Daily weighing associated with better weight losses

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  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    edited January 2015
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    cinderquest wrote: »
    I base my current practice of weighing and recording my weight everyday on a long history of losing and gaining weight. If I don't weigh, I don't care, and I gain weight, it's that simple for me. When I weigh AND record my weight every day I stay on track and keep the weight off. I lost 130 pounds and kept it off for seven years. Then I blew out my knee and got frustrated and stopped weighing myself and gained 80 pounds back. I'm slowly taking it off again, but each time I stall, I noticed I've stopped weighing myself. It's a checks and balance thing for me, and I know that a 2-3 pound variance is normal for me so I don't freak out. Doesn't work for everyone, but I kind of hate the one rule fits all thing anyway.

    This happens for me as well, but I do not weigh daily. Once a week, maybe twice, is more than enough. I tried doing it daily and it was a bit too annoying for me and I feel better just living my life without constantly thinking about my daily weight.

    Unless you stop tracking calories when you stop weighing yourself though, you probably aren't stalling and are more so just happening to weigh yourself on the "up" days that normally occur.

    ETA I sometimes go weeks without weighing. When I first lost weight almost 5 years ago, I don't think I weighed myself for the last 20lbs I lost. I just went shopping one day and saw that I could fit into a size 8, then saw I was 145lbs. Then after that I stopped weighing, could fit a size 5/6, still didn't weigh myself. Only weighed in once my clothes got too small again. I plan on weighing in weekly or biweekly when in maintenance, and then 1-2x a week when on bulk and cut cycles. especially more regular weighings when I slowly reverse diet after I lose these last 15-20lbs.
  • mmgavitt
    mmgavitt Posts: 82 Member
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    I weigh myself daily or every other day. Like cinderquest wrote... If I stop weighing that often it doesn't go well for me. I track my weight daily/every other day in a different app though and I do an 'official' weekly weigh in for MPF once a week.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    I weigh daily and I think it helps me to keep on track. I do get a bit fed up of hearing the equivalent of "You can't deal with the truth!". I know it's not for everybody, but yes, I can deal with the horror of daily fluctuations! So it's nice to have a bit of support for the practice for once. Thank you for posting the article!
  • Suzanuh
    Suzanuh Posts: 36 Member
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    Like most here, I weigh myself daily. I stopped weighing myself for awhile and gained so much back. It's just another tool for accountability imo.

  • babyrover
    babyrover Posts: 51 Member
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    I have found the best motivation for me is weighing 3 days a week...I weigh Monday (to see if I caused any damage over the week-end) Wednesday and Friday. I weigh the morning after a gym visit..this seems to keep me motivated to get to the gym so I can see some results the next morning! Probably all in my mind but if it works....
  • Revcminor
    Revcminor Posts: 42
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    I weigh daily as well. It keeps me on track.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    I avoided the scale for years and fooled myself into gaining a lot of weight that way. Never again. It's hard, I still face it with trepidation, but I weigh daily now. I plan to continue doing so into maintenance. Getting used to the natural fluctuations and learning what causes them is important for me in learning to relax and take things as they come.
  • losingles
    losingles Posts: 147 Member
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    I weigh every morning to keep myself accountable and record my weight once a week on Wednesdays. Like others have said, I lose focus if I don't check in every morning, but I understand the need to only weigh once a week. I have family members who obsess about the small ups and downs, and for one of them, it causes her to feel depressed. Fortunately, I don't react that way, but I know others do. So, ultimately, I think we should all do what works for us best. And for me, weighing each morning keeps me on track.
  • KharismaticKayteh
    KharismaticKayteh Posts: 322 Member
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    If I weigh myself on my Wii Fit and am dissatisfied with my weight, I exercise immediately (since I already have the board out and the game running), because I know doing NOTHING won't make me any more satisfied. If I weigh myself and find that I'm GREATLY satisfied, I also exercise, because I want to keep the momentum going! So weighing regularly is good for me, but I don't record my weight on MFP until I've reached the two-week (or rarely sooner) goal set for me by Wii Fit.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I weigh daily and post once a week. It works for me.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    I weigh twice a week. Once on Saturday morning and once on Friday night. The Saturday morning weight is the one I record. The Friday night weigh-in is so I'm not surprised on Saturday morning. The really cool thing is that I lose about 2 lbs between my weigh-in before I go to bed and the weigh-in when I get up.

