How often do you weight yourself?

sylviapet10706
sylviapet10706 Posts: 10
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I am still very new at this so bare with me. How often should you weight yourself? Is it once a day? week? Or month? I'm confused. I know someone said that when dieting you should also measure your waist & hips? How often do you do that as well?


Sylvia

Replies

  • Jomochan
    Jomochan Posts: 3
    I measure my weight, neck, waist and hips once per week on the same day. (Saturday)

    The reson you shouldn't weight daily is because your weight naturally fluctuates and it is very discouraging if you do well on Monday and gain Tuesday (though it's completely natural).
  • ninja250
    ninja250 Posts: 26
    i weigh myself once a week.
  • ashlee954
    ashlee954 Posts: 1,112 Member
    This is definitely a preference thing. No right or wrong answer. Because our weight fluctuates drastically from day to day most trainers recommend weighing in once a week. But a lot of people cannot wait that long and do it daily. This can cause unnecessary disappointments/excitements though, as our weight really does shift durring the week. What you are Monday may not be what you are Tuesday. I weigh once per week and have consistently lost about the same amount each week. I am now maintaining my weight so I think I am going to weigh in monthly, as to not be as obsessive about it (since I'm not trying to lose).
  • hulamama247
    hulamama247 Posts: 3
    im wieghing every other fri
  • sgp329
    sgp329 Posts: 184
    I weigh in every week on Monday morning. Occasionally I will weigh again mid-week just to get that reassurance that I am on the right track. :) It does make me grin to see those numbers going down!

    As for measuring, I try to do a full body measure once a month. So I measure: neck, bust, ribcage, waist, hips, thigh, calf, upper arm. I just like to track and chart so that's what I do. Also, at times, you may not see pounds coming off, but inches lost will tell the tale, so to speak.

    Best of luck to you!
  • eharvey
    eharvey Posts: 32
    I weigh in every morning. If I see any trend that may cause me to gain weight i can adjust my diet or workout accordingly. My weight flunctuates no more than 2 pounds up or down every day. Obsessive? Yup it sure is.
  • sarahsmiles_04
    sarahsmiles_04 Posts: 17
    I have gotten some advice on this topic recently that I think is the best I've heard in years of dieting.
    Weigh yourself every Friday and Monday. Friday is the standard "weigh once per week" day. Adding weigh-in on Monday will keep you honest all weekend. :-)
  • MystcDrmr
    MystcDrmr Posts: 36 Member
    one a week unless i feel like im lost then i jump on lol ...
  • lee112780
    lee112780 Posts: 419 Member
    its really up to you, my scale just broke, and Im not buying a new one, so Ill probably weigh myself at the gym once a month. I take a measurement of my waist only about once a wk. Since I started doing weights, the scale went up a lil, so I decided to not weigh myself for a little while. I dont want to hinder my efforts because I was in a bad mood over what the scale said.
  • sexylonglegs
    sexylonglegs Posts: 278
    I weigh in every morning. If I see any trend that may cause me to gain weight i can adjust my diet or workout accordingly. My weight flunctuates no more than 2 pounds up or down every day. Obsessive? Yup it sure is.

    ditto ^
  • ohmohner
    ohmohner Posts: 29 Member
    I choose every other week.. that way (although its more of a mental game) I feel like my odds of losing are better LOL :bigsmile:
  • lyre71
    lyre71 Posts: 1
    I weigh myself everyday because it helps me stay on track. If my weight goes up, then I can go back and look @ what I ate, did/did not exercise to help me make a better choice for the next day.

    P.S. I just became a member Sept. 25th and am still getting used to this program...I find it to be extremely helpful and encouraging.
  • ANNIET2006
    ANNIET2006 Posts: 16
    Once a week!!!!!!
  • rosemary10
    rosemary10 Posts: 253
    A couple of times a day. And contrary to it being discouraging, I'm therefore not upset by the fluctuations. I know if I've had too much salt or not enough fiber or if it is evening that I will weigh more. I weigh the least in the morning near the end of the week because I do worse on the weekends and better during the week after I've had a few days off work. I record my new lower weight whenever I've lost a pound. Since I'm getting close to my goal weight I've been more lax. So it (losing weight), is happening slower. But it is good maintenance practice. Do what works for you!
    Wish i had measured myself more often too. That probably would have been an encouragement to me too. But, ah well.
  • adrienc
    adrienc Posts: 57
    Once a week, every sunday morning I step up religiously on my Wii balance board...

