Who wants to weigh in everyday?

wschaffel

A few years ago I was doing strict Atkins diet and weighed myself every morning. On Atkins, you loose a lot of weight fast and then plateau, then loose. I found that daily weigh-ins could become frustrating. Now I weigh myself once or twice a week. Always at the same time on the same scale. Perhaps more important is to measure your body. If your exercising as well as dieting, you will trade fat with muscle and you will not see the results on the scale.

Oishii

I weighed daily but recorded weekly when I was losing, but I weigh and record every day now that I'm maintaining.

I'm pretty sure one reason I've always yo yoed is that I stopped weighing each time I reached goal, and a daily habit is easier to remember than a weekly one, so I'm all for daily weigh-ins.

SueInAz

I weigh in every morning, but I only post when I lose. A lot of people say it's bad to weigh in daily, but I can't help myself. It's actually very motivating for me.

I do the same! I weigh in twice a day sometimes. if i weight less before bed then i know tomorrow will be even better. it keeps me on track even though it sounds super super OCD. it does motivate me though!

I do this, too, sometimes. I find it interesting how much weight I can lose overnight while sleeping. Some nights it's much higher than others. My record is 2.1 pounds. :laugh:

Lulumaguloo

I weigh myself every day around the same time but I only post once a week. I do this so I can see how my body reacts to certain foods or too much sodium and stuff.

If I didn't do this, I wouldn't realize that I ate something to cause water retention.

Agreed! I do it and i notice that on the weekend i gain a little, but by my weigh in day on Friday I've lost what i gained and more. Its helpful for me. To each his own tho.

JRena225

weighed myself this morning and I was up 2 pounds UGH!!! But I eat horrible this weekend and just got back on track yesterday

garrettnicole92

I definitely get on the scale every morning, but in my mind it doesn't "count" until I log it on MFP - which I've been doing every Wednesday morning.

sarahbeth17

yesterday 163.6, today 162.8!

mommyoftwins05

lately I have been weighing more.. seeing the change helps motivate me

RaeannePemberton

just my two cents... but you CANNOT live by the scale. the scale should not be your source of motivation OR guilt. it's just not accurate and it can change on a whim.

PLUS. when you reach goal... you will go crazy because your weight naturally fluctuates.

i am a HUGE advocate of looking to other indicators for success. how do you feel? are you eating healthy? do you have enough energy to get through the day? are you active? do your clothes fit?

THESE are the real things that matter.... NOT the number on the scale. it is after all, just a number. YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR WEIGHT.

pinkgirlzoe

i have been weighing myself every day. Not that i have allowed it to reflect how I behave on that day but just to see the natural ups and downs. In a way it has helped me have the healthy attitude on 'weigh in day' that it doesn't matter if I have stayed the same because two days ago or in an hour or too it may actually be 1lb or 2 lb lighter. Therefore I dont worry about 'the' figure on weigh in day but look at it as I am +/- 2lb from this weight.
I have been doing this since i started and have seen a 10lb weight loss (but if I go by this mornings its only 8lb) i am not worried by it though. For me its healthy to weigh more often. xx

Pseudocyber

I like weighing every day. I read somewhere someone wrote, "if we could see the donut go directly to our hips (or belly in my case) would we still eat it? Heck no!".

Well, weighing in every day gives me this feedack. Maybe not the ONE donut - but definitely the meal of a pizza,or wings & beer, or any of my other "comfort" foods. I know it's a water retension spike - but I look at it as a WARNING spike.

And, the daily fluctuation/water thing - ok, I realize that too - so I weigh and chart at the same time, same scale, clothes (or lack thereof) every day. If I get spikes, as long as the spike is lower than the last spike, it's good. If the spikes are going up, up, up - that's bad.

And when I can put in a lower number, that feels good to me. When I put in a bigger number, that is my "punishment". I like the downward trend lines.

It's what works for me - I know not everyone likes it, or wants to do it. Just my perspective.

Chart below - blue is daily, green with triangles is "official" weekly.

cranmuffin

That's what I've been doing all along. I find that weekends are my down fall and I'm always higher on Monday and back to where I wanna be on Friday. But I like keep track and seeing it go down on the chart.

wjassell

I weigh every day when not on the road for work. I weigh first thing in the morning but I also know that weight is not the whole picture. I also take skinfold measurements every two weeks to check my bodyfat percentage. Because to me losing weight is about losing bodyfat while trying to maintain muscle mass. Weighing every day helps me keep on track with my diet and keeps me from cheating. I wish everyone the best of luck in reaching the health and fitness goals.

