Why I weigh daily

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  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    I also weigh daily and find it really interesting!
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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: 3,775 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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!
  • CarolElaine25
    CarolElaine25 Posts: 102
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    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! :)
    I have a friend like this. She's a lovely woman who is all about being active and eating healthfully, but she's suffered from EDs and low self-esteem in the past, so weighing herself at all can be a trigger for behaviors she's worked hard to overcome. I have no problem weighing myself daily (and I pretty much do), but for people like my friend, it's not a good idea.

    As always, find out what works for you (even if it takes a few months to do so), stick with that and you'll achieve your goal.
  • Pamela_June
    Pamela_June Posts: 342 Member
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    I totally agree with you... !!!

    :bigsmile:
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    I'm a big fan of a daily weigh. I've seen others posting on here saying they had to see the same weight three days in a row before they'd count it as an actual loss. I'm not sure where that logic comes into play, because if you're down, you're down. Even if you go up the next day, as long as you're eating at a deficit, it isn't fat gain. If I weigh on Thursday and I'm down 2 pounds from last Thursday, I know I've lost at least two pounds that week. Even if the number spikes on Friday, I've still lost two pounds.

    P.S. I love graphs. I can't wait until I reach my goal and cut & paste together this huge graph from my Wii weigh-ins.

    1013653_10151680914741113_85114013_n.jpg


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  • thisdamselflies
    thisdamselflies Posts: 92 Member
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    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.

    I absolutely agree with this. Weighing in every day is less about making myself feel good/bad than it is about seeing how what I do directly affects my body. I don't beat myself up about spikes in my weight -- I just use the information to either verify that what I'm doing is on the right track or inform me early if I'm headed in the wrong direction so I can alter my course. I binged for two days in a row last week, and my weight spiked. Once I got it under control, my weight immediately dropped back to its previous levels. I can almost always look at my current weight, look at what I did the day before, and figure out what caused whatever is going on, whether that's a rise, drop, or plateau. I don't beat myself up about it. I'm also an obsessive kind of person, and a huge nerd, and I love my graphs. Seeing the trendline continue on its downward slope in spite of a few spikes is incredibly satisfying!
  • RockingThis
    RockingThis Posts: 26
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    I used to be obsessed in a bad way about losing weight. Every time i used the restroom or before i went to bed.. just all the time. i would weigh myself.. it got really unhealthy.. although, it was a motivator and learning lesson about what i eat and how it affects my body. It also made me feel depressed and angry about myself and maybe a decision i made , I might not eat or binge even. I started to do this again recently and I have stopped but it's a battle everyday not to get too into it and be obsessed it's just a number on the scale! I know if i do it once a day... i will have to do it all day.. I wish i had the strength to be able to do it once a day like you guys!
  • allifantastical
    allifantastical Posts: 946 Member
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    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.

    I agree. Weighing every day was really hard on my self-esteem.
  • Liz_Mfp
    Liz_Mfp Posts: 172 Member
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    I am a daily weigher
    fluctuations ...don't upset me in the slightest
    weighing once a week or even once a month but this can be very upsetting if you weigh on a high peak day.

    I also weigh daily and just ....Watch the Trend....
    :-)
    I know the Lower numbers can be an anomaly as much as the Higher numbers can be
  • aimforhealthy
    aimforhealthy Posts: 449 Member
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    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.
    That's how I feel too :)
  • cardinalsfootball
    cardinalsfootball Posts: 167 Member
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    I just really wish that you could check a box on MFP that says "Update my feed when I hit a new low weight" and then you could weight EVERY day but would only tell your friends when you hit a new low, and if so, by how much weight since that low!

    Because if you weigh daily, it's constantly telling people you lose 2 lbs since last weigh in!

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