Is it cheating when you don't record weight gains?

Breizier
Breizier Posts: 221 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is it just me? I weight my self daily and am on MFP like a shot to record weight losses, but almost never record gains here. Anyone looking at my weightloss graph would think that I had plateaued for 2 months when the reality is I have Matterhorn-ed. I am talking the 6lbs of weekend damage (several times over ) not the odd lb water retention.

Is this just me? Is it cheating?

No criticism of the daily weight-in. It works for me. I am intimtely aquainted with my bodys fluctuations and don't stress them. I know when I don't weight-in daily I am out of control with the cholla in one hand and chocolate in the other and if I had third hand it would be holding a bottle.
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Replies

  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
    If you only weighed yourself once a week or every other week, that wouldn't be cheating.

    It's only cheating if you don't log your food :)
  • kerryforward
    kerryforward Posts: 64 Member
    You're not doing this for anybody else but you. You're the only one who says what's cheating.
  • suremeansyes
    suremeansyes Posts: 962 Member
    Everyone's definition of cheating is different.

    Does it feel like cheating to you?
  • Blacklance36
    Blacklance36 Posts: 755 Member
    You're not doing this for anybody else but you. You're the only one who says what's cheating.

    So, be true to yourself. That being said I sometimes reset my goals, that's not cheating.
  • sarahg148
    sarahg148 Posts: 701 Member
    I'd just record what you weigh once a week on the same day and time each week. I only record gains if they stick...which hopefully they don't. I don't record normal fluctuations.
  • Quasita
    Quasita Posts: 1,530 Member
    I generally do not post my gains because if I did, I'd gain and lose 20lbs a month with my cycle alone. I didn't want to get "unearned" kudos from buddies on my list for losing weight I'd already lost.

    This isn't a game, so you can't really cheat... but if you've boosted 10lbs or more and stated there more than a month, I'd add it because it impacts you calorie needs.

    Me, I just log when I actually lose lower than my last recorded weight. The only times I post re-gains is after a long time... Like right now my ticker says 59. It used to say 66, but after my surgery in November, I gained back the 7 pounds and have been stuck for three months :(
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    You don't have to record anything if you don't want to do it. However, if your tracking isn't accurate then you will not have anyway of pinpointing problems. It will be harder and longer for you to figure out the reason your weight loss is stalling or increasing.
  • C3001
    C3001 Posts: 28 Member
    I record my once a week results. You can see my TOM bumps every month. Ha! Now, if I randomly weigh myself not on log day I don't record (up or down numbers). I don't feel like a cheater. Our weight fluctuates anyway regularly. I just like to see the trending pattern (even with the road bumps).
  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    Everyone's definition of cheating is different.

    Does it feel like cheating to you?

    This. I am in maintenance and chose not to record the 3.5lbs loss I had two weeks ago from a stomach bug. It took me 2 weeks to put that back on, but I don't feel like that was loss or gain. That was being sick, which happens and stinks, but has nothing to do with my lifestyle change to get to my healthy weight.

    When I was losing, I logged the gains. That made it easy to see what things I was logging that affected my weight. (increased sodium and not walking.)
  • pukekolive
    pukekolive Posts: 237 Member
    I also weigh every day but I love a website I have found which picks up my weighings that I log at www.fitbit.com.

    It's called Trendweight www.trendweight.com and it does something in the background and shows your weight trend as well as your daily logs.

    I would say that if you have gains, trendweight would help you understand their impact on your weight trend over time. It has certainly helped me.

    You will need a free trendweight account and a free Fitbit account. Log ALL your weights into the Fitbit account daily or whenever, and trendweight will use the first one each day to work its magic. If you use a Withings or Fitbit Aria scale, trendweight will automatically import these but you can log your weights in Fitbit manually.

    Check my profile for a pic of my Trendweight page

    Hope this helps you as much as it helps me
  • cuinboston2014
    cuinboston2014 Posts: 848 Member
    I generally do not post my gains because if I did, I'd gain and lose 20lbs a month with my cycle alone. I didn't want to get "unearned" kudos from buddies on my list for losing weight I'd already lost.

    This isn't a game, so you can't really cheat... but if you've boosted 10lbs or more and stated there more than a month, I'd add it because it impacts you calorie needs.

    Me, I just log when I actually lose lower than my last recorded weight. The only times I post re-gains is after a long time... Like right now my ticker says 59. It used to say 66, but after my surgery in November, I gained back the 7 pounds and have been stuck for three months :(

    This is basically me, too. I do use the Libra app and weigh myself and record it there daily but I only add to MFP if it's below my previously recorded minimum. The exception was after a surgery and due to bloating from the gas in my abdomen and severe swelling I was up 10 pounds. You bet your butt I wanted those pounds recorded so I could have my calorie goals adjusted lol.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I don't record them. I'm not cheating anyone, I just know it's water weight and I'll lose it within a week. I mean if I piggied out for a week and gained 3 lbs, then yeah, I would, but as long as I know I'm eating at a deficit, what's the point?
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,854 Member
    I weigh and record every day but it's pure psychology. Lots of people never weigh. So no, it's not cheating. If it works for you, that's all that matters.
  • GertrudeHorse
    GertrudeHorse Posts: 646 Member
    I didn't want to get "unearned" kudos from buddies on my list for losing weight I'd already lost.

    Precisely.

    ETA: I record my weight in a separate app anyway because I weigh daily and want the long-term trend.
  • badbcatha05
    badbcatha05 Posts: 200 Member
    I don't think it's cheating to not record gains. BUT, if you do, you can go look at the graph showing your weight and you might be able to see a trend starting to develop.
  • Cathalain
    Cathalain Posts: 424 Member
    I fluctuate up and down so much that I'd have to record every single day. What's the point of that?

