My case for weighing yourself every day.

Doesntplaynice82

I weigh myself every day because my boyfriend bought me a withings scale for my birthday and I love it...I also like to look at how I fluctuate at different times of the month (you know what i'm saying) I dont take it personally and I'm not obsessed LOL (maybe obsessed with the scale but not the weight)

mudya

I weigh myself once a week after being 'cleared out' if you know what I mean :P This way when I weigh myself I get an accurate reading. For me, there is no need to weigh in everyday because my diary reflects my weight loss accurately. After a week of following my diary strictly, I know that I have lost weight - I don't even have to weigh in, but I do obviously!

Skmellyg

I used to weigh in daily. I would berate myself daily because it was not where I was yesterday. I actually made a status about this very thing. It would put me into depression modes. I have tried to weigh in weekly but I can't control myself. So as of right now I have gotten rid of the scale. I don't need it. I am going to go by how I am feeling and how my clothes are fitting. I don't need a number to determine my mood. That is just me, not true for everyone else.

happythermia

Same. My scale makes a handy chart that shows my ups & downs all the way back from March, and it's been super helpful and it keeps me motivated. (I have the fitbit aria scale)

Even if I get a freak day where it seems like I've lost 3lbs and I really haven't - it pushes me because I know I can get there. It's attainable :-)

Honestly, I just look at it as data. It can't hurt me...I know I won't step on it and be right back where I started. Maybe where I was last week, but that just pushes me to look at what I've been doing between then and now and I go from there. It doesn't work for everyone, but it definitely does for me.

natalie412

That is exactly what I did while I was losing and still do on maintenance. As long as you don't obsess about the normal fluctuations. I seemed to have a pattern of not losing for awhile, then losing several pounds, then it would go up a little, and then lose several pounds again. If I only weighed weekly, it would have been discouraging. Now I fluctuate through a 4 pound range. As long as I don't get over a certain weight consistently for more than 2 weeks, I won't worry about it.

dawneekoz

I agree with you Marty! I like to weigh daily. I find when I go off track I ignore the scale because I am in denial and don't wanna know, but when I am on track I am excited to see if I went down a little each day. But I know that it fluctuates so I don't get discouraged if it is up one day.

Dawn

Ldysw357

Totally agree! I weigh myself twice a day and I have learned what my normal gain through the day is, my average water weight etc. I think it really helps keeps me on track.

mimstero

I totally agree with your thinking. I weigh every day because I don't want my one certain day to be the day that it's the highest.

gypsyrose64

I like to weigh in everyday, but I'm a data nerd. I love adding plot points to my progress chart! If my morning weigh-in is higher than I expect, then I just assume I'm probably still carrying a bit more of the previous night's dinner with me than usual and the next few days should average out to my true weight. At the end of the week, it's not the individual data points that matter, it's the overall trend.

Just started this journey last month (10/11) and the above is true for me as well. I'm a spreadsheet queen. With that said, I lost 17lbs the first 18 days. Then my daily weigh in back fired on me, when the scales refused to budge for 7 days straight. I'd bounce +1/-1 pound, but that was it. I have to admit it screwed with my head the last day or so. How the heck can I stall out THAT quick!?

Anyways, I am going to continue my daily plotting and just do a reality check here. My main reason for doing it daily is watching my water retention. Some days I blow up big time. Pitting edema in the legs, shoes squeezing the feet, etc. Some days I actually have a shin-bone! Daily monitoring is helping pinpoint what in my diet is triggering this. I always thought it was sodium, but as it turns out - BREAD appears to be a culprit. Not 100% sure on that yet, so I eliminated bread to see if it happens again. So far, so good.

I just have to remind myself on the "puff days" that it's temporary. I just wish the weight-loss "trend" would start moving again. (sigh)

Kim55555

This is why my scale now resides in the very back of the linen closet. I have not weighed in 3 weeks. I will not weigh again until 01-01-13. I am seeing great losses of inches from lifting heavy - but not a lot of pounds. I want to abolish the mindset that the scale is the be all. It's just too discouraging. :sad:

I used to weigh once a week, then it became every day, and finally several times a day. I have had enough. Nobody sees the number on the scale, but everybody notices when you lose inches! :noway:

Just me

Best reply!

I have fluctuated between 57.2 & 60.5 for the past 5 months. If I were to go by scale weight it doesn't show what has been really happening. August 4th I got to 57.2 & right now Im in the 60's. I'm thinner than I was 5 months ago. I'm getting my measurements & skin folds taken on Wednesday. I'll post my update. My clothes are getting looser, people keep saying I've lost more weight & my regular photos are showing a difference. I can see arm definition now, as my fat has stripped away. The muscles can be seen.

