How often should I weigh myself?

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Replies

  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I don't have a set number for how often I weight myself (At least once a week tho) But my one rule is "Never. Never. Weight after a lift day." I only end up hurting my own feelings.
  • tmarstam
    tmarstam Posts: 5 Member
    Well I just started MFP on the 19th. I weighed myself on June 16th and so just entered that weight. I am going to weigh myself once a week. Hopefully I will have shed at least a pound! :)))
  • stratusphr
    stratusphr Posts: 87 Member
    Don't be disheartened, everyone goes up and down a little. My doctor recommends weighing every morning. Think of logging food and daily weigh ins as your "dashboard" just like on your car. It keeps you aware of what's going on 'under the hood' and let's you know when something needs to be changed/adjusted!!!
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    I am a daily weigher. There have been a couple of threads on that lately. Doing it daily works best if you can learn to take the swings in stride. If you are eating at a calorie deficit, you true body weight is dropping. But water retention and "pipeline timing" (consumption versus elimination) can cause you to see weights that vary quite a bit. You can ignore all but the lowest weights while losing. If trying to maintain, you only need to see the weight every few days to know you are staying at that weight. Averaging just tells you how much water and in process food you usually have in your system. I find that interesting but unimportant.
  • sunfirelynn
    sunfirelynn Posts: 186 Member
    I weigh myself once a week. I don't think I could do the every day weigh in . I'd probally get mad and throw my scales..lol
  • amandatapar
    amandatapar Posts: 246 Member
    I try to only weigh myself 2 times a week. I get a little obsessive about it if I weigh more often.
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
    One other comment (I posted earlier about my weighing daily)...

    A big part of this is how much variance you see. I have seen as much as 8 pounds across 2 days. I was pretty sure I didn't eat 28,000 extra calories the day before so I just ignored it. Sure enough, it was water and uhm "stuff" that had backed up a little. 3 days later I was down a pound to a new low. If I weighed weekly, it would be a crap shoot; who knows which of the weights I would have seen. Some people don't vary that much. That was unusual even for me; I more commonly see "only" 3 or 4 pound swings.
  • Liz_Mfp
    Liz_Mfp Posts: 172 Member
    How often should I weigh myself?

    The "should" questions always need a qualifier.
    Should in order to...what?
    What is your goal?
    :-)
    If the goal is to know your weight each day, then the answer if to weigh daily.
    If your goal is to check-in once a week, then the answer is weekly

    I like to weigh daily and just "Watch The Trend"
    I know any low number can be "just an anomaly"
    I know any high number can be "just an anomaly"

    So I weigh daily and just....Watch The Trend
    :-)
  • bonniebuchholz56
    bonniebuchholz56 Posts: 10
    I just picked a day of the week mine is on Monday in the morning and not again till Monday morning comes again. I have just signed up today, but i have been working on it for 6 weeks and have lost 25 lbs. I am hoping MFP will keep me on track.
  • Jspud11357
    Jspud11357 Posts: 4 Member
    I weigh myself everyday and it drives me crazy, especially if there is no loss. I am convinced that the scale is inaccurate, because sometimes it jumps up or down 3 lbs. in only 10 min.apart with weigh ins after no food nor water so I know it is not accurate. I actually go to bed thinking bout the morning weigh in and it keeps me from eating at night. Still, the fluctuations on the scale really upset me, and I get moody and depressed, and it makes me very discouraged. Still I feel that I MUST check it out just in case there is something I should see. I do not know the answer. Jill
  • DaFrogRibbit
    DaFrogRibbit Posts: 127 Member
    Depends on the person.

    I personally like to weigh every day, but haven't been able to in awhile due to the puppy taking a wiz on the digital scales.

    If seeing the number goes up stresses you out and makes you make poor decisions, then do not do it.

    I personally have seen a 3 lb gain just from eating a Chinese dinner. I know this is from water weight due to the sodium content.

    Although, it seems when I am the most OCD that do the best at weight loss.

    Best of luck to all of you out there.
  • Jspud11357
    Jspud11357 Posts: 4 Member
    Wow!!You lost 25 pounds? How did you do it? I just joined and like this site very much. I have new hope that this will help a lot. Do you have any diet advice you want to share? I have lost and gained everything back plus some. I can not keep it off. Jill
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
    i weight myself every morning after I pee. Monitoring my weight makes me smarter about my body. The scale does not lie. If I've eaten crap the day before the scale goes up. If I have followed plan- macros, calories, water, training, the scale maintains or drops. If it just fluctuates a few ounces I don't think about it, if it fluctuates up more than 2 pounds I have breached my plan- every time. There have only been two reasons the scale has gone up that were not directly affected by my choices.. #1 Menstrual cycle.. during that week my body will fluctuate 3-4 lbs and I just have to stay course and #2 Flying. When I fly, I retain a significant amount of water, and my weight fluctuates 5-6 pounds b/c of altitude.
  • Badarolyn
    Badarolyn Posts: 5
    I'll weigh myself every day or every few days. I bought a talking digital scale a few years ago because my eyesight is crap w/o my glasses. The scale was either defective or smart because it's accurate, but doesn't talk! I thought about returning it, but then I decided that I didn't want my spouse to overhear my weight anyway. It does have a large number display which is great too.

    I like to weigh myself often just out of scientific curiosity. I know weight fluctuates on a daily basis, so when it's up, I evaluate what's going on with me. Was I sticking to the plan? Not getting enough fiber? That sort of stuff.

    Find out what works for you and that will be what is best.
  • Liz_Mfp
    Liz_Mfp Posts: 172 Member
    up or down 3 lbs.
    so I know it is not accurate.

    Exactly why I weigh in daily
    and why I "watch the trend"

    I consider Every Single Weight to be "inaccurate" on my cheap scale.
    I don't trust the Low numbers
    I don't trust the High numbers
    They are all "inaccurate" on my cheap inconsistent bathroom scale

    But I know every 5 days whether I'm trending towards Higher or trending towards Lower
    :-)
  • chattertess
    chattertess Posts: 45 Member
    The best thing that happened to me in this journey so far - is changing to only 1x a month weigh ins.

    Beforehand, I would keep the scale under my bed. I would wake up each a.m. roll out of bed pull the scale out and weigh in. I would ALSO use it again before crawling in bed for the night.

    Found I would use this as an 'excuse' to go off on a bender. "Oh, you gained 2lbs in 1 day? I'll show you mr scale. let's see how much we can change the #'s tomorrow!" --- sounds 'silly' i know - but it dawned on me I was using the change in #'s as an 'excuse' to say 'oh i can't do this why bother!??'

    soon as i moved the scale to the other end of the house and had my mom 'hide it' and went to only 1x a month weigh ins - things started to change. :)


    Hehe this made me giggle! Glad I'm not the only one who has challenged the evil mr scale!
  • zoielouise
    zoielouise Posts: 21
    Haha thanks everyone
  • Toekneelynn
    Toekneelynn Posts: 10
    Is not easy because you want to see your progress if any right? I would say you should try to pick a day of the week and stick to it. Once per week gives you a good and consistent measure. I think you should also consider not just weighing yourself but take your measurements, because if you are combining diet with exercise sometimes you may not be losing weight, but you are losing inches and that's very encouraging as well. Well good luck in your journey. Stick with it!!


    wow, thanks! i never thought about doing the inches thing! but that makes me a little more optimistic to try when the scale is being mean:bigsmile:
  • thatbelinda
    thatbelinda Posts: 94 Member
    I like weighing myself every day to better understand my natural fluctuations. I log it every day, too, so my chart is full of ups and downs, but as long as it's in a general downward motion overall, I'm happy!

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