When and how frequently should i weigh myself?

agooddaytodiesoft
agooddaytodiesoft Posts: 58
in Motivation and Support
I weigh myself every morning, and it's just so irritating to see the weight go up and down all the time, so i was wondering, how often should i weigh myself? and when should i weigh myself? (Morning/evening)

Replies

  • drop_it_like_a_squat
    drop_it_like_a_squat Posts: 377 Member
    Weigh yourself in the morning before you eat anything.
    Not more often than every 2 - 4 weeks.
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
    It's really personal choice. The scales only show one way to measure success and often show other things such as water retention.

    Personally I now weigh once a week. As long as the trend is down I am happy with that, even if it's only 0.1lb as I know there are other things that can effect the scales.

    Some people chose to weigh daily, which is fine for some. But as your weight fluctuates so much every day it can mess up your head seeing numbers go up and down. If you can deal with that then there's no problem in weighing daily.

    I was going to just weigh monthly but sometimes if you are not on the right track, you can think you are doing ok and by the time weigh in time comes it is too late to do anything about it.

    I find weekly weigh ins the best for me, as it mostly shows a general downwards trend as long as I have stuck to my diet, but isn't so long between the weigh ins that if I am not heading in the right direction I can tweak my diet to fix it.

    I also measure once a month which is more important to me than what my scales say.
  • SweetLove1988
    SweetLove1988 Posts: 353 Member
    Weekly, I found it works best for me. I was doing daily but it was up and down so much I would get discouraged.
  • Vansy
    Vansy Posts: 419 Member
    In the beginning I weigh twice everyday -- I'm a numbers person and I like to see how my weight fluctuates depending on what I eat and how I exercise. Plus it keeps me on-track more if I know I have to look at the number everyday. But that'll fade in a few months (when I've lost 10 or 15 pounds) and I'll only weigh once a day -- still for the same reason, I like to see the number; it does wonders to keep me on-track
  • Rompa_87
    Rompa_87 Posts: 291 Member
    I tend to do weekly weighing at the same time of day and on the same day each week. Although I usually only graph and examine weight changes every 4 weeks. It is pretty easy to have your weight vary due to food/drink or a big night, the night before a weigh in. Monthly changes are probably a more stable measure of your progress.

    Also track changes like waist circumference, body fat % and your resting heart rate etc. These are much better measures of your fitness and health than total weight.
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    I have read this question a lot. The answers seem to be:

    1. Once a week. Good if you stick to the little green MFP numbers like they are the code to the nuclear bomb you are disarming. Oh, and if you accurately log every calorie and never overestimate the calories you spend exercising.

    2. Daily. No, sorry, that is never an answer. Except I do, to see just what the sodium in fish and chips can do to me (2kg! Crikey!)

    3. Throw the scales away. You are on a journey to a healthy life and you will look in the mirror one day and say Yes! That is what I want to look like!

    4. Some combination of the above. Are you the sort of person who needs to see the weight dropping away to stay motivated? Can you end up balancing the green numbers every week? Or, have you got a favourite pair of track pants that, for some reason, have shrunk, despite the fact that you have had them for eight god-rotting years, and stubbornly refuse to get over one's previously svelte thighs. Ditto, favourite silk skirt, oh, and Christmas party dress.

    I don't know the answer. What I do know is that this website works, and you should weigh as you need to in order to stick with the job.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    Three times or more a day here. Gives me a good idea on how my body fluctuates when I eat certain foods like carbs or protein.
  • jadams1650
    jadams1650 Posts: 139 Member
    As infrequently as humanly possible. The scale is not a good indicator of fitness or body composition. Judge your progress by a tape measure or how your clothes fit. I know it is difficult but the scale is often the primary source of frustration for people who are otherwise making good progress on their fitness goals. Weight loss is not linear and daily/weekly fluctuations often discourage people who need to just persist in their efforts.
  • lambchoplewis
    lambchoplewis Posts: 797
    I weigh every day!! I have been maintaining for 8 months and find that this keeps me from shoving things into my mouth the day before as I will have to "face the scale" in the morning. I know that weight can fluctuate 1-2 bs with normal eating and 3-4 with an overeat day!!! My goal is to maintain +/- 2 lbs.. When I was losing, I did the same thing but looked at the overall trend - not the daily as sometimes it would not change for days and all of a sudden a 2 ls loss.

