could I really weigh in once a week?

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I weigh myself religiously every morning and pretty much let that number dictate my mood/day. I'm thinking about only weighing myself once a week but that really scares me! I can EASILY put on 5 pounds in a week if I'm not watching every calorie. But maybe it'd be more exciting if I saw an actual loss instead of a .2 up/down every day?

Can I do it? Should I even attempt this now that the holidays are approaching?
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  • o2blori
    o2blori Posts: 168 Member
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    I actually know this from personal experience. I weigh myself daily. Last week was the first time that I weighed myself in 2 weeks. And I GAINED. for me, I have to weigh myself to keep the motivation. that way my weight is almost always always going down. 2 weeks was too long. 1 week might be ok. Or maybe weigh yourself mid week just to check in...Just my thoughts. :-)
  • vayax
    vayax Posts: 152 Member
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    I know it's not recomended but I weight myself every morning. That way I know if whatever I did the day before worked or was a little bit too much ;)
  • tigertchr23
    tigertchr23 Posts: 418 Member
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    Weighing daily is hard on the psyche. You can range a gain or loss of 2-3 lbs. because of water/waste in your system.

    I would definitely pick one day a week and stick to it.

    Remember . . . weight isn't the only way to see progress. How are your clothes fitting? Do you feel smaller? Have you tried taking photos or measuring?

    Keep working hard . . . logging your food and staying active is more important than the number on the scale. :flowerforyou:
  • iamstaceywood
    iamstaceywood Posts: 383 Member
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    I always always always weigh in daily. I get up, get naked, get ont eh scale, get dressed, work out, get showered, avoid the scale like the plague the rest of th day. So, for the last seven days, I had my husband hide it. I lost 3.4 lbs this week being religious about my numbers and keeping my deficit high. I used my own knowledge to make up for the lack of scale time. It was AWESOME!! I'm not sure how regimented and strict you are but, I use my bodybugg and know exaclty what my deficit should be. I'm so happy righ tnow nothing can bring me down!!
  • byHISstrength
    byHISstrength Posts: 984 Member
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    If the scale is dictating your mood/day then you probably should just way yourself once a week. Just make sure to log everything that you are consuming.

    I personally get on the scale every morning, but if it is up a little bit, of course, I am not happy about it, but I realize that my weight fluctuates. I just watch what I eat and make better choices
  • scarlettsmummy
    scarlettsmummy Posts: 3 Member
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    I used to be like that, weighing myself everyday and driving myself insane that the numbers would never change! Now I only weigh myself once a week and it's so nice to see significant chunks of weight coming off instead of nothing! This week I was convinced I had gained weight, only to jump on the scales and find that I had actually lost 3.5 pounds! I was over the moon.

    I don't think it's good to weigh yourself everyday, for any day that you say you feel motivated when the numbers go down, the exact opposite will happen if you see no change or the weight goes up! I would encourage you to try your hardest to weigh yourself just once a week and feel how amazing it is when you see a much bigger loss. You can do it! :) X
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
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    Yes, it's a personal preference. I weight daily. Yes, the .2 - 1lb gain I see sometimes bums me out. But, I KNOW that it's normal to fluctuate and I know that I'm doing the right things by eating right and working out. So, I know the temporary bump up on the scale isn't really a "weight gain".

    It's OK to be a little bummed by seeing a small increase on the scale. But, if it REALLY freaks you out, then maybe you should do it daily. If you can just remember that it IS normal to fluctuate, then by all means, weigh daily!
  • alicial3
    alicial3 Posts: 10 Member
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    I found I have to weigh myself everyday to stay on track, I think it's up to the individual on what works best for them. If you feel like you want to try once a week go for it, if you find it's too stressful to wait, go back to once a day. Don't let it dictate your mood though!

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  • grouch201
    grouch201 Posts: 404 Member
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    With my workout routine, I consider it vital to know how much weight I loose during exercise so I have a better idea of how much water I need to drink. That being said, I weight every morning both before and after working out (first thing in the morning). However, I only 'officially' weigh in once a week. Weight fluctuation is only to be expected considering what you're eating and how much you're drinking.

    I don't see the harm in weighing in every day as long as you're only using it as a gauge of the previous day. That way you can get an idea of what foods to avoid and which to make sure you keep eating. However, don't let the scale dictate your mood. The scale is only a tool, not the goal. The scale tells you if your current eating/exercise regiment is working. If you're loosing weight, great! Keep doing what you're doing. If not, change things up. No two bodies are the same so you have to tweak things from how long you exercise, how many calories you consume, and how much water you're drinking.
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
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    From WedMD.......

    While most weight loss programs don't encourage the practice, a new study suggests that daily weighing may be better for weight loss and weight control than weekly or less frequent weighing.

