Opinions on the scale....?

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so i've always been one of those people who's weighed myself every single day and literally OBSESSED over that number on that scale. if i was up even .2 or .4 lbs, it would ruin my whole day.

now my question to you guys is... how important do you think the scale is?

recently i've stopped weighing myself everyday and i've cut back to once a week. is it even necessary to weigh once a week? would once a month be better? i mean if you're putting your best foot forward every single day, and pushing yourself during every workout, what's the need to weigh so often, right?
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Replies

  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I recommend once a week, you don't want to get derailed going off track too far in a month. That said, maybe once you are in a good rhythm you can go to once a month.

    Rock on for breaking the bad habit of weighing in daily!
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    Weekly is fine. Daily is just a recipe for "OHMYGOD I AM GAINING SO THIS IS WRONG" and "I JUST LOST WEIGHT!!!! THIS IS ALL RIGHT?!" back to back.

    It's like OCD on steroids.

    If the general trend is in the right direction, you're in good shape. Make no sense to weight more than once a day... unless you just love unnecessary tension.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    I weighed in once a week through out my weight loss but since I went into maintenance 11 months ago I go more by the way I feel and the way my clothes fit.. I have been weighing in once month, the scale does not define me any longer.....
  • toad493lbs
    toad493lbs Posts: 39 Member
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    I weigh daily with a computer link to my Nutritionist. And there is a motivational message each day along with a fun trivia note.
    A reason to weigh weekly or what ever your schedule is would be to achieve small goals to help keep motivated. Small victories helps keep your mind happy.
    Small gains and subsequent losses do not bother me. Its my goals at the end of the week I strive for.
  • EmilyAnn09
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    In the grand scheme of things, the scale does not matter. What does is how you feel about yourself and that should NOT be determined by a number on a scale. You are much more than that.

    However, when trying to lose weight, weighing yourself weekly, biweekly, monthly, whatever, is a good idea because it keeps you on track and gives you an idea. However, remember that it is possible to lose fat and gain the pounds back in muscle (maybe not in a week or even a month, idk) so that could frustrate you on the scale when in reality, it is a win.

    The point of my post is this: use the scale if you need it to keep yourself honest and accountable (once a week at the most) but don't use it as the be all end all, because it isn't. Take those measurements, take pictures, check yourself out in the mirror, write in a diary how you FEEL about yourself, whatever you need to do. But remember that you are awesome no matter what the scale says.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    now my question to you guys is... how important do you think the scale is?

    Depends on your goals. I weigh and measure BF% every day, because I track everything.

    For most people, it's not really necessary, but it floats my boat. :)
  • emmeylou
    emmeylou Posts: 175 Member
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    I go back and forth between hardly weighing myself at all, and weighing everyday. However! I have gotten to a point where I understand how my weight fluctuates... so seeing a ".2 or.4" lb gain does not phase me at all. Tracking my weight is more of a factual thing. I know that as long as I was being careful with my protein and water that I am fine and within a few days that number will go down.

    Since they numbers seem to have such a great influence on you... then I would suggest you stay away from it. Use other methods to track your progress. If you allow yourself to get psyched out, it will continually add negativity to your weight loss and you will be more likely to give up then to stick with it. There are so many reasons that your weight will fluctuate and if you are following whichever program you chose to follow, chances are it isn't true fat gain. I got to a point where I just accepted that and kept going. But before that point I had to stay away from the scale. Now, when I weight myself every morning it is more out of curiosity then anything!
  • Nikoruo
    Nikoruo Posts: 771 Member
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    Well it's importatnt to know where you stand and to understand what you are doing right and wrong.

    I measure myself everyday.
    Not that i'm obsessed but i want to see the ups and downs. LIke near my cycle average change and just to see if there are any habits or such not.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    It depends on your goals, where you are in the process, how you're measuring progress and your ability to process data. If you have massive amounts of weight to lose, your scale is where you will see progress. A pound off a 200 lb body IS progress (assuming you're looking to lose), but won't be noticeable/measurable visually or measurement wise. So scales do matter if that's where you'll likely see the most progress. If you're closer to goal weight/size, measurements and body fat and so forth are more likely to be where you see the changes (when the scale may stay the same or go up). So I'd suggest measuring everything possible. Any progress is good progress.

