Why I would weigh in every day...

shaunshaikh

IF you don't have an emotional hangup on the scale. I know some people really let the numbers on the scale effect their emotions and their mood. I really don't, honestly. To me, it's just another number. I was in wrestling for a long time, so I know how trivial a number like weight is and how easily influenced it is by how much food is in your stomach and how hydrated you are. Plus things like sore muscles and high sodium diets can play games too. So, really my weight chart is a giant zigzag in a downward trend. I like to see the trend.

My biggest issue with only weighing in that when you're only weighing in once a week, hoping to see a one or at most two pound difference in the scale from the week before, then that could be overshadowed by one of the factors above. I could see weighing in once a month. Honestly, I could see not weighing yourself at all.

I use Tuesday as my official weigh in day, but I weigh-in every single morning -- before breakfast, no clothes, after going to the RR. Here are my weights (roughly) from the last 3 weeks and it should illustrate how I could have been misled to think I wasn't losing weight, when I was.

March 15 - Tuesday - 179.4
W - 179.4
R - 179.4
F - 180.8
S - 180.4
S - 182
M - 179.4
March 22 - Tuesday - 179.4
W - 178.8
R - 178.0
F - 178.4
S - 179.4
S - 179.0
M - 178.0
March 29 - Tuesday - 179.0
W - 178.0
R - 177.4
F - 178.6
S - 176.0
S - 176.8
M - 178.0
April 5 - Tuesday - 176.4

So, if I were just tracking Tuesdays, i would have thought I went on a two week plateau and then just busted it today. In reality, 3 weeks ago my Tuesday weigh in was a little low on my range of weights. Two weeks later, my Tuesday weigh in was high for my range of weights. But, as you can see my lows are going down and my highs are going down, so the trend is going down. That's really all that matters.

00trayn

Since I'm an engineer, I might have to try this technique. I've been having issues with the scale doing the exact same thing. It bounces around like crazy and it would be nice to see an overall trend. I think a fancy Excel spreadhsheet with graphs and trendlines is in order... ha ha

shaunshaikh

I hear you. Being an engineer, I want all the data I can get. I can use my own discernment to how much value I place in that data. Imagine if my weigh in today had been 182 instead of 176? I would have been really sad.

dandydalek

Good example. I know I couldn't do this, because the number I get when I weigh in really affects me. I have to fight myself to keep from weighing every single morning and letting that almost arbitrary up or down number decide my attitude toward my progress for the whole day. Once a week has been working out pretty well for me. It's good that you've really internalized how trivial the number can be. It looks like you've really got things figured out. Keep it up!

NicolCook

This would be nearly identical to mine, if I wrote them down and did the same thing.

elliecolorado

I am one of those people who has in the past worried to much about the numbers on the scale and been frustrated when I don't see them go down like I want. This time I haven't been weighing myself at all and if I do it is a month or two in between times. I measure and I can tell by the way my clothes fit that I am doing something right. I'd rather not worry about the numbers on the scale, all of my goals are fitness goals and as long as I stick to those and eating right, I know that I will lose weight, I'm just not setting a timeline for it.

hroush

Since I'm an engineer, I might have to try this technique. I've been having issues with the scale doing the exact same thing. It bounces around like crazy and it would be nice to see an overall trend. I think a fancy Excel spreadhsheet with graphs and trendlines is in order... ha ha

A bouncy scale could be the scale itself. What happens when you weigh 3 times in a row (step off the scale, get right back on)?

I am a math / physics / computer nerd myself. I have an excel sheet of 1.5 years ish of tracking weights, though haven't updated lately since I've been on here.

sarahazelnut99

I loved that you posted this because ive been sort of doing the same thing ever since Sunday. My goal was to weigh in at 176....i weighed in at 178 (cue the disappointment)
today, only a few days later, i weighed in at 175!
all of this makes it very difficult to put that number down on my tracker because i just feel like its so uncertian, i should really olny be weighing myself once a month but seeing a lower number sort of motivates me :-/

shaunshaikh

I really wish MFP would let you export your reports to Excel...

SarahLovesCheesecake

Im with you, I weigh every day and record the lowest measurements.

s_waser

I wish I would have read this five weeks ago!! I was on a great healthy plan and then I weighed myself after one week and I gained .4 lbs. I was devastated. I had a hard time staying on track after that and I haven't weighed myself since because of the fear I had "What if I did all this work for nothing..." I haven't weighed myself since then but I also haven't been too strict on my diet. I began my diet yesterday all over again and I decided I am not going to weigh myself until my clothes fit better. Playing the numbers game is not something I care for and I know that it effects me in a negative way when the numbers do not go the direction I want them to or don't go as fast as I would like.
Thanks for the post!!

wiggleroom

I also find it helps me stay on track if I weigh every day. If I'm high, I'll be more intentional about drinking my water, getting my lean protein and fiber, etc.

mfkfoster

I love this post because I do exactly the same thing!

hpsnickers1

I weigh everyday also. In fact weighing everyday has helped me realize it is just a number on the scale. It doesn't tell the whole story.

When I started P90X weight lifting (just the lifting part) I jumped up 3-4lbs over night and it held steady for 3 weeks. I wasn't eating more or eating worse - I don't deprive myself of anything but there are certain things I just don't eat or drink anymore. But research showed me it was normal so I didn't stress over it.

