Daily weighing associated with better weight losses

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Replies

  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    I had hoped to make my understanding of the study's limitations reasonably clear by the quite specific choice of wording.
    That said, it is not a mere 'data point', nor is it true that researchers can make data say whatever they feel like. A good journal, with good quality peer review, is just one safeguard against that kind of laissez faire.

    What interests me about this article is that it directly challenges the *unevidenced* popular wisdom that everyone 'must' weigh in no more than once a week. In other words, it's a strike against dogma. I don't think that the original research (if you read it via the link) is at all laying down a single rule, but I do think it challenges established wisdom.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    meerkat70 wrote: »
    I had hoped to make my understanding of the study's limitations reasonably clear by the quite specific choice of wording.
    That said, it is not a mere 'data point', nor is it true that researchers can make data say whatever they feel like. A good journal, with good quality peer review, is just one safeguard against that kind of laissez faire.

    What interests me about this article is that it directly challenges the *unevidenced* popular wisdom that everyone 'must' weigh in no more than once a week. In other words, it's a strike against dogma. I don't think that the original research (if you read it via the link) is at all laying down a single rule, but I do think it challenges established wisdom.

    Dogma says that weighing every day and counting calories lead to eating disorders. Don't believe dogma.
  • mandimahoney5
    mandimahoney5 Posts: 93
    I weigh ever morning when I get up. I also input that in the Walgreens app. Every entry you make gives you points that = money to spend I store. So it is a good motivator
  • Cincypsych
    Cincypsych Posts: 116 Member
    Just started daily weigh ins after years of on again/off again dieting and weight gain/loss. Hoping this will level me out. 3 days in and I am doing well :)


    Would love some other like minded friends
  • Cincypsych
    Cincypsych Posts: 116 Member
    seltzermint wrote: »
    kbkeats wrote: »
    I like to weigh myself each day. It keeps me focused and helps me keep track which items I've eaten the previous two days that contribute to scale movement (up or down - typically shows high vs low sodium items).

    Same here.

    I think different approaches work for different people.

    For me, daily weighing is essential.

    My boss is a 50-something woman who has always been at a healthy weight. She weighs every single morning and if she's gone up 2-3 lb it reminds her to take it easy on the food intake. She has never dieted or had a massive amount of weight to lose, but this works well for her. I plan to track my intake for years to come but once I've been maintaining a healthy weight for years I hope to do that long term, as well.


    My goal is to be like this woman.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Cincypsych wrote: »
    Just started daily weigh ins after years of on again/off again dieting and weight gain/loss. Hoping this will level me out. 3 days in and I am doing well :)


    Would love some other like minded friends
    Assume you're a psychologist. Me too. Feel free to add me if you want.
  • GingerbreadCandy
    GingerbreadCandy Posts: 403 Member
    At one point, I weighed myself every day simply because I liked seeing the graph with all those tiny fluctuations on the long term.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    I weigh daily because I cannot believe how thin* I am. Even upward fluctuations are okay in my book. Maybe when I get used to my body/start losing a mere .25 lbs/week I'll be over it, but right now, I look forward to weighing in the morning.

    *overweight by any objective measure
  • meltedsno
    meltedsno Posts: 208 Member
    guess I am the odd woman out... I quit weighing. period. It was making me crazy. the "up a pound, down two pounds, up two pounds, down a pound' fiasco was almost the death of me. So I quit weighing. Stepped on the scale on July 1, 2013. The next time I stepped on it was January 9, 2015. guess what? Down 87 lbs.... probably will weigh in on my 60th birthday in July.... and then, probably not. As long as my size 4 jeans are still comfortable, I am fine.
  • Barbs2222
    Barbs2222 Posts: 433 Member
    mandimahoney5 wrote: »
    I weigh ever morning when I get up. I also input that in the Walgreens app. Every entry you make gives you points that = money to spend I store. So it is a good motivator

    Thank you Mandimahoney5 I didn't know about this.
    I'm going to start weighing in everyday.

  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    I weigh every morning. It increases my focus and gives me the most accurate sense of how I'm doing. However, I'm the type who can easily bury my head in the sand, so increased focus is helpful. If you are the type to get obsessed about things it may not be a good plan.

    Figure out what helps you :)
  • shadowofender
    shadowofender Posts: 786 Member
    I weigh a few times a week because otherwise I justify food to myself in a really negative way. Looking at the scale, fluctuations and all, helps keep me on track. But it didn't used to be that way, and I understand why some people can't or won't weigh that often. It was hard for me to learn that weight fluctuates a bunch and it's not the end all be all of my health.
  • zenaxe
    zenaxe Posts: 203 Member
    I weigh myself daily probably because I get OCD about stuff lol....I'm not overly concerned with any tics up if they occur because I'm focused on fat loss rather than weight loss.... B)

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