Why I weigh daily

257_Lag
257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I posted this in another thread but thought some may find it interesting.

I am a daily weigher and love it. Every morning, wake, pee, weigh, log it. I have learned a lot through this like what a high sodium day does to me or hot weather or a HARD workout or a big change in my workout routine - they all add a few temporary pounds for me but they truly are temporary. The fluctuations fascinate me, they don't upset me in the slightest. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, everybody has a different mentality when it comes to how often to weigh yourself.

I fully understand the concept of weighing once a week or even once a month but this can be very upsetting if you weigh on a high peak day. Look at my chart below and consider these two senarios:

Monthly
Let's say I weighed ONLY on the 2nd day of the month.

May 2 - 239.5
June 2 - 239.5
CRAP! I didn't lose anything this entire month!

How about weekly?

Sunday May 12 - 237.9
Sunday May 19 - 238.9
WHAT! I worked hard all week and I GAINED 1 whole pound!

Both of these people are are not happy!

You be the judge, how in the world have I lost weight when I gained a pound in one week or went a whole month with no loss?

libra.jpg

Just sayin' :wink:
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Replies

  • WannabeStressFree
    WannabeStressFree Posts: 340 Member
    i do this too! I have realized how bloated I become after eating salty and sugary foods, a world of difference. There's days I wake up and gained 3 lbs, only to lose them in a few days (it's bloating!)
    It helps me keep myself in check.
  • youngcaseyr
    youngcaseyr Posts: 293 Member
    I agree, and I also weigh in on a regular, if not daily, basis for the same reasons that you do. I've reached and exceeded my goal weight and weighing myself regularly prevents me from losing additional weight and from gaining weight again, and seeing little fluctuations helps me to gauge changes that I might need to make in my diet or exercise.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    I am also a big fan of the daily weigh in, but not of paying any attention to the high spikes while eating at a deficit. They are a curiosity, but caused by too many different factors to make any sense of them, IMO. You only rarely get your actual truly empty body weight and it is not possible to be "less than empty". The incorrect weights do not cancel each other out because there are only incorrect high values, not low ones. It's the only weight that makes sense to me as an absolute or relative for comparison. If your weight samples were between 180 and 185 one week and 179 and 186 the next, you lost a pound. Just because you captured a higher spike the second week doesn't mean you should average it in and say you lost nothing.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    I am also a big fan of the daily weigh in, but not of paying any attention to the high spikes while eating at a deficit. They are a curiosity, but caused by too many different factors to make any sense of them, IMO. You only rarely get your actual truly empty body weight and it is not possible to be "less than empty". The incorrect weights do not cancel each other out because there are only incorrect high values, not low ones. It's the only weight that makes sense to me as an absolute or relative for comparison. If your weight samples were between 180 and 185 one week and 179 and 186 the next, you lost a pound. Just because you captured a higher spike the second week doesn't mean you should average it in and say you lost nothing.

    I agree with this 100%! You can't have an artificial low unless you just got your really long hair cut short. When I see a new low number, in my head I consider this to be my new low even though it may be a week until I see it again.
  • sarajeanelles
    sarajeanelles Posts: 55 Member
    Yep, I weigh every day too. I like to see how my diet affects my weight, and it also keeps me on track. I can't imagine only weighing once a week, I can have a 3-5 pound weight gain in one day if I eat sushi or something else that is salty for dinner the night before, but I have never lost the much in one day so the once a week weigh in would probably traumatize me if I happened to do it on a 'high' weight day, lol.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    I like weighing every day. It's motivating for me, even when I go down and then go back up. Just having seen the lower number helps.
  • Fitnin6280
    Fitnin6280 Posts: 618 Member
    I am also a big fan of the daily weigh in, but not of paying any attention to the high spikes while eating at a deficit. They are a curiosity, but caused by too many different factors to make any sense of them, IMO. You only rarely get your actual truly empty body weight and it is not possible to be "less than empty". The incorrect weights do not cancel each other out because there are only incorrect high values, not low ones. It's the only weight that makes sense to me as an absolute or relative for comparison. If your weight samples were between 180 and 185 one week and 179 and 186 the next, you lost a pound. Just because you captured a higher spike the second week doesn't mean you should average it in and say you lost nothing.