    As for how often? You need to know that all measurements (body measurements, scale weight, etc.) fluctuate. That means they go up and down around an actual "real" number. Weighing/measuring less often reduces your exposure to those fluctuations, but doesn't reduce the fluctuations. So if you choose to weigh once a week or once a month, and the once a week or once a month happens to be a day you fluctuated up, know that you may show a gain, even if you've done everything right. That would be highly demoralizing and demotivational to me, but may work better for you. I am not bothered by the ups and downs, it's a number. I look at the overall trends, and look at things that tend to cause fluctuations so I'm not freaked out that I "gained" 6 lbs overnight. But that's me. I'm a data person. But I'm also someone that needs to see some sort of progress to feel motivated to keep on keeping on. Try stuff, if it works, keep doing it. If not, try something else.
  • jennz81
    jennz81 Posts: 194 Member
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    Once a week is more than enough :)
  • purple4sure05
    purple4sure05 Posts: 287 Member
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    I used to weigh myself weekly and, like you, if ever the number wasn't where I wanted it to be, it'd ruin my whole day. I became obsessed with the numbers when I should have been obsessed with becoming healthy. It made me develop a borderline eating disorder where I quit exercising, hardly ate, and lost a lot of fat but at the expense of a lot of muscle.

    Now, I've given up weighing myself at all and I'm training for a half marathon while strength training. I feel so much better and so much more sane. I'm actually capable of talking about things other than calorie content! Amazing ;)

    So I guess my answer is that you should only weigh yourself at whatever frequency makes you the most comfortable. If you find that you're becoming too controlled by it, just don't weigh yourself for a month or so and then try again.
  • OldDogSparky
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    As several people have mentioned, it's very dependent on how you view it. The scale is just a tool and it shouldn't be able to control how you feel about yourself.

    I'm a numbers guy (statistician by trade) and so I love the daily measurements. If I weighted once a week and it happened to be an up day, then I would be wondering about that point for the next week. So not measuring would drive me crazy. I like tracking the fluctuations so that I can understand how it varies and get some of the details on my weight pattern. As a side note, my guess is that the range of that cycle probably indicates how my weight will stabilize after going into maintain mode (hopefully soon).

    The one sure thing is that it's not helpful if it's driving you crazy. Take a break from it and think about the big picture.
  • ablot63
    ablot63 Posts: 71 Member
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    thanks everyone for all the input :) i think i'll stick to once a week for now and instead take body measurements and use clothes to see how far i've come :)
  • BonnieandClyde29
    BonnieandClyde29 Posts: 1,026 Member
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    I weigh myself everyday honestly, but I try not to focus too much on it or get discouraged, I also measure myself once every two weeks, lose fat gain muscle...try that! :)
  • fatfudgery
    fatfudgery Posts: 449 Member
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    I would argue that measuring yourself everyday does not give you a good representation of where you are at, rather the opposite as weight can fluctuate hugely day to day.

    A representation that documents those fluctuations is definitionally better than one that doesn't.
  • MuseofSong
    MuseofSong Posts: 322 Member
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    If I only weighed myself once a week, and the day I weighed the following week was after a bloat spike, I would be really disappointed. LIke awwwww, I waited a whole week for this and all I got was a lot of nothing!

    I weigh everyday because I like to track the variance and reflect on whether I'm being affected by hormones or sodium etc.

    lbj8tkc

    That's my weight loss pattern for 1 month, 8 pounds. I'll have a better idea of my regular pattern after 90 days, but so far month 2 is doing the same thing as month 1.

    I do my measurements for check in monthly after my TOM is over.

    (edit to make the picture work)
  • MrsFowler1069
    MrsFowler1069 Posts: 657 Member
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    I guess it depends on you. If it's a stressor or if you put any real emphasis on it, I would say cut back. Once a week is probably good to keep you from getting too far off without realizing it, as opposed to say, a month. At least at this stage of the game.

    I will admit that I weigh every day, but the absolute truth is that regardless of the outcome, I still think it's fun. I am early in my weight-loss journey (3 months tomorrow) and the weight is still coming off easily. It's a bit of a game to me to see how my body reacts to an unsual workout or an overabundance of sodium the day before, my hormonal cycle, etc.

    As things settle down to more of a routine, or if I start worrying unduly about the results, I may cut it to a weekly weigh-in. The scale is definitely only one tool in this game, and not the most important one.

    Hope you find what works for you. :)
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,266 Member
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    I am with you on the once a month weigh in. I was upset this past Tuesday because my scale finally died. Well the batteries did anyways. I was so addicted to jumping on that scale throughout each day that I think its a blessing in disquise. I think that waiting to put the new batteries in it until the beginning of the new months comes then taking them out and giving them to my hubbie to hold hostage for me is my plan until the next month comes along. I would love to see the bigger losses when I do weigh and it can help break me of my addiction. Like you just a .2 or more gain can set me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. This is my lifestyle change that I am making. This time for good. I don't want to be a slave to scale for the rest of my life. I am so much more than a number. I just wish my ticker would reflect my losses but soon enough, they will.