SheehyCFC

just my two cents... but you CANNOT live by the scale. the scale should not be your source of motivation OR guilt. it's just not accurate and it can change on a whim.

PLUS. when you reach goal... you will go crazy because your weight naturally fluctuates.

i am a HUGE advocate of looking to other indicators for success. how do you feel? are you eating healthy? do you have enough energy to get through the day? are you active? do your clothes fit?

THESE are the real things that matter.... NOT the number on the scale. it is after all, just a number. YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR WEIGHT.

Wholeheartedly agree with this - by all means, you are welcome to weigh yourself everyday, but please take that number with a grain of salt (metaphorically of course ). Try to find something else motivating you... Although I don't have huge # losses like some people, and am really close to my goal, my goal WEIGHT has become less and less important, my body image has drastically changed and I am more confident and happy with myself than ever. Good luck!

silhouettes

Yeah it's a personal thing, I get critized for doing it.. but it's been over a year and I haven't missed a day weighing in unless I was on vacation.. and I didn't want to see that lol.

designerel

Yup, I weigh myself multiple times a day, sometimes excessively. But I don't really record the number except for every two weeks or so. It's just nice to see immediate "feedback" of the food choices I've made and exercise I've done. Also, the scale can vary in terms of the number, even after a trip to the bathroom. But yeah, the scale is not the only defining factor of progress. I see improvements when I work out at the gym as well as visually see changes in my body. I just started measuring parts of my body so I can keep track of that, too.

a_stronger_steph

just my two cents... but you CANNOT live by the scale. the scale should not be your source of motivation OR guilt. it's just not accurate and it can change on a whim.

PLUS. when you reach goal... you will go crazy because your weight naturally fluctuates.

i am a HUGE advocate of looking to other indicators for success. how do you feel? are you eating healthy? do you have enough energy to get through the day? are you active? do your clothes fit?

THESE are the real things that matter.... NOT the number on the scale. it is after all, just a number. YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR WEIGHT.

It's a bit presumptuous to assume that those of us who want to keep on track by weighing daily aren't motivated by all those other factors as well, isn't it?

I would be surprised if anyone here things that all they are is just their weight. But it's hard to deny that daily weighing is highly beneficial to some people. For the longest time, I didn't weigh because I didn't want to know. And I just kept gaining, slowly but steadily, and had no idea really until I went to the doctor. Now that I weigh every day, I have no excuses.

I am also sick and tired of people telling me (and all the other daily-weighers out there) that we will "GO CRAZY" because our weight naturally fluctuates. You think we don't know that? I've got a spreadsheet and a graph (much like the one that was posted earlier in this thread) that shows me, tangibly, just how much my weight fluctuates on a daily basis. And guess what? I have a pretty decent handle on how things like a high sodium meal and alcohol are going to affect my weight, because I've been tracking it. When I am in maintenance, I will continue to weigh every day, but will also accept that I will have a 'range' of weights that are ideal for me. If the numbers start creeping up, though, it will be a signal that I need to change.

I mean, I definitely think we should all be paying attention to how we feel, but if people want to use their daily weight to help keep track of their progress I really don't see anything wrong with that!

sarahbeth17

just my two cents... but you CANNOT live by the scale. the scale should not be your source of motivation OR guilt. it's just not accurate and it can change on a whim.

PLUS. when you reach goal... you will go crazy because your weight naturally fluctuates.

i am a HUGE advocate of looking to other indicators for success. how do you feel? are you eating healthy? do you have enough energy to get through the day? are you active? do your clothes fit?

THESE are the real things that matter.... NOT the number on the scale. it is after all, just a number. YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR WEIGHT.

It's a bit presumptuous to assume that those of us who want to keep on track by weighing daily aren't motivated by all those other factors as well, isn't it?

I would be surprised if anyone here things that all they are is just their weight. But it's hard to deny that daily weighing is highly beneficial to some people. For the longest time, I didn't weigh because I didn't want to know. And I just kept gaining, slowly but steadily, and had no idea really until I went to the doctor. Now that I weigh every day, I have no excuses.