It's funny because they say you can't put on muscle when in a calorie deficit but I swear my boy must be going through some kind of a slow recomp. It surely can't be all fluid retention weight. I think my muscles, bones must be getting slightly heavier (also the muscle will be retaining fluid as it repairs. So I'm in fact replacing fat with all the factors mentioned.

I'm 5, 2 & 60 & I'll be lucky to reach 57 kg I reckon with the amount of LBM I have. I've lost 32 kg since April 2010 & the last 2 years have been a slow recomp eating between 1700-2200 depending on activity levels. I exercise intensely and lift very heavy.

cordianet

It would drive me crazy to weigh daily. I prefer once a week personally because I'm just not that worried about what the scale says. For me it's one way of measuring my efforts, but not the only way. In fact, for me it's not even the most important way. Ultimately, my goal is to look and feel better, regardless of what the scale says.

For my wife however, I believe she weighs daily and tracks it, but only logs the results here weekly. I'm honestly not sure why she weighs daily, but I believe she just needs the extra reassurance this provides her.

One final comment: According to data from The National Weight Control Registry , 75% of participants weigh themselves at least once a week. If you are not familiar with The National Weight Control Registry, this is a list of people that have lost at least 30 pounds, and maintained that loss for at least 1 year. In other words, a majority of people that lose weight and successfully keep it off weigh themselves at least weekly. This seems to me like strong evidence that we should all be doing the same. That said, who am I to judge? If weighing once a month or even less works for someone, they should keep doing what works.

Mads1997

I have often heard that you shouldn't weigh yourself every day because your weight will fluctuate and you may be discouraged. Well if you weigh in once a week and that happens to be the day you fluctuate up, tell me that is not discouraging having no weight loss in a week.

Ok getting to my point, I weigh in every day and today just happened to be a new low and that is encouraging. If I am up a pound tomorrow big whoop, I am fluctuating but if I reach another new low in a few days or a week from now, hey that shows real progress and makes me want to hit another new low. Maybe it's a case of "whatever works for you" but to me it just makes more sense of tracking real progress.

Thx,
Marty

I do exactly the same and agree.

Jeffeweizen

I don’t weigh myself everyday because to be honest, reaching a specific number on the scale is not my goal. My goal is to lose fat, and a body weight scale won’t accurately tell you if what you are losing is fat, muscle, water, bodily waste, or heck you can go cut off an arm and you will technically weigh less. In my mind I have a goal physique that I would like to have, and I don’t care if I weigh 200lbs or 186.3lbs when I get there. I feel that the body weight scale is the least effective tool a person trying to lose weight can use, and the real scale everyone should be using belongs in the kitchen, used to weigh food. This is why I only weigh myself once a week and I track my progress through pictures and taking regular measurements. If weighing yourself everyday keeps you on track that’s awesome. One way isn’t better than the other. Do what works best for you .

dhiammarath

At first, I weighed every day. Then twice a day. Then I found myself hopping on the scale every chance I got. Surely, losing weight would not work like watching a pot of hot water just about to boil, right?! It'd just magically come off, right?!

Now, I drove myself crazy. I knew I didn't want to do a weekly weigh in (I tried to wait a day and couldn't even get that far), but for me, I decided that *once* was just fine. Once a day. First thing in the morning.

At first, before I got my FitBit Aria scale that told me the fat %, I was aiming just for a number. Now, though, weighing every day gives me so much data. And there's nothing I like more than pretty charts full of numbers that I can calculate into a programmable display. (Little too much of my software engineering comes to play here... >.>)

1) It shows me how what I ate the night before has affected my body.
2) It shows me a way more accurate way to predict when my monthly cycle is about to come. (which, until now, has been largely based on just time).
3) It shows me that over time, my weight is trending down, as is my body fat. That my lean muscle tends to stay about even with a slight loss.
4) It also allows me to "guestimate" about when I might start shedding pounds. Because when I stay steady at X% body fat, and then suddenly shoot up, I know that likely as I've lost the fat, I've retained some water. And sure enough, a few days later, I'll have dropped two or so pounds.

(Boy would I LOVE it if my body actually just magically dropped two pounds each week like MFP and FitBit tells me I should be! Instead, it's an overall average, and having historical data also tells me about when I'll be losing the weight -- though it's not entirely predictable, obviously, as the body is about as predictable as the weather.)

