Why I weigh and chart it daily

257_Lag
257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
These last 6 weeks would REALLY bother me:
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if I couldn't look back to April when this happened:
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or last January...
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or BEST of all, the last 21 months!
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I know it doesn't work for everyone but it sure does for me! Just sayin'
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Replies

  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,860 Member
    I just started using Libra today. I've weighed daily for the past couple months, but only bothered inputting it on MFP here when it showed a loss. I am aware of fluctuations and such, and they don't make me freak :s but I like the idea of the app and the trendline. And it tells me I should hit my goal mid-May 2015! So we shall see!
  • Jreeves9210
    Jreeves9210 Posts: 19 Member
    I weigh first thing in the morning, every morning, and just pop the number into the MFP app. I don't log the food part, I do that on my own, but it's cool to have the weight chart
  • Kari121869
    Kari121869 Posts: 180 Member
    I use the 'happy scale' app.. I think it shows the same type of thing.. going to check out the Libra one too though.. I like the look of it..
  • amcook4
    amcook4 Posts: 561 Member
    My daily weights look similar, a lot of ups & downs, but an overall downward trend
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Im with the daily weighers or whatever floats your boat really. I havent weighed for nearly a fortnight, but I like daily as its a bit of fun, plus if its gone up it makes me more determined. I dont take it too seriously and know all the putfalls, but I like up to date information so I can respond.

    I like your charts OP.
  • LanaeCarol
    LanaeCarol Posts: 158 Member
    I have weighed daily and graphed it for more than two years. Being able to see the general trend is so encouraging when there is a blip in the scale reading. I also like being able to correlate how my eating and exercising affect my weight. Yes, the fluctuations can be hard to deal with so it is not something I would recommend for everyone. I find the benefits more than outweigh the difficulties so I will continue to weigh every day.
  • lmr0528
    lmr0528 Posts: 427 Member
    I weigh everyday also. I enjoy seeing the fluctuations. Though for the past 4 days, my scale has said the exact same number... right down to the ounce. I doubt I'm that good at maintaining so I think I need a new scale!
  • tracymayo1
    tracymayo1 Posts: 445 Member
    Is Libra only something that works on a phone? I don't own a cell - but would like something that tracks weight the same way these apps do... are there any out there I can use?
  • margannmks
    margannmks Posts: 424 Member
    Im also a daily weigher and when my weight is higher i check my wedding ring it will always be tighter and i know its just fluid from to much sodium and ill try to do lower carbs that day. It all evens out and as long as the highs get lower and the lows get lower im on track.
  • onefortyone
    onefortyone Posts: 531 Member
    I love weighing daily - but I took a break for about a week and jumped back on the scale to see a big fat 2lb loss! I know weighing daily mentally helps keep me on track and helps me see a downward trend despite fluctuations. But having losses/gains of -0.2, -0.5, -0.3, +0.6, -0.4 is kinda boring. I *loooved* that huge 2lb loss!
  • destinyhope12345
    destinyhope12345 Posts: 67 Member
    I have just installed libra. can anyone tell me how I enter my goal weight into it as I cant seem to find how to do it. thanks
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
    I use Libra too but when my cell phone drowned in a toilet in May Iost the data so now my charts don't go back as far. At least I've not been able to find a way to grab the old data from a website. I think Libra is just a phone app with all data in the current phone's memory.

    Right now my goal date is late 2015 (another 54 pounds to lose) but last weekend when I had back to back sushi meals (read: soy sauce overload) and showed gains for a couple days due to water retention, the goal date went out to mid 2017 and finally "N/A"!!! When the downward trend started again after about 4 days the date of reaching goal went back to 2015.

    For me weighing every day is a habit I hope to keep, because I didn't weigh at all for about 20 years, other than the very occasional doctor visit. Didn't even own a scale.

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  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
    Charting weekly vs charting daily will give you the same trend over time - just less points. It depends on what you can mentally handle, what keeps you in check, etc. I weigh-in in front of a personal trainer because I thrive on accountability. You have to find what works for you.
  • Canwehugnow
    Canwehugnow Posts: 218 Member
    Great job!
  • Solar_Cat
    Solar_Cat Posts: 188 Member
    edited October 2014
    I weigh daily and log it in the WeighTracker web app. It uses a hidden formula to smooth out the curve and calculate a "true weight" based on daily values. It also calculates your true daily deficit based on your weight change, so if you log accurately it's easy to see what your true maintenance calories are. Free and recommended!

