Weigh in on Weighing In

PaulaP22

Ok, so I need some help and advice. I weigh in, frequently, and I was hoping for some words of wisdom. I normally weigh myself every morning, before breakfast, in my birthday suit. However, I found that those little numbers have the ability to set a tone for my day. If I lost a bit, I go on with a spring in my step. If I gained (especially if I feel like I was on plan the day before) I get VERY frustrated. I don't like the emotional response this causes in me, I want to be more in control of my attitude, especially since I'm an emotional eater.
Although, I've tried not weighing, and I still have the urge to step on the scale in the mornings. Advice? How do you fabulous folks deal with your relationship to your scale, cause mine is convoluted...

Thanks!

can_tastic

Hi Paula!

I know what you mean about that little (or big) number setting your mood for the day. I have a history of ED so weighing myself every day (though extremely tempting) is not a good idea. I typically weigh in on Wednesdays (theory - I've had enough time to do away with the sins of the weekend) and Saturdays (theory - if I weigh in on a weekend, no matter the result I'll be less likely to cheat). I think twice a week is good enough for anyone.

aurie024

Don't obsess with the scale. Weigh yourself once a week. If you started this Today, don't weigh yourself again until next Tuesday. You don't want 1/2 a pound to ruin your day. Just remind yourself that you are working hard, feeling better, looking better, and the hard work will all pay off in time. Plus if you are working out you could be gaining muscle therefore gaining or maintaining weight. Take how your clothes are fitting and HOW YOU FEEL as the best indicators for your progress. Keep up the good work girl, and stay positive!

JanLeb

I have a hard time not stepping on the scales almost every morning as well. I used to get very upset when I didn't see a good result especially after having what I considered a very good day. I am learning to rethink it however, our bodies don't alway do what we think they should. If I see the number go down, even just a little bit I am happy with that, now if I see the numbers go up then I tell myself I need to make sure to pay close attention to what I am eating that day, such as be careful of salt and drink lots of water, as well as make sure to move more. So I try to make the numbers I see on the scale as a motivator to keep going no matter what they are.


Good luck!

Jeff92se

More data points, the better.

wolfchild59

I love daily weighing as its been more beneficial to keepin me on track than any other weighing schedule. But I can totally understand what you're saying. Now that I've been doing it for awhile I'm much better at going with the flow of the daily fluctuations and as long as the week over week looks good, I'm happy.

That said, part of what I do is keep a spreadsheet that logs pretty much every bit of data I have from MFP and my BodyMedia Fit and puts all together. And I include a place for notes where I can add things like when I have a high sodium day for whatever reason, or when it's a PMS week, when I had a cheat day (and why), the nights I do strength training, etc. and when I look back it helps me put things in better perspective since I see trends of gains after certain things and losses after others.

Just always keep in mind that your weight is going to bounce around daily for your entire life, as long as the overall trend is where you want it to be (depending on your goal) then that's what matters. Just register the numbers but don't let them be a huge factor in your day, other than possibly helping you stick to your guns even more when tempted by something that might not fit into your daily goals.

phocid

I am working on an every 2-week plan. I started out weekly. I attempted an "Oblivious October" wherein I was supposed to stay off the scale for the entire month. That lasted all of 18 days, but it showed me that I can go about 2 weeks and be okay.

I weighed myself on Friday. My next planned weigh-in is Wednesday before Thanksgiving. It's a couple days shy of 2 weeks, but hey, these are my rules, and I make them up as I go.

annejuju

It's good to weigh in once a week at the same time. I definitely check my weight through out the week but I only count Tuesday mornings. There are so many little things that can cause the scale to fluctuate throughout the week that weighing in every day and taking it as fact every day is bound to drive you crazy.

Check out "Why the Scale Lies": http://www.healthdiscovery.net/articles/scale_lies.htm

DrNicoleRed

I think once or twice per week is plenty enough to get a nice trend going without freaking out about small fluctuations…esp for a woman--that menstrual cycle is no joke when it comes to water weight gain. So unless you have heart failure and you are tracking your fluid status I think once weekly is plenty. Put your scale on a shelf somewhere so that you have to go through some effort to take it out on weigh-in day.