Daily Weighers ONLY- Please :)

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melissaka7
melissaka7 Posts: 277 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey all. The closer I get to my goal the crazier I get with weighing in. I used to be able to do once a week, but now I am pretty much every day. I'm working towards every other day & then back to once a week, but because about about 10lbs away from my goal weight I'm pretty excited.
There are pros & cons to weighing in daily & I know that. My weight will flucuate daily, even hourly! And that can be kind of discouraging to see on the scale. Weighing in once a week or more will be more exciting when you're able to see bigger numbers & the scale going down!! But I feel like I keep myself accountable with what I eat by weighing in daily & seeing how it affects (effects??) my weight.

With that being said...I could have thrown my scale against the WALL this morning! I used the restroom & weighed in. I was SO EXCITED it said 155.2!!!! And because I thought this is too good to be true I double checked it. 155.4, then 155.4 again. Still a loss from the previous days. I should also note, I need to tape an X on my floor & STOP MOVING THE SCALE. I went about my business & then my dumb a** decided to check again! Man oh man, I was not doing well this morning. The scale went up a few more times from 157.2 at the highest & then 156.2 a few times.

I REALLY don't need judgements right now, I am aware that I should have weighed once, maybe twice this morning, & then finished getting ready for work. I think I'm just trying to vent & see if anyone else has a problem like this.
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Replies

  • robinb04
    robinb04 Posts: 3 Member
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    Haha. Sounds just like me! I can totally relate. I know I should only weigh once a week but I am a daily weigher and that is just how it is. :smile: I have had many a morning where the crazy fluctuating scale shows up. I just try to move on and as usual, will weigh the following morning and see what happens. Don't let this morning get to you, you are on the right track and so close to your goal. Enjoy and celebrate that! :smile:
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    My scale has instructions on how to recalibrate if you move it -- step on and step off quickly. Then wait for the display to disappear, and it's ready to go. Not sure if that's how yours works though.

    I'm with you on the daily weighing thing. The only thing about that is then you should probably wait until you get a couple pounds below your goal before you decide you've "really" made it. I've already hit my goal weight twice and as you can see by the chart below I'm now 5 pounds above it (mostly because of recent vacations).
  • simsburyjet
    simsburyjet Posts: 999 Member
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    I weigh in every morning on my scale and before and after workouts at the gym.. Just a habit
    from when I lost weight.. You could be doing worse things.
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
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    If it's making you crazy, then stop doing it. I weigh multiple times throughout the day because it gives me a more mathematically accurate idea of my actual weight, and I like seeing the fluctuations and how my body reacts to certain things, but that number doesn't affect my mood one iota.

    Also, sounds like you may want to invest in a more accurate scale, unless you ate or drank something between the 155 and 157.
  • bcampbell54
    bcampbell54 Posts: 932 Member
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    I think you've reached the point where you stop the daily weigh-in. It only works if you can handle the normal fluctuations. Once you become obsessed with it, (and it likely happens as you get closer), I think you should back off.
    I think this happens to everybody.
    From one who knows..
  • RachelBiancaxx
    RachelBiancaxx Posts: 62 Member
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    Really try to keep your scale in the same place, they're a little temperamental. Also, only weigh ONCE otherwise you risk becoming obsessed with the scale.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    My scale does wacky stuff like that when the batteries are going out. When's the last time you changed batteries?


    Remember, you couldn't have actually gained a pound of fat in an hour :wink: Did you eat a meal or drink water or coffee? All of those things have weight, and show up on the scale :tongue:
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    I have to confess I am NOW a daily weigher!! I am almost embarrassed to admit it lol - I close the bathroom door in the mornings so my hubby doesn't hear the tell tale sound of the scales being switched on!! (he thinks I am daft weighing in more than once a week!)

    I am soo like you, the nearer I get to goal the more obsessive I am about seeing that number!

    I trawl the forums looking to see others posts about the scale, I post blogs..and all because I am currently seeing gains each day and not much in the way of loss...Its frustrating! to the point that I feel when I saw 136lb on the scales in July (before my holidays) and having not seen anywhere near that figure since I am almost palpitating each time I step on and the scale is not telling me what I want lol

    We do get obsessive don't we! I can't believe I've become like this, its just not like me at all.

    And we know its inches that matters, we know it yet its the magic number we wanna see lol.

    All the best with tomorrows weigh in and may you see a number you like :)
  • Hannah_Hopes
    Hannah_Hopes Posts: 273 Member
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    I must admit I weigh multiple times a day out of curiosity and bad habits more than anything I feel your frustration, mine goes up and down a ridiculous amount during the day even when there is under an hour between weighing's and no food! I guess the main thing here is to ensure that you only care about one weight so weigh the same time each day and only care what that is compared to the last few days.
    Main issue for me is others in the house moving the scales! I'm going to get that tape out too I think!