    You need to understand the fluctuation and if this will de-motivate or motivate you!! Keep an eye on overall trend.
  • endoftheside
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
    I''m the kind of person who needs the accountability of a daily weigh-in, and I like knowing what affects my weight loss. Higher sodium = up to 2 pounds, comes off in 2 days, crazy strength workout = up to 2 pounds, comes off around the time I can move again :laugh: , digestive system acting up = up to 2 pounds+ until I get things squared away. For me, knowing this kind of stuff is important and helps me be more in tune with what is going on with my body, and I need that to succeed. Obviously, this is not the approach for everyone. Find what frequency best suits your goals and forget the rest.
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    Three times or more a day here. Gives me a good idea on how my body fluctuates when I eat certain foods like carbs or protein.

    Method 2
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    As infrequently as humanly possible. The scale is not a good indicator of fitness or body composition. Judge your progress by a tape measure or how your clothes fit. I know it is difficult but the scale is often the primary source of frustration for people who are otherwise making good progress on their fitness goals. Weight loss is not linear and daily/weekly fluctuations often discourage people who need to just persist in their efforts.

    Method 3
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    I weigh every day!! I have been maintaining for 8 months and find that this keeps me from shoving things into my mouth the day before as I will have to "face the scale" in the morning. I know that weight can fluctuate 1-2 bs with normal eating and 3-4 with an overeat day!!! My goal is to maintain +/- 2 lbs.. When I was losing, I did the same thing but looked at the overall trend - not the daily as sometimes it would not change for days and all of a sudden a 2 ls loss.

    You need to understand the fluctuation and if this will de-motivate or motivate you!! Keep an eye on overall trend.

    Method 2
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    I''m the kind of person who needs the accountability of a daily weigh-in, and I like knowing what affects my weight loss. Higher sodium = up to 2 pounds, comes off in 2 days, crazy strength workout = up to 2 pounds, comes off around the time I can move again :laugh: , digestive system acting up = up to 2 pounds+ until I get things squared away. For me, knowing this kind of stuff is important and helps me be more in tune with what is going on with my body, and I need that to succeed. Obviously, this is not the approach for everyone. Find what frequency best suits your goals and forget the rest.

    Method 2
  • Turtle1794
    Turtle1794 Posts: 70
    I weigh myself weekly and in the morning^^, I wanted to do every 2 weeks but I felt like the suspense would suffocate me. :laugh:
  • LisaInUP
    LisaInUP Posts: 63 Member
    Once a week in the morning AND the same with my trusty measuring tape.
    Don't forget, if you are weight training the scale may go up but the inches should go down :happy:
  • junctiongirl
    junctiongirl Posts: 57 Member
    Im Obsessed with my scale. I need to see the numbers changing to be accountable.
    That being said, when I have a bad couple of days or a plateau. I look at my overall trend on mfp and I can still feel good about what I am doing :)
  • RunForChai
    RunForChai Posts: 238 Member
    It is different for everyone.
    I weigh myself every single morning right before my day gets going. I don't record my weight every day and expect a little variation.

    Why do I weigh myself every day? The first time I ever gained a lot of weight after 30 years of being "naturally skinny" was when I decided to throw away my scale on someone else's notion that we shouldn't let scales "rule our lives." It was a big mistake that I've regretted for 25 years---because after a year of not weighing myself I found that I had gained 20 pounds that were hard to lose and can come back to haunt me if I don't keep an eye on it.

    By weighing myself every morning if the weight even starts to creep back up I can do a little extra exercise or cut out a glass of wine here and there.

    Personally I have a much, much better time maintaining my weight, health and overall attitude towards food by getting on the scale daily.
  • slimmalikah
    slimmalikah Posts: 61 Member
    I have read this question a lot. The answers seem to be:

    1. Once a week. Good if you stick to the little green MFP numbers like they are the code to the nuclear bomb you are disarming. Oh, and if you accurately log every calorie and never overestimate the calories you spend exercising.

    2. Daily. No, sorry, that is never an answer. Except I do, to see just what the sodium in fish and chips can do to me (2kg! Crikey!)

    3. Throw the scales away. You are on a journey to a healthy life and you will look in the mirror one day and say Yes! That is what I want to look like!

    4. Some combination of the above. Are you the sort of person who needs to see the weight dropping away to stay motivated? Can you end up balancing the green numbers every week? Or, have you got a favourite pair of track pants that, for some reason, have shrunk, despite the fact that you have had them for eight god-rotting years, and stubbornly refuse to get over one's previously svelte thighs. Ditto, favourite silk skirt, oh, and Christmas party dress.

    I don't know the answer. What I do know is that this website works, and you should weigh as you need to in order to stick with the job.

    Love this!!

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