My Bad Habit...

Reubinski

Despite the advice of many of the people on here, I have the bad habit of weighing myself every morning. I know that weight fluctuates from day to day, but it is part of my daily routine and it throws me off if I skip it. I track my daily weight using a phone app, and then update my weight on MFP once a week.

The up-side of weighing daily is that on days that my weight goes down I get a boost of confidence for the day. The down-side is, you guessed it, when the weight goes up I get a little discouraged. Overall I have more good mornings than bad, so in the end I am still making progress. This helps to keep me going, along with the wonderful and supportive friends I have made here on MFP.

Anyone else have this or another bad habit? If so, what things do you do to help counter it?

SherryR1971

I used to do the same thing, but I just stopped one day! I don't know why...I usually think about it once or twice a week now

Valera0466

I also weigh daily but for me I don't consider it a bad habit. I understand the fluctuations so they don't bother me as long as they aren't huge. It motivates me to try harder if necessary. Whenever I show a loss I post it and I continue to head in the right direction.

00sarah

I don't own a scale. It's fantastic!

cebreisch

My husband weighs every day - I don't know how he does it because it drives me crazy, all the up/down/down/up...UGH. I know I can only really weigh once a week otherwise it's "head game rampage".

I usually weigh myself the day before I go weigh in just to get an idea of what to expect when I go weigh in with WW.

I'd say you have to figure out what works for you, whether it's every day, every other day, or once a week - whatever will provide you with enough feedback to help you, but not discourage you to the extent that you quit.

xxvogue

i weigh everyday. I no longer use my phone app, but it was great because I could see the pattern of weight loss and weight gain (once a month a huge spike :P).

It's not a bad habit unless you live or die by the scale.

Maylene1217

i weigh everyday sometimes more than once. i used to be really really heavy and im scared of getting to that level again. so for me if i see the scale getting heavier by more than 3 pounds i know to nip my routine a little. and if i see a lower number for like 3 straight days i get a confidence boost that week!

Duck_Puddle

I weigh myself daily-but I don't see it as a bad habit. I don't freak over the ups and downs, and weighing daily actually helps me understand some of those ups and downs. Weighing less often doesn't minimize the fluctuations, just your exposure to them-so if you weigh less often and don't see the result you're looking for (and don't have a good handle on the pattern of your fluctuations), you're just discouraged for longer (until your next weigh-in) and potentially for no reason.

zyxst

Weighing daily isn't a bad habit any more than bread is a bad food.

dorianaldyn

Why is a daily weigh in a bad habit?! I always weigh myself in the morning. I like the constant feedback, helps me keep motivated - like you said, great news when it goes down and if it's up, well, then I'm more careful or I push myself a little bit harder in the workout that is about to follow.

Just because daily weigh ins don't work for some other people, don't view it as a bad habit if it works for you! You're not actually doing any harm to yourself by stepping on a scale.

Nessiechickie

My bad habit is smoking.
I find going to the gym after work really helps.
It kicks the habit and by the time I get home from the gym it is dark out and I'm too scarred to go outside and have a smoke with the raccoons and skunks.

Today414

Despite the advice of many of the people on here, I have the bad habit of weighing myself every morning. I know that weight fluctuates from day to day, but it is part of my daily routine and it throws me off if I skip it. I track my daily weight using a phone app, and then update my weight on MFP once a week.

The up-side of weighing daily is that on days that my weight goes down I get a boost of confidence for the day. The down-side is, you guessed it, when the weight goes up I get a little discouraged. Overall I have more good mornings than bad, so in the end I am still making progress. This helps to keep me going, along with the wonderful and supportive friends I have made here on MFP.

Anyone else have this or another bad habit? If so, what things do you do to help counter it?

I weigh every morning plus 3 evening weigh in at the weight loss place I go to. It keeps me motivated, honestly. I always find that when I forget to weigh in the morning, I'm not as focused. Different strokes for different folks, methinks. If you don't see any negative effects of weighing daily, I don't see a reason to stop, personally.

ksumme

I weigh every morning, too. I usually only check-in my weight on MFP once a week.
For me, it helps to see the little ups and downs, as if I didn't I would EXPECT a big loss each week that I know I have worked very hard, and eaten well. Sometimes there is water weight for a multitude of reasons, and it is better for me to see that as it happens. I can adjust my day, or at least my expectation for the next day.

