Daily vs. Weekly Weigh Ins

pink427
pink427 Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So disappointed that I gained .8 pounds from yesterday to this morning, even though I had a great day yesterday! I know I shouldn't be discouraged, but it's still hard!

Do you weigh yourself weekly or daily? What keeps you most motivated? What have your experiences been with fluctuations?

Replies

  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    Understand that your body fluctuates if your going to weigh daily.................................
  • FP4HSharon
    FP4HSharon Posts: 664 Member
    There are just too many things that can cause daily fluctuations, which is why most experts recommend a weekly weigh in. Try to do it on the same day & same time (usually as soon as you wake up) every week. Most people I know that weigh daily, make themselves crazy w/the fluctuations from day to day...happy if they lost, but down if they didn't. Weekly is plenty.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I weigh daily, but I don't let the daily fluctuations bother me. I can go up several pounds in a 24 hour period, easy.

    If it bugs you, don't do it. Weigh once a week or even every two weeks.
  • ucabucca
    ucabucca Posts: 606 Member
    It is going to fluctuate daily I do not weigh but twce a month but It is has been said weekly a lot of places.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    So disappointed that I gained .8 pounds from yesterday to this morning, even though I had a great day yesterday! I know I shouldn't be discouraged, but it's still hard!

    Do you weigh yourself weekly or daily? What keeps you most motivated? What have your experiences been with fluctuations?

    You do realize that your body weight NATURALLY fluctuates right...hell, 0.8 Lbs could just be a little bit more poop in your intestines than yesterday...it could be anything.

    I weigh daily, but I understand these fluctuations and I understand why they occur and I understand that I didn't gain almost a pound of fat overnight because I understand that to do so is pretty much mathematically impossible. If you do not understand these things then you should probably not weigh in daily. If natural body weight fluctuations are going to stress you out then you should definitely step away from the scale. Natural daily weight fluctuations can be as much as 3-5 Lbs either way.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    Fluctuations are normal. Many times you know why like a high sodium day or a new workout but often times there is no "reason". You just need to accept them if you weigh daily.

    I am a happy daily weigher myself. I would suggest that if you are going to weigh every day that you log them so you can eventually make a cool chart. Then on a "bad" day you can zoom out and look at the big picture. I use Libra for my android but there are a lot of similar apps out there.

    This isn't a lot of fun:

    libra3.jpg

    This is!

    libra5.jpg

    (not current data, 209 now)
  • breeshabebe
    breeshabebe Posts: 580
    I weight daily because it is a motivator for me, but I know my body well enough to know when I will have fluctuations. The day after a really hard or new workout I always retain water. If I eat a bigger meal at night than normal then I will be heavier. And right before/during TOM I hardly weight myself. I have serious water retention during that time.
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
    Considering I tried to NEVER step on a scale for the past 20 years, the fact that I'm excited to weigh every day now is important to me. So, I do it. I figure much better to be a bit disappointed if it helps me stay motivated. I am interested in seeing the fluctuations and am learning that if I ever see a lower number, I will see it again -- even it is a few days or a week in the future. I like weighing daily now that I've been doing it for almost a month and I hope I can keep it up for the rest of my life. Working for me!
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Not sure why people think weekly weigh-in avoids seeing fluctuations.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    Not sure why people think weekly weigh-in avoids seeing fluctuations.

    Couldn't agree more! We all know those little spikes that happen sometimes can't be explained. What if one of those spike days is on your weigh in day? Now you are really bummed thinking you didn't lose for a week or even gained some.
  • thesimsisters
    thesimsisters Posts: 73 Member
    Not sure why people think weekly weigh-in avoids seeing fluctuations.

    Couldn't agree more! We all know those little spikes that happen sometimes can't be explained. What if one of those spike days is on your weigh in day? Now you are really bummed thinking you didn't lose for a week or even gained some.

    Yes, you'll still get the up down fluctuations even with the weekly weigh ins. I see this all the time with myself. I did my own chart in excel after reading this thread:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1196878-weight-is-not-consistant-loss-is-not-linear

    And mine looks exactly like that. With ups and downs, but instead of daily weigh ins, I'm weekly. And it still looks like that. What helps with charting it, is you can see your trendline going down. Yes I might be "up" 1 pound one Saturday, then next I'm down 1.9 You still have the disappointment with weekly the same as daily when you're "up". I think it's just a matter of preference and what you can handle. I could not handle daily, I found it too discouraging when I first started. Now, I'm so used to it I don't worry too much. I still feel kind of disappointed a moment, then I think about it and I'm ok and ready for next weeks "real" one :)
  • MelisaBegins
    MelisaBegins Posts: 161 Member
    Try not to get discouraged - I have definitely seen fluctuations up and down. I do weigh myself daily but I keep "my eye on the prize" (so corny, I know) and just remember that I am doing what is right for me to lose weight. It is not going to happen overnight, nor is it going to happen in a neat and clean way. It's going to be messy, and hard, and unpredictable and that is just how it is.