    I used to weigh on Saturday and Wednesday. I would use the Wednesday weigh-in to check my progress and make adjustments to meet my weekly goal. But that was several years ago and I was pushing to lose 5 lbs per week at the time (which I don't recommend).

    For me, cutting it to once a week causes me to focus more on lifestyle changes and less on the goal of losing weight. I want to lose weight, yes, but I'm more interested in keeping it off once I do.
  • sophienorris
    sophienorris Posts: 3
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    Weighing yourself once a week is demotivating, as someone had already put the day before could cause water retention or whatever the reason. ALSO, if you've had a bad week and haven't lost any, or even worse, put weight on, it's harder to get back on track. Weigh yourselves every day and you can keep on top of every pound! x
  • MegBMin
    MegBMin Posts: 39 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    I weigh daily and post once a week. It works for me.

    Me too. It just kind of helps me determine if something needs tweaking just from an overall health issue. My thought process, "Hmm...up a pound. I didn't really pee very much yesterday. Yikes! My lunch I chose for the week is pretty high in sodium. Better up my water intake. When was the last time I pooed? I should probably up my fiber and my water or drink a cup of coffee..."
  • RaspberryTickleChicken
    RaspberryTickleChicken Posts: 629 Member
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    There are always ways to spin data in studies to prove the researcher's pov. And experts has debated for years on weighing everyday vs periodically and there are tons of studies to show benefits of both.

    How is that possible? Well because everyone is different with different needs & different methods will work for different folks. It is rare that one way of doing things will work for everyone.

    I just want to caution any beginners reading this not to try & force themselves to weighing everyday because they want to be successful. We all have to just trail & error to figure out what works best for us, as individuals.

    Personally I would be TOTALLY stressed out weighing in every day. It'd be a deterrent for me. But if weighing in everyday works for you GREAT! If it doesn't there's nothing wrong with that either. As long as whatever mode of self-monitoring is done consistently, success will be at hand.

    The singular thing experts has agreed upon to help with weight loss & keeping it off is keeping a food journal (tracking food) & since we are all on MFP - YAY us! :)
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    Everyone in that study was overweight. When I was overweight, I weighed myself every day. It was extremely helpful. I was losing between 1.5 and 2 lbs a week, so I saw positive change about every other day.

    Now that I'm well within the normal weight range for my height, I'm down to losing .5 lbs/week. My scale is only sensitive to the nearest half pound. There is no added value in weighing every day when you're in the low-normal weight range. You won't see positive change more than once a week, really.
  • kxbrown27
    kxbrown27 Posts: 769 Member
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    I weigh once per week. The small daily fluctuations don't mean anything to me and I can just as easily track trends with my Sunday morning weigh in. I don't see daily's as demotivating or harmful, just pointless for me.
  • WithWhatsLeft
    WithWhatsLeft Posts: 196 Member
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    Every morning, and I log it in my spreadsheet. I don't let fluctuations bum me out - just part of being human. I'm doing everything right, so I'm seeing my weight range slowly shift down.

    I get up every morning excited and curious to see what the number is. If it's a little higher, that's ok! I'm doing everything right, it will go down eventually. If it's a little lower, fist pump!! lol
  • Revonue
    Revonue Posts: 135 Member
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    I weigh once a week. It keeps me motivated while not making me fear the scale too much. If I weigh too much on my weigh-in, I know my week in general definitely wasn't good.
  • The_Fitness_Foodie
    The_Fitness_Foodie Posts: 95 Member
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    It is a personal preference...,

    I personally find it does my head in & makes me frustrated, so I stick to weekly weigh-ins - even that isn't set in stone, I tend to weigh myself when I think about it, I like to weigh on Saturday mornings but I sometimes forget....
  • laceyn18
    laceyn18 Posts: 27 Member
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    I weigh myself twice a day. When I do I stay on track, when I don't I gain weight. If my diet is consistent and I'm working out my weight doesn't fluctuate much all. Large fluctuations from morning to night generally mean something is off, big meal, too much sodium, dehydrated etc...and I can correct sooner than later. It may sound obsessive but it's really not a compulsive thing for me. Keeps me honest and consistent. I don't sweat it if it goes up, just make note of what I did and don't do it the next day. Different things work for different people.

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