    People in the study who weighed every day lost more weight or maintained their weight better than people who did not.

    The early findings must be confirmed, but researcher Jennifer A. Linde, PhD, tells WebMD that daily weighing may serve the same function as keeping track of daily food intake and exercise.

    "People who make lifestyle changes consistent with weight loss use all kinds of tools to help them," she says. "Daily weighing provides feedback. It may be one more thing that someone can do to keep them on track."

    Daily Weighers Lost Twice the Weight
    Linde and colleagues at the University of Minnesota examined the self-weighing practices of more than 3,000 people for two years. About 1,800 were either obese or overweight and were enrolled in a weight loss program. The rest were overweight and enrolled in a program designed to keep them from continuing to gain.

    About 20% of the people in both studies reported never weighing on their own and 40% said they weighed either weekly or daily, according to Linde.

    In both the weight loss and weight control groups, people who weighed themselves daily lost more weight than those who weighed less frequently.

    People in the weight gain prevention group who weighed themselves less than once a day tended to gain rather than lose weight during the study.

    Daily weighers in the weight loss group lost twice as much weight as weekly weighers -- an average of 12 pounds vs. 6, Linde says. People who never weighed on their own gained about 4 pounds.

    The next step, Linde says, is to test the findings in a larger study in which people are assigned to different self-weighing schedules.

    Daily Weighing Not for Everyone
    It is clear, however, that some people shouldn't weigh themselves every day. Constant weight monitoring is common among people with eating disorders. And Linde says unpublished research suggests that daily weighing may not be a good idea for people who are clinically depressed.

    "We would not want to encourage a behavior that is symptom of an eating disorder," she says. "But for reasonably healthy people who want to control their weight, stepping on a scale every day might be one more tool they can use."

    Daily weighing is not encouraged at Duke University Medical Center's Diet and Fitness Center, its director, Howard Eisenson, MD, tells WebMD. He says the issue of when to weigh remains controversial in weight loss circles. But he adds that he can see potential advantages for some people.

    "I don't think there is anything in the treatment of obesity that is absolute," he says. "There are some people who shouldn't get on the scale once a month, but others may be well served by daily weighing."

    Dieters following the Weight Watchers International program weigh in each week prior to meetings. The program discourages clients from weighing on their own at home while they are trying to lose weight, says spokeswoman Karen Miller-Kovach, MS, RD, because daily weight fluctuations can be discouraging.

    Miller-Kovach, who is chief scientific officer for Weight Watchers, says people tend to obsess about the numbers early on and can end up elated or discouraged based on what they see on their scale each day.

    "During weight loss people are psychologically looking for big changes," she says. "The bathroom scale is really not going to reflect what is going on."

    But Weight Watchers does encourage members trying to maintain their weight loss to weigh often on their own so that they can identify significant changes early.

    "The studies show that the best time to take action is as soon as the weight starts to creep back up," she says.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    I would say once a week at the same time. You can't rely on that number if you are doing any kind of strength training (gaining muscle and losing fat). I do treadmill workouts and strength training. My clothes are looser but I haven't dropped a single pound. Also, your weight fluctuates 3-5 pounds throughout the day due to water retention. I've read to weigh yourself once a week in the morning, with very little clothes, after you go to the bathroom and before you eat. So I weigh myself every Saturday morning.

    I try not to worry about the number of pounds and concentrate on the nutrients and calories going in my body.

    UPDATE: just saw the post from WebMD. Maybe I'm wrong
  • tmthorn0927
    tmthorn0927 Posts: 155 Member
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    Actually Dr Oz recommended somewhere that you weigh yourself once a day to help you keep on track. I do it most days and it does keep me on track most of the time. My husband thinks its a bit much but he is in a NORMAL weight range ;)
  • MonsteRawr
    MonsteRawr Posts: 95 Member
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    I used to be a once-a-day weigher, and like you, my mood was dictated by whether I'd lost or gained. The problem is that your body weight naturally fluctuates by as much as two pounds during the day. I was finding myself getting depressed by weight gains that may or may not have actually had anything to do with my exercise or diet.

    Finally, after encouragement from my husband, I forced myself to only weigh myself once a week, and it's been great! Instead of getting excited or upset over little .2 pound losses or gains, I'm seeing two and three pound weight losses. But more importantly, I'm not obsessing over the number, and instead focusing on how I look and feel.

    Granted, you're right, if you fall off track it may seem like you wasted a whole week because you didn't find out in time. Last Monday I found that I'd gained almost a pound, and it was a little discouraging to know that now I was a week behind. But it's been great motivation to keep pushing myself forward throughout the rest of the week. Besides, theoretically, that's what the food and exercise diaries here on MFP are for, to keep you on track.

