The Ups and Downs of Daily Weight Checks

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  • Booksandbeaches
    Booksandbeaches Posts: 1,791 Member
    I like to weigh myself every day too. I don't get freaked out by a small increase because by weighing myself daily I know fluctuations can even happen within a day for various reasons. When I didn't weigh myself daily, I'd get frustrated with small gains that I now know were either water weight, weight from carb intake, not pooping, TOM or something else. I have a lot less pressure for weigh-ins when I weigh every day. I can also see the general trend in my weight loss much easier with daily weight checks.
  • amandabethc
    amandabethc Posts: 16 Member
    I weigh every day. But I only record on Saturdays. I use it as a reminder of what I'm working for, and that what I'm doing is working. Even if the number is higher than the day before....it's not ever as high as when I started! And it helps me to focus on what my plan for the day is. Great job, OP, on the weight loss!
  • patwojo
    patwojo Posts: 13
    Thanks for posting your graph. Seeing the visual puts in perspective how much our weight can fluctuate from day to day.
  • penelopeyvonne
    penelopeyvonne Posts: 97 Member
    I weigh myself every Friday, Saturday & Sunday!! It used to be just every Saturday, and that would be the one I would enter into Progress on MFP, and also into a weekly "Food/How it's all Going Diary" I've kept for the last two years. This doesn't chart what I eat, but basically how I'm feeling each week, as the weight comes off, goes on. I record just a snapshot of how I'm feeling, weightloss-wise.

    I started the Friday weigh-in because I was so anxious about what the Weight Would Be on the Saturday that I had to put myself out of my misery :noway: and then check it against the next day's result. And if I didn't like THAT, then Sunday was the fallback if I needed it. Take this weekend ... Friday was 13st 7.5 ... Saturday was 13st 5.5 and this morning :bigsmile: 13st 3.5!!

    Yes, I am aware how much weight can fluctuate even during the day, but it's mentally reassuring / soothing / consoling if it goes down :wink:

    And it's especially reassuring at the moment as three weeks ago I upped my calories (I've posted about it) from 1215 a day to 1700, following reading lots of posts about TDEE etc on MFP.
  • penelopeyvonne
    penelopeyvonne Posts: 97 Member
    I weigh every day. But I only record on Saturdays. I use it as a reminder of what I'm working for, and that what I'm doing is working. Even if the number is higher than the day before....it's not ever as high as when I started! And it helps me to focus on what my plan for the day is. Great job, OP, on the weight loss!

    What a wonderfully positive attitude, and very close :blushing: if I may say so, to my own!!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I weigh myself every day because I noticed I cut down on food the day before weigh in when I did it weekly. Plus I find numbers exciting and amusing so this fits right in.
  • bethlaf
    bethlaf Posts: 954 Member
    my graph would look identical if i entered weights every day , but i decided a while back , only to enter a "false gain" if it stays longer than a week, every time i change up my routine it takes a while for my body to remember oh yeah, its ok for us to get rid of a little of this excess weight..

    ETA- yes i weigh DAILY - it motivates me and keeps me on track.
  • logg1e
    logg1e Posts: 1,208 Member
    I like the idea of being too busy to step on scales.

    I'm spending a few weeks weighing myself a lot, up to four times a day when work allows. I'm finding it very informative and motivating. I know that I'm at my heaviest around midday and not in the evening as I thought. I know that my weight fluctuates about 1 and a half pounds in 24 hours, not as much as I thought.

    I only record my weight once a week though.

    On a similar point, it took me a while to realise that when most MFPers refer to "scale" or "non-scale" they are referring to "scales" or "non-scales" as in weighing scales. They are only referring to weight so, for example, a decreasing waist measurement would confusingly be referred to as non-scale.
  • Sharon468
    Sharon468 Posts: 12 Member
    I am weighing daily in the morning now too while I'm trying to lose, because once a week isn't enough data to see a proper trend until a few months go by. How do you know otherwise if one of those weekly weigh-ins happened during a spike or dip? I keep a spreadsheet and then look at my 7-day trailing average (average of the last 7 days for each day). That gives me a weekly average every day and I know exactly what the trend is. I've done this enough that I now know a one-day spike isn't something to be concerned about but several days up in a row should get my attention.

