Standing on the scale.....

katecasso47
katecasso47 Posts: 20
in Health and Weight Loss
How often does everyone weigh themselves? I find it helpful to weigh myself every morning just to help stay on track- I can usually tell if I didn't get enough water or if I had too much sodium. Problem is- I don't know when I should log the loss/gain (hopefully not the latter)- every week? every 2 weeks? When do you think you can actually trust the scale? I tend to fluctuate a lot because I am so short, so I try not to jump the gun when I do lose weight. Any advice? Thanks!

Replies

  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    I used to weigh myself every morning, but a few very discouraging days convinced me to move to weekly (on Fridays). What you log depends on how much data you want to have, really. If you want your charts to show your peaks, valleys, and plateaus, you should log all of them. Otherwise, you can just log overall loss, if you want.
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
    I used to weigh myself everyday, but honestly you become obsessed with it. And I'm someone who gets discouraged by fluctuations. So now I weigh on Friday mornings right after I wake up, if I've been good all week and there won't be any water retention. If I went out to dinner the thursday night before, I won't weigh.
    Set a NSV (non-scale victory) for yourself and focus on that. Mine was to be able to fit into a bikini and look good in it by summer. I reached that goal this past month and feel amazing, even if I haven't reached my final goal weight yet. Once you set a major NSV and accomplish it, the number on the scale won't matter nearly as much anymore.
  • pjp1125
    pjp1125 Posts: 313
    I weigh myself every couple of days. I don't sweat small fluctuations (they happen all of the time).
  • katecasso47
    katecasso47 Posts: 20
    So you think if I log my weight everyday it will be okay? I was worried that was too often and wouldn't really reflect the number on the scale but maybe I will try it.
  • Itbeginswithyourself
    Itbeginswithyourself Posts: 287 Member
    2 Times a week, but need to cut it to 1 :)
  • katecasso47
    katecasso47 Posts: 20
    Congrats on the bikini! I will wear one but I know I don't look very good! Hahahaha
  • rahlpn
    rahlpn Posts: 551 Member
    I get on the scale every morning like you just to see that I'm on track. I log my weight every Friday. I didn't last Friday because I gained due to going to a Mexican restaurant the night before and over indulging, but I was back down 5 lbs 3 days later so I logged it.
  • Dave_Ramsay
    Dave_Ramsay Posts: 6 Member
    I weigh myself every day. I only consider changes valid after 3 to 4 days. I have found my weight can fluctuate up to 2 lbs in a day and I know it's not realisic so I track my weight loss by the week. You will get a better average of weight loss per day if it is averaged over a week or longer. I also try to weigh myself at the same time each day.
  • clobern
    clobern Posts: 341 Member
    Weekly, same day, after voiding, before eating.
  • Reenimal
    Reenimal Posts: 10 Member
    Someone on a similar thread mentioned Happy Scale app on Iphone. I got it and have been using it a week, and love it. It tracks and smooths daily weights over time, with a little chart, and predicts trends for you. It calmed me down about the dilemma of weighing myself all the time, because a bump from sodium/eating too much/etc doesn't affect your trends. I love it.
  • BeccaBollons
    BeccaBollons Posts: 652 Member
    I weigh almost every day, but only log new lows, so I can go 2-3 weeks without logging any changes due to the normal fluctuations which can be up to 6lb :O
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
    I weigh myself everyday (and have the Fitbit Aria scale, so the info is automatically transferred here to MFP and the Fitbit site). I also keep an excel file with all my info, there I highlight my Friday weigh-ins so I can also track a simple week-to-week change.

    This past weekend, I had a slight gain (Monday was a bit higher than it had been), then it dropped 3.3 pounds in ONE day for Tuesdays weigh in. While that was nice to see, I don't think I really lost 3.3 pounds in a day (although it was a high activity/low calorie day). I try not to get too excited or discouraged over changes day to day though, knowing that weight can really fluctuate. Even trying a number of different scales, trying to find one that is absolutely consistent, often there is a change just weighing myself 5 minutes apart!
  • brooke0206
    brooke0206 Posts: 255 Member
    I weigh every morning for the same reason, mostly to keep on track and i too can tell if i have not had enough water/too much sodium. I only log my weight at the beginning of the month when we have our monthly weigh in at the gym. Unfortunately the scale at the gym needs to be replaced and is always at least 2 lbs heavier than my home scale (I even weigh before I leave in my workout gear to see where I am!) but I still record the gym weight. I think that logging your weight weekly or bi-weekly is perfectly fine!
  • tiffanylacourse
    tiffanylacourse Posts: 2,986 Member
    I weigh daily - and log them on a spreadsheet I have made up.

    I only log in weights on here when I'm at a loss or at a gain over 1 lb. - since I know it fluctuates daily.
  • LouAnn71464
    LouAnn71464 Posts: 28
    I usually weigh once a week and at the same time (usually Saturdays around 8:00 a.m.)
  • jem302
    jem302 Posts: 373 Member
    I used to weigh myself obsessively. Then I got discouraged from lack of progress and stopped altogether. Recently when I dusted off my scale, I found it was out of batteries and I haven't replaced them. I'm trying to go as long as I can and base my progress on how I feel and how I look, not the number on the scale :)
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
    When I remember to step on the scales instead of just shuffling into the bathroom after a long gig, doing the necessary and shuffling out again and going back to bed for the next five hours.
  • BioMechHeretic
    BioMechHeretic Posts: 128 Member
    I weigh myself once or twice a day just because I am curious and like to see the fluctuations and it keeps me in a good mindset. I understand that sometimes the difference of a few hours, using the bathroom or drinking water can show even 3 or 4 pounds different.

    I only record my weight on saturday morning, since I know it is a steady and stable time when I do the same method of things. Even that though can make it fluctuate, if say I drank my face off the night before or was out and crammed in taco bell because I was drunk at 6 am. I only consider the changes relevant in my head for a 2-3 week trend. Record once a week at the same time though and it gives a good picture over time.

    People say they get "obsessed" or "addicted" with the scale just have that in their head and obviously have addictive tendencies. . As long as you are rational about it and understand weight fluctuates there is nothing wrong with hopping on the scale whenever you want.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    Every day for me and I track it. The RED line is the only one that matters, the rest is just more information and I like information! Look at some of those post high sodium spikes. Live and learn.

    libra.jpg
  • katecasso47
    katecasso47 Posts: 20
    I will have to try happy scale app- also, I LOVE your kitties! I love cats- my cat is my love! =)
  • gdrmuzak
    gdrmuzak Posts: 103 Member
    While I tend to weigh myself 4-6 times a week, I usually only log my weigh-in on Friday AM after I workout at the Y unless there's been a "significant" loss which is shown consistently before the Friday weigh-in.
  • Reenimal
    Reenimal Posts: 10 Member
    Thank you, I am the cool crazy cat lady and so proud, love my princesses haha!

    it looks like 257 Lag did a screen shot of Happy Scale app and the chart.

    Oh, and I decided to log on MFP when a change sticks for a couple of days with a different loss, but Happy Scale daily to see the chart!

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