I don't beat myself up if I can account for why I might be up a little bit. I am always excited when I see it down!!

twill68

hi im new here, i found it interesting that you mentioned weighing yourself
daily, i don't know about you, but i find if i weigh myself every day it can sometimes be a little
discouraging, because when you begin to lose weight there are times when you
reach a stand still and so maybe at the most i try and weigh myself at the star of my weight loss journey then i only weigh like
twice a week, i know its hard not to want to weigh every day :ohwell: that's just me i suppose it helps me not to get so upset if im not losing weight fast enough

KenosFeoh

I've been weighing every morning to every other or every two mornings lately. It gives me a better idea of the way my weight is trending. I used to weigh once per month, but it was so demoralizing to wait a whole month to get on the scale and see my weight the same or even increased just because I was having a bad day. Now if my weight bumps up, I have the reassurance that it was down the few days before.

Pinkgurl13

I've always had that bad habit. I want to weigh myself after I eat, when I wake up, after I change my clothes... I'm like a little kid.

Reubinski

Thank you all for "weighing in," hehe. I see that there are a variety of opinions on this subject. I think that I will continue my daily weighing so I can get a good idea of how my body reacts to how I do from day to day. I don't think I could keep it to only once a week or so, it would drive me bonkers!

BellaFe

Got rid of my scale after Christmas.

mistyladidah

I weigh everyday, in the morning, after I do my business. If I can't because my husband is sleeping, I just wait til the next day. It really helps me drink enough water, because if it goes up I know I need more.

ruggedBear

I think when you're getting started and not seeing visible results, the scale is really important in providing some feedback on your efforts. As you progress, it becomes less and less important. As I am working on the last 15 pounds or so toward goal, I don't weigh in very much at all (maybe once a month). Some months I don't see any progress, but weight lifting is re-distributing my "wealth" so I can feel differences that are not apparent on the scale.

Just do what feels right for you and expect that your analytical/emotional need for the scale may change over time.

Flossie1981

I sometimes weigh myself more than once a day.... :blushing:

Built_Strong

I weigh in daily too. I've been told to weigh in only 1x a week, 1x a month, 1x every 2 weeks but I'm okay with seeing the little ups and downs. It helps me stay focussed.

iamnfs

I do it as well. But I only track it once a week. I know that with Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, you get weighed in once a week and it is the same day and time each week. So I write down my weight on my calender and on MFP every Thursday.

Juliejustsaying

I do it, and I'll continue to do it. I find that if I don't the weight creeps up. It never fails that the days I think I'm going to see it go down it goes up. wtf? so weighing every day keeps it real for me...but that being said, I only log the times it goes down. I keep that the weight I think I am...I gained some this fall and I haven't reset the weight on mfp, I know I should..but I'm striving to get back down there and start moving down again. the last 15lbs are so hard as it is....

daylily2005

I weigh every day. Helps keep me motivated and keeps things in perspective. I keep a chart of daily weight graphed out on top of a 5 day trend (thanks to one of my wonderful friends!). It really helps me. If weighing every day hurts you, don't do it. Otherwise there's no issue with it, just know what you're looking at.

kali31337

I weigh everyday but I also log it everyday. I like to see my ups and downs and then when I do have an up day then I can go back and look at what I ate and those previous up days to see if there was a link in them. It works for me!

darkguardian419

Weighing every day is only a bad habit if it demotivates you and makes you give up. It's a very usefull tool for seeing how different things affect you, and for noticing upward/downward trends, as long as you look at 1 or more week averages.

trogalicious

I weigh daily as well. It I see loss, it isn't recorded unless it's repeated for a few days. It's a science experiment more-so than anything else. Sure, there are going to be fluctuations day to day, but seeing the trends is interesting.

BigDnSW

Hi...great post and question. As a licensed therapist...I only weigh myself once or twice a week. as I have the same issues as you as do some of my clients. We call it SAD...Scale Addiction Disorder...a counseling joke. Yesterday I weighed first thing in the morning naked after doing my "business'...sorry to gross you out, I was up a couple. Late last night, I broke my own behaviour pattern and weighed again...down 4 lbs. It's just a scale that measures gravity's pull on your bod. It doesn't measure heart, soul, determination, etc. It's the big pic that counts, the long path to great health.

That's what I advise myself, my dear wife, and friends here on MFP. It's just a number...you are a person...Rock On! :drinker:

DakotaDame69

I like to weigh in as much as possible ( i.e. once a day). I do this because your weight will fluctuate from day to day and it helps me to stop and think about what I did that previous day to have made a difference in my weight. When I see that I have gained in a 24 hour period it makes me stop and put myself in check. Sometimes its as simple as a can of pop or an extra salty snack as I am very sensitive to sodium. I have also become a huge label reader because of this......sodium is so very high in almost all prepackaged foods so even tho you think its healthy.....check again!

notreallytrillian

I used to weigh every day. When I stopped weighing every day, I stopped weighing at all and gained a ton. Lesson learned. I'm back to weighing in every day again - I know it's not for everyone but it keeps me motivated and on track.