I'm not an engineer but am a data (or knowledge) fiend. I probably would've been a good one.

AllyS7

YAY for nerds.

I'm a very analytical/statistical kind of person. (WOOP WOOP Science geek for life.) I weigh myself everyday and record it. I honestly am not to worried about the numbers, I just like analyzing my calorie intake, sodium levels, TOM, calories burned to what the scale says. I like seeing the graphs and relationships between all the numbers.

Do I freakout if I go up 3lbs. Nope, just record it and move on.

eorourke23

Really glad I read this, the same thing has been happening to me and it does effect your mood for the day, but i have also noticed my clothes hanging that little bit better and I definately feel fitter and healthier. Thanks for sharing this.

lphoenix129

I weigh myself everyday, or almost everday, but that's only because I do the Wii Fit and it weighs me every time I check in. My official weigh in day is on Sundays, the beginning of my workout week. This is the only weight I track in MFP. I notice how the scale goes up and down on a daily basis, but it doesn't affect me. By the time my official weigh in days comes, the scale shows weight loss, and that's all that matters to me. The good thing about tracking my weight on the Wii is that I can see a graph of the changes from day to day.

brendalyne

I weigh in every day too. And at this moment I can honestly say that I'm not letting the "zig-zag" pattern upset me. If daily weighing begins to be more upsetting than useful to me, then I'll probably have to ask my husband to hide the scale! Thank you for posting.

EDBENAGLIO

I WEIGHT IN EVERY DAY SO I KNOW WHAT TO PUT IN THE MACHINE AT THE GYM

Texaganian

Hacker's Diet Online. Plug in your numbers, watch the trend. Good stuff.
https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/HackDiet/

Or, if you have an Android-powered device, try the Libra app. Same charting (actually slightly better).

Hugely helpful stuff if you are inclined toward analysis.

slapshotgolf

Great post thanks for sharing - I've observed a similar trend as of late with my weight pattern - I also weigh daily, but only record new lows, which as of late occur for 1 or 2 straight days, followed by 4 to 5 days of level or higher weight. Your swelling point is very valid. I workout the hardest on Sundays due to the fact I play 2 sports (ball hockey and soccer) on the same day - I know its not ideal, but I don't have control over the schedule - I find I am at my lowest Monday morning after the late Sunday soccer game, but by Monday night, regardless of what I've eaten, I'm up significantly. I attributed it partly to re-hydrating, but because I'm very sore on Monday, some of it must be due to muscles swelling. Thanks for your post, it reinforces that I shouldn't be discouraged with day to day fluctuations. SSG.

ohwhataday

Yep, that's pretty much why I weigh myself almost on the daily. I sometimes will only weigh myself on days I feel "lighter" if that makes any sense. Days I am feeling bloated and heavy I really try to refrain because I know I'll only be disappointed, and I'd rather not know, knowing it will go down again, than to see the number. But I do tell myself that it will go down again tomorrow if it seems high. But my numbers are slowly going down as well. Just trying to get a lower set of fluctuating numbers.

beesareyellow

I absolutely need to weigh in every day. It helps me keep on track and adjust my day accordingly. When I did the once a week thing, it was just too frustrating. Now I weigh every day and only record if there is a loss. This also seems to work as positive reinforcement for me, as I only take note of the positive, and take the negative in stride.

shaunshaikh

I would definitely reiterate that if you have an emotional hangup on the scale, only weigh in once a month or not at all. If seeing a number go up 0.4 or 1 pound makes you feel bad and feel like giving up, then don't do it.

I think a healthy attitude about weight is that the measurement is influenced by a number of factors, only one of which is how much fat is in your body. So, the scale goes up some days. Some days it goes down. Some days it goes up because you had a bad sodium day and retained water even though otherwise your diet was pretty healthy. Some days it goes down because you worked out for an hour the day before and only had 64 oz of water.

jsteras

Great idea I also weigh every day or I would be tempted to stray from healthy eating. I know that number shouldn't control me I really don't let it get me down, I just know I have to work hard to get where I want to be.

a_stronger_steph

I also weigh in every day - for the same reason most people on this thread do... I'm a giant nerd as well. I also like being able to see how various activities affect my day-to-day weight. Drinking binges - do I see them? High sodium days - do I see them? Menstrual cycle - does it really affect water weight that much? Etc. So I also make a short note on my Google spreadsheet when I weigh in every day about what activities I think might have affected my weigh in. It's a fun science project.

a_stronger_steph

I wonder if a good idea might be to take the weigh-ins each day for a week and average them... hmmm... in a few months I might do that and make a new trend line.

More data is better than less!

dbanks80

I like this analysis. It reinforces me that weighing in once a month or not at all really helps me to stay focused on a healthier lifestyle not what number I see on the scale.

Thanks!

llkilgore

I step on the scale at least once on most days, but make a point of NOT doing it under strictly controlled conditions except on my official weigh-in day. That way I can follow the general trend while writing off the inevitable fluctuations to how I'm dressed, what's in my stomach, etc.

Jessica_Lo

Great post. I have been trying to explain this and you just did it perfectly. I weigh in everyday and I log it in my planner everyday. I notice the trend and have noticed how my body handles different things. Ultimately I see the trend go down and it helps me not take so seriously the days that see high. This has helped me so much with losing the obsession over my scale. It also makes me nervous when people have specific weigh in days and log that.

seadog1

I weight myself every day.