How frequently do you weigh yourselves?

hschimke
hschimke Posts: 14
edited September 24 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello,
I once read (who knows where) that the more frequently you weigh yourself the more apt you are to stay on track towards your gaol. I think they were referring to doing this daily.
I have been doing it daily so far, but can be frustrating if you are up .6 pounds or something a day.
What are others doing?

Also, does everybody ONLY eat 1200 calories a day despite the amount you are suppose to eat, according to the calucation that MFP goes for you?

Thanks a million,
Heather
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Replies

  • ceejay000
    ceejay000 Posts: 402 Member
    I weigh myself once a week. There are too many day-to-day fluctuations that can discourage you if you're not losing or even if you "gain" a little bit.

    I try to eat the number of calories MFP tells me I should eat. This is calculated based on what you would need to maintain your current weight, and then they subtract 500-1000 calories depending on how much you weigh/how quickly you want to lose. So the calculated number of calories already has a calorie deficit built in.
  • stanvoodoo
    stanvoodoo Posts: 1,023 Member
    Once a week, same place, same time and never inbetween or off to the funny farm I would go! Doctor and Nutritionist said the same, once a week!
  • HotSouthernMess
    HotSouthernMess Posts: 474 Member
    i weigh in once a week, on wednesday. (the day i joined MFP) i sometimes get eager if ive had a really awesome or really bad week and weigh in but try to stick to once weekly. also, i eat what MFP recommends if i can. some days when i work out i have way too many cals to consume but try and get as close to it as possible. hope this helps! good luck
  • EDBENAGLIO
    EDBENAGLIO Posts: 424
    I DO IT TWICE A DAY BEFOR AND AFTER WORKOUT I KNOW THAT IS ALOT BUT IT WORKS FOR ME. YOU NEED TO FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
  • reneelee
    reneelee Posts: 877 Member
    I have weighed daily for two years, in fact I weigh first thing in the morning and night. This way i know if i weigh more than 2 pounds at night I'm retaining water and Ican look back two to three days and see if I have eaten to much sodium or not drank enough wate. You sould weigh two pounds heavier at night.
  • Picky_nikki
    Picky_nikki Posts: 405 Member
    I weigh and input my weight every day... I don't see as big of losses, but it helps me stay on track! Sometimes I am up half a pound... but I understand it can be bloat, or many other things! I just chalk it up to making myself accountable, and being aware...and I don't sweat the small increases!
  • andreae13
    andreae13 Posts: 239 Member
    Hello, my name is Andrea and I'm a scale addict.....I used to weigh every day...sometimes twice a day. Then I was told by my trainer to limit my self to once a week so as not to get discouraged by the body's natural fluctuations. I tried and I just can't hold out that long! I weigh every other day now... :)
  • ChelDM
    ChelDM Posts: 145
    I weigh in once a week...water retention or loss, and even the food you eat on any given day will cause fluctuations...Plus I love being surprised...It makes me work harder toward the goal not less.
  • NicolCook
    NicolCook Posts: 489 Member
    I usually weigh every day, just for curiosity sake. I don't let it get to me or affect my life in any way. It's either up or down or the same. Doesn't change who I am or what I am doing.

    I try to stay at a minimum of 1200 NET calories a day. That is the very least I let myself do in a day. I sometimes go as high as my allowance, if I haven't worked out that day and am hungry enough to talk myself into using the calories. I do reward myself when I really want something I have been depriving myself of too......everyone knows if you try to stay away from all things bad, you will binge, and I don't wanna do that for sure.
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    Once a month. Sometimes if I can see changes in my body I might jump on after 2 weeks. But I cannot get on everyday or every week because it drives me crazy and then i tend to give up or sabotage myself if i see fluctuation.
  • street_wi
    street_wi Posts: 15
    I weigh myself everyday but only really pay attention to my weekly weigh in. If I gain a little weight from one day to the next I know it's no big deal. Some people can't do that though since they get discouraged. If you hate seeing the numbers fluctuate then only weigh yourself once a week. I'm so curious though, I like doing it every day.
  • Shua456
    Shua456 Posts: 211
    I do weigh myself daily but I refuse to get frustrated if I'm up a little bit. That just encourages me to make the right choices and stay on track. Weighing in once a week doesn't work for me because I get off track throughout the week when I do that.

