Weighting Myself
merveozyalin
Posts: 46 Member
Should I stop weighting myself? Numbers just demotivates me. I can't help weighting every morning even though I won't see a result yet. (My goal is losing 0.2 kg a week) Maybe I should just tracking what I eat and see if anything changes in the mirror?
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Replies
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I agree with you, it actually makes me feel that non of what I’m doing is working very well!0
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It's not a problem to weigh yourself everyday, just keep in mind that your weight will fluctuate. Example: one morning your weight is 55kg, next morning is 55.5kg, morning after is 54.7.... . It's normal, just focus in your final goal. If it helps, weigh yourself everyday and in the end of the week take the average of all your weights, next week do the same, and compare the AVERAGES
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Weighing yourself, especially daily, is one of those things that split people into two camps. Some people can't do it for varying reasons: some feel demotivated, some feel like they become too obsessed with the numbers, some feel like the fluctuations can be too large, etc. etc. etc. Others (like me) like to do it daily and use the fluctuations as an analysing tool to see how what you did the day before affects what you weigh today, and see how your body reacts to different things. I only log my weight once a week though, and always on the same day. And I don't sweat the small stuff - so to speak. Last Thursday (my weigh-in day) I was 75.8kg. Then Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I was 76.1. And yesterday, on this week's weigh-in day, I was 75.6. This morning I was 75.1. As long as I know that I've kept good track of what I've eaten, I haven't gone too far over my calories for several days in a row, I don't let myself get affected by a small increase on the scale. And I'm aware that that is easier said than done - it has taken me a while to get to this mindset.
Water retention, exercise, salt intake, carb intake, a later meal than usual, and many other things can affect what you see on the scale.
But basically, do whatever feels best for you. Maybe try and weigh yourself once every week or even every two weeks? Or start measuring your waist, hips, and thighs? Or take pictures once a week/fortnight/month and track your progress that way? If your logging is correct you should be losing weight.
On another note though - is there a reason you're aiming to lose 0.2kg per week? That's quite a small amount, and looking at your profile and the amount of weight your tracker says you want to lose, at that rate it would take you almost three years. (I'm just being curious, not putting any judgement or anything else in my question.)4 -
I tend to weigh myself 2-3 times a week, as I feel once a week doesn't give me the detailed data I personally prefer.
But if the numbers demotivate you, change to once a week, once a fortnight or even once a month.
Start measuring waistline and see how that one changes.0 -
I personally like weighing every day, but the number doesn't affect how I feel about myself or how I go about my day. I put my weight in to a trending app (libra) to see the general trend.
I wouldn't go by the mirror - I find I'm my own worst enemy when I look in the mirror. Seeing small changes is impossible when you see yourself every day. Different lighting, fluid retention, how much and when you ate last, how you're standing etc will all change how you look as well. Monthly progress photos and measurements would give you a better indication if you don't want to weigh yourself.1 -
On another note though - is there a reason you're aiming to lose 0.2kg per week? That's quite a small amount, and looking at your profile and the amount of weight your tracker says you want to lose, at that rate it would take you almost three years. (I'm just being curious, not putting any judgement or anything else in my question.)
0.5lbs for 13lbs = 26 weeks = 6 months = half a year. If it is a three year target I am obviously missing something here.
Between November 2015 and November 2016 I was quite happy to lose 11.1lbs; that's half the rate the OP is proposing for herself.
In any case I found that www.trendweight.com (happy scale for iphone, or Libra for Android) to be quite helpful in helping me see whether my weight trend was heading in the right direction.4 -
If it demotivates you then daily weighing might not be for you.
Personally I weigh daily even in maintenance, I fluctuate up and down each day 0.25-1lb at least and I know that is perfectly normal. I use a trending app so I know my average weight is where it should be. I know certain things I eat, ie high sodium, more carbs than usual, hormones etc will mean a spike on the scales. Knowing what causes spikes takes any worry out of the process imo.
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Weighing yourself, especially daily, is one of those things that split people into two camps. Some people can't do it for varying reasons: some feel demotivated, some feel like they become too obsessed with the numbers, some feel like the fluctuations can be too large, etc. etc. etc. Others (like me) like to do it daily and use the fluctuations as an analysing tool to see how what you did the day before affects what you weigh today, and see how your body reacts to different things. I only log my weight once a week though, and always on the same day. And I don't sweat the small stuff - so to speak. Last Thursday (my weigh-in day) I was 75.8kg. Then Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I was 76.1. And yesterday, on this week's weigh-in day, I was 75.6. This morning I was 75.1. As long as I know that I've kept good track of what I've eaten, I haven't gone too far over my calories for several days in a row, I don't let myself get affected by a small increase on the scale. And I'm aware that that is easier said than done - it has taken me a while to get to this mindset.
