how often should I weigh myself?

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totally4him
totally4him Posts: 2
edited November 2014 in Introduce Yourself
I'm new to MFP and I'm loving everything so far. I'm unsure as to how often I should weigh myself. My husband said give it 2 months, but I think thats a bit extreme. I don't like the scales at the gym(same as the doctor's office). Therefore, I'm going to buy a scale tomorrow, any suggestions? Thanks.

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  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Weigh as often as you can handle. Keep in mind there will be normal fluctuations. Sore muscles hold water, hormones....water, higher sodium days....water. Weigh at the same time of day so a full stomach (bowel....whatever) doesn't throw things off too.

    A tape measure is a great tool also. There may be weeks with no pounds lost....but you may lose inches. That's still good progress.

    New fangled scales are "supposed to" measure body fat....nope. I just got myself a "pretty one."
  • bfergusonii
    bfergusonii Posts: 208 Member
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    ^^^ That. I personally could not do the weekly weighing. I only weigh once per month but I have lost enough that I am confident that CICO/Exercise works. If I weigh every week I get discouraged at the fluctuations. Just my two cents.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    If you are going to weigh daily then try and make it so its consistent. be aware your body fluctuates and what you are interested in is the general trend. Theres no harm in daily as long as you know the reasons for and can keep in perspective the fluctuations.

    Other people measure less often, ist whatever suits you. So what teabea said.
  • barefootcassie
    barefootcassie Posts: 27 Member
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    I weigh daily and keep it logged in a spread sheet. Then I take the average of the last 14 days. I go by that number to see how I'm doing. It smooths out the daily fluctuations and lets you know if you are on the right track. Some people can't handle that though. Do what is best for you.
  • chele402
    chele402 Posts: 128 Member
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    I check my weight daily but my official weigh in is Saturday. I just like to check to make sure there are no severe fluctuations.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    There will be daily fluctuations.

    Friday I weighed seven lbs more than I did on Monday. Then today I weighed 3 lbs less than I did on friday.

    If you can handle the weight going up and down and just focus on an overall downward trend weigh daily. If this gets to be too much for you switch to weekly. That's usually enough to know if you are truly down a lb or two.

    Try to weigh the same day and at the same time because in the morning generally you weigh less than in the night so from one week to the next even that can make it seem as though things are off.

  • erinthebish
    erinthebish Posts: 7 Member
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    I weigh once per week, on Friday mornings (because I do better M-Th than I do F-Su). However, as a female there's a week a month where I weigh a good 3-8 pounds more than I did the week before. It's just from my cycle, once it's over, that weight goes back off and I'm usually down a pound or two.

    I don't want to fixate on a scale number. It takes 3,500 calories to gain or lose one pound. Unless you're binging or extreme diet and exercising, you're not going to lose anything over one day. The daily fluctuations will just serve to make you more frustrated.

    Drink lots of water, figure your TDEE, and eat about 500 calories less per day. I actually eat about 700 less per day of my TDEE Sunday-Thursday, and then don't count calories Friday and Saturday so I can have a few beers without guilt.

    That's just me, everyone is different.
  • Stary714
    Stary714 Posts: 110 Member
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    Personally I weigh every morning first thing but when I drop a pound or two on the scale I give it a few days to make sure it's not water weight. I just think it's exciting to wake up to a pound loss. It makes your day just a bit brighter :)
  • beastcompany
    beastcompany Posts: 230 Member
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    I've followed two seperate methods, both of which are easy/enjoyable.

    Option A (Tedious)

    Weigh yourself daily (nude), every morning after just waking up and having used the restroom.

    At the end of the week take your daily weigh ins & add them together, then divide by the # of days to get your weekly AVERAGE weight.

    Compare that average to the prior weeks average to see what changes occured.

    Option B (Easier)

    Simply weigh yourself once/week, on the same day of the week and following the same protocol.

    Say, every Friday, first thing in the morning.

    Then take the new weigh in, subtract the prior weeks weigh in, and see the change.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    Aria fit bit scale here that logs and syncs my weight to fit bit and MFP sites automatically. I weigh every day when I wake. There will be fluctuations but daily gives me the best data so see trends over a week, month or year.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    rsclause wrote: »
    Aria fit bit scale here that logs and syncs my weight to fit bit and MFP sites automatically. I weigh every day when I wake. There will be fluctuations but daily gives me the best data so see trends over a week, month or year.

    ^^ this and I have a Withings scale with bluetooth, it logs into MFP automatically.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
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    I think once a week is good. First thing in the AM, no clothes on, after using the bathroom, before consuming anything.
  • miketoryan
    miketoryan Posts: 41 Member
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    If you can stand it, only weigh yourself once a week (same day, same situation. i.e. if you are naked and it's in the morning prior to eating or drinking anything, do the same scenario every week).

    over a week your weight fluctuates a lot so try to stick to once a week for more realistic results.
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
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    Once a week is perfect. Once you have been doing it for a while and are in the habit, you might want to move on to once a month. Consistency is key - like the other posters said, be naked first thing in the morning after you peed or pooped and before eating anything. The motivation of looking forward to a lower number on weigh in day is amazing. And the first week's loss will be impressive because you're just starting and will lose water weight. Just don't let week 2 depress you. It slows down after that. Tomorrow's my weigh in day and it gives me something to look forward to on Hump Day :smile:
  • Scott_2025
    Scott_2025 Posts: 201 Member
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    I try to weigh every day. But I have seen huge fluctuations. They don't bother me. I feel I need to weigh in every day to make myself accountable. My regaining of weight after a successful weight loss period usually starts when I stop weighing myself. So, I refuse to not weigh in.... That's just me though. Some on here go crazy if they gain a pound. I have seen fluctuations of 5 pounds.

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