Is it alright to weigh in daily?

lanniebananie

I know most places suggest weekly weigh ins, but I usually prefer to do it every morning. Obviously it goes by gradually, but it makes me worry much less if I happen to have gained since last time rather than if I only weigh once a week like I used to. I think it's because I can see my progress more often, so it's easier to remember it fluctuates a little, and it's not because I've been doing anything wrong.

Thoughts anyone?

Debbe2

I also like to weigh in daily. It reminds me that watching what I eat is part of a healthy lifestyle.

servilia

I check my weight very often. Don't worry nothing bad will happen if you do

katyejean

I check my weight throughout the day. Mostly for self-study. Like, I decided to weigh myself before a nap one day, and after my nap, I lost 2 pounds. Then in the morning, my weight was like .2 under the day before. It's really funny how the body works. I only count on Wednesdays and Sundays, though. I just like to step on the scale and have an idea of what my body is doing.

JacksMom12

If you can handle the normal daily fluctuations in weight and see the big picture (a gradual downward slope with a few small bumps in the road) than I say, go for it! Many people (women, especially) go crazy over the fluctuations...thinking it's possible that they somehow magically "gained 3 pounds of fat overnight" and become discouraged and demotivated with the daily fluctuations. Those people are best weighing in once a week. I used to be one of them. Now that I understand the science behindthe body and glycogen storage, calories that equal a pound of fat, effects of sodium and what not and how normal this all is.. I don't mind weighing every day and know that the overall trend is in the right direction.

Edit: excuse poor grammar, spelling, and/or run-on sentences... I'm on my phone because my laptop is broken, and it's hard to accurately type on the forums from here.

tigersword

It depends on the person, and your personality. For me, the number on the scale is more of a curiosity than anything, as I think body fat is a much better indicator of health than weight. However, weight can fluctuate up to 5 pounds in any given 24 hour period, so someone who is extremely fixated on the number on the scale may freak out jumping on the scale every day. Once a week or every couple weeks will give you the solid trend. I've been in maintenance since mid November, allowing my body time to regulate itself and get acclimated to the weight I've lost, before I start back up in January and lose the final 20 pounds I have to go. I'm at 210. Some days it's as high as 214, other days it's 208. But the average trend stays at 210, where it should be for maintenance.

So really it just depends on how much the number on the scale means to you.

brownbeauty91

You can but just remember that weight can fluctuate quite a bit depending on things such as sodium.

ThinnerHill

I weigh in and track every single morning. I know that my weight fluctuates and its a slow loss progress to watch, but I can handle that. like I know if I have a heavy workout day with weights or extra cardio then I will most likely be up a bit for the next day or even 2 due to my muscles holding more water to repair themselves before seeing a good drop. I'm ok with that. I know what is going on.

Saruman_w

You can if you want, but you're gonna have to realize it's going to fluctuate. It's not always going to keep going down. It'll fly upward and downward, so you're probably not going to get the best idea of how your progress is coming along if you do that.

servilia

Yeah I forgot to add that you WILL see fluctuations from day to day that have nothing to do with having gained any fat.. Often there's water retention in response to a specific food or salt you ate, or after a workout, etc. One of the reasons I like to weigh often is so I can observe these fluctuations. I don't freak out over them.

bcampbell54

I check daily, just to make sure nothing stupid is happening, and to help get me get to know my body more.
As long as I am trending downward, I don't put too much faith in the dailies, just my weekly.

DakotaKeogh

Personally I think people should weigh in daily, and at the same time. Weight will fluctuate from day to day. That's natural. Weighing in weekly only gives you a one in seven chance to see if you've lost anything recently.

alleyrat

I weigh every morning as soon as get up and after my morning tinkle (sorry tmi). My scales are a bit wierd and will fluctuate minute by minute so I do a 'best of three'. I probably need to get a better set of scales.

[OT ] Reminds me...my food weighing scales are out ..by exactly half. If I weigh something that is 200gms they show 100gms. This crazy error was discovered by my DH who makes model airplanes and wondered why his calculations were so out after weighing his engines etc. He has a set of those old fashioned weights - solid metal with the weight stamped on that and after exhaustive tests found that if we multiply anything it says by 2 it will be accurate! No wonder my recipes were coming out all wrong!

gregpack

I weigh daily. Yes, sometimes I don't like what I see but realize that as long as I adhere to my diet, any gain is temporary

I have recently began to track my weight on a spreadhseet and average my weight over the last ten days. That's the number I have begun to stick in MFP.

KayteeBear

I don't always weigh myself everyday but usually multiple times a week and sometimes days in a row. I don't stress too much over it because I know quite well how much my weight fluctuates and I only track my weights once a week for some of my groups.

I find it just reminds me to eat healthy and workout.

imjessly

I like to weigh in everyday too. It fluctuates a little bit, but overall its going down. I think if i was eating bad and not exercising much i wouldn't want to stand on the scales everyday, but since i know i'm being good, its kind of fun to track the number going down, slowly but surely!

kattydid65

I try not to weigh myself daily but i can't help it. I want to know if my work is paying off. I guess I am a little impatient. But I do know that it starts my day off right if I see progress. I get FIRED UP! Want to work harder...

