Why do people weigh themselves so much?

124

Replies

  • tbullucks06
    tbullucks06 Posts: 128
    I guess the way I look at is I have to do this regardless of what the scale says and I NEED TO KNOW I am making progress. So seeing the flucutations mentally does not help me. But I am glad that for others it doesn't bother them. Whatever is working for you keep doing it! Good luck everyone!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    I guess the way I look at is I have to do this regardless of what the scale says and I NEED TO KNOW I am making progress. So seeing the flucutations mentally does not help me. But I am glad that for others it doesn't bother them. Whatever is working for you keep doing it! Good luck everyone!

    The problem, though, is that you are expecting to see progress on a daily basis. It doesn't happen that quickly. It's not the scale, it's your expectations. Don't worry about what the scale says today compared to yesterday, pay attention to what it says today compared to a month ago.
  • tbullucks06
    tbullucks06 Posts: 128
    Thanks again EVERYONE for the feedback. I love you all!
  • fitgal05
    fitgal05 Posts: 149
    Data freaks -- do you actually know the accuracy of your scale? I've tried to figure out the +\- accuracy of different scales on amazon, but they don't say. I kno digital readouts aren't always actually accurate to the decimals they read out (digital fever thermometers read to the nearest 0.1, but for charting basal temp they're only accurate to 0.2, which isn't good enough to detect trends...

    Are any of the home scales actually accurate to a tenth of a pound, or even a whole pound? Growing up, the spring scales everyone had were only accurate to the nearest 2 pounds (if expensive) or 5 pounds (if cheap)

    My health O Meter is spot on and you can get one at Walmart for less than twenty dollars.
  • Trilby16
    Trilby16 Posts: 707 Member
    If I don't weigh myself fairly frequently, I start to fear the scale and soon I am not accountable any more and then I "forget" how many calories foods have, and well, you get the picture. The scale keeps me honest.

    That said, I only weigh myself first thing in the morning and if I've had a good you-know-what.
  • Trilby16
    Trilby16 Posts: 707 Member
    Data freaks -- do you actually know the accuracy of your scale? I've tried to figure out the +\- accuracy of different scales on amazon, but they don't say. I kno digital readouts aren't always actually accurate to the decimals they read out (digital fever thermometers read to the nearest 0.1, but for charting basal temp they're only accurate to 0.2, which isn't good enough to detect trends...

    Are any of the home scales actually accurate to a tenth of a pound, or even a whole pound? Growing up, the spring scales everyone had were only accurate to the nearest 2 pounds (if expensive) or 5 pounds (if cheap)

    My health O Meter is spot on and you can get one at Walmart for less than twenty dollars.

    I weigh myself only on my own scale. If it is off by a pound or so, it is still going to be consistant, so I can gauge my progress or lack of.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    More data = more accurate and realistic trendlines.
  • Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door
    Sweet_Gurl_Next_Door Posts: 735 Member
    I mostly measure and focus on inches. I do weigh in once a week usually on Friday.
  • kitinboots
    kitinboots Posts: 589 Member
    It doesn't matter how often you step on the scale, it matters how you read it.
    I weigh myself every morning. The number goes up and down but it keeps me in check.
  • LassoOfTruth
    LassoOfTruth Posts: 735 Member
    I weigh once a week, at the same time, every time. I don't get why someone would weigh themselves everyday, but to each their own.
  • ChunkieNuts
    ChunkieNuts Posts: 135 Member
    I weigh myself once a week only. Pattern is going down each week so that's good enough for me.

    me too ^^ more than this is pointless for me
  • keshiabug1
    keshiabug1 Posts: 150
    weighing daily keeps me on track. If I weigh much more at the end of the day (TOM doesnt count) I try to do better the next day. If I weigh around the same (or less on rare occasions)... I feel more accomplished and it actually helps to motivate me. Its all about what works for you. :) I actually only log my weight on MFP when there has been a constant/steady drop of .5 lbs or more.
  • JossFit
    JossFit Posts: 588 Member
    I actually never stepped on a scale until one day when I was curious to see how much I weighed. I loved my body and wanted to know what weight it was that I was lookin so smokin' at. :)

    After that, it got to be a challenge to keep losing, and I went from a lean and muscular 122 down to a sinewy 113 in about a year because I kept wanting to see the little drops on the scale.

    Now I don't weigh at all and am much happier for it.
  • robsgurl
    robsgurl Posts: 97 Member
    it gives me a good idea of when the best day to weigh myself is...=) Also I like to see how much I am up and or down each day. It gives me a good idea of where I am each day.
  • Baileys83
    Baileys83 Posts: 152 Member
    Weighing every day is part of my routine - I drink water everyday, stay off gluten everyday, go out for a walk everyday and weigh everyday. But everyone is different :)
  • deb0xxx0
    deb0xxx0 Posts: 3
    I do it every day as it helps me to stay on my eating plan . Everyone has there own way and this works for me , i've lost weight and i have along way to go to get to my goal weight so if ti helps why not do it .
  • MelCaldwell4AU
    MelCaldwell4AU Posts: 1
    I find that when I don't weigh often, I start to gain. The scale holds me accountable. It's hard to see the number when I know I haven't been eating right, but that's what motivates me to eat better and exercise.
  • kidtachyon
    kidtachyon Posts: 32 Member
    I probably weigh myself 2 or three times a day.