    My $0.02 is if you find yourself obsessing over the numbers and letting a minute gain ruin your day, I would suggest giving a once a week weigh-in a try. Let the anticipation of the weigh-in be your motivation throughout the week, and try to notice how your clothes fit and how you feel rather than what those arbitrary numbers say.

    Rock it out and kick some *kitten*!
  • ashlee954
    ashlee954 Posts: 1,112 Member
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    Everyon'e different hun. I was obsessive for a while. Now I only weigh once a week. And unless you're eating 17,500 more calories per week than allotted you are not going to gain 5 lbs in that week. If that has happened to you it was most probably water weight. It will be a tough transition but you can do it if you really want to. Good luck!
  • reneeot
    reneeot Posts: 773 Member
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    I weigh myself religiously every morning and pretty much let that number dictate my mood/day. I'm thinking about only weighing myself once a week but that really scares me! I can EASILY put on 5 pounds in a week if I'm not watching every calorie. But maybe it'd be more exciting if I saw an actual loss instead of a .2 up/down every day?

    Can I do it? Should I even attempt this now that the holidays are approaching?


    This is what I have found for myself, when daily weighing for the WRONG reasons. Overall it usually does not help change the end result of the week. It becomes a vicous cycle of thinking "knowing your number" every day will make the scale move. Instead of developing a solid habit for exercise and dietary on it own. It becomes regulated by scale.

    It will be hard to break the daily weighing, you will have a strong urge to weigh. Especially if it is regulating your mood.

    IF a person is still figuring things out then weighing every day helps so you can look back as a reference over a " period of time."

    For example: Over a month, you look back and see, when I was eating and exercising this way , the scale moved well. When I did this or that and etc..

    This is my own experience of things

    :-)

    :-)
  • superwmn
    superwmn Posts: 936
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    Stay off the scale, watch the calories even though you're only weighing once a week and take back your power from the scale. I weigh in weekly and almost ALWAYS see losses. No need for me to stress about the water I'm retaining being heavy and causing gravity to pull on me harder.

    Charmagne
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    When I was weighing every day it definitely affected my mood. If I lost a little I was happy but if I gained, even 2 tenths of a pound, I would be grumpy and short tempered because I was angry with myself. I knew it was normal to fluctuate, but I still couldn't handle it. Now I weigh twice a week. It's often enough that I can catch myself if I start gaining (which I haven't yet) but it's not so frequent that it really takes into account the daily fluctuations.

    But I have found that my weight is not an accurate measurement of my eating and exercise habits. During the week I go to the gym 5 days, I eat healthy and stick to my calorie goal and I generally lose half a pound. Over the weekend I don't exercise and I let myself go over my calories and eat what I want. When I weigh in on Monday or Tuesday I find that I've lost at least a whole pound, sometimes one and a half. Obviously I know that doesn't mean I can eat what I want and not exercise, but I find it a little confusing.
  • rmkorama
    rmkorama Posts: 232 Member
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    I weigh myself religiously every morning and pretty much let that number dictate my mood/day. I'm thinking about only weighing myself once a week but that really scares me! I can EASILY put on 5 pounds in a week if I'm not watching every calorie. But maybe it'd be more exciting if I saw an actual loss instead of a .2 up/down every day?

    Can I do it? Should I even attempt this now that the holidays are approaching?

    First of all, I don't think I could live like that, allowing an inanimate object in my bathroom decide what my day is going to be like. If you feel you have to weigh every day to stay on track and motivated, by all means do so, but I wouldn't let that number be the deciding factor of mood. It can help you approach your day with extra caution in terms of your calories and what foods you choose, but mood? I just shudder at the thought.

    That being said, if you're watching your calories carefully, what does the scale have to do with it? The kitchen scale will help with that, but not the one in the bathroom.

    Personally, my official weigh-in day is on Friday, which I do on purpose in order to help my motivation. I do sometimes weigh other days, just out of curiosity, but I don't take it to heart.
  • StaciO
    StaciO Posts: 998
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    I also use to weigh daily but my scale at home broke (when I dropped it not when I got on it LOL) so now I use the scale at work. Then, I was weighing once a week on Mondays because I started a weight loss group at work and we all weighed in together. but I found that I would start making poor choices over the weekend so now I weigh myself on Mondays and Thursdays (I don't work on Fridays) and for the past 3 weeks I am more consious about my choices over the weekend. It may not work for everyone but it works for me.:smile:
  • kewkdb
    kewkdb Posts: 207 Member
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    To me there are too many variable for fluctuation weighing in daily. Plus it feels good to see the big numbers come in by waiting :)