I weigh daily and I'm happy with that!

mirandamayhem
mirandamayhem Posts: 772
in Health and Weight Loss
http://thisisnotadiet-itsmylife.com/2012/02/19/making-peace-with-the-scale-why-i-weigh-myself-daily/

This isn't my blog, but she says what I want to. I used to not be able to weigh daily without getting caught up in the number and foolishly linking it with my self worth.
Then I stopped weighing completely. "Scales are for fish!" they said "Go by your clothes" they said. Don't give in to the scales.
And through this, despite gaining a ridiculous amount I did learn that the number on the scales is just a number, and really bears no reflection on me as a person. The clothes thing is a load of tosh though, you justassume your clothes have shrunk!
But then I started to lose weight again, and the curious side of me is interested in how I lose the weight and how my body fluctuates. I'm interested in seeing how a certain type of food will impact my body for the day, and how those darn monthly cycles might affect me.
But it is a number, and doesn't affect my sense of self worth, and on a day when I think the result might do me no favours because I'm in an emotional funk, I don't weigh.

But I weigh every day and I am comfortable with that.
I don't expect you to weigh every day, you don't have to use scales at all if you don't want to. You may prefer tape measures, or your clothes! And I won't judge you, or tell you to do differently, because it is your body, your way to fitness, your prerogative!

Here's to those of us who weigh daily and don't have an issue, and aren't going to evangelise that you too should weigh daily!
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Replies

  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    I weigh daily, kind of like showering. Neither is a trauma.
    I like to weigh daily because I like to graph.
    I also do some massive burn days (2000+) with bike trips and it allows me to see a 2 days rebound effect, which is amusing. Pretty much always there.
  • basillowe66
    basillowe66 Posts: 432 Member
    More power to you! It is all about what we as individuals like. We are all individuals and what works for us, doen't necessarilly work for the next person. No on is right and no one is wrong. It's our thing!!

    Basil
  • DaveC29
    DaveC29 Posts: 232 Member
    Amen! I weight myself daily as well and take an average of the past ten days for my 'actual' weight. This lets me see if I'm headed in the right direction without freaking out about a pound of water I didn't shed or getting really excited after a long run where I haven't fully re-hydrated myself.

    Everyone is different though... some cannot handle the daily number!
  • crimsoncat
    crimsoncat Posts: 457 Member
    Since I know exactly why this got posted I'm going to add what I said in the other thread.

    As with all disagreements involving proper weight loss technique all concerned parties should continue to lead by example and provide a supportive environment for change. Just like religion and politics, offering unsolicited advice can actually create a backlash against the very help you were trying to give.

    In short, be the change you want to see in the world.
  • freew67
    freew67 Posts: 348 Member
    I weigh myself multiple times a day (some days). I only record it on Monday in MFP. I like to know how my weight yo-yo's during the week so when I finally get to my happy place, I have a better understanding of what to expect. I have gone up as far as 8 lbs and far down as 5. I tend to lose 1-1.5 lbs on a normal nights sleep. Ive lost 3 lbs on a 4 mile jog before. Im a numbers person so I enjoy looking thru all this nonsence. lol Everyone has their own way of doing things.
    Here's to those of us who weigh daily and don't have an issue, and aren't going to evangelise that you too should weigh daily!

    I thought this was a line from one of those Heres to you beer commercials. :)

    http://freew67.blogspot.com/
  • traceyjay1
    traceyjay1 Posts: 18
    woohoo well said :-) (from a fellow daily weigher)
  • Ainslee921
    Ainslee921 Posts: 11
    I weigh daily too, and I see it as a necessary evil, you could say. I went months without weighing daily, while not monitoring my diet, and slowly but surely, I allowed about 15 lbs to creep back up on me. If I don't have that check in, I tend to turn a blind eye towards my caloric intake and sure enough, my clothes eventually start feeling tighter. I don't torture myself with it, and I'm trying not to let it bother me when I don't see it move in the right direction, but I know without it, I'll start piling the weight back on again.