    First in the morning which is the weight I use for my tracking. It keeps me motivated to try and have a good day. I normally lose weight for a few days, then I'm up for a few days, then back down to a new low weight. I'm not discouraged by the up days because of my established pattern to have down days ahead.

    Then I weight myself after a workout just to see how much water weight I have lost. It's purely for fun to sometimes see my weight way down and to see a new low weight. However, it's really only for fun, as I know my post-workout weight isn't my "real" weight.

    Finally, I will weigh myself before bed, only to try and guess how much weight I will lose overnight - usually 1 to 3 pounds.

    Is that obsessive? Not really, I don't think. I'm trying to keep my eating and exercise as a major focus in my life. Getting on the scale is part of my routine to keep motivated/accountable/enthusiastic for my goals.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    I don't get it. I don't want to see the flucuations. They drive me crazy. Also, I would never weigh myself immediately after a bad day of eating. Why would you want to see a gain????? Your body has to have time to adjust. Maybe it's motivation for others but it seems insane to me.
    For me its because sticking my head in the sand and "not wanting to see" the number is what got me to my highest weight.

    Doesn't work for everyone, but a lot of people feel a need to weigh daily to stay accountable.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    I don't get it. I don't want to see the fluctuations. They drive me crazy. Also, I would never weigh myself immediately after a bad day of eating. Why would you want to see a gain????? Your body has to have time to adjust. Maybe it's motivation for others but it seems insane to me.

    I agree personally even though I know it's natural psychologically I cant handle the fluctuations. I've not had a good couple of weeks, so will probably avoid the scale till the 31st.
  • haymancm
    haymancm Posts: 280 Member
    I like to see the numbers to motivate myself. I understand that after a loss, the next few days I won't see much of a drop if any. If I don't weigh myself, I forget what I'm doing about losing weight.
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
    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.

    What do you teach?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    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.
  • scaredofcoasters
    scaredofcoasters Posts: 90 Member
    Weighing myself has made me more aware of the changes that happen with food, water, exercise, etc. So I don't feel bad about gaining that pound or two anymore. I know my body is just changing. But if I see the same number (or similar, like half a pound up or down) 3 days in a row, and it's less than the last week, I must be doing something right!
  • socomary
    socomary Posts: 52
    I only weigh myself every 3-4 weeks.
  • livelaughlove384
    livelaughlove384 Posts: 100
    accountability.
  • keshiabug1
    keshiabug1 Posts: 150
    Data freaks -- do you actually know the accuracy of your scale? I've tried to figure out the +\- accuracy of different scales on amazon, but they don't say. I kno digital readouts aren't always actually accurate to the decimals they read out (digital fever thermometers read to the nearest 0.1, but for charting basal temp they're only accurate to 0.2, which isn't good enough to detect trends...

    Are any of the home scales actually accurate to a tenth of a pound, or even a whole pound? Growing up, the spring scales everyone had were only accurate to the nearest 2 pounds (if expensive) or 5 pounds (if cheap)

    We used to have a digital scale and I hated it. I could get on and off three times and have variations of as much as 2 or 3 pounds sometimes, depending on if I was standing slightly more off center or something. A few years ago as a birthday present to myself I got one of those eye level medical scales with the weights and I am so glad I did, it's great. It might not read to the tenth of a pound but I feel better about how accurate it is.


    I have a digital scale and its accurate with the doctors manual scale reading.

    Also, as long as you are weighing off of the same scale the actual number shouldn't matter... just how far you move from that number in either direction is what I think counts the most scale wise. Use the same scale and it should be consistent... weighing off different scales will have variations.
  • scythswife
    scythswife Posts: 1,100 Member
    I use to weigh daily but I got tired of the ups and downs so now I weigh on Monday and Friday.
  • nikkohli
    nikkohli Posts: 311 Member
    Also, I mentioned to my friends today how the scale LIES! I weighed myself as soon as I woke today and was a certain weight, then after the shower (dry hair, dry body, no food still) and gained a pound and a half in that 20 minutes :laugh: It reminds me that I shouldn't trust the scale and pay attention to my inches and my clothes :smile:

    you probably did gain weight in the shower...your hair would have been wet...adding at least a pound. so your scale probably is fairly reliable.

    Nope--I wore a shower cap :)
  • HeinzPrincess
    HeinzPrincess Posts: 92
    Because you step on the scale Friday and you weigh 150. The next Thursday you are down to 148, but you had chips and salsa for dinner and now you are retaining water and Friday morning you weigh 151. Saturday you are back down to 148.

    You weigh only on Fridays, you think you went up a pound and you might think your whole week was wasted.
    You weigh every day and see it was just a blip.

    My weight can vary a lot depending on salty foods and wine. I don't freak out, I follow it up with a day of healthy eating and the water weight drops pretty much immediately.

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