    My last 30 days as seen by WeighTracker:

    gjgowoi98rw6.png

    ETA: The reason for the big discrepancy between the daily deficit and weekly loss as shown in the right-hand box under Current Status (1118 cals, 2.2 lbs) and those shown underneath (747 cals, 1.5 lbs) is that the most recent week's loss has been at a higher rate than the previous part of the 30 days. The Current Status box shows only the past week, while the other numbers are for the full 30 days.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    awesome recordings!
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    edited October 2014
    destinyhope12345 wrote: »
    I have just installed libra. can anyone tell me how I enter my goal weight into it as I cant seem to find how to do it. thanks

    It's under Settings-Diet Plan-Goal Weigh
  • lyrical_melody
    lyrical_melody Posts: 242 Member
    I weigh daily too...its a motivational tool for me. If I step on the scale in the morning and I've lost even a .1 ...it motivates me continue to eat healthy. If i get on the scale and I'm over a pound or two..it motivates me to eat health to get myself back to where I was.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    edited October 2014
    To new users, you might want to play around with the setting Advanced Preferences- Smoothing Days- I like 10 personally. This setting is how many days are used to average your trend line. It keeps a single day spike (like sodium bloat) from turning your trend line around and making your chart zig zaggy. Yup, I said zig zaggy :)
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited October 2014
    tracymayo1 wrote: »
    Is Libra only something that works on a phone? I don't own a cell - but would like something that tracks weight the same way these apps do... are there any out there I can use?

    I use Trendweight on my PC, I enter weight manually, daily, into my Fitbit account and Trendweight picks it up from Fitbit and it syncs with MFP. Pure genius! I haven't been able to see a trend yet, though, it's only been a month - it goes up and down, but I think, mostly down, and that's nice B)

    4hopfnyapxtc.png

  • rivka_m
    rivka_m Posts: 1,007 Member
    lauraripson wrote: »
    I weigh everyday also. I enjoy seeing the fluctuations. Though for the past 4 days, my scale has said the exact same number... right down to the ounce. I doubt I'm that good at maintaining so I think I need a new scale!

    Hah! A couple of weeks ago I kept seeing the exact same number. Like seven out of 12 days were the same weight, I thought the scale must be broken. I'm back to random fluctuations now though, so who knows what was up.

    Anyway I also weigh every day, it helps me take any specific weight less seriously and focus more on the overall trend. But it seems for some people it does the exact opposite, so I understand why they don't recommend it.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
    I actually weigh and log in a spreadsheet my morning AND night weight. I've gotten pretty good at predicting what I will weight the next morning based on my nighttime weight and I also have a good idea of how much water weight I pick up during the day.

    I actually like weighing every day. I was getting a little discouraged when I only entered a loss on MFP when I held steadily at a weight for a couple days, but logging every day I have a VERY clear downward trend.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
    Solar_Cat wrote: »
    I weigh daily and log it in the WeighTracker web app. It uses a hidden formula to smooth out the curve and calculate a "true weight" based on daily values. It also calculates your true daily deficit based on your weight change, so if you log accurately it's easy to see what your true maintenance calories are. Free and recommended!

    My last 30 days as seen by WeighTracker:
    .

    Thanks for the link to this site, I love it!! It is fabulous!

  • silentKayak
    silentKayak Posts: 658 Member
    I weigh every day and record in HappyScale, which works just like Libra.


    MFP drives me crazy because it reports "loss" on the timeline, but doesn't take variation into account. So if you're up 0.2, and then down 0.2, it says "User has lost 0.2 lbs!" I only want my timeline to show actual losses, not fluctuations.

    Up til now I've recorded my weight on the scale in MFP, but only if it's lower than my last scale weight (I don't care about apparent increases because I know I'm at a deficit so no matter what, I'm not gaining). But I'm now thinking I'll record my "predicted weight" (trendline weight) from the app - it's more accurate because it smooths out the variation.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    zarckon wrote: »
    MFP drives me crazy because it reports "loss" on the timeline, but doesn't take variation into account. So if you're up 0.2, and then down 0.2, it says "User has lost 0.2 lbs!" I only want my timeline to show actual losses, not fluctuations.

    I have an issue with this too. According to that every-other-daily report, my weight should be in the negative my now. :p

  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I turned off the reports of my weight loss in my timeline for that reason.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    This can be done now? How? I stopped recording daily on here because I got tired of the hoots from my friends when I was just "reclaiming" pounds.
  • TheSatinPumpkin
    TheSatinPumpkin Posts: 948 Member
    i weigh daily but only log any losses. wrong i know.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I just weigh weekly and then look at the overall monthly loss, or I'll wait 2 months... because daily weighing is just too much for me. I'm already an*l about weighing food, I don't need to be that way with my weight. Plus weekly still shows this type of graphical loss.
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