Tempted to weigh in every day

OK, I'm a newbie, so I'm all keen and motivated right now
But seriously I want to weigh myself and see if I lost anything yesterday. YESTERDAY. That's ridiculous, right? :embarassed:
Somebody tell me, with a tone of authority, how often I should weigh in. Then I can stop having an argument with myself.
Please and thank you.
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Replies

  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    When I'm at home (on the road at the moment), I tend to weight every morning just to check in for myself. I only log it once a week, though, and I pay a lot more attention to my weekly body measurements and body fat percentage. It's fine to check the scale, but be aware that it often doesn't tell the whole story. Weight loss takes time, so don't expect immediate results. If you haven't already, I would recommend recording your key body measurements and taking candid pictures for your eyes only. You may not notice a difference as you start to lose, but you'll see it in the pictures.
  • MrsWells1983
    MrsWells1983 Posts: 160
    When I'm at home (on the road at the moment), I tend to weight every morning just to check in for myself. I only log it once a week, though, and I pay a lot more attention to my weekly body measurements and body fat percentage. It's fine to check the scale, but be aware that it often doesn't tell the whole story. Weight loss takes time, so don't expect immediate results. If you haven't already, I would recommend recording your key body measurements and taking candid pictures for your eyes only. You may not notice a difference as you start to lose, but you'll see it in the pictures.

    This... I weigh myself every couple of days, I find it keeps me on track (even though I KNOW that weight fluctuations are normal, I hate to see the scale UP LOL). I take my measurements once a month and record my Wednesday weigh in. :smile:
  • DreamOfSunshine
    DreamOfSunshine Posts: 911 Member
    I will join the club! I weight myself every morning, but log it only once a week, every Wednesday. But as adivsed previously, I don't take the changes too hard, as sometimes I can get +6 lbs only for water retention. So as long as you stick to your macros and don't panick or get upset from these small changes ... do it :)

    I guess that's not exactly the answer you were looking for, but you can see you're not the only one ;)
  • Harmony2376
    Harmony2376 Posts: 27 Member
    Yay, people with sense. Thank you :flowerforyou:
    I'm going to go check the scales, and know that it might not say anything wonderful, and I'll wait till Wednesday to record it
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    i weigh myself every day. usually before and after the bathroom :bigsmile: what can i say, i like numbers, especially when they go down. AND i only record when i lose something. I know, just cheating myself, but I like it this way.

    thus said, i am becomeing aware of loss/body changes so I am slowly but surely getting the hang of "not" being obsessed by the numbers
  • whiskeycharged
    whiskeycharged Posts: 400 Member
    Pick ONE day of the week and weigh yourself once a week on that same day in the morning on an empty stomach. Ones weight will fluctuate regardless of diet and exercise. You can eat really healthy and exercise a day then weigh yourself and see the scale go up instead of down. That can be extremely demotivating and set you back in the long run. It's more mind over matter. Aim for a weekly goal.
  • Raddichio
    Raddichio Posts: 163 Member
    I weigh myself every day, but I don't freak out if it shows I've gained 2 lb in one day, while eating correctly. I know that my weight will occasionally go up for a day, then back down to what it was. I find it interesting to see the normal fluctuation in weight from day to day. As long as I see a steady loss, it doesn't concern me. I actualy find that it helps to keep me on track---if the number is good, I'm encouraged to keep on going; if it's not what I expect, I'm determined to keep working at it until it drops.

    Only you know how you would react. Some people do better with weekly weigh-ins, or like the structure of predefined weigh-in times. If you're sure you won't be thrown off track by checking your weight more often, then do what you want. If you're easily discouraged or reactive to weigh-in numbers, then frequent weigh-ins might not be for you.

    Also, remember that weight is not the only indicator of success. There's also noting your clothes are loose, or taking measurements. Having increased stamina, not tiring so easily when exercising, or increased strength.
  • Must admit I never weighed myself until a comment from my father said I looked fat and pregnant (charming, although slightly at the higher end of my bmi I considered myself healthy). That spiralled into me getting fit and to loose weight. I have become a bit obsessed with the scales and weigh daily, a drop from 2/3 times a day (pointless as you will go up and down throughout the day). This keeps me motivated as although the scale does go up sometimes from day to day, by the end of the week its coming down. I only record weight weekly though, and again only when its at its lowest for the week. I find this helps with me looking at my overall achievement and not the let downs of increase in a pound or two. It also helps me see the consequences of the buffet binge, or reduced exercise weeks, keeping me focused.

    I've also noticed the scale will sometimes increase for a few days, making my weight appear to have increased, only to drop significantly a few days later. I weight same time everyday after getting up (less weight it appears).

    Generally if the weight is dropping overall this is a good thing, don't beat yourself up on the odd pound fluctuations, and take measurements (a far better indicator of success).

    Good luck
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I weigh every day, except sometimes now I'm maintaining, I do forget. I think weighing every day can be extremely helpful because it makes you really understand your weight and what makes it fluctuate. You have to learn not to freak out when it goes up though, because it will happen.