    I may need to keep weighing daily after I reach goal. What's happened in the past is I go back to occasional weighing, then if the scale goes up I tell myself it must be a temporary spike, then I just stop weighing for longer periods of time until my clothes get too tight and I can't kid myself anymore.
  • 30lbsorbust
    30lbsorbust Posts: 27 Member
    Looks a little like my chart. :blushing:
    Fellow scale-obsessed buddy:tongue:
  • emilyisbonkers
    emilyisbonkers Posts: 373 Member
    I love weighing daily, it find it helps me notice patterns and such
  • 8lackie
    8lackie Posts: 39 Member
    In an effort to not be swayed by fluctuations (read: discouraged) I weigh myself once a week. Also because working out isn't just for weight management but to feel good. I count more on my overall disposition to motivate me, which is greatly enhanced by working out..
  • ftrobbie
    ftrobbie Posts: 1,017 Member
    I am weighing daily in the morning now too while I'm trying to lose, because once a week isn't enough data to see a proper trend until a few months go by. How do you know otherwise if one of those weekly weigh-ins happened during a spike or dip?

    Absolutely, measure once a week, lose a lb a week, but daily fluctuation +/- 1.5 lbs. It is too easy to get false results. Measure daily at the same time, and see the trends.
  • MelStren
    MelStren Posts: 457 Member
    Why do you weigh everyday?

    You actually get better at dealing with ups and downs when you can see that it happens all the time.

    I step on the scale 2 or 3 times daily and I'm sure if I charted it, it'd look much like the OP's chart does.
  • mebepiglet123
    mebepiglet123 Posts: 327 Member
    I not sure it's being obsessed ... I Have aria scales that Bluetooth to computer... Then have a website on my iPad called trend weight. It trends the ups and downs to a figure. I love it.. Love seeing the numbers stay the same or go down. No longer have the stress of that weekly weigh in... Everyone to their own I say... Maybe I am obsessed but I don't care works for me. Especially as I'm am trying to figure out maximum amount of food I can eat.. Am also lifting so you can see increase in weight day after workout. Takes no time at all, jump on, jump off. Done.
  • arl1286
    arl1286 Posts: 276 Member
    This is awesome. I weigh every day also (more or less). Because my weight fluctuates so much on a day to day basis, I don't want to risk only weighing once a week and having the day I weigh happen to be an upsurge in my weight.
  • jim180155
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
    Why do you weigh everyday?

    You actually get better at dealing with ups and downs when you can see that it happens all the time.

    I agree. When I first started on MFP I was losing 4 to 6 pounds a month. After a couple months that leveled out to 2 to 3 pounds a month. I think weighing at the same time daily and recording using MFP's progress option makes it easier to understand daily fluctuations and also to spot the longer term trends.

    I track weight, body fat, and skeletal muscle. (My scale gives me readouts on all three.) The weight trends are easy to spot over the course of one, three, or six months. The body fat fluctuations are a little more volatile, but still have a good trend over longer periods (22.7% to 13.4% over 6 months.) The skeletal muscle graphs look more like an EKG readout. They go up, they go down, seemingly without any trend or direction, but I think I may have lost a pound of muscle in the last six months.
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
    I weigh daily also. Its a habit I now hope to keep for the rest of my life compared to rarely ever weighing in the past because I didn't want to see how much I weighed.

    My charting shows a downward trend but it is more of a stair-step pattern. I drop then stay at that point a few days then either drop or go up, stay at that point a few days, repeat. I've also noticed that usually a gain is followed in a few days by a decent loss, however not always; sometimes the loss is just back to the previous low followed by another small loss shortly.

    I think its really interesting OP how you had no leveling off at all during the month you charted and were able to lose so much so fast considering how little you have to lose. I am not sure why different people lose differently and of course it does not matter. The downward trend is what we all want.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I have a similar chart.

    I like weighing every day. What if I weighed weekly and one day happened to be on a "high" day and the next week a "low" and the third week was another "high"? I might think I have gained weight back or something.
  • rosehips60
    rosehips60 Posts: 1,030 Member
    I weigh once a week. It is a will power thing for me. I told myself this time I wouldn't obsess over the scale and I'm not. It helps me stay on track with everything else if I keep that promise to myself, sounds weird I know but it is what works for me

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