Why do people weigh themselves so much?

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  • mjkpe
    mjkpe Posts: 98 Member
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    I don't weigh myself every day. My official day is Saturday morning. If I think I have accomplished something, (good or bad), I will likely weigh in just to check my "flight path". With that analogy a pilot doesn't just take off and hope he lands where he wants to go, (or he and she). He will check in at waypoints, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waypoint), to make sure he's on course. I call mine "weigh points". :glasses:
  • Aaron1965
    Aaron1965 Posts: 1
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    For me it is impatience. Plain and simple. I am so anxious to lose the weight but I hate weighing once a week!
  • Yooperm35
    Yooperm35 Posts: 787 Member
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    One day the scale will be up #4 because of my Chinese food with soy sauce - a couple of days later it will be down #6, If my weigh-in day was the day the scale was up 4, but I never seen the scale on the day it was down 6, I'd get frustrated and eventually give up. I know because I did it. Weighing daily keeps me grounded and motivated. I'll never change that I do that
  • MagicalLeopleurodon
    MagicalLeopleurodon Posts: 623 Member
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    So i can see what causes the most dramatic fluctuation.
    did i have too much sodium? Did i eat foods that cause bloating? Did i lift heavier than normal?
    And i write it down too. sounds crazy, but i can look back to last year and see which changes have helped and which havent-and i can do it pretty specifically.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    I enjoy the science behind the fluctuations. I like seeing an overall trend. But then, I'm a total nerd. Also helps that FINALLY, the number on the scale doesn't really mean all that much to me.

    This^

    It's data collection for me. Because there are so many fluctuations, I enter the lowest weight of the week, not just what I weigh on the day I track my weight. I'm never freaked out by a "gain" because I know there are many, many, many factors that affect that number on the scale. For instance, I showed no losses all of February (and lots of gains), but then at the end of the month I was down 2 pounds. Then I had another week of zero loss on the scale, but now this week I'm down THREE pounds! So I was still losing fat, whether the scale shows it or not.

    However, I have run across so many people on MFP that track their weight daily and are freaked out every single time the scale shows a "gain". Then they right posts about plateaus/ giving up/is it really worth it/what am I doing wrong/etc. Yes, those people need to put the scale away for awhile.
  • Angiebabe2
    Angiebabe2 Posts: 25
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    Has anyone got one of those scales that also tell you % body fat? Are they any good ? Are they accurate?
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    Has anyone got one of those scales that also tell you % body fat? Are they any good ? Are they accurate?

    They're OK. The readings are so variable on a day to day basis that a single measurement doesn't tell you much. They're good for overall trends, but there's so much noise you really need to take daily measurements to have any hope of seeing those trends.
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
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    I'm a mathematician. I don't respond emotionally to the scale. I know it is one data point. It's just more data. I like a lot of data. I weigh myself at least twice a day. That way, I know what my trough is.

    Ha. I never thought to blame my emotional detachment on being mathematically inclined. But you're right, to me it's just data. Maybe I'll even turn it into an assignment for my students some day. There's probably lots you could do with weight and equations.

    Not a mathematician, but I am an accountant and financial analyst/CFO...probably explains my detachment as well. It's just raw data that needs to be properly analyzed to determine what it really means.

    I think financial analyst trumps mathematician in terms of being objective about erratic graphs.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    I used to weigh myself often just to see what my normal fluctuations would be. Now I just weigh once a week to map how my exercise and new eating habits effect my body.
  • ThinUpGirl
    ThinUpGirl Posts: 397
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    I weigh myself every morning and sometimes throughout the day to satisfy my curiosity.

    I find by weighing myself daily it keeps me accountable and keeps me on track to achieving my goal. I look at the number and think to myself, "I'm still not where I want to be, today I will try to do better to get me to my goal.

    I threw out my scale before Christmas 2010 because I had reached GW and was concerned I was becoming obsessed. I was also convinced I had my bad eatting habits under control.

    15 months later after going up sizes and feeling uncomfortable, I decided to weigh in at my parents house. I gained 30lbs.

    Obviously its not from NOT weighting myself, but I wasn't accountable for my actions and I pretended I wasn't gaining THAT much.

    It's been a lot of ups and downs since then, but I've been weighing in every morning for 2013 and logging in to mfp and I'm down 15 lbs.

    :)

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