Why you should log your gains-

lucky1ns

I was hesitant to log my gain last wekk.

I got frustrated and said "forget it, I will try again next week".

But I bit the bullett and logged it anyway.

So today I weigh in and have lost the gain.

So I log it and guess what? I have a loss!

Much more satisfying than just breaking even.

Come on folks, log those gains!!

HeyLisa

If it was a true gain I would.

I do not count water bouncing.. i'm up 3 in the night from the morning sometimes or after big salty meal or drinking or TOM. That takes 2-3 days to level out then back to lowest weight again.

poustotah

I agree!!! Logging a gain doesn't mean that you've fallen off the wagon and are going to completely reverse all of your progress, but it does give you some incentive. Keep logging people!!!

kimmerroze

I don't necessarily think you need to do this. For one I feel like I am a slave to the scale if I have to weigh EVERY day and log every little movement.

I weight myself 1-2 times a month.

Plus a measuring tape is a much more accurate way of measuring fat loss.

MrBrown72

If it was a true gain I would.

I do not count water bouncing.. i'm up 3 in the night from the morning sometimes or after big salty meal or drinking or TOM. That takes 2-3 days to level out then back to lowest weight again.

But if you did log them others could see that what they are experiencing is natural. However I really only weigh in once a week.

picturesing

I don't necessarily think you need to do this. For one I feel like I am a slave to the scale if I have to weigh EVERY day and log every little movement.

I weight myself 1-2 times a month.

Plus a measuring tape is a much more accurate way of measuring fat loss.

Completely Agree!!!!!!!! :drinker:
The only time I would consider logging a gain is if I fell off and had a significant gain and was "starting over".....which.....I WON'T! :noway:
I have too much invested in my healthy future!
Just saying IMHO...:glasses:

zoombie_bear

nope sorry no can do, less motivated that way, just frustrating for me

jennmoore3

BUT the reason I don't is because MFP doesn't broadcast to the world that we gained. SO... when we lose that gain, it looks like to my friends like I lost, and personally I don't want to be cheered on for a re lose of weight.

adrian_indy

In one day, i gained 2 and 1/2 lbs. My diet was great, and I have been working out. So did I suddenly eat more than 6,000 calories over my calorie maximums? No. When you first work out, or have a brutal workout, the body retains fluid to help repair muscles.

CARNAT22

I think this may be the kick up the bum I need.

I'll weigh in tomorrow (Wednesday is my weigh in day anyway but I have been a little off track for a few weeks now) and I will log my gain.

I reckon it will be at least a 2lbs gain though as I have had a week off plan in Mid June and been over calories for the past week.

Still, I need toface facts and be honest with myself.

I've not had a gain the whole time I have been here but I am letitng it all slide so maybe admitting my gain will help!

CherrySunday

I don't think you should log your gains at all. I mean, if you weigh daily or every other day, you can see just how much your weight fluctuates. It would way drag down my motivation too if I logged in that stuff. I weigh everyday, but only log it when I lose, which sometimes (especially this month, which seems to be a plateau month -- ugghh), I log in a loss once a week or once every two weeks. I'm all for keeping it real though, I mean the last thing you want to do is NOT pay attention to a steady gain.. I mean if I went up pounds over a week, and it wasn't that time of the month, then there would be a problem, and I'd know without having to log it!

Hollycat

What a clever cookie you are! I need all the encouragement I can get and even if it's a loss back to where I was before...it's still a loss and likely to make me feel better about going down two, then up, then down again! I logged my gain today. I know it's probably water retention, because I dieted faithfully all weekend, but whatever. A loss is a loss and when it goes down again, it's going to feel great to be able to log it.

Hollycat
:flowerforyou:

kklindsey

logging gains is a good idea because it gives you much more information if you want to review your diet and look for ways to improve it. I can understand if you ate perfectly and exercised and had a gain and don't want to log it but that is exactly what will help you when you are scratching your head trying to figure out what to change. Without all the information how can you expect to make an educated decision? I weigh daily and log daily. Saturday morning I weighed 151.8. Sunday morning I weighed 150.4 but I had a night out Saturday with lots of alcohol. Monday morning I weighed 151.6 and today 151.8. Did I really lose 1.6 pounds overnight? no, did I gain it all back overnight? no. I had a fun night out and kept the same weight but I now can look back and have a good idea what to expect when I go out and drink, which I do about 4 times a year. People are way too uptight about the scale and the number.

ritafay2011

I don't post gains,I like the positive side of posting lost!!! CHEERS!!!!!!!!.............But if anyone does post lost I will be supportive of that!!!!!:flowerforyou:

auntiebabs

I don't post ANY CHANGE unless I've maintained them for at least 3 days in a row.

I will only post a gain if it's a real gain or a loss if it's a real loss not just the little bounces or fluctuations most of us get from day to day.

slheflinVA

I've read in several different places that you should only weigh yourself once a week (or even less) because your weight can fluctuate by several pounds every day for various reasons.

auntiebabs

I've read in several different places that you should only weigh yourself once a week (or even less) because your weight can fluctuate by several pounds every day for various reasons.