Water retention, exercise, salt intake, carb intake, a later meal than usual, and many other things can affect what you see on the scale.
But basically, do whatever feels best for you. Maybe try and weigh yourself once every week or even every two weeks? Or start measuring your waist, hips, and thighs? Or take pictures once a week/fortnight/month and track your progress that way? If your logging is correct you should be losing weight.
On another note though - is there a reason you're aiming to lose 0.2kg per week? That's quite a small amount, and looking at your profile and the amount of weight your tracker says you want to lose, at that rate it would take you almost three years. (I'm just being curious, not putting any judgement or anything else in my question.)
I asked some of people here and they said I can't lose 2 pounds a week. Because I feel like starving on 1200 calories. So I had to decrease it to 0.2 kg a week. I know it seems so slow.
I would like to get results faster but I don't know how to do.
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@PAV8888 You're right. I was doing this too early in the morning and converted the lbs the wrong way around - doing 13 lbs times 2.2 to get the kg rather than divided by 2.2. Not always easy to be a non-Imperial user on these forums!
OP, sorry for my mistake and I hope it didn't confuse you!
However, I still personally think 0.2kg is quite a small amount. I have complete understanding for that not everyone thinks like me, so again no judgement or anything like that, but I know that for me it would be difficult to keep my motivation if the scale was only supposed to budge 0.2kg per week. Though in real life it's not that big of a difference, 0.5kg per week mentally feels like a bigger loss. Losing weight is often not easy though, so you just have to find what works for you and what makes you feel better 1 -
@fruoshesa OP doesn't have much weight to lose, in fact from another thread of hers she actually is at a healthy weight and only wants to lose a bit more. So although 0.2 -0.5kg might seem a slow loss per week, its perfect for the OP, especially when its less than 20lbs til goal. Fast weight loss is not healthy at any size but especially when you are at a healthy weight.4
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@PAV8888 You're right. I was doing this too early in the morning and converted the lbs the wrong way around - doing 13 lbs times 2.2 to get the kg rather than divided by 2.2. Not always easy to be a non-Imperial user on these forums!
OP, sorry for my mistake and I hope it didn't confuse you!
It's okay. You made me realise it will take 6 months o.o Oh my...I changed it to 0.5kg a week. Let's see if I can handle 1230 cals a day.
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RunRutheeRun wrote: »@fruoshesa OP doesn't have much weight to lose, in fact from another thread of hers she actually is at a healthy weight and only wants to lose a bit more. So although 0.2 -0.5kg might seem a slow loss per week, its perfect for the OP, especially when its less than 20lbs til goal. Fast weight loss is not healthy at any size but especially when you are at a healthy weight.
Yea you're right. I gotta be patient. >.<
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I know its not easy to be patient, none of us usually are LOL, but you will get there .
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It comes down to personal preference, and if it is annoying or demotivating, then reduce your how often you weigh yourself. But I like the information. I just have my morning routine that includes stepping on my scale. And I like to see the trendline dropping, despite the daily ups and downs. Trendweight.com, Libra or Happy scale all help with this.0
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RunRutheeRun wrote: »@fruoshesa OP doesn't have much weight to lose, in fact from another thread of hers she actually is at a healthy weight and only wants to lose a bit more. So although 0.2 -0.5kg might seem a slow loss per week, its perfect for the OP, especially when its less than 20lbs til goal. Fast weight loss is not healthy at any size but especially when you are at a healthy weight.
I don't quite know how to formulate this in a good way, but please read this without any judgement or arrogance or anything else on my behalf. (One of the reasons I don't comment a lot on this forum is because I see how easy it is to unintentionally misconstrue what others have written.)
Having grown up in the fitness industry (my mother is a personal trainer, fitness instructor, health coach and nutritionist) I'm well aware of the ups, downs, pitfalls, and potential dangers of weight loss. And I know that "fast" weight loss gets both more difficult to achieve and more dangerous the lighter you get. But "fast" isn't a universal definition. And provided that you're eating right for your body and your needs, most articles say that losing 1-2lbs per week, or when you get to a lighter weight 1-1.5% of your bodyweight per week, is safe and sustainable. So if OP weighs more than 20 kg (44lbs) and is eating nutrition dense foods, losing more than 0.2kg per week can (I'm not saying will, but can) be healthy.