    I zig zag my calories. I'll eat about 1200 2-3 days in a row, then I'll eat about 1500-1700 calories for a day (I love those days!) then 1200 for another day or two then about 1000 for ONE day. The more I zig zag the calories the better I do with the weight coming off.
  • wysmom2000
    wysmom2000 Posts: 101 Member
    I weigh on the same day every week and always at the same time. Weight can fluctuate throughout the day as your tissues swell so I always weigh as soon as I get to work at 8am (I work at a doctor's office and weigh on their scale). I've tried weighing every day but was finding my weight would fluctuate significantly through the week. I don't have a lot of weight to lose but the ups and downs could be very discouraging.
  • I weigh myself every morning and take measurements once a month. In my opinion, it has been very beneficial to me. Perhaps at the beginning, seeing the weight going up and down is discouraging (to some people), but that kind of thing doesn't bother me as much. I understand that it happens. Weighing everyday is more like a mind game to keep me motivated. If the number is going down, I get excited and happy and it makes me want to continue doing what I'm doing. If it goes up, I might be disappointed or even upset for a minute, but never discouraged. In fact, I want to work harder to prevent it from happening. It's also a good way to tell how your daily actions affect the weight fluctuation.
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
    Once a week is enough unless you have sever OCD. Sometimes if I'm feeling like I have lost a pound or two I will weigh during the middle of the week just to see. But normally I weigh every Friday morning, I do it on Fridays because I'm real good at staying on track during the week, but weekends I tend to ease up a bit, so I figure my best/lowest weight day should be Friday morning. Makes sense,,,,,,, to me. :smile:
  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
    Also, does everybody ONLY eat 1200 calories a day despite the amount you are suppose to eat, according to the calucation that MFP goes for you?
    I just got back on track 1/1/11 so I'm doing what MFP suggests at this point. It's working and I have enough weight to lose that I don't need to get too specific. Once I get closer to goal (or if I plateau) I may need to re-evaluate. I suggest doing what MFP tells you and see if that works.

    I weigh once a week on Saturday morning, pre-breakfast, post-evacuation, naked! :blushing:
    Weighing more than that causes stress because weight fluctuates daily/hourly.
  • DatEpicChick
    DatEpicChick Posts: 358 Member
    honestly... i weight myself 3 times a day.
    and i write all 3 weights on a calendar everyday.
    even if i go up .6 of a pound, its wonderful to see it go down .2 of a pound!

    some doctors may say its not healthy! but you know what? i DISAGREE. i have been keeping track of my weight 3 times a day for 4 weeks now, and i have already lost 6 pounds! its awesome to see 157.2, 158.1, and 157.4 today instead of 169.2, 168.7, and 168.4 on February 1st 2011

    it may fluctuate during the day, but its so worth seeing the differences over time i love it!

    i keep the calendar right outside the bathroom nailed to the wall with the pen attached to it, so i can write it on the and have to walk next to it every time i go in there.

    i also wear the same exact outfits every time. just a sports bra and underwear, and it weighs out the same as if i were just naked! =]
  • I have only weighed myself 4 times since joining in December 6, 2010 and the last time was January 21st. I have changed the outlook on my weight loss because I see posts everyday where my friends get very frustrated because they didn't lose or they gained. I started thinking....I don't want to experience that. So I decided I'm going to wait to weigh myself until I look in the mirror and smile at what I see in the mirror. So my new motto is: It's all about the inches baby...it's all about the inches.
  • PeterBuilt09
    PeterBuilt09 Posts: 24 Member
    Every 3 days..
  • hellen72
    hellen72 Posts: 144 Member
    Every day before breakfast and also on the gym scales later in the day too
    The ups can be frustrating if u don't know why but if I have had a piggy day then the scales go up the next day it kicks me back into action