    I accept this. It's kinda the same reason I joined MFP; obviously, I'm overweight, and I recognize that I need extra tools to help me monitor myself and to achieve my goals. And that's how I view my scale and my love/hate relationship with it.
  • seaKind
    seaKind Posts: 136
    bump... must read this post series later when I have free time!
  • mommiejohnsonof6
    mommiejohnsonof6 Posts: 208 Member
    I too weigh myself every day i dont let the number bother me tho it keeps me focused if i see the number going doing day it pushes me to do better the next day if I see it going up then it pushes harder in the direction to get it off i loooovvve my scale .
  • Colbyandsage
    Colbyandsage Posts: 751 Member
    Well said.

    I weigh daily as well. And I don't freak when it goes up. Actually today, I was up 3 lbs from Wednesday. I know why though. 2 days of eating crappy! Way too much sodium!

    I do agree that some can weigh daily and others can't. I use it to gauge food and how my body reacts. I am pretty much on maintence now but I plan to keep watching the scale to keep me in check :)
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Thanks for this, and for the blog link. I'm a daily weigher too, and it's helped me make peace with those pesky fluctuations. It's not for everyone, and there's no right or wrong way to go about it. I like the idea of never stepping on the scales again, and just going by how my clothes fit. For now though, I'm a total spreadsheet geek, and love to see the numbers transformed into a graph! This is one thing that definitely falls under "do whatever works for you". :drinker:
  • Dragonldy69
    Dragonldy69 Posts: 368 Member
    :flowerforyou: Well said and I love the blog.. I also weigh daily but only have one weigh in day and that;s Fri. is the weight I count for MFP and work towards. I use the WII everyother day and it also tells me my wieght and BMI. I have a goal on there as well..
    Thanks for sharing.:drinker:
  • kstrunk1
    kstrunk1 Posts: 462 Member
    Fellow daily weigher here. It actually keeps me quite motivated to continue. :)
  • rladd6421
    rladd6421 Posts: 455
    i also weigh myself daily, i do cardio 6x a week and the machine i use asks to put in a weight and the more accurate you are with what you put in the more accurate of a reading you get. The numbers don't bother me, i see the inches coming off and know that i'm gaining muscle in place of fat.
  • misslou7
    misslou7 Posts: 42 Member
    I too weigh daily - I log when the number goes down - if I were to do it weekly I think I'd be demotivated as it could be on a bloat-day. Any form of graph is good for me too :smile:
  • wickedcricket
    wickedcricket Posts: 1,246 Member
    I weigh daily or every other day. keeps me focused & on track. I KNOW when I party too much & stuff what to expect but the scale keeps me from going into DENIAL.
    If I learned nothing else on this website it's that weight loss is extremely personal for each individual. there is NO ONE 'trick'. The scale works for me. it is what it is
  • EnchantedEvening
    EnchantedEvening Posts: 671 Member
    I also weigh daily, first thing in the morning. I like to graph it and look for trends. Sometimes I weigh myself again at night just to see the fluctuation and how certain things affect it. It's become as routine as brushing my teeth.

    It's really important, to me, to weigh myself consistently because it's hard to see results in the mirror at this weight. The results are very subtle. Also, it takes a LONG time to drop one clothing size at this weight. If I didn't have the scale showing me that progress bit by bit, I'd probably get discouraged. When I was younger and went from 220 to 160, I bought new jeans every ten pounds or so. Now, it's more like 30-40 pounds before I drop a size.
  • lowpro1983
    lowpro1983 Posts: 305 Member
    I weigh daily as well. I feel like it helps me stay on track. It's a constant reminder that "hey, you shouldn't eat that ...or hey, you should go run." Well, for me, it is. To each his/her own. :)
  • HotMamaByVday
    HotMamaByVday Posts: 343 Member
    I weigh daily. It keeps me honest. Its just a habit now: wake up, use the bathroom, get naked, weigh myself. If anything, it has helped me know my body and what it reacts too.

    Vodka = temporary weight loss
    Wine = weight gain
    I can't judge maragritas on their own because they always come with chips.