I didn't say to OP that she needs to lose weight quicker, and I didn't mean to insinuate that either. So I apologise if that's how it came across. I just said that for me, personally, I know my motivation would be hard to keep up. I'm actually only 1lb away from her loss goal, so I know that a slow and steady weight loss is what's required at that weight, but I also know how frustrating it can be to feel like you've done so much and yet the scale doesn't budge. So since OP wrote that she's frustrated by the perceived lack of results, I just wanted to share my perspective.
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Do what works for you. Some folks use a tape measure instead of a scale. Some folks use how their jeans fit. Daily weighing works for me as none of those other things would. But that's me not you. You do what works for you!0
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merveozyalin wrote: »I asked some of people here and they said I can't lose 2 pounds a week. Because I feel like starving on 1200 calories. So I had to decrease it to 0.2 kg a week. I know it seems so slow. I would like to get results faster but I don't know how to do.
I didn't see this reply before I posted my reply to PAV, or my latest one. Maybe you were writing it at the same time. This makes me understand @RunRutheeRun's comment much better though.
At the amount of weight you want to lose, I wouldn't aim to lose 2lbs per week. But you could try to eat to lose 1lb per week for maybe a week and see if you think that's sustainable? And if it isn't working for you then just go back to the 0.5lb per week. 0.5lb is still a loss, and if you're doing it right any loss is good. (i.e. eating right for your body, exercising right for your body etc.)
My aim is to lose on average 1lb per week. Some weeks it might be less. Most weeks it probably won't be more. To lose 1lb per week I need to eat at a daily deficit of 500 kcal. Exercising four times per week at quite a "high" level I can usually reach that goal. I have around 14lbs to lose, but I'm also a few lbs away from being at what my BMI would consider a 'healthy weight'. If you are at a lower weight than me (which I'm assuming) then your calorie goals will be completely different and potentially it'll be a lot more difficult for you to achieve a 500 kcal deficit.0 -
I just weigh myself once a week. It's a happy medium. You don't lose track but not obsessing over it everyday.0
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RunRutheeRun wrote: »@fruoshesa OP doesn't have much weight to lose, in fact from another thread of hers she actually is at a healthy weight and only wants to lose a bit more. So although 0.2 -0.5kg might seem a slow loss per week, its perfect for the OP, especially when its less than 20lbs til goal. Fast weight loss is not healthy at any size but especially when you are at a healthy weight.
I don't quite know how to formulate this in a good way, but please read this without any judgement or arrogance or anything else on my behalf. (One of the reasons I don't comment a lot on this forum is because I see how easy it is to unintentionally misconstrue what others have written.)
Having grown up in the fitness industry (my mother is a personal trainer, fitness instructor, health coach and nutritionist) I'm well aware of the ups, downs, pitfalls, and potential dangers of weight loss. And I know that "fast" weight loss gets both more difficult to achieve and more dangerous the lighter you get. But "fast" isn't a universal definition. And provided that you're eating right for your body and your needs, most articles say that losing 1-2lbs per week, or when you get to a lighter weight 1-1.5% of your bodyweight per week, is safe and sustainable. So if OP weighs more than 20 kg (44lbs) and is eating nutrition dense foods, losing more than 0.2kg per week can (I'm not saying will, but can) be healthy.
I didn't say to OP that she needs to lose weight quicker, and I didn't mean to insinuate that either. So I apologise if that's how it came across. I just said that for me, personally, I know my motivation would be hard to keep up. I'm actually only 1lb away from her loss goal, so I know that a slow and steady weight loss is what's required at that weight, but I also know how frustrating it can be to feel like you've done so much and yet the scale doesn't budge. So since OP wrote that she's frustrated by the perceived lack of results, I just wanted to share my perspective.
So because you have no patience, everyone else should be the same?
There's absolutely nothing wrong with aiming to lose half a pound a week -- and often, that's recommended for someone who is at a healthy weight, and just wants to get leaner. It gives more calories to play with, makes the approach less of a chore, and generally makes hormonal issues more marginal.5 -
I weighed more frequently when I was losing 2 lbs. per week and trying to get on track. Now I'm down to 1 lb. per week I still weigh a few times a week...first thing in the AM as suggested... but usually only log it once since it jumps around too much otherwise. Sometimes to my chagrine I find it is still up, although I shouldn't truly be gaining any weight with my numbers all good for the week. Smaller amounts of weight loss would be very frustrating so maybe weigh every two weeks? For me the inches haven't started reducing yet, so weight is my only way of knowing where I'm at. Yesterday out of curiosity I made the mistake of stepping on someone else's scale in the middle of the afternoon, before eating I think, and was 6.5 lbs higher than my last weight on my scale so won't do that again. Not good for the psyche.1
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[quote/
It's okay. You made me realise it will take 6 months o.o Oh my...I changed it to 0.5kg a week. Let's see if I can handle 1230 cals a day.