    The whole time I was losing, during any one week I'd usually have a couple of "up" days, a couple of "down" days and a couple of "stay the same" days. What's important is to look at the overall trend - is that going down over time? It was also common for me to fluctuate up and down the same couple of pounds for maybe a week and a half, two weeks, and then suddenly drop a bigger chunk of weight. If I was only weighing weekly, I'd probably have been more stressed out because I didn't know what was happening in between.

    I soon learned that eating a lot of salty or sugary food makes me jump up a couple of pounds, increasing the intensity of my workouts makes me jump up a pound or two, drinking a lot of alcohol usually makes me drop a couple of pounds due to dehydration. And sometimes, it goes up or down for reasons I can't quite figure out, but I expect it so I don't freak out about it!

    Some people prefer the weekly weigh in, or monthly. Some people forget the scale altogether and just go by measurements, how their clothes fit and photos. Experiment a bit and find what works for you.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I also weigh every day - in fact, I usually weigh TWICE a day, as I weigh in the evening before I go to bed, subtract 3.5 and see if that's what I weigh in the morning. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

    As others have said, if you find you get stressed when you're (inevitably) up some days - sometimes by quite a lot! - then weigh less often. I've been the same weight, or up a bit, for over a month, but I know that eventually the scale will register the loss I think I'm due.

    This process is very gradual if you do it the healthy way, but if you have photos and measurements, and some old clothes to try on and find "hanging" on you, you have other ways of measuring your success.
  • I have to stop myself from weighing myself! I used to literally do it 5-6 times a day. Then I stopped for about a year and went from underweight to almost overweight (this is now going back like 6 years). Now I try not to if I think I may have a gain for some reason as I know from experience that it demotivates me hugely to see the scale go up one week. I think it's what works for you to be honest hun, if weighing every few days works then do that, but only record once a week as the weeklies will show more of a trend whereas daily will change depending on how much exercise you did, salt intake, how much you ate yesterday that's still processing... etc etc.

    Bottom line from what everyone's saying- do what's right for you! :)
  • jdhoward_101
    jdhoward_101 Posts: 234 Member
    I weigh myself every day, in the morning right after i've woken up and had a pee (lol). That way, if the scales have increased, i can look back at the day before, work out what i did wrong and not do it again. However, i know that the body can fluctuate day-to-day, and unfortunately i got caught up in the whole weighing-myself-three-times-a-day thing and feeling miserable with any little gain, despite knowing that it was probably just water weight or whatever. So i have an official weigh in day, every Friday morning, and that's the number i go by to log my progress.
  • Feelenjoy
    Feelenjoy Posts: 2 Member
    I weight myself every day and track in on physicsdiet.com. It will even out the ups and downs and keep you from going crazy.
  • underarms
    underarms Posts: 25 Member
    I'm jumping on the everyday bandwagon, but only record once a week. I think it helps me when I weigh myself everyday, as I'm less likely to binge on bad foods. But I don't get frustrated if it goes up or down on a daily basis. I always keep in mind that it will fluctuate. I just do it to keep myself in check and to give myself a visual reminder of my weight goals and how far I have come and have to go. I don't weight myself on the weekends though. I let myself relax then! I think different things work for different people though and you have to find what works for you.
  • xampx
    xampx Posts: 323 Member
    There is nothing wrong with weighing yourself everyday, so long as you understand that it will go up and down and you don't panic at every half pound gain!

    I usually weigh in every morning and I can usually tell what its going to say based on the previous day. Lots of strength training or salty food and yep, its gone up a pound or two. I would just log it once a week though. Or even once a month. I haven't logged my weight for ages.
  • StephieWillcox
    StephieWillcox Posts: 627 Member
    I weigh every day - and use an iphone app called "Happy scale" to track.

    I can EASILY have a 5lb swing up or down depending on the previous day - how much I lifted, how sore my muscles are, how much sodium i ate, how much sugar i ate, how much water i drank, time of the month.

    So weighing everyday means I can see these massive swings and see my overall trend.

    When I was weighing every 2 weeks I would see a 5lb jump up and freak out - now that I can see it every single day I know there is no reason to freak out.

    I record my lowest weight each week (even if this means logging a gain)
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    You can weigh in every day as long as you don't pay attention to all the little fluctuations. I weight most days plot it in excel then look at the general trend instead of the day to day.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    once a week is enough. no need to obsess over the number every day.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    You'll get lots of responses everywhere on the spectrum of "never- throw away your scales" to "I weigh myself several times a day". It's whatever works for you.

    I weight myself 2x a day, morning and night. It keeps me mindful and reminds me that there will always be fluctuations. For some people that would get obsessive, but I find that if I forget at night and crawl into bed, I don't get back out of bed to weigh myself. Same thing in the morning - if I forget it's no big deal.

    I also take my measurements on the first of the month.
  • xinit0
    xinit0 Posts: 310 Member
    OK, I'm a newbie, so I'm all keen and motivated right now
    But seriously I want to weigh myself and see if I lost anything yesterday. YESTERDAY. That's ridiculous, right? :embarassed:
    Somebody tell me, with a tone of authority, how often I should weigh in. Then I can stop having an argument with myself.
    Please and thank you.