    I agree with this 100%! You can't have an artificial low unless you just got your really long hair cut short. When I see a new low number, in my head I consider this to be my new low even though it may be a week until I see it again.

    This is awesome! Thanks for posting this. Makes a lot of sence!
  • jtbaddison
    jtbaddison Posts: 134 Member
    Very convincing. I love how you make your case.
  • mrsriisky
    mrsriisky Posts: 129 Member
    I actually never thought about the fact that you can't have an "artificial low"... That is a motivating thought! I also weigh daily because the couple years of my life that I didn't, was when I reached my highest weight and the reason I am having to work so hard now to get back into shape! Seeing that number keeps me accountable- if I'm on an "up swing", I think twice about having those chips or an extra beer.
  • dwh77tx
    dwh77tx Posts: 513 Member
    Glad it works for you. For me though, weighing every day was starting to determine how I felt about myself that day. I now only weigh once a week, and not during TOM. I am much happier this way.
  • pkinblue
    pkinblue Posts: 140 Member
    If I get a # I don't care for at my weekly "official" weigh in I keep weighing my self daily until I find that new low. LOL. I think I will track like you now and see what various eating patterns, workout patterns or general life does to me. BTW I am not obsessed with the scale # I just like the reinforcement when it goes down.
  • Melissa11412
    Melissa11412 Posts: 145 Member
    My hats are off to you guys that can weigh everyday....that would drive me absolutely nutso!! I like to measure myself (chest, waist, stomach, hips, etc) biweekly to make sure the numbers are going down. That scale jumping all over the place....yikes!!! (when i go to the dr's office, i have my id on, both my cell phones on my hips and keep my shoes on just in case somebody blurts out the #!! lol) I did weigh myself 1/1/13 and i was 185, then i think i weighed in April and i was 165. I haven't weighed since then. I'm too scared to, like if I don't like the number I see I will be upset haha :sad: but i'm still happy with my results as i go along:

    January - wearing size 16 pants
    June - wearing size 10 pants



    work in progress, want to be and stay at size 8, good luck to all!!
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    I fully understand the concept of weighing once a week or even once a month but this can be very upsetting if you weigh on a high peak day.
    It's only upsetting if don't understand normal fluctuations.

    Here's a third scenario using your own data. Weigh in once a week.

    Start day: May 1
    Start Weight: 238.75 lbs.

    Week1 Weigh In: 236.5 lbs (-2.25 lbs.) Joy!

    Week2 Weigh In: 236.75 lbs (+.25 lbs.) Uh Oh!

    Week3 Weigh In: 237.25 lbs (+.5 lbs.) Yikes

    Week4 Weigh In: 235.5 lbs (-1.75 lbs.) Yipee!

    Week5 Weigh In: 235.75 lbs (+.25 lbs.)

    At the end of the 5 week cycle the net change is 3 lbs, nice slow steady weight loss. If you do this for a couple of months you recognize the patterns of ups and downs and the need to weigh every day becomes far less important. You can spin the data any way you like - fluctuations are just part of the process.
  • pellini76
    pellini76 Posts: 51 Member
    I weigh once a day at the same time every day on my wii fit board. I am told that its the wrong way to do it but even if I lose 0.1 lb I can see it and see a progress.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Yup...this is also how I figured out that I way less on Thursday or Friday morning than any other day of the week.
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    I do the same thing . It is amazing, the stuff you can find out about your body just by keeping track. But I also heartily endorse the "throw your scale away" method. And the "check in every now and then, making the occasional minor adjustment" method. The only one I don't endorse is the "weigh yourself weekly and judge your entire self-worth based on that number" method.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    I am also a big fan of the daily weigh in, but not of paying any attention to the high spikes while eating at a deficit. They are a curiosity, but caused by too many different factors to make any sense of them, IMO. You only rarely get your actual truly empty body weight and it is not possible to be "less than empty". The incorrect weights do not cancel each other out because there are only incorrect high values, not low ones. It's the only weight that makes sense to me as an absolute or relative for comparison. If your weight samples were between 180 and 185 one week and 179 and 186 the next, you lost a pound. Just because you captured a higher spike the second week doesn't mean you should average it in and say you lost nothing.

