Weigh Yourself Everyday: Yes or No?

SieSie76

This is a topic I see come up often and it slightly bugs me when people say "Don't weigh yourself everyday" (and quite aggressively if I might add). Honestly, I say yes, you should weigh yourself everyday and I have many reasons as to why you should.

First of all, the numbers we see on the scale is one of the reasons why we are even here on this site. When I saw that 150 show up, I was absolutely mortified and told myself "Enough is Enough!" and I went looking for ways to change this. Tada! I found MyFitnessPal!

Another reason is to keep track of how you are doing and how your acts at certain times. I would hate to go week by week because what if one week I thought I was doing good and then have the next week say otherwise? I wouldn't know why. Our bodies go through so many cycles, especially a woman's body what with our time of month and such. Seeing my weight fluctuate can be a bit scary but it's a -normal- thing and I've come to accept it. So long as the weight has been gradually going down (which it has) then I'm happy. Seeing the numbers every day makes me less paranoid about my weight because it just becomes a normal thing to see. I don't get scared when I step on the scale. For those of you who get on it weekly or bi-weekly, aren't you worried of what will come up?

Another reason is that it keeps me motivated. When I see a lower number then yesterday, I'm even more pumped to lose weight! When I see a higher number, I'm even more motivated still!! Knowing the numbers and keeping them in the Back Of My Mind (key words here, you can't let it completely consume your thoughts) allows me to comfortably go through my day knowing that I just have to be careful about how much I eat. I still enjoy what I want, I just eat less of it the day that the numbers are higher. I still make a point to reach my calorie intake but I'm less likely to go -way- over on a day where the numbers are higher.

Here are a few things you have to keep in mind when weighing yourself every day:

-A scale is an instrument used to measure your body mass but it doesn't define WHO you are (biggest thing to keep in mind, don't let the scale twist your thoughts of who and what you are, don't let it define you... it's just not healthy). It's just there as a reference, whether the numbers are right or wrong, so long as your weight is going down because you are doing what you need to do to reach a better, healthier you. What matters in the end is what you see in the mirror. Just make sure you use the same scale.

-Weight fluctuates all the time and there's a number of reasons why. For the best results, weigh yourself in the morning when all the food in your body has been digested/processed, when your body is dehydrated (we bloat throughout the day), after you've flushed out your system (you know what I mean), and with nothing else but underwear on (yes, JUST underwear).

-If you are new to losing weight, you are going to start out being a bit paranoid about your weight because you just want it to go away. Sorry but fat doesn't just disappear overnight. It takes hard work and dedication. Knowing this and keeping this in mind, you should still weigh yourself every day, even if the numbers don't change for a week or so. It's probably because your body needs to adjust or maybe you need to change the way you are doing things to lose the weight. It took me a while to find a method that worked best for me and it took a couple of weeks to see the results but I've stuck to it since and I'm happy with the way things are going. You will be too.

If you are still skeptical, then read into it. I've read a couple of articles and many of them give you tons of reasons why you should weigh yourself every day. I don't listen to what random people say because they give reasons that are just silly or alarming. "I don't weigh myself every day because it messes with my head." "I don't weigh myself everyday because I don't like what I see." "I don't weigh myself every day because my weight fluctuates too much." "I don't weigh myself everyday because it discourages me." If it messes with your head, that's your problem and you need to get over it. If you don't like the numbers, then do something about it! If it fluctuates, then it fluctuates (I don't like repeating myself) and you need to learn to get over it and accept it. If it discourages you, then you didn't really want to lose the weight in the first place because seeing a weight you dislike should push you to want to change it. This is tough love people. Losing weight is a commitment. Don't give up! We can do it!

Here is one article I enjoyed reading although its layout is a bit funky: http://www.myjanee.com/livelight/eat/weigh.htm

Here's another with replies from other people (again, there are those that say it discourages them and again, it just sounds like excuses and bull to -me-): http://www.fittothefinish.com/blog/2010/03/should-you-weigh-yourself-every-day/

Here's another article just for research purposes (this one says why you can let up on weighing yourself everyday but not why you SHOULDN'T): http://www.fitsugar.com/How-Often-Should-You-Weigh-Yourself-19475333

Another that's more realistic and one that many of us could learn from or relate to: http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/weight-loss/weighing-yourself-everyday-good-bad

Be sure to read the articles and replies, they give great advice and ideas that we all can relate to and easily follow.

Okay, I'm done. I hope some people found this to be informational and helpful~ If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to message me. I'm not going to be following this thread. I've already made my argument and I'm sticking to it (and if it sounds like I'm pushing my ways or my thoughts onto people, I'm not, honest, you all do what you want, I'm just -strongly- arguing my point ;P). I honestly don't care what other people have to say because I already have my way of doing things that works for me. This is just to benefit other people, to help them decided what they want to do and know/understand why they are doing it. So please, feel free to post your opinions, comments, arguments, etc here for others to see.