    ;)
  • TNFirefly
    TNFirefly Posts: 169 Member
    me too. When I have a sudden gain, it tells me I need to be watching my sodium (unless, of course, I earned it by eating). RIght now I am up 10 pounds in 2 days, but I see the sodium in the last few days. today I am shooting for 1000mg, tons of water, and will see a difference by tomorrow. It also keeps me from being afraid of it. If I am catching a bad trend, I can analyze it quicker (like now with the sodium) and make intelligent decisions. If I weigh weekly or monthly and see a gain, I would tend to freak out more.
  • amybrauch
    amybrauch Posts: 250 Member
    I weigh every day and I wouldn't have it any other way. It keeps me in check.
  • wayne4825
    wayne4825 Posts: 166 Member
    I weigh daily as well. IMHO seeing my weight on a daily basis gives me control because I can usually tell what caused a gain for example I may have binged on cake and ice cream yesterday and my weight jumped 2lbs this morning. I know why it jumped and I can adjust my diet accordingly. Seeing the scale go up doesn't bother me. I feel great, I look good, unless everyone is just being nice, and I've been off blood pressure and blood sugar medication for almost 2 years. That was my ultimate goal and I busted through it.
  • rebeccasedwards
    rebeccasedwards Posts: 208
    I weigh in daily too and am not ashamed. It lets me know where I am and what I need to do on a daily basis. I do hate the monthly. I can gain three pounds easily. Do what's right for you.
  • biglew909
    biglew909 Posts: 57 Member
    Weighing daily gave me a better insight as to how much of an impact water (!) can have on weight. It's a little shocking to see my weight go up and down as much as three pounds in a day...even after I stayed under my calorie limit and did huge amounts of cardio the days before.

    I lost almost 7 lbs. camping...and since I weigh myself daily, I can see that result is mostly due to frying under the sun for extended periods of time.

    Nowadays, I weigh daily to get an idea of my body's water content and needs, and also to keep me focused and on track. It's a part of my life now...I do it every day first thing in the morning; it's a good way get my mind focused on fitness for the rest of the day.
  • Simone_King
    Simone_King Posts: 467 Member
    I know it's a number but I need to weight myself daily. If I don't then I don't know if I am staying the same..

    Or losing.

    Yet it's a number. The week I didn't weigh myself it drove me nuts. (I was on vacation)

    I'd rather know where to stand and what to do. I need the control!
  • rychma
    rychma Posts: 47 Member
    Someone told me that I was "neurotic" because I weigh every day. I said it had nothing to do with that. It is so I can be aware of what is happening in my body! If I eat 3000 mg of sodium, how does that affect my body? If I eat less carbs, what does that do? Losing weight is supposed to be a lifestyle change. How can I change my lifestyle if I am not armed with all the information?

    I don't let the number on the scale measure who I am. I know who that person is.

    But, for the people who weigh once a week, I am happy for you and supportive. I think that if weighing once a week makes you happy in your weight loss journey, you should keep doing it. If being vegan and vegetarian is what makes you happy, keep doing it. If you don't strength train and don't want to, then don't. If you do it and love, then keep doing it.

    I would love MFP to be the place it was intended to be...a place to support each other, no matter what our differences are.
  • Monnietron
    Monnietron Posts: 96 Member
    I weigh twice a week, but only because I only weigh myself at work. Soon I will be working 4 days a week, and I will weigh myself 4 days a week. Sometimes I get annoyed at the number, sometimes I get excited, but like someone said somewhere in the comments, when I don't pay attention to my weight, I gain. That is how I ended back here again!
  • Midnight1210
    Midnight1210 Posts: 134 Member
    I've known several people in my life who got obsessed with that daily weight number and end up doing great harm to themselves trying to keep ahead of it so to speak. (Two of them ended up with severe eating disorders and I ended up losing a good friend.)

    With that shadow in my own mind, I actually try very hard *not* to weigh daily because the fluctuation in numbers often makes me feel like I'm not making progress and then I get depressed and those feelings of "why even bother" start to creep into my head. I'm a very self-conscious person when it comes to my body and I know I'm my own worse critic. So I promised myself this time I would stick to a once a week weigh date - Sunday mornings.

    I do, however, think it's great that there are people who can weigh daily and not let that number it control who they are inside. It takes a tremendous amount of inner strength and I applaud you for that.

    Weigh daily, weigh weekly - that's not important. What's important is being comfortable in your own skin and your own routine. 8 )
  • kinzytg
    kinzytg Posts: 42
    I started with daily, and well now it is just a habit. I tried weekly once I hit goal, but it felt odd to me. My scale is next to the shower, so step on and then step in. I just record my weight about weekly. I do find it makes it easier to accept fluctuations when you see they happen ALL the time. Especially after a night out. So, whatever works!
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    Thank you for all the responses!
    It is such a personal thing, and we really need to find out what works for us. :smile:

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