How often do you step on the scale?

Soooo.. after a long journey of overcoming a lot of disordered eating problems for 5-6 years, I stopped focusing on eating and ate whatever I wanted. I gained some weight back even though I would occasionally exercise and play tennis. I refused to step on a scale for a while, because when I did it would change my whole mood around and virtually dictate my life. I stepped back on the scale today to find a loss of 2.5 lbs!!! Which brings me to my question... how often do you weigh yourself? I want to get into a routine so I can see my results, but I don't want to get too attached to it.
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Replies

  • Mostly daily, however I have come such a long way that it doesn't affect me in the negative. I do frown a moment if it hasn't moved but for the most it keeps me on track. When i didn't for a long while the scales went up.
  • london1811
    london1811 Posts: 13 Member
    I weigh myself about every 3 days, always first thing in the morning before I've had anything to eat or drink. I think weighing every day is kind of silly (at least for me!!!) because of natural fluctuations in your body, and it's easy to get demotivated if you don't see it move or there is a gain! I should do it less often but it's just too tempting!
  • Christylee76
    Christylee76 Posts: 138 Member
    Honestly about 5 times a day...I am obsessed I know:)
  • 2FatToRun
    2FatToRun Posts: 810 Member
    I was going to do it every monday but I felt like I wasnt losing or maybe gaining so now every time I go potty lol I am a VERY lazy person and I find if it shows I am up a lb or so it is sooooo a motivator to workout/walk immediately lol So far it has been working too I worked out past 2 days in a row :happy: I know it will fluctuate throughout the day but seeing it rise is the kick in the pants I am so lacking lol
  • Dawn4511
    Dawn4511 Posts: 22 Member
    It rules my mood so I try not too but usually end up doing it daily.
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    I weigh everyday, however, I am not obsessed with the scale. I do it to learn more about how my body reacts to certain trends in food, exercise, stress etc. I only log my weight when it is down. I take a long look, like 6-8 weeks and see how much I am averaging per week loss. If I am somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 pound per week, I'm good. With all that said, if you would be obsessed with the scale, I would only weigh once per week.
  • lenoresaari
    lenoresaari Posts: 500 Member
    I like to weigh daily; I feel it makes me accountable
  • kluedesigns
    kluedesigns Posts: 72 Member
    normally once a month but i just started a 12 week challenge that requires you to weigh in weekly.

    i totally prefer weighing in monthly though - i just don't care what the scale says and i certainly don't need to weigh myself to stay motivated to eat healthy and exercise.

    for example - today was my monthly weigh in day and i'm down 8.2 pounds for the month - that is always fun to see on the scale then 2 pounds a week or 0.27 a day.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    Weekly/bi-weekly. Mostly to check bf%
  • kjuve
    kjuve Posts: 15 Member
    I do it about once a week. My body fluctuates a lot so if I weigh myself everyday I can easily become discouraged. I find that if I weigh myself once a week I see more of a result which makes me feel good and helps motivate me to keep going :smile:
  • AztecKermit
    AztecKermit Posts: 27 Member
    I weigh in most days, in the morning.
    Only because I am trying to find out if certain foods are causing fluid retention, I would normally weigh in twice a week.
  • Debbjones
    Debbjones Posts: 278 Member
    I don't weigh myself to see what I weigh... I monitor my weight. In doing so I weigh myself daily. Every morning at the same time. I am obsessive compulsive, so I do not recommend everyone do this... but it works for me. It is how I stay on target and never overeat! At this point I no longer want to lose weight, I would be unhealthy, I just don't want to gain it.
  • mis792
    mis792 Posts: 5
    I step on the scale once, sometimes twice a week depending on how active I am but always a minimum of once.

    My friend and I are accountability buddies (there isn't a really cool way to say that). Every sunday we weigh ourselves and report back to the other with our findings and we talk about it.

    So if there's a gaining of weight or plateaus, we talk about the challenges of the week and motivate each other, essentially we reaffirm that we're human and that we mess up.

    You can't let the scale run you, you gotta just carry on with your life and spend the free minutes you have ensuring that everything is in order so you can enjoy those finer moments in life.
  • Ashwee87
    Ashwee87 Posts: 695 Member
    Everyday.

    I know I shouldn't but it lets me know that I am on the right track. I don't take it to heart if it is up a couple pounds because I know weight can fluctuate daily from various factors.

    I do an "official" weigh-in though every Sunday morning.
  • hikr00
    hikr00 Posts: 38 Member
    I weigh in every morning. I like to see the daily fluctuations and after a while I could see a pattern emerge with how my body processes food / exercise (and how it all relates to varying stress levels etc).