[/quote]
Do you add exercise calories to your 1200 calories per day? I too am on 1200 calories which sustains my 3 balanced meals but need the extra couple hundred or so calories to fit in my snacks, which I just can't do without. I find that fruit, higher protein snacks, and sugar-free desserts have helped me with that.
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Do you add exercise calories to your 1200 calories per day? I too am on 1200 calories which sustains my 3 balanced meals but need the extra couple hundred or so calories to fit in my snacks, which I just can't do without. I find that fruit, higher protein snacks, and sugar-free desserts have helped me with that.dwilliamca wrote: »[quote/
It's okay. You made me realise it will take 6 months o.o Oh my...I changed it to 0.5kg a week. Let's see if I can handle 1230 cals a day.
[/quote]
Sometimes I exercise yes
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collectingblues wrote: »RunRutheeRun wrote: »@fruoshesa OP doesn't have much weight to lose, in fact from another thread of hers she actually is at a healthy weight and only wants to lose a bit more. So although 0.2 -0.5kg might seem a slow loss per week, its perfect for the OP, especially when its less than 20lbs til goal. Fast weight loss is not healthy at any size but especially when you are at a healthy weight.
I don't quite know how to formulate this in a good way, but please read this without any judgement or arrogance or anything else on my behalf. (One of the reasons I don't comment a lot on this forum is because I see how easy it is to unintentionally misconstrue what others have written.)
Having grown up in the fitness industry (my mother is a personal trainer, fitness instructor, health coach and nutritionist) I'm well aware of the ups, downs, pitfalls, and potential dangers of weight loss. And I know that "fast" weight loss gets both more difficult to achieve and more dangerous the lighter you get. But "fast" isn't a universal definition. And provided that you're eating right for your body and your needs, most articles say that losing 1-2lbs per week, or when you get to a lighter weight 1-1.5% of your bodyweight per week, is safe and sustainable. So if OP weighs more than 20 kg (44lbs) and is eating nutrition dense foods, losing more than 0.2kg per week can (I'm not saying will, but can) be healthy.
I didn't say to OP that she needs to lose weight quicker, and I didn't mean to insinuate that either. So I apologise if that's how it came across. I just said that for me, personally, I know my motivation would be hard to keep up. I'm actually only 1lb away from her loss goal, so I know that a slow and steady weight loss is what's required at that weight, but I also know how frustrating it can be to feel like you've done so much and yet the scale doesn't budge. So since OP wrote that she's frustrated by the perceived lack of results, I just wanted to share my perspective.
So because you have no patience, everyone else should be the same?
There's absolutely nothing wrong with aiming to lose half a pound a week -- and often, that's recommended for someone who is at a healthy weight, and just wants to get leaner. It gives more calories to play with, makes the approach less of a chore, and generally makes hormonal issues more marginal.
Thank you for showing exactly what I mean. Where have I said there is anything wrong with losing 0.5lbs per week? Where have I said I have no patience? Where have I said everyone should be like me?0 -
The question upthread was whether you eat back your exercise calories which would have your eating and net 1250 or whatever it was while actually consuming a bit more.
I would also bring up in the discussion of acceptable weight loss rates that 0.5% to 1% has been seen in a few studies to be more lean mass preserving than 1% to 1.5%, and in general you would peg 1% as the limit for someone who isn't even overweight (overweight and obese stand in as a proxies for fat %, in case a BMI obese but very little fat available to lose athlete is reading this)
A much preferred way of looking at things would be % deficit off TDEE. And a 10% to 20% deficit (up to 25% while obese) might be a much smarter way of looking at things when taking lean mass preservation and energy availability for exercise into account.
Also the leaner the individual the more important re feeds and diet breaks would be.
And the harder it will be to figure out the individual's fat level over time.
Hence patience, trending weight apps, the concept of ranges, and multiple goals including health ones beyond just weight.
Or balls to the wall with a big cut and then the usual return to normalcy while hormonally primed for weight regain.
No credentials or associations; just an amateur reading up for my own benefit
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