I would rather see the fluctuations than go a whole week doing it wrong & be shocked at the amount on the scale. The fluctuations help me think about appropriate food choices for the next day & whether or not I feel like I should adjust my intake.

GaleHawkins

I weight each morning. While weight is important improving health markers are Job #1 in my mind. I have maintained in the 195-210 range for the last two year hitting 195 each summer. I was 198 this morning but due to a lot of fresh fruit the wife brought in this morning I will be more like 202 in the morning because I have gone well over 50 grams of carbs today.

kommodevaran

1. You should do whatever is right for you.
2. I recommend once daily, monthly, or never.

Weekly weigh-ins are often recommended. That may have been the best option before, when dieting was hard and scales inaccurate. Today, recommended rate of loss per week is slower, and accuracy of digital scales are higher, while natural day-to-day fluctuations are the same. The result is that weekly weigh-ins can hit a low, then a high, in those fluctuations, and make it seem like you aren't making progress. If you take that to mean that whatever you're doing, isn't working, and give up and stop doing it (which a lot of people are more than ready for, consciously or subconsciously, our minds will keep looking for an excuse to stop a project we don't want/like), you've ruined your effort. Daily weigh-ins will pick up all those relatively small ups and downs. Monthly weigh-ins will not show you the ups and downs, but the accumulated gain or loss of a whole month, which will most likely outweigh natural fluctuations.

At any rate, you should understand the nature of natural weight fluctuations, and then pick whatever reassures you the most and not makes you panic, and not act on short term variations, but on the trends. I like weighing daily because it takes away the fear of the scale. Knowing that I am going to weigh myself tomorrow helps me stick to my plan today. A good reading reassures me I'm on the right track. I like seeing a good number, but each reading isn't important in itself, what's important is that I step on the scale every day.

skymningen

I used to weigh myself daily, but starting to obsess too much about it. So currently I disallow myself to get on the scale before 1st August. You need to find what's mentally good and healthy for you and also adapt it based on how you feel.

More important then how often is the when (and in my case as my scale is strange, the where). You cannot compare your morning weight (after bathroom) with your evening weight (after dinner) too well.

Kida_Johnson

I weigh in everyday and log it in the Libra app.
On Wednesdays I update my MFP weight with the trend weight provided to me by the Libra app.

thewindandthework

As you can see by the responses in this thread, there are a couple different outlooks on this, and it really just depends on the person.

For some people, weighing every day causes them to obsess. They do better weighing weekly or even less!

For me and others, weighing every day means that each individual weigh-in is less important, reducing weigh-in anxiety. If my weight goes up, it's just one of countless data points. As long as the trend is downward, each individual data point isn't as emotionally weighted.

I started weighing weekly at first and realized after just a few weeks that climbing onto the scale was a huge emotional moment. For me it's better to normalize it, make it part of my routine, and increase the amount of data I'm getting.

Which method do you think might be right for you based on your personality? Do that first, and change if you think it might not be right for you!

ETA: A hint might be to consider how phrases like "increased data" make you feel. I have noticed that more analytical types are more likely to like the daily weighing method. If the notion of tracking your weight loss on charts, graphs, and spreadsheets is appealing, daily is probably the way to go.

I have no doubt there are tons of analytical types who do something else, and nonanalytical types who do weigh daily, but I bet in general there's a strong correlation.

acmorris77

It really depends on how you'll react emotionally to the scale. In the beginning, you'll drop every week. Then, you'll start to slow down and that can mess with your head. As long as you know that you'll eventually slow down, and plateau at times, and that's okay. Sometimes it makes you feel disappointed and that's not good. Also, so many other things can come into play. Water weight, sodium is a big one. Understand that it's a journey and measure how you feel weighing daily, weekly, or monthly. Whatever works for you mentally is key.

kgirlhart

mike052510 wrote: »

Weekly or longer. If you go daily 2 things, 1) you will obsess 2) if you didnt lose or slighly gained weight you might become discouraged.

This isn't necessarily true for everyone. I weigh daily and have for over 2 years. I don't obsess about it and the fluctuations don't bother me because I can see the patterns and I usually know why my weight is fluctuating. I also use a trending app so I can see that even when my weight goes up or down my trend is where I want it to be. You have to decide how often you want to weight. It is not helpful to weight more than once per day. But other than that pick the best time and frequency for you. Try to be consistent. Most often your lowest weight will be first thing in the morning after using the restroom and before eating or drinking anything. But if you can only weight at noon then that is ok as long as you are consistent. And always use the same scale and don't move the scale around.

DebLaBounty

Every day, I weigh myself first thing in the morning after using the bathroom and before eating anything. If you are logging your calorie consumption accurately, you will still see ups and downs on the scale. Weight fluctuates for all kinds of reasons (water retention is one). Don't let it bum you out if you don't see daily progress! Follow the MFP, and you'll see results.

diryshe2

I weigh myself daily as my doctor has recommended for other health issues.