    However, the only weight that I count is the Friday weight. That's my official weigh in day and that's the one I use to post on MFP and the various other challenges I'm involved in. The daily changes don't affect my focus though whether I'm up or down.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    Several times a week, whenever I think of it in the morning before I've ingested anything.
  • CaciaXX
    CaciaXX Posts: 37
    Not very often at all, I've weighed myself once this month, but I can tell I'm still losing by looking at myself and by checking how close I am to fitting back into my smaller clothes.
    Due to med side effects I have digestive issues and water retention that would cause fluctuations in my weight.
    Plus I had an episode of EDNOS and don't want to get back there, so more focus on eating healthy and building up my fitness levels than losing weight.
  • pequi12
    pequi12 Posts: 1 Member
    I try to weigh myself and check my measurements every Sunday because that's my rest day, yet sometimes I get curious and weigh myself right after a workout in the middle of the week. I decided to ignore the numbers because it could be lean muscle that is weighing more, also water weight, our body weight fluctuates often during a day so I wouldn't want to be checking it daily.
  • toritoriprind
    toritoriprind Posts: 60 Member
    Almost never, I can tell by the way my clothes fit and how I look in the mirror. I think scales can be a great tool if you have a significant amount of weight to lose, but for me it can be really demoralizing when I'm feeling great and my clothes are looser but I step on the scale and see I've only lost a pound. Basically figure out what's motivting for you.
  • JessHealthKick
    JessHealthKick Posts: 800 Member
    I weigh when I get a chance (at boyfriend's place) if I happen to remember in the morning before eating breakfast... so that means not often! Maybe once a fortnight.

    I am less concerned about weight, more about being healthy and active :)
  • dblainch
    dblainch Posts: 1
    I used to weigh everytime I went into the bathroom, that is obsessed so now I weigh every morning, nude before drinking or eating anything and write it in my montly little book that sits by the scale. To me once I write it down I don't need to worry about it again,
    I know some people only weight once in a while but in one week you could gain 5 pounds so than its alot harder to lose 5 than it is to lose 1 pound. and its not such a shook when you get on. Works for me anyway. I lost 20 pounds and everyday is a battle to keep it off. gone now for 6 years but as I get older its harder.
  • blackcloud13
    blackcloud13 Posts: 654 Member
    Several times a day!
    Gets me very used to the fluctuationso (on average, there is a 6-8 lb top to bottom spread weekly).
    I only ever "record" one, though each week - the heaviest observed in the week
  • blondiebabe92
    blondiebabe92 Posts: 132 Member
    I weigh myself every Sunday and every Thursday. First thing when I wake up. The Sunday makes sure I didn't get too out of control on the weekend and Thursday is my checkup day. Since I am doing Jillian Michaels I am not overly into the number since I know I am building muscle too. The scale is a number. How your jeans fit is a great scale.
  • BleedsCoffee
    BleedsCoffee Posts: 247 Member
    Once a week! While I do enjoy seeing the number on the scale drop, I remind myself that I'm just starting out and that a good bit of the weight I'm losing may be water weight. I don't want to be discouraged by little ups and downs, so weekly seems to be my best bet to ensure that I'm on track, but not obsessing!
  • jgbkab
    jgbkab Posts: 24
    Everyday. And I log it into mfp to keep track. I understand the fluctuations that happen so it's not discouraging at all to see my weight hovering or going up because that lets me know that I need to change my routine. Plus, I track my body fat as well so weight is not the only factor in my fitness goals.
  • SallyaStewart11
    SallyaStewart11 Posts: 53 Member
    I LOVE stepping on the scale. I do it every morning and at night. It has become a game for me. I know I weigh about 2 lbs more at night, so when I check before bedtime and I'm only 1 lb heavier, I can't wait to see if I've lost a lb by the next morning--most often I have. I've been losing steadily, about 2 lbs a week, so I enjoy it and look forward to it. It doesn't get me down if I haven't lost. Instead it helps me plan ahead and think about what I should eat and drink for the day.
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
    Daily in the morning.
  • MsBobLoblaw
    MsBobLoblaw Posts: 171 Member
    Daily, because I find the fluctuations interesting to see. I only log my weight once every week or so though.
  • Bonnieg318
    Bonnieg318 Posts: 156 Member
    My weigh in day is Sunday and I will step on the scale mod week just to see how I am doing, see if I need to change any thing before the next weigh in.
  • chatterbox3110
    chatterbox3110 Posts: 630 Member
    Once a week, before breakfast - my weight can fluctuate daily through fluid retention so I just stick to the same day now.