    My official weigh is tues as I always eat early before an 8.15 body pump class. The other days I do exercise earlier then eat so my weight if often a bit higher than a tues
  • callipygianchronicle
    callipygianchronicle Posts: 811 Member
    Once a month, followed by measurements. It is working for me. I just don’t believe that “weight” is that important of an indicator of how well I’m doing. Better signs to me are: increased endurance, increased flexibility, being able to pull of my size 16 jeans without unbuttoning them, and seeing new muscles when I look in the mirror.
  • squinina
    squinina Posts: 2
    I weigh in everyday too. I do it knowing it will be different day to day, sometimes up sometimes down. It actually keeps me on track because when I am up i think about what I have eaten and how well (or not so well) I am doing. I get on track faster, I tell myself I get a do over tomorrow. It seems to be working for me. I only record my weight when I am down. And then my next goal is to lose one more pound. I take it one pound at a time.
  • I weigh myself every monday when I wake up after I pee. :P

    Sometimes I will weigh during the week if I feel like I haven't stayed on track just so I can kind of see where I'm at, but I try to stay away from the scale as much as possible.
  • reander
    reander Posts: 175 Member
    I weigh in once a week, as soon as I wake up, after I use the bathroom, before I eat. It's worked for me so far, I think i'd be constantly worrying if I weighed in more often.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Everyday. Doesn't bother me to see fluctuations. I enjoy them. Plus, it gives me a better prediction of what my weight will be, based on the food and exercise choices I make the day prior. I can pretty much accurately eyeball my weight based on look and feel to +/- 0.2 lbs.
  • hschimke
    hschimke Posts: 14
    WOW,, thanks everybody for the awesome advice.. I can see the pros/cons of weighing yourself daily or weekly. Like everybody said, find what's right for me.. I don't want to be crazy (more than I am now. :)) but want to stay on track...

    Lots of good tips so far.

    Many thanks.

    Heather
  • dhiggins8
    dhiggins8 Posts: 466 Member
    I probably shouldn't but I weigh everyday twice I weigh at home before I get dressed and then again at work.
  • suzhawken
    suzhawken Posts: 32 Member
    Thank you for posting this question!!!! I was thinking I was the only one!! I can weigh myself once or even twice a day and it drives me crazy!!! :grumble:

    After reading the responses I have decided that no more than twice a WEEK I will weigh myself. When I do it daily, I get really depressed - unrealistic expectations of seeing a HUGE drop in a day! I don't know why I always seem to think I am going to see something miraculous, but I always do!! I think its just wishful thinking!

    I totally Agree with the inches versus pounds comment too. If you can physically see the difference in your body, and you like what you are seeing, who cares about the digits!?!
  • I weigh myself every 2-3 days.
  • honestly... i weight myself 3 times a day.
    and i write all 3 weights on a calendar everyday.
    even if i go up .6 of a pound, its wonderful to see it go down .2 of a pound!

    some doctors may say its not healthy! but you know what? i DISAGREE. i have been keeping track of my weight 3 times a day for 4 weeks now, and i have already lost 6 pounds! its awesome to see 157.2, 158.1, and 157.4 today instead of 169.2, 168.7, and 168.4 on February 1st 2011

    it may fluctuate during the day, but its so worth seeing the differences over time i love it!

    i keep the calendar right outside the bathroom nailed to the wall with the pen attached to it, so i can write it on the and have to walk next to it every time i go in there.

    i also wear the same exact outfits every time. just a sports bra and underwear, and it weighs out the same as if i were just naked! =]

    haha, I do and feel the same!! for the most part - I'll go between 2-3x/day. I always weigh myself first thing in the morning (which is when I ALWAYS weigh the most!!), then always right before a shower when I'm naked. Then on the days I work out, I'll weigh myself after that just because it makes me feel better knowing it's lower than the morning number (lol), then sometimes right before bed.

    I do that because I know I fluctuate like crazy, so I need to see my daily trends. I've tried once a week, but I always forget...I need consistency to remember! It even helps with tracking my period-bloat, lol. I keep a calendar in my bathroom, too, so I won't forget. It can be very frustrating not seeing the number go down, or to see it go down very slowly, but hey, I try to look at the long-term... I agree with measuring yourself as well because that is a HUGE indicator, so I *try* to do that at least once a month.
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