I am also sick and tired of people telling me (and all the other daily-weighers out there) that we will "GO CRAZY" because our weight naturally fluctuates. You think we don't know that? I've got a spreadsheet and a graph (much like the one that was posted earlier in this thread) that shows me, tangibly, just how much my weight fluctuates on a daily basis. And guess what? I have a pretty decent handle on how things like a high sodium meal and alcohol are going to affect my weight, because I've been tracking it. When I am in maintenance, I will continue to weigh every day, but will also accept that I will have a 'range' of weights that are ideal for me. If the numbers start creeping up, though, it will be a signal that I need to change.

I mean, I definitely think we should all be paying attention to how we feel, but if people want to use their daily weight to help keep track of their progress I really don't see anything wrong with that!

Completely agree!!! I don't really think it's making me crazy but I am actually losing since I weigh myself all the time! I've very motivated by everything else as well, all my jeans are loose and everybody has been telling me that I look good lately. I went on vacation for a week and couldn't weigh myself so I decided to just let go that week like it didn't matter and that was dumb, it took 2 weeks to get the weight I gained from the trip back on to where I can continue to lose more!

TheGoktor

I suspect the people who claim that daily weighing will make us crazy or set us up for failure are really saying that it makes *them* crazy, and that *they* failed. Which is a shame because surely knowledge is power?

Having said that, so many of us arrived here for so many different reasons; some people have bad relationships with themselves, their bodies, food, drink, fitness. Some have put on weight because injury has prevented them working out but not stopped them eating the same. Some are here to lose a few pounds, some to lose a hundred. My point is that while we're essentially here for the same reason - i.e. to become healthier - since we all have a different story, it makes sense that we're all going to find different methods of dealing with our situations. I don't think it behoves any of us to criticise another's methods (although if they were obviously harming themselves, I'd hope someone would help them out).

I personally am not motivated by my scales. Yes, it makes me smile to see the number decrease but the *only* reason I weigh is to understand what affects my body, and how it works; my scales are at the bottom of my motivation list! By far, the biggest motivators for me are my inch loss (currently at 35"), my clothes (dropped a jeans size, now fit into my smaller dresses, other things are looser now), my mirror, and my fitness (I now running for half an hour every other day, I shred almost every day, I do pilates, and strength training - I workout 6-7 days a week).

I don't think it's presumptuous of people to say that those of us who weigh every day use it as our sole motivator, after all, we didn't specify that it isn't! If someone draws a conclusion from a limited amount of information, they can hardly be blamed for not being mind readers! Rather, I think they were just trying to be helpful!

Pseudocyber

AHHHHHH ... I gained 2 pounds since yesterday!!! Spiked to 209!!! What happened???

Could be those 2 slices of pizza I had last night caused me to retain some water ...

But the spike isn't as high as the last one. So, I'll focus on drowning my gut in water today. And weigh again tomorrow morning - same bat time, same bat scale.

PC

pinkgirlzoe

2 lb on for me too!!

graysmom2005

I do out of curiosity, but I don't put too much emotion into the daily ones unless there is a HUGE gain. I count it once a week...unless I've lost. ;-)

DavidForthoffer

In my case, I have been weighing every day since I started this (100 days ago), and I keep an annotated spreadsheet and graph.

That's what I do, too! I even record the weight of my bowel movements (i.e., my "before" weight minus my "after" weight).

My weight graph shows definite bumps and troughs. I try to understand why. For example, one day my weight shot up two pounds after I ate a whole pizza (yes, I record everything I eat during my binges). Calories didn't account for it, but then I realized I just ate 6 grams of salt!

Imagine your disappointment if your weight one day is in one of those troughs and a week later is on one of those bumps! You might show a weight GAIN even though on average you were losing weight. Weighing yourself once a week is asking for failure, and losing a sense of accountability.