    I use my last lowest recorded weight (because it's usually not too far off from the 4 ounce gain or whatever it might say in the morning). If it's over 5 pounds and it sticks more than 3 days, I'll concede that it's a gain and record it. Otherwise, no. It usually goes back down and then some.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Like others have said, it's just for you, so there's no cheating.

    I weigh most days and write it down in a little calendar, since I like to keep track of patterns (for example, re TOM). This is psychologically helpful for me--I'm sure it wouldn't be for everyone--since I'm trying to get used to the fact it fluctuates and rob the specific number of its power. But I have only one official weigh-in date which I use to see how the week went and compare weeks overall, and that's what I input here.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    I fluctuate up and down so much that I'd have to record every single day. What's the point of that?

    I use my last lowest recorded weight (because it's usually not too far off from the 4 ounce gain or whatever it might say in the morning). If it's over 5 pounds and it sticks more than 3 days, I'll concede that it's a gain and record it. Otherwise, no. It usually goes back down and then some.

    Same here.
  • ZombieEarhart
    ZombieEarhart Posts: 320 Member
    "last lowest" is all I ever pay attention to. If I saw a consistent gain it would give me pause, but I ignore daily fluctuations and go by the last lowest number- until I get a new lowest number :)

    ETA: like others, I also keep a separate weight-tracking app for daily fluctuations.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    You can put in whatever weight you want, or never enter a weight at all. However you want to use the tool is fine.
  • FatOldBat
    FatOldBat Posts: 3,307 Member
    As so many others have said, in effect: cheat schmeat. You're doing this to lose weight, so the only "cheat" would be on you, right?
  • JenniTheVeggie
    JenniTheVeggie Posts: 2,474 Member
    I don't think so. I weigh daily too and I'm up and down with the same stupid 5 damn pounds lately. I don't log it. As I always say....whatever works for YOU!
  • Maleficent0241
    Maleficent0241 Posts: 386 Member
    I generally do not post my gains because if I did, I'd gain and lose 20lbs a month with my cycle alone. I didn't want to get "unearned" kudos from buddies on my list for losing weight I'd already lost.

    This isn't a game, so you can't really cheat... but if you've boosted 10lbs or more and stated there more than a month, I'd add it because it impacts you calorie needs.

    Me, I just log when I actually lose lower than my last recorded weight. The only times I post re-gains is after a long time... Like right now my ticker says 59. It used to say 66, but after my surgery in November, I gained back the 7 pounds and have been stuck for three months :(

    This for me too. MFP keeps saying "woohoo! you lost more pounds!" No, I didn't, I dropped off some normal fluctuations again. I do weigh daily, but now only keep track of that in a second app that analyzes trends in an intelligible way.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    I generally do not post my gains because if I did, I'd gain and lose 20lbs a month with my cycle alone. I didn't want to get "unearned" kudos from buddies on my list for losing weight I'd already lost.

    This isn't a game, so you can't really cheat... but if you've boosted 10lbs or more and stated there more than a month, I'd add it because it impacts you calorie needs.

    Me, I just log when I actually lose lower than my last recorded weight. The only times I post re-gains is after a long time... Like right now my ticker says 59. It used to say 66, but after my surgery in November, I gained back the 7 pounds and have been stuck for three months :(

    This.
  • mschicagocubs
    mschicagocubs Posts: 774 Member
    I don't weigh myself daily to avoid any flucuations. Especially on a Monday when maybe I ate and drank a little more than usual on the weekends.

    Why not weigh once a week or once every two weeks? It seems to be only optimistic for me.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I too only weigh once a week. The only time I record actual gains is when I know it's fact...ie over the holidays while I ate near or at maintenance...1.5lbs up was recorded even tho it was gone in 2 weeks...

    Then the 4lbs gained on vacation even tho it was gone in less than 2 weeks.

    I don't often see upward trends because I weigh once a week...I might not move down but rarely up...
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
    I only record my lowest weight, unless I've had a string of about 2 weeks of over eating (which I did recently). Then to get back on track, I record that weight and go from there.
  • cm1458
    cm1458 Posts: 742 Member
    I dont always record gains because I can gain 5-10lbs overnight. (PCOS... Hormones are the worst) I record once per week (monday morning)
  • The_1_Who_Knocks
    The_1_Who_Knocks Posts: 343 Member
    Is it just me? I weight my self daily and am on MFP like a shot to record weight losses, but almost never record gains here. Anyone looking at my weightloss graph would think that I had plateaued for 2 months when the reality is I have Matterhorn-ed. I am talking the 6lbs of weekend damage (several times over ) not the odd lb water retention.

    Is this just me? Is it cheating?

    No criticism of the daily weight-in. It works for me. I am intimtely aquainted with my bodys fluctuations and don't stress them. I know when I don't weight-in daily I am out of control with the cholla in one hand and chocolate in the other and if I had third hand it would be holding a bottle.

    As long as you eventually hit a new weight it doesn't matter at all. I never record my weight until I hit a new low.
  • AmyZ46
    AmyZ46 Posts: 694 Member
    I only record my weight ( gains ) on Sundays . Sometimes I have gained during the week and secretly hope it goes down by Sunday . I record every loss ..hahaha:bigsmile:

    Do what makes you feel good , If it's not recording gains then dont . But I feel that it makes me feel like I don't lose anything - like you stated it looks like you are in a plateau....

    also I like looking at my graph with the ups and downs .it's so regular I feel like I learn something ? Like every time It goes up ,shorthly after it goes down and I love seeing that ....

    Good Luck !

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