Just gave up the daily weigh-in after 13 months....anyone else?

lgfrie

I weighed in every day for 370 days except for a four-day vacation in December. I felt in the first few months like it was really helping my motivation. It kept me from noshing at night, because I didn't want to wreck the next morning's weigh-in; that was the main thing.

But then as I lost more weight, the loss rate slowed down and the scale got frustrating. I stuck with it out of habit, but the morning ritual became more a chore than "fun".

A few weeks ago, I realized I just don't need the scale anymore and more to the point, that the daily weigh ins were getting counterproductive. A year of dieting has given me confidence that if I eat X calories and do Y minutes of cardio, I will lose Z pounds per week, whether I get on a scale or not. It's just alegbra, and I am now acquainted with the CICO equation for my particular body, which is: (2360 - food + cardio) / 3500 = lbs lost that day.

So far, I have been scaleless for two weeks and have to admit it's been pretty liberating. I have hit my calorie and cardio targets every day since, without the scale feedback. I will probably climb on sometime in the next few days just to verify that the weight is indeed coming off at the correct pace, but I have no reason to doubt it would. If it isn't, then of course I will reengage with the daily weigh-ins, but I do think at this point it's just rinse-and-repeat algebra with the calories and exercise.

Has anyone else here gone from daily weigh-ins to sporadic or non-usage of the scale, if so how'd it go? A little part of me is thinking, don't change a winning hand, everything was working fine, but conversely, I feel like I've outgrown the constant numerical feedback thing and the water retention fluctuations and all of that, and should just concentrate on accurate logging and hitting my targets.

TonyB0588

I still weigh often but I agree the changes are negligible.

My calories in and calories out are tracked consistently. and I don't think I have a weight gain problem at the moment.

KrissDotCom

I actually take comfort in the scale staying the same. I mean, sure i want it to go down, but it staying the same also means that even tho i dont stick to goal, im still okay.

During pms, i was having days of 3000+ calories. No movement on the scale was reassuring.

Talan79

I have crazy fluctuations & it can really effect my mental health. I go through phases where I won’t get on the scale. I’m 5”2 and 120, lowest weight for me is 118, so I can tell the difference with just a few pounds. If I see that daily weigh in is having a negative effect on me I back off. I see how I look daily and how my clothes fit so I won’t get on the scale for weeks at a time.

PAV8888

I look at things differently.

Your reaction to the information is (partially) in your control: you can always decide that your weight equals your weight trend and not your scale weight.

Here's the thing. When you perform your double check on your "spot weight in" a few days from now, how will you know that the weight that day is a fair representation as opposed to an aberant low or an aberant high?

Beyond that I like to think along the lines of onions and layers of defense.

Sure you can decrease your cognitive load and scale feedback; but it does reduce by some factor your defence in depth capabilities.

And while I am willing to concede that even pure offense can be enough for someone to lose weight and get to maintenance, only a strong defense will manage to keep you there!

That said I miss more than the occasional weigh in and also use a different scale for several days at a time (one where I weigh a bit more than on my normal scale) when I'm at my parents' place

If I skip aweigh in, or not record an aberant number (guilty), I do so with some fear because I'm allowing a dangerous habit to take root

cerad2

You always try the random approach. Get yourself a pair of dice (or a dice app) and roll once a day. 7 or 11 means you weigh yourself.

glowingirls

mg is it only me that get frustrated when you step on the scale and find out you actually gained weight ... uhhh i try so hard to be healthy ... so this week i was 62.2kg then lost 0.2kg (62kg) was happy and motivated then lost 0.1 (61.9kg) next day still happy .. at least i lost some ... gained it back next day (62kg)😔 ... then i lost 0.3kg (61.7kg) the next 🤩🤩omg lost more then usual yayyy ... guess what gained 0.2 kg today (61.9kg) ... but i'm gonna say yesterday i eat more then usal but like 200 more calories then usual like 1450 calories .... i dont knwo why but i gain or dont lose weight when i eat 1400 or 1300 calories but lose up to 0.4 kg a day when i eat 1100 or 1200 calories ... and it's what 100 or 200 calories more ... omg i cant with my body ...... so i'm 167cm was 68kg now 62kg so i lost over 6kg in 1.5 monthes when the 1200 diet .... my gole weight is 58 or 57kg .. i'm scared that when i start eating 1800 calories to meintaght my 58 kg weight i will gain weight .... anyone who was on the 1200 calories diet for more then a month did you gain weight after you starting eating normally ???

sardelsa

I'm trying to maintain right now and the daily weighing was bothering me since I kept forgetting and then a low weight trend would throw me off. So I just don't bother anymore. I will probably check in every few weeks if I feel I need to, otherwise it doesn't really matter to me at this point. If I gain a bit, lose a bit or best case maintain.

Strudders67

@glowingirls, you should probably start a new thread as so many things in your comment are alarming. But, to answer some of your questions, no I haven't put on weight now that I've started eating at maintenance, because my maintenance calories are how many I need to eat to maintain my current weight. I was eating 1200 calories for 2 years as that gave me the deficit to lose weight. Now that I have reached my goal, I don't need to be in a deficit and so I eat more. But weight loss is not linear and never will be. That's what several people are commenting on, above, as to why they do weigh themselves daily - if you see it going up and down you know it's normal, whereas if you only weigh once a week or randomly and you happen to pick the day where your body is having a small 'up' moment, you may feel discouraged. You need to look at the overall trend over a period of about 6 weeks, not focus on what's happening day to day or intraday. Also, you're losing too rapidly if you've lost 6kg in 6 weeks. With only 5kg (10lbs) to lose, your goal in MFP should be set to lose at 0.25kg (0.5lb) a week. If your maintenance at your goal weight will be 1800 and you're currently eating 1200 (do NOT eat less than 1200), you're eating at a deficit of at least 600, probably 700, now. That is much too aggressive. Set your rate of loss to 0.25kg a week and eat the number of calories that MFP gives you. If you exercise, log that exercise and eat those calories too. That is how MFP is designed.

@igfrie, I haven't given up daily weighing as I didn't do that anyway - but I find that I'm slipping even with my weekly weigh in. It used to be every Monday but sometimes it gets to Wednesday before I remember. I suspect that that may change when go back to work - I'm on furlough - as Mondays will be a working day rather than just another day. After all this time I'm fairly confident that my logging of food and exercise is accurate, so it's logical that I'll continue to maintain if I keep eating the number of calories I'm allocated. I just get on the scales every so often to confirm that I still weigh the same.

HeidiCooksSupper

Different strokes for different folks -- and the same folks at different times! Some folks here like monthly weighing to "keep themselves honest." I'm like you used to be. I need daily weighing to keep me on track. Whatever works is good!