    I agree with this 100%! You can't have an artificial low unless you just got your really long hair cut short. When I see a new low number, in my head I consider this to be my new low even though it may be a week until I see it again.

    I might even count that hair cut or a Red Cross donation (a pint's a pound the world round)... :bigsmile:

    I think some people make themselves crazy worrying about the fluctuations and others about the single weight they got when they just got it at a bad time. If all your weights are early AM jaybird weights, it really illustrates the folly in thinking that is always a low weight.
  • squaregum
    squaregum Posts: 33 Member
    I know what you are talking about.
    I also weigh myself daily, but not only do I pee beforehand, but I also blow my nose and brush my hair just in case, any strand of lose hair weighs 1 pound
    Anyhow, 5 weeks after eating clean and exercising like a mad woman, nothing much has changed.
    I try to ignore the f.. scale, since I feel my clothes fitting more comfortably, at least a little bit....
  • BeckyAnne4
    BeckyAnne4 Posts: 143 Member
    i also weigh daily, due to the fascination with fluctuations. it's really is interesting to see. i only log my weight weekly at this point though. for the time being, i've been having steady losses, so it works for me. when things change, i may change this. we'll see :smile:
  • Seanb_us
    Seanb_us Posts: 322 Member
    I have one official day to check my weight: usually Friday morning because I can control my eating better during the week.

    However, I do often check my weight daily because I am curious about progress. I am unhappy if my weight fluctuates up, but it does not ruin my day and I understand fluctuations happen.

    I pretty much never check my measurements until I feel my clothes are too tight or loose.

    So, my advice is check your weight as often as you want, but your goal is a downward trend over the week or fortnight and not each day.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    I also weigh myself daily, but not only do I pee beforehand, but I also blow my nose and brush my hair just in case, any strand of lose hair weighs 1 pound

    Too funny! :laugh:

    I wonder what tartar and ear wax weighs? Might have to start weighing after grooming to get that new low!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I weigh daily and also keep a chart of my daily total consumed, burned and net calories. :)

    For a lot of folks it doesn't work because even knowing why fluctuations happen just doesn't sink in enough, their emotional state is so tightly tied to that number on the scale. My gym buddy for instance was up a pound or two this morning and she was so totally bummed out about it. Then she told me what she made for dinner (huli huli chicken and fried rice) and I was like um, hello, you ate a crap ton of sodium, what do you expect!?!? Thankfully she listens to my advice (well, most of the time) so she's drinking a lot of water to try to flush the excess out.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    We had low country shrimp boil for Father's Day and I brought leftover shrimp to have with a salad a couple of days this week, so I have largely been in ignore mode as far as weigh ins go. Shrimp is really low cal and high protein, but the low country boil is very salty. Last night I ran 7 miles and weighed afterwards and it was the first time since the weekend I felt like I had a nearly legit weight. I have eaten at a deficit all week and I know this, so the scale swings did not worry me. I can also tell when it is water when I run more than 3 or so miles. My fingers swell.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I also weigh daily and find it really interesting!
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
    I am also a big fan of the daily weigh in, but not of paying any attention to the high spikes while eating at a deficit. They are a curiosity, but caused by too many different factors to make any sense of them, IMO. You only rarely get your actual truly empty body weight and it is not possible to be "less than empty". The incorrect weights do not cancel each other out because there are only incorrect high values, not low ones. It's the only weight that makes sense to me as an absolute or relative for comparison. If your weight samples were between 180 and 185 one week and 179 and 186 the next, you lost a pound. Just because you captured a higher spike the second week doesn't mean you should average it in and say you lost nothing.