    If you're easily discouraged, weigh in weekly. If you're aware that the scale can go up or down for reasons outside of fat loss, then weigh daily if you think you're emotionally ready to see 2-5lb swings up on occasion.

    I weigh daily, sometimes a couple times, in order to see how certain foods affect my weight.
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    I weigh twice a day, morning and night. At first I freaked out a little but now I'm getting used to seeing the fluctuations. I only log it once or twice a week though, when I'm certain it's a real loss that I've kept off and not just my body retaining and losing fluids.
  • elvensnow
    elvensnow Posts: 154 Member
    The correct answer is: weigh yourself as often as you want as long as you don't start stressing about it.

    I weigh every day (always same time in the morning) because I like to see how my body fluctuates based on my eating/exercise habits. I don't tend to be the kind to stress even if I "gain" 2 lbs over night. I usually only record my weight once a week though (same day), but I might start keeping a spreadsheet of my dailies and doing some averages.

    But anyway, do whatever you want if it helps you lose :)
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
    don't do it - it will discourage you if you do.. pick a day that you can weigh in on consistently once a week. i usually weigh in friday or saturday morning after having a rest day the day before.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    OK, I'm a newbie, so I'm all keen and motivated right now
    But seriously I want to weigh myself and see if I lost anything yesterday. YESTERDAY. That's ridiculous, right? :embarassed:
    Somebody tell me, with a tone of authority, how often I should weigh in. Then I can stop having an argument with myself.
    Please and thank you.

    If you're like most people, you probably don't understand natural body weight fluctuations and you'll probably freak out. If you understand that weight loss is not linear and you understand natural body weight fluctuations (up and down...yes, I said UP) then you should be fine. I fall into the latter category and i like the data points for my nerdy graphs and what not...but I understand for example, that is impossible to gain 3 Lbs of actual fat in a day...so when I see a 3 Lb increase overnight, I don't **** my pants or anything.
  • lowpro1983
    lowpro1983 Posts: 305 Member
    Depends on how you handle the scale. I have friends that make themselves go weeks without weighing....but I weigh almost every morning. I feel like it helps keep me on track.....but I also know that if it's not what I am hoping to see, not to get upset.

    Weight fluctuates .... so if you can get on the scale, see a number that you might not like ...and still be motivated to keep going, by all means, weigh as much as you'd like.

    If you get discouraged by the scale, just throw it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • kirstyfairhead
    kirstyfairhead Posts: 220 Member
    I weigh every day and have a much better understanding of my body than ever before. It is not unusual for me to be able to predict whether the scale is going up or down today just from how I feel even if it's only a half pound difference. This means that when it goes up I don't panic and when it drops I don't celebrate all at once, as variations are totally normal.

    I will only record a 'low' weight once I've hit it a couple of times in quick succession and am relatively confident that it's a genuine loss.

    My TOM is always a 'fat' week and two weeks later I tend to get a bit of a spike too.

    I'm a firm believer that information is power and weighing in just once a week can be very disheartening if you happen to pick a 'fat' day, especially if you pick another 'fat' day the week after!!! Eventually you would see a nice big drop but who needs depressing figures for a whole two weeks!!

    However, I am very analytical and I love the number-crunching so this might not work for everyone.

    Good luck whatever you decide.
  • jasonheyd
    jasonheyd Posts: 524 Member
    I use https://trendweight.com/ and weigh myself daily.

    As long as you don't freak out about swinging a few pounds in either direction & focus on week to week trends, there's no real reason to avoid daily measurements.
  • reneewill
    reneewill Posts: 62 Member
    I weigh myself on Monday and Friday mornings. Mondays to prep me for the new week and Fridays so I get geared up for the weekend. I totally have fluctuated but work harder when Im up. The important thing is, Im moving in the right direction. I guess, how you feel after you weigh is an important consideration. If you are going to get down on yourself and give up if you gain then don't weight, because there will be fluctuations. But if you can look at a gain as either being a part of the process or even as a motivator, go ahead. I guess only you can answer that question.
  • Amerielle
    Amerielle Posts: 153 Member
    Like others have said, only you know how often is best for you. I personally weigh every day and log it on my graph at beeminder. I can fluctuate up and down quite a few pounds so I find weekly weigh ins annoying. With weekly I could weigh in on a light day one week and a heavy day the next week. I like having a nice steady downward trend on a graph.
  • charlesfriday1
    charlesfriday1 Posts: 14 Member
    I obsessively weigh myself every time I go into the bathroom. I've gotten a pretty good picture of how my weight fluctuates during the day and I can actually now predict pretty accurately what I will weigh at any given moment based on what I last weighed and how I feel. I will be at my heaviest at the end of the day no matter what I did during the day and I will lose two to three pounds every night while I sleep.

    For me, the numbers are pretty consistent throughout the week without much fluctuation and then on Thursday through Sunday, I'll hit new lows and lose weight.