    Although one thing I have noticed is i'm getting pretty damn good at guessing my weight! as the numbers flash 000 I say a number and bam pretty close - it makes the weighing experience quite fun :)
  • CaliforniaBarbie
    CaliforniaBarbie Posts: 346 Member
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    The same thing happens to me, i weigh every morning (however i dont "weigh in" on MFP everyday) and if im excited for what i see i get off and make my husband come look at it, and then get sad when its like .2 pounds higher then before lol he always says its just the scale, but i always freak and im like "WE NEED A NEW SCALE! AHHHHHH"
  • Kitty7814
    Kitty7814 Posts: 52
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    I also weigh myself daily and get really irritated by this. I usually weigh myself until I get the same result twice back to back. Mostly that means weighing myself twice. Sometimes it means weighing myself seven times and wanting to destroy the scale, lol. I'm actually planning on spending some time online to see if there is a more accurate scale I could buy. I know that weight fluctuates day to day and hour to hour but I'm pretty sure I can't gain/lose 2 lbs in 10 seconds.

    Weighing only weekly wouldn't help with this. I know that we're only supposed to be looking for a downward trend so on and so forth but if I know that the weight will change a couple of pounds and a few times more without being moved in a matter of seconds how I am supposed to be tracking when it's variance is plus or minus the amount I'm supposed to lose each week?!? I'm also paying close attention because I want to make sure that I'm not losing more than I should each week. The first few weeks I know it's supposed to be higher but I want to make sure that my burned exercise calories are accurate and if I'm losing more than 2 lbs to up my calorie intake so that I'm not loosing too fast...
  • tc41586
    tc41586 Posts: 136 Member
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    I have started weighing daily but only recording weekly. That way the fluctuations don't get me so crazy but I can still see where I am each morning.
  • marcvandenberg
    marcvandenberg Posts: 190 Member
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    My scale is sometimes doing the same.
    The playe where u stand on the scale is also important
    So a bit to the left rigght fron or back will give different numbers.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    Its not a problem. Its just a combination of your scale inaccuracies and being an organic system.
    I weigh before and post BM every day.

    I can also slightly change the reading on the scale by shifting my feet a little forward. I just take the lowest reading I get and assume an acceptable 5 lbs margin of error.
  • elvensnow
    elvensnow Posts: 154 Member
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    I'm the same - I started out only weighing once a week but as I get closer I like to weigh every day. I actually like to see the daily fluctuations. Sometimes makes me a little crazy but it's actually pretty consistent. For instance around TOM I usually go up 3-5 lbs. If I didn't weigh every day I might have taken that 1 week as some weird panic moment - but seeing the scale go up and then go right back down afterwards let me know it's just natural body fluctuations.

    Also I just got a new scale that does the BF%, and its instructions say for accurate BF measurement to weigh in the afternoon before dinner, and for best weight measurements to weigh first thing in the morning - so sometimes I weigh twice a day. It's also weird seeing the fluctuations there based on my hydration levels and whatnot.
  • melissaka7
    melissaka7 Posts: 277 Member
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    Thanks everyone with your replies so far. It's good to know I'm not alone! Just to add. We JUST replaced the batteries in the scale & I need to make sure I stop moving it.

    Also, I don't eat or drink anything between the weigh ins. They're usually like 10 minutes apart, I just do one task like brushing my teeth.

    I don't WANT to get too obsessive about it, I think that's why I needed to vent/put it out here to see if anyone else does what I do. :)
  • twentyseven2012
    twentyseven2012 Posts: 6 Member
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    Weighing in every day is an awesome way to keep on track. When I don't weigh myself is when I fall of the damn wagon and do bad things.

    Look at this Duke University study-- weighing every day is actually beneficial.

    https://globalhealth.duke.edu/media/news/daily-self-weighing-helps-study-participants-lose-weight

    Speaking of, I need to start weighing in every day. :)
  • Mslmesq
    Mslmesq Posts: 1,001 Member
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    I weigh daily. Once only. When I first get up and before I drink any water. That is the measurement I use. Never weigh after that. It will only go up when you drink water or eat food. If I weighed later, I would only use it as an 'around' figure....and the only time I ever weigh again is when I do it at the gym in the afternoon. It never bothers me though cause I only count the first number as official for the day.
  • JustAnotherGirlSuzanne
    JustAnotherGirlSuzanne Posts: 932 Member
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    I weigh in every day and I don't really care to do it any less. :) I always take the first weight as the true one (it's usually the lowest... haha!) Anything after that is probably the water I drank... or the food I just ate, or me losing water from the intense workout I just did... etc. You get the drift.

    The only trick to this is to only record your weight on MFP on certain days of the week. I record it on Mondays and Fridays just because of two groups I'm in having different weigh in days.
  • scottkjar
    scottkjar Posts: 346 Member
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    When I first started, I weighed in every day. That was exciting because I lost a lot of weight for the first couple of weeks. Nearly every day, I could count on seeing the number drop. But after a couple of weeks, my weight loss slowed. Daily weigh-ins became more frustrating so I slowed down my frequency. Now I weigh in once or twice each week, so I can count on seeing progress.

    Also, as some of you said, I get different readings based on how I stand. So I now weigh myself 4 times. I step onto the scale with my right heel first, left heel first, right toes first, and left toes first. These can be different by 2 or 3 pounds sometimes, so I take the average.

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