    I agree with this 100%! You can't have an artificial low unless you just got your really long hair cut short. When I see a new low number, in my head I consider this to be my new low even though it may be a week until I see it again.



    I never thought about it quite like that . Thanks for putting it this way! I weight daily for many of the same reasons y'all are listing. This is a great discussion.
  • joeyclar01
    joeyclar01 Posts: 2
    I get WAY to down on myself to weigh daily. In fact I started this process 3 months ago and STILL haven't weighed myself. I know I've lost weight as I've gone down in pants and shirt sizes, but for so many years I worried more about weight than how I felt/looked that I just can't get around to it. At some point I will start weighing myself, but for me now, it just isn't good for me. I applaud all the people that can deal with the ups and downs that come with weighing yourself! :)
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
    I fully understand the concept of weighing once a week or even once a month but this can be very upsetting if you weigh on a high peak day.
    It's only upsetting if don't understand normal fluctuations.

    Here's a third scenario using your own data. Weigh in once a week.

    Start day: May 1
    Start Weight: 238.75 lbs.

    Week1 Weigh In: 236.5 lbs (-2.25 lbs.) Joy!

    Week2 Weigh In: 236.75 lbs (+.25 lbs.) Uh Oh!

    Week3 Weigh In: 237.25 lbs (+.5 lbs.) Yikes

    Week4 Weigh In: 235.5 lbs (-1.75 lbs.) Yipee!

    Week5 Weigh In: 235.75 lbs (+.25 lbs.)

    At the end of the 5 week cycle the net change is 3 lbs, nice slow steady weight loss. If you do this for a couple of months you recognize the patterns of ups and downs and the need to weigh every day becomes far less important. You can spin the data any way you like - fluctuations are just part of the process.

    I dig your point too. To me, though, I'd rather be able to nip problem behavior in the bud early on. If I think I spent the last two weeks gaining, I'll be freaking out, beating myself up over what I'm doing wrong. If I know I ate a bunch of tortilla chips last night, it doesn't phase me to step on the scale in the morning and see that it's gone up a pound or two. But I do think "Yikes! No more tortilla chips for a bit here!" and drink some extra water for the next couple days. For me, it's easier to be in tune with my body this way.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    I am also a big fan of the daily weigh in, but not of paying any attention to the high spikes while eating at a deficit. They are a curiosity, but caused by too many different factors to make any sense of them, IMO. You only rarely get your actual truly empty body weight and it is not possible to be "less than empty". The incorrect weights do not cancel each other out because there are only incorrect high values, not low ones. It's the only weight that makes sense to me as an absolute or relative for comparison. If your weight samples were between 180 and 185 one week and 179 and 186 the next, you lost a pound. Just because you captured a higher spike the second week doesn't mean you should average it in and say you lost nothing.

    I agree with this 100%! You can't have an artificial low unless you just got your really long hair cut short. When I see a new low number, in my head I consider this to be my new low even though it may be a week until I see it again.

    This is why I weigh daily - I want to catch that new low as soon as I achieve it. Then I have a new goal to work toward.
  • Mollybesweet
    Mollybesweet Posts: 80 Member
    I prefer to weigh in daily.
    Motivation and I get a better idea where I am at.

    thank you for posting :flowerforyou:
  • frenchfacey
    frenchfacey Posts: 237 Member
    i weigh daily as a reminder of where i was, where i am, and where i want to be (or dont want to be ever again really). it fluctuates, and i know that, and keep that in mind, but its an important part of my journey. i used to not weigh in after a bad day,..then it was a week...then a month, and that mindset led me to gain a lot of weight.

    horray for the daily weigh!

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