    As Ashlee said, this is a preference thing, there is no right or wrong answer... so just do what seems right for you!

    That being said, make sure you always use the same scale and weight yourself at the same time of the day, you will track more precisely your weight loss that way (body weight can indeed fluctuate 1 or 2 pounds during the day, and two different scales always give two different weight)
  • purplehorizon
    purplehorizon Posts: 16 Member
    Two days ago, I weighed myself for the first time in a long time. I was on vacation for two weeks and knew I lost some weight, so I decided to check. Other than that, I don't weigh myself often. I know I'm losing when I have to go down another size in clothes ;)
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
    All the frickin' time.

    I know this is the worst habit ever, but I have a serious addiction to the scale. I LOVE seeing how what I ate yesterday may affect my weight today - even if its just water. I only take measurements about once a week, cuz even I am not crazy enough to think they'll have changed overnight.

    It all depends on your mindset. If you know you're just watching weight fluctuations you can weigh more often. If you get really upset like my mom does, I'd keep it to once a week. If you weigh a lot, be sure you log and look at the reports section to see how your weight is trending overall.
  • joannasamples
    joannasamples Posts: 16
    I'm in the weigh daily group. I feel like it allows me to stay motivated while losing and stay honest when I hit a plateau. I'll probably weigh daily the rest of my life....or at least until I'm convinced I am where I need to be and can maintain.
  • claire0928
    claire0928 Posts: 73 Member
    I just started but I'm definitely finding it helpful to weigh myself everyday. I know that weight can vary from day to day and I try to keep that in mind but I agree that seeing it go up makes it easier to correct the problem fast. We'll see in the long term but right now I want to keep a very tight rein on things.
  • sylviapet10706
    sylviapet10706 Posts: 10
    Thank you everyone. I think I'm going to go with what most of you recommended & that's weighing myself once a week. I don't think I could handle the discouragement of checking it everyday.
  • maroon58
    maroon58 Posts: 289 Member
    everday first thing but i don't let it get me down or make me excited. i take it as it is and it lets me know where i am going. my official weigh in day is tuesdays and that is when i log it in on mfp.
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
    I weigh myself several times a day. I like to see the fluctuation, but I'm an information junkie. My weight fluctuates about 4lbs a day and I like to see when and think about what I just did; eat, bike, drink water. But if weighing yourself is upsetting at all don't do it every day, the fluctuations could really get you down. I measure my right arm, hips and waist every Saturday morning. Good luck on your journey.
  • IsMollyReallyHungry
    IsMollyReallyHungry Posts: 15,385 Member
    Hello there and welcome to MFP.

    I use to weigh daily and that got to be too discouraging. Now I weigh 2 to 3 times a week. I record the best weight from Sunday and Monday. I do not measure myself. See below link for more info on when to weigh yourself.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/101545-your-scale-and-you
  • Birdnicaj
    Birdnicaj Posts: 95
    I weigh in every morning. If I see any trend that may cause me to gain weight i can adjust my diet or workout accordingly. My weight flunctuates no more than 2 pounds up or down every day. Obsessive? Yup it sure is.
  • dogdaze
    dogdaze Posts: 110 Member
    We have a weight loss support group once a week at work with a very accurate scale (and a link to a computer to track weight), so my weight there is the value I am using for MFP.

    However, that means weighing in the middle of the day, not the lightest time of the day, so to keep myself motivated I usually also weigh myself before breakfast on my home scale. There is not a very good correlation - a couple of times I have nipped home before going to the meeting and weighed myself and I have noticed my home scale weighs consistently lighter than my real weight (something that seems to be pretty common with home scales.....)
  • Birdnicaj
    Birdnicaj Posts: 95
    Yup, I agree. Every day for me too! Maybe it is a bit OCD but I know my body and I am really keyed into what it is doing. I weigh in up to .2 of a pound so I know the nuances. Why you may ask? Well, not every calorie treats us all the same. By doing it this way I have uncovered the foods that I am sensitive to, the times that I need to be more vigilent than others, as well as when I can go ahead and indulge a bit. Know thy self.......
  • Birdnicaj
    Birdnicaj Posts: 95
    Yup, I agree. Every day for me too! Maybe it is a bit OCD but I know my body and I am really keyed into what it is doing. I weigh in up to .2 of a pound so I know the nuances. Why you may ask? Well, not every calorie treats us all the same. By doing it this way I have uncovered the foods that I am sensitive to, the times that I need to be more vigilent than others, as well as when I can go ahead and indulge a bit. Know thy self.......
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