Regardless of how often you weigh, make sure to weigh yourself the same time of day under the same circumstances (on the same scale, in the same location, wearing the same thing.)

I stick with after I wake up and used the bathroom, but before I shower.
because it's most consistent circumstances I can create.

My schedule is too irregular for any other time of day to be a reliable measure.

Crystalchaos72

I think logging gains is good.....you do not have to, but I did announce to my pals that I had a gain......but it was 1# and the previous week I had lost 5#......so I did it to keep it real.....for me and my pals....I refuse to get on the scale more than once a week. Helps keep me sane! Great thinking on your part! Way to "keep it real"

cbpbro

No can do, i weigh myself everyday and 5 out of 7 days i will have gained weight. Theres no way i gained fat poundage because im under my calorie without counting excercise, so it has to be from water retention. I only log my weight into MFP when ive have hit a newlow point in my weight. Plus like others said, the scale mocks me enough on its own with its distorted numbers and i dont need MFP displaying to the world that i gained 3 pounds because my body is holding on to water....in a way its kind of a slap in the face for all of the hard work i have put in. To each thier own and whatever works for you.

NicoleMarie0409

BUT the reason I don't is because MFP doesn't broadcast to the world that we gained. SO... when we lose that gain, it looks like to my friends like I lost, and personally I don't want to be cheered on for a re lose of weight.

Totally agree ^^^

tonilizzy88

i think you should only weigh once a week or maybe even once a month. i will weigh every week at the gym before my workout on one of those scales that gives you a print out.

but weighing everyday is silly i think as your body fluctuates from water etc x

CARNAT22

As suspected I've had a 3lb gain.

It's my own fault though - since 10th June I have been sliding into bad, bad habits!! So I am not surprised.

It feels good to admit it though and just reiterates to me that when I am not following a heatlhy eating plan I gain weight.

girlontheseesaw

Well, I log the results of my weekly weigh-in and measure-up whatever they are: gain or lose.

I'm tracking my progress in the long term, and the big picture might reveal a pattern I'd want to be aware of.

Blackthorne99

My perspective, and you don't have to agree with me:

I weigh every day, several times a day. Weight is just a number, and it changes every time we breathe, take a sip of water, use the restroom, or have a meal. We *do* fluctuate every day, all day long, and by weighing every day, several times a day, I know what NORMAL is for my body, because I have collected the information.

That's all it is - information. It doesn't define you. It doesn't change just because you didn't record it. NOT weighing doesn't make that water weight not happen. It just makes us more *ignorant* about the natural cycles of our bodies, and makes each weigh-in seem that much more important.

It's a number. Weigh yourself 27x a day or don't weigh at all - your body went through the same fluctuations whether you bothered to pay attention or not. But if you AREN'T paying attention, and aren't AWARE of how your body works, those changes seem frightening, strange, and natural cycles take on undue importance, and - more importantly - little changes can begin to compound into problems while you weren't looking.

You're here to collect data, so don't hide from it or run from it. Health and fitness is about KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING your body. You can't do that if you're pretending those changes aren't happening.

I once weighed the exact same weight (to the ounce) every day for six solid weeks. It bugged me to no end.
I once lost TEN POUNDS overnight. (I was ill and literally sweat out a gallon of fluid - my sheets were soaked).
I once gained SIX POUNDS in one day. (I was constipated and had two heavy meals - so I still had all of yesterday's food and today's still in my body AND I was approaching my period, so gained additional water weight.)

These things that I write in parentheses aren't excuses. They are explanations because I actually KNOW why those things happened, and I know because I track ALL of it - the gains, the losses, the plateaus.

It can also help your doctor figure things out when you go in. Instead of cheering that I'd lost 10lbs since my last weigh in (3 months prior at the doctor's office), I knew that it had literally happened overnight. Because I had factual data she could document in her treatment, she knew I was at risk for dehydration and electrolyte imbalance and was able to accurately treat me for that. If I had simply said "I had the flu & sweat a lot last night", she could easily have assumed that nothing unusual had occurred, and delayed effective treatment.

Take the emotion out of it, and just mark it down. All you are doing is objectively tracking data. Your body, your health, your data. If you're going to track it, track it all. You wouldn't just track your eating once a month - why track the REST of your information that way?

megruder

One word: trends. First off, I'm a geek and really like data and numbers. I also weigh every day for my own reasons; I know that not everyone can or wants to do that and that's fine. I used to only log losses and became frustrated when 2 weeks would pass with no loss. About a month ago I began logging my weight each day and I soon discovered some patterns that I wasn't aware of before. Now I have a much better grasp on how my body responds to weight loss and know that every month I have 2 weeks when I lose absolutely nothing. Those 2 weeks are still frustrating, but I KNOW it won't last.