Now, weighing every day is not for everyone. A friend weighs once a week, but I'd die if I weighed on the day that I had that 2-3 pound water weight increase, thinking I was not moving at all. So, each person needs to choose what's best for them.

So long as it's going in the right direction, that's what matters!

kimosabe1

I knew it was a sin by buying a scale and that thing is so darn hard to stay away from. I fricken hate when you weigh in the am and four hours later, the scale tells me I gained 4 pounds. Scales suck....

onyxgirl17

I weigh around twice a week. When I know I didn't have a ton of sodium the day before and after I've went to the bathroom. I don't have a bowel movement every day in the morning so I weigh myself on days I do in the morning...

bikinisuited

Twice a day works for me, otherwise too much weigh fluctuation and accountability is lost for me. IScale is my tool to guide me towards bikini world!:flowerforyou:

kmuree

I find that whenever I weigh myself more than once a week, I'm obsessing.

Just saying. :flowerforyou: My personal take.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I do not weigh daily because I find that seeking validation from the scale can obscure the point of all of this.

PetulantOne

I completely agree. I also think it's important to record your weight. If you record it and graph it you will see that even though your weight goes up and down all the time, the trend will be obvious whether you are losing/gaining/maintaining. If everyone did it this way it might cut down on a lot of the "I lost/gained blank pounds in 1 week/day/night" posts too.

I weigh in everyday too. I'm a numbers junkie. I graph my weight on hackersdietonline.

GCLyds

I dont like to weigh every day because PMS bloat puts a good 3-4 lbs on me, which always comes off. So I weigh myself at a certain part of my cycle when I know I will not have that bloat.

lorettaasmith

If I don't weigh every day its because I've slacked off on eating, logging and exercising and I don't want to hear what the scale has to say. Otherwise, I weigh daily, first thing in the morning, nekkid! That really is the best way for me to stay accountable.

jcs94553

I weigh myself every day, at the same time of day. I lost 7 pounds in the last 10 days, and haven't lost any for the last 2 days. I feel discouraged because I haven't changed my caloric intake (only1200/day). But I believe weighing in every day makes sense.

transvenouspacer

I like weighing every day because I think it desensitizes me to the million little weight fluctuations you can have. This actually helps to keep me from freaking out about a weight gain and helps me recognize trends.

For instance, right now the scale shows that I've gained 3 pounds. Is that actual 3 pounds of fat or something else? Well I've been working out really hard for the last week plus I'm not getting enough sleep and just got through some really stressful shifts at work. I'm pretty sure it's just a result of being stressed, tired, and water weight. If I just weighed in once a week or less, I'd be more upset about the weight gain. However, since I weigh in daily I'm not too worried about it right now and will continue on my journey.

msbunnie68

I weigh every day and log it weekly, along with waist, hip and thigh measurements.
I love rountine so I hop on the scale daily to keep an eye on what's happening with the bod - I find although my weight fluctuates by about 400-600g day to day, the weekly trend helps me determine when a new low is actually a new low.

My weight loss goes something like this: new low, up 400g stay at that for 2-3 days, back down to new low, stay at new low. It's almost as regular as clockwork. So on the confirmation of the new low I log it.

It has also helped me to pinpoint if I have gone a little overboard on sodium the day before.

I have also found, via my scales, not to check in the day after I eat pasta or a rice dish at dinner because I haven't finished digesting them yet :laugh: so definitely no pasta or rice the night BEFORE a big night out!! :drinker:

smbakk

I weigh myself every day or at least every other day, but I only record it here if I dropped at least 1 lb. I would be so disappointed if I waited all week, working hard to not go over my calories, thinking I was doing really good and anxious to see my reward of the scale number registering lower than it was, only to find out that I had not budged or even gained. That could possibly destroy my motivation to even try, so weighing daily or every other day works best for me.

gmansmom2

I weigh in everyday and keep it in an excel spreadsheet!! Total nerd, I know.

harrip99

I try not to weigh in daily, preferring weekly. Daily fluctuates too much and, whilst initially weight loss was my goal, my goal now is changing to be the size of my waist. For this, which hole I'm using in my belt is a fantastic measure!

ElizaRoche

I weigh myself once a month... I used to do it every day at first, then once a week, till I decided once a month was enough, the stress of the fluctuations was driving me crazy. Doesnt happen when you do it once a month

HopetoFaith

I'm same like most of you, I weight in first thing in the morning and before bed, so far I have lost 5 kg in 45+ days on mfp, and I'm gona keep doing what I do now, even some people think its unhealthy to be upsets with scale but I don't care it works for me.