The best way to understand your weight progress is to weigh yourself every day and graph it. If you want to get REALLY nerdy, calculate a moving average over the past week or so.

sarahbeth17

162.8 yesterday down to 162.2 today! I had so much sodium it probably would have gone up but I drank so much water!

carbons2k

I weigh myself everyday but only record it once a week. I do it to keep my head straight and to make sure im doing things right. I know that somedays I may maintain and my weight will fluctuate but thats ok with me, Ill just have to train that much harder at the gym.

meli_medina

I did the once-a-week thing with Weight Watchers and found it to be more frustrating for me than anything. I would do everything right, but 2 out of 4 weeks of the month I always showed a gain, which would then be followed by a huge loss. For me, the daily weigh-ins just give me reassurance that I'm on the right track, and I know that if there's a gain, that it's likely not permanent as long as I'm doing everything right.
I work out 6-7 days a week. I eat all of my calories every day. I see the difference in my measurements (because those are really the most important). If I gain a bit here and there, as long as I'm following a downward trend, it doesn't matter. If I'm going increasingly up and not coming down is when I have to worry.

TheGoktor

That's what I do, too! I even record the weight of my bowel movements (i.e., my "before" weight minus my "after" weight).

I've peeked at the scale but not logged it....if you pardon the pun! I'd like to know how so much can weigh so little! :laugh:

My weight graph shows definite bumps and troughs. I try to understand why. For example, one day my weight shot up two pounds after I ate a whole pizza (yes, I record everything I eat during my binges). Calories didn't account for it, but then I realized I just ate 6 grams of salt!

My biggest increase to date has been when I had halloumi for dinner one evening (I'd forgotten to pre-soak it to get rid of some of the salt)...it took several days and loads of water to flush myself out!

Imagine your disappointment if your weight one day is in one of those troughs and a week later is on one of those bumps! You might show a weight GAIN even though on average you were losing weight. Weighing yourself once a week is asking for failure, and losing a sense of accountability.

It would certainly dishearten me!

The best way to understand your weight progress is to weigh yourself every day and graph it.

That's certainly the best way for me. I always want to know how things work, and my body is no exception. I don't get how people can live in ignorance, and just go with the flow! I'm not suggesting that people who don't weigh daily are ignorant - I was generalising!

If you want to get REALLY nerdy, calculate a moving average over the past week or so.

That's a cool idea...might try that! :bigsmile:

TheGoktor

I did the once-a-week thing with Weight Watchers and found it to be more frustrating for me than anything. I would do everything right, but 2 out of 4 weeks of the month I always showed a gain, which would then be followed by a huge loss. For me, the daily weigh-ins just give me reassurance that I'm on the right track, and I know that if there's a gain, that it's likely not permanent as long as I'm doing everything right.
I work out 6-7 days a week. I eat all of my calories every day. I see the difference in my measurements (because those are really the most important). If I gain a bit here and there, as long as I'm following a downward trend, it doesn't matter. If I'm going increasingly up and not coming down is when I have to worry.

Well said! :bigsmile:

mfreeby

I weigh everyday and graph as well (well, my wii does the graphing). I find it helps because if I only weighed weekly, worked hard all week, then had an "up" day, I would be VERY discouraged. Also, by doing this, I've learned how my body loses weight and so a gain of one or two pounds is normal in the course of a week or two. It has allowed me to know my body and not sweat the small stuff because I can always see the big picture! You can add me if you like!

meli_medina

I did the once-a-week thing with Weight Watchers and found it to be more frustrating for me than anything. I would do everything right, but 2 out of 4 weeks of the month I always showed a gain, which would then be followed by a huge loss. For me, the daily weigh-ins just give me reassurance that I'm on the right track, and I know that if there's a gain, that it's likely not permanent as long as I'm doing everything right.
I work out 6-7 days a week. I eat all of my calories every day. I see the difference in my measurements (because those are really the most important). If I gain a bit here and there, as long as I'm following a downward trend, it doesn't matter. If I'm going increasingly up and not coming down is when I have to worry.

Well said! :bigsmile:

Thanks!

I think every person is successful in his or her own ways. Saying that it's setting someone up for failure to do what they feel works for them when another person's method may have failed them in the past is a bit too judgmental in my book. The reason I didn't succeed at Weight Watchers in the long-term is because showing a loss only once per month was demoralizing for me. Why should I do all this work and pay all this money if it is only showing to be successful a SINGLE day out of the entire month? (We're talking, -.25, +2, +2, -5. In the end, it all was loss, but those +2's were really disheartening and made it impossible for me to ever hit maintenance because week 3 would always throw me out of maintenance when you have to maintain within 2 pounds for 6 weeks.)