XtinaHayden

I try to keep to a schedule for my weigh ins (which I do every Sunday). I try to only weigh in once a week, because other wise I become very frustrated when my weight fluctuates. Instead I see the actual progress by just weighing myself once a week and I feel motivated as a result.

Nicola0000

I weigh in daily too. Just keeps me focused. You just have to remember not to get stressed out it it goes up one day. I once had a weight gain 1 day of 2lbs. But I knew it wasnt "real" weight as I hadnt eaten an excess 7000 cals!!

TourThePast

It's absolutely fine to weigh in daily unless you're the sort of person who totally freaks out if they see a fluctuation.

Then again, imagine how miserable that person would be for a whole week, if their weekly weigh-in happened to be on a day when their weight was higher for some reason!

Daily weigh-ins make far more sense to me, recorded on an excel spreadsheet so I can see a downwards trend. Whatever the daily readings, that trend is the important thing, not my weight on four particular calendar days per month.

Speaking of months, daily weighings also make it really obvious what is happening to my weight due to TOM, so I can account for that. Both when I put some on, but also when I lose a load. Because, due to daily weighing, I know my body, I know that I shouldn't be patting myself on the back either, when really my "loss" isn't anything of the sort.

EDITED TO ADD: If you're very overweight and therefore able to lose 1-2lb a week, the fluctuations you'll get at a weekly weigh-in aren't going to make much of a difference. As you get towards target weight and like me were losing less than 0.5lb a week, the fluctuations on weekly weighings make any sort of measurement irrelevant and random, and would give a very false picture of what was actually happening. Weighing daily, I can still see a downward trend, even at a very slow rate of loss.

I do wonder how many of these "help I'm not losing weight" threads are by people who have just been unlucky with the days they've chosen to weigh themselves. Sooner or later, they're going to come up against this.

lessac

I weigh myself at least twice a day, mornings and evenings, for many years. I think it became an obsession but it let me learn about my metabolism and the nature of fluctuations.

nsblue

Everyone is different and whatever works for them is beat.
I myself weigh daily...it has taught me alot about my body and how i can work with it to get to my goal...i know it will also help during my maintenance and staying at my goal range..... that i am confident in.

JanKoster

I do. And it doesn't hurt me. I like to see what's going on. I think you should do as you feel.

Umeboshi

I weigh daily. Hasn't killed me yet. xD

shivaslives

I agree with what most people have said here. I talk about it more detail in my blog from a couple of weeks ago http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/shivaslives/view/confessions-of-a-scale-aholic-171304 if your interested.

auctoritas

I always weigh in daily, but I use a trending tracker like the one at the Hacker's Diet website. It gives a more accurate big picture with a nice trend line, so big spikes don't look big, and often don't prevent your line from trending down.

CMmrsfloyd

If it motivates you and you can take the normal fluctuations with a grain of salt, go for it. If it's going to freak you out every time the scale goes up for a day or two, don't do it, not worth the stress -b/c there WILL be days that it goes up even when you're doing everything right, there are all sorts of things that can cause water retention which in turn makes the scale read higher even though the 'weight' you gained is not fat and will go away within a few days.

sunkisses

I weigh daily, but I don't record weight loss or gain daily because of the fluctuations. If I stay within the same weight (I allow a few ounces of fluctuation there) for a few days to a week, then I record it. So, my advice is to pick a day you'll record on.

ladedahh

I do. I think it is beneficial to see the daily fluctuations. If you weigh in every day you are more likely to notice progress and stay motivated, in my opinion. What if the one day a week you weigh in, you are retaining water and up a pound or two. That would be a bummer if you didn't just weigh yourself the day before and were able to reason that there was no way you could gain 2 pounds overnight. Lol. I guess I have thought about it too much.

fiberartist219

I weigh daily, but I always do it in the morning, before breakfast, after my potty break and in the nude.

Doing it this way, consistently, shows fewer fluctuations.

I find that I'm always heavier after meals, and lighter after sleeping and excreting. These types of things affect the number by a few pounds, so if you weigh in at the same time each day with the same clothes (or lack thereof) on, you will get more consistent numbers.

lin7604

i have to admit i am one who weight herself every am when i 1st wake up. I also have to admit it drives me crazy but i can't stop! lol.... I just don't know what day of the week is a "good" day to weight myself since every day is something different? which day is my TRUE weight? on wed i finally got to 136 and i was so happy but i knew that it wouldn't last. on thurs i weighed myself again and sure enough i was back to 137.4! i just can't seem to get the scale to stay under 137??? i have lost only 2 lbs that actually stay off in 2 months, the other 2 come and go on a daily basis? so what is one to do/ believe? not sure how to get the scale to drop and stay there? I even started the 30ds video to help and nada yet... i'm on day 14 now. i did lose .5 a inch off my waist but that's it, no lbs either...