I might be addicted to the scale

gretchspain

So, I just started MFP about two weeks ago. I love it! However, I'm concerned that I have an addiction to my scale. A couple days ago, I got down to 173.8....which for me, was crazy exciting considering 175 (ish) is where I always seem to plateau. The next couple of days, I stayed strong on my diet, not going over on calories at all, but every morning I woke to another couple of ounces gained. I'm back up to 175, which is still a four pound loss in 2 weeks, but I still feel disappointed. Is it normal to fluctuate this much? Should I stay off of the scale? Any help or encouragement would be appreciated! Thanks!

new_view

Yea if you are working out you may be gaining muscle. I always measure once a week and weigh then. I often find that I don't lose pounds but lose measurements and that is most important! Do not weigh more than once a week because you do fluctuate and you won't get anywhere by weighing every day. Stop that! Keep up the good work and you will get results.

rosec005

I have the same obsession. I went down to 159.8 lbs on Wednesday last week and almost cried when the scale jumped to 160.8 the next day. A lot of it can have to do with water weight, TOM, constipation, etc. I used to weigh myself multiple times a day but I've decided I'm done with the mind games that the scale can play, so I'm only weighing myself twice a week from now on (Tuesdays and Saturdays). It's been difficult but I know it will help me to appreciate my weight loss more.

suecq09

Its normal to flucuate some - staring at the scale everyday is the WORST thing you can do. Your body weight will change based on how much water you may be retaining, what time of the month it is, etc. Your best bet is to pick a day - and weigh in on that day /time consistently. For example - if you wake up, go to the bathroom and jump on the scale - that's fine -but try to do it at the same time/day each week. You'll get the most consistent results.

Its too easy to want to jump on the scale to see immediate results, but that's not the way it works unfortunately,

rosy_rsls

I am very similar to u. I weigh myselfalmost daily and I'm not happy unless the weight goes down. But we have to remember that that little change may be all water weight. If you consumed a lot of sodium previous day it might just be you retained more water than normal. So don't stress. Slowly the weight will come off as long as you eat healthy and exercise! 4lbs in two weeks is great! I started three weeks ago an I'm down 6. good job and good luck!

crissa413

It's completely normal to fluctuate some due to water, salt intake, and muscle that you are building so don't get too down about it. That's exactly why I don't weigh myself every day because I know it's going to fluctuate. I stick to a once a week weigh-in on Monday mornings before I eat or drink anything.

A_New_Horizon

The scale goes up and down all the time. I get on the scale multiple times a day to keep me motivated and see where I need to improve. I just keep in mind that it could be up one moment and down the next. Water weight is a big factor too (just remember that). Sodium causes you to retain water too. Don't beat yourself up over it. If you saw it once, you will see it again. At one point in this journey, I dropped 2.4 lbs in 2 days and then I didn't see that number again for 3 weeks. I refused to give up though, and I kept doing my thing. The scale was back down to that number again plus some. Remember, to change up your workout routine too becuase your body will get used to the same thing.

justahorsen

I weigh myself daily and chart the results(I have a spreadsheet and track my exercise and have a space for notes for each day)....I can see the trends (if I eat pizza, the next day I'm up, but I know what it is from and how to get it back off)...
LOTS of people will tell you not to weigh everyday, but do what is best for YOU....for me weighing everyday and charting works....
best of luck....

annacataldo

I weigh everyday but dont let a higher number get me down. I weigh first thing when i wake up, right after using the bathroom. You can eat perfect but still go up.. your body could be retaining water, you could be bloated if its that time of the month, if you weigh after youve eaten/drank anything, of course its going to be higher... also if you get more sleep the scale seems to go down sometimes. You might also be gaining muscle.

I take measurements once a month (everyday/week is pointless to me), just cuz u arent losing weight doesnt mean you arent losing inches.

your weight fluctuates all trhoughout the day.

Also make sure that you are drinking plenty of water, and eating 1200 NET calories a day; its always a possability for the number to be going up due to starvation mode territory; idk if this applies to you or not.

a_stronger_steph

I agree with justahorsen!

I have a spreadsheet where I track my weigh-ins daily. I fluctuate quite a bit from day to day.
Here's an example of the first week I started tracking daily:

3/22/2011 166.4
3/23/2011 166.0
3/24/2011 167.4
3/25/2011 167.4
3/26/2011 166.8
3/27/2011 166.2
3/28/2011 165.6
3/29/2011 165.2

You see for two days in a row I had jumped up to 167.4, from 166.0 the day before! But by the end of the week I'm down to 165.2. I have a note on the first 167.4 day that I had started my period a couple days before, and had had a very high sodium day. Those two factors reassured me that the gain was probably more water retention than anything... and indeed it was!

Another example week:
4/13/2011 165.2
4/14/2011 164.8
4/15/2011 164.2
4/16/2011 165
4/17/2011 166
4/18/2011 165
4/19/2011 163.4

Lots of jumping around again. But still a general downward trend.

If you find yourself freaking out too much about the scale every day, you could switch to fewer weigh-ins, but it's totally up to you. Have you tried making a spreadsheet? If you have a google account you can make one really easily in Google Docs. If you start calculating a rolling average (every day you weigh yourself, sum up the previous five days and divide by five...obviously you can't start doing that until you have five data points though). That smooths out any fluctuations - if that number is going down every day, then you are losing!

Good luck!

V44V

I hide them... Or avoid them, I weigh in once a week under the same conditions (and even have the scales on the same floor tile).

Same time of day
Same clothes (none)
Same calorie intake for the day (zero)

And I pee 1st!!!

gretchspain

Wow! Thanks for all of the reply's. This posting thing really helps. Who knew? Good luck to everyone!