    Please excuse the TMI but just last week I had a 4-pound gain OVERNIGHT thanks to TOM and I just went onto the MFP forums; read all about how common this is; and didn't worry about it. Today, I woke up to a 1.4 pound loss from yesterday. And on and on goes the roller coaster.
  • Tashamarie55
    Tashamarie55 Posts: 17 Member
    Personally, I prefer daily weigh ins. When I weighed in weekly it became too much of an event for me. If I hadn't lost (or even worse, if I had gained) I was so disappointed! I never knew if it was just that day or not, until the next week. Now that I weigh daily I expect fulctuations and can deal with them much better. You just have to find whatever works better for you!
  • mschicagocubs
    mschicagocubs Posts: 774 Member
    Not sure why people think weekly weigh-in avoids seeing fluctuations.

    Couldn't agree more! We all know those little spikes that happen sometimes can't be explained. What if one of those spike days is on your weigh in day? Now you are really bummed thinking you didn't lose for a week or even gained some.

    That's why I try to only weigh 2 times a month. First time is after my monthly girl friend and the other is about 2 weeks after that.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    daily. I notice fluctuations & keep them @ bay....
  • missbirrell
    missbirrell Posts: 133
    I weigh weekly - first thing Monday - and then check several times throughout the week just to see if it's going the right way. I only record Monday weights though.
  • kuderstadt
    kuderstadt Posts: 134 Member
    Weekly here… but the last 3 weeks I didn't and then just weighed in once and was down 3lbs… so now I'm thinking it's nice to just weigh in every few weeks… ;-)
  • sisterlilbunny
    sisterlilbunny Posts: 686 Member
    Right now I'm weighing daily because I'm trying to see if there's a trend during the month. Yes, it bugs me a bit when I'm up but I know that tomorrow it could be down to yesterdays or even below that. Gotta keep looking towards the horizon!!
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
    Not sure why people think weekly weigh-in avoids seeing fluctuations.

    Couldn't agree more! We all know those little spikes that happen sometimes can't be explained. What if one of those spike days is on your weigh in day? Now you are really bummed thinking you didn't lose for a week or even gained some.

    Yes, you'll still get the up down fluctuations even with the weekly weigh ins. I see this all the time with myself. I did my own chart in excel after reading this thread:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1196878-weight-is-not-consistant-loss-is-not-linear

    And mine looks exactly like that. With ups and downs, but instead of daily weigh ins, I'm weekly. And it still looks like that. What helps with charting it, is you can see your trendline going down. Yes I might be "up" 1 pound one Saturday, then next I'm down 1.9 You still have the disappointment with weekly the same as daily when you're "up". I think it's just a matter of preference and what you can handle. I could not handle daily, I found it too discouraging when I first started. Now, I'm so used to it I don't worry too much. I still feel kind of disappointed a moment, then I think about it and I'm ok and ready for next weeks "real" one :)
    You could weigh yourself hourly. You'd see even more variation. My weight varies by over 5 pounds within a single 24 hour timeframe. Overtime you can see the trend... while the line (if you graph) is wavy, it trends one way or another -- up / down /straight. Weighing less often smooths out some of the wavy or spikiness and shows the trend. If you understand how that works and the wiggles don't bother you, feel free to weigh more often. Some people can't ignore it, so for them weighing weekly is probably better. And you still need to keep monthly and seasonal cycles in mind.
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
    I weigh myself daily because it helps keep me accountable. I log the weight weekly, though. Except for this week. I dropped 3 lbs between Monday and Thursday, so I logged it. :bigsmile: Only because it brought me below 200.
  • JaxNole82
    JaxNole82 Posts: 21
    The scale doesnt always tell the real story. How you look and how your clothes fit are a much better indicators.
  • breeshabebe
    breeshabebe Posts: 580
    I weigh myself daily because it helps keep me accountable. I log the weight weekly, though. Except for this week. I dropped 3 lbs between Monday and Thursday, so I logged it. :bigsmile: Only because it brought me below 200.

    Maybe I should only log once a week... I always log the lowest number that I hit. So every few days I'll show a loss of .8 or .4lbs. Then at the end of the week I'll be discouraged over low numbers and realize that I actually lost a good 2-3lbs that week.
  • zeal26
    zeal26 Posts: 602 Member
    I weigh and log it daily. I have considered weekly weigh ins but to be honest, I'm too nosy! And I like seeing the trends and fluctuations, it helps me accept that this is going to take time.
  • wolfsbayne
    wolfsbayne Posts: 3,116 Member
    I weigh myself daily because it helps keep me accountable. I log the weight weekly, though. Except for this week. I dropped 3 lbs between Monday and Thursday, so I logged it. :bigsmile: Only because it brought me below 200.

    Maybe I should only log once a week... I always log the lowest number that I hit. So every few days I'll show a loss of .8 or .4lbs. Then at the end of the week I'll be discouraged over low numbers and realize that I actually lost a good 2-3lbs that week.

    Once a week is good. I also agree that the scale is a deceiver. That being said, I like to see the numbers I wanna see, ya know?
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Depends on how you react to the changes. Personally, I weigh every morning, record the weight if it's a new low, and shrug it off if it's not a new low. For me, if I weighed once a week I'd care a lot more about the number -- a daily weigh-in lets me shrug off and keep going. As long as I'm meeting my calorie and exercise targets I don't worry about the ups -- my weight can easily swing five or more pounds during the week.

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