How often???

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SamanthaPeake
SamanthaPeake Posts: 54 Member
in Motivation and Support
how often do you guys weigh yourself. I keep jumping on the scales everyday , not sure it's right as its so disheartening to see your weight go up when you've been in constant calorie deficit so it's impossible. How often do you weigh in?? Thank you
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  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I weigh myself every morning. I get up, pee and then step on the scale.

    There is nothing wrong with weighing yourself every day as long as you realize one important truth: weight loss is not linear. In other words, the scale does not always move in the same direction every day.

    The scale goes up and down as we eat and eliminate waste via sweat and using the bathroom. Step on the scale, drink a 16 ounce glass of water and step back on the scale and it'll go up by a pound. During a 4 mile run in 75° weather, I'll lose a pound or so because I've sweat it out.

    Our bodies also retain and shed water on a daily basis as a response to strenuous exercise (muscle repair), our sodium/potassium balance and hormone fluctuations. Say you ate little enough yesterday that you would have lost 1/10th of a pound of fat but you ate out and the food contained a lot of sodium. The water you might gain from that extra sodium (which will eventually flush out) will probably disguise that 1/10th of a pound of fat you lost and the scale might even go up a little. That will eventually balance out and you'll see the fat loss, of course, along with any other fat you might have lost in the day or so between.

    So, step on the scale daily if you can handle seeing it go up and down and don't let the fluctuations bother you. If, however, you lend emotion to that number, weigh less often.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
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    I weigh every day, but that's for strictly data collection (and I'm a little obsessive about such things). I only really count and focus on the trend. Am I trending down? Are the numbers I'm seeing averaging less than I was seeing a month ago? A season ago? A year ago?

    Reason being: Weight fluctuates madly - especially for women. In one week, I can fluctuate 5 lbs - more if I've worked out heavily or if I'm approaching/on my TOM. If you sit at an office desk, you're going to retain water, which will affect your weight the next morning. If you eat out one night and you haven't done so in a while, that will affect your weight the next morning. If you enjoy a glass or two of wine or a pint of beer, that will affect your weight the next morning. If you've traveled up or down in elevation, that will affect your weight the next morning.

    There are a ton of variables at play, and one could go crazy stalking the scale too often. I would suggest one of two options:

    (1) Detach yourself emotionally from the number on the scale (something I had to learn how to do). Take the number as a grain of salt and one measurement of data. Make absolutely sure that you're weighing yourself first thing in the morning, after you pee but before you eat or drink, stark naked - and make sure the circumstances remain the same every time.

    (2) Stop weighing yourself so frequently. Maybe weigh in once a week or so. You're still going to have little ups and downs, but pulling yourself away from a daily weigh in might help you keep from getting disheartened during the week.
  • 6502programmer
    6502programmer Posts: 515 Member
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    SamanthaPeake wrote: »
    How often do you weigh in?? Thank you

    Every day. BUT, if you're going to do that, you have to keep in mind that your weight is the sum total of all metabolic processes--digestion, cellular respiration, cellular repair, glycolysis, etc etc etc. Some of these you control, but most of them you don't. If you keep your body at an even and consistent deficit (I'm looking at you, cheat meals/days), you will lose weight.

    I use trendweight.com to keep my scale readings grounded. It shows every day's weight, but it also shows what the trend line looks like. I aim for -500 calories per day, and I'm doing pretty well at hitting it, as you can see by my graph below.

    If you can't keep perspective on daily fluctuation, try every week. Consistency is key--Make sure it's always under the same conditions.
    3m.png
  • imcrazyrobin
    imcrazyrobin Posts: 5 Member
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    I am thinking about weighting myself every five day because I don't want to wait 7 days before the next weight-in.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
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    That's exactly why one does it every week, or once a month
  • Smallerjojo2015
    Smallerjojo2015 Posts: 97 Member
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    I weigh in once a week
    I am on day 260 on myfittnesspal at the start I went on the scales every day it's did my head in , it went up and down so much in the week
    So now I just go on once a week
    I still have a way to go , I have lost 92 lbs so far
  • ellerist
    ellerist Posts: 29 Member
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    I weigh every 2 weeks. Seeing daily fluctuations would drive me a little nuts.
  • brdnw
    brdnw Posts: 565 Member
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    i weigh like 5x a day and did this as i was losing weight. It really let me understand how food affected my weight and i always knew how i was trending...i thought it was really helpful in that manner. Though my morning weight was what i used as my 'official' weight. Plus if i ate something bad or drank on a weekend...i would immediately know how i'm trending and try to adjust with more cardio/cleaner eating to make up if i were trending in the wrong direction.
  • cocates
    cocates Posts: 360 Member
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    I weigh almost every day. Mostly because I know my weight fluctuates 1-3lbs. It would drive me a little batty to weigh only once a week and not see the scale budge. For me, weighing more often let's me gauge it better.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I have lost just over 30 kilos/66+ pounds and weigh myself once a month. If I weigh myself more often I feel I fall victim to the scale , because in a shorter weighing period all the small ups & downs due to water, salt, homones etc show up and I am not interested in waisting my energy on worrying about weight fluctuation that cannot be avoided by weighing myself more often. Weighing once a month and of course sticking to my plan almost always shows a downward trend and that is all that matters to me. I am aiming for .5 pound loss a week and it has taken me two years and four month to lose the weight I lost and will take another year to lose the rest. This way I am fairly confident that the weight will stay off.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    I weigh strategically. When I was losing, 1-2x per week. Now that I'm mostly in maintenance, 1-2x per month, if that.
  • Barbs2222
    Barbs2222 Posts: 433 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I weigh in every morning. I keep a chart and then on Saturday morning I average my weight for the week. The average is what I call my "real" weight. When I'm trying to lose I see a downward trend of .5 to 1.5 pounds a week. It can fluctuate up to 3 pounds. I've only been doing maintenance for the summer and at least it's staying the same.
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
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    Too often and not enough! I'm still learning to not let the non-linear thing bother me.
  • redwingsfan6712
    redwingsfan6712 Posts: 81 Member
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    I weigh myself every Sunday morning before I do anything else. I know my weight fluctuates too much from day to day and I do not want to get discouraged by seeing the scale go up on those days.
  • SamanthaPeake
    SamanthaPeake Posts: 54 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I'm going to try and do it once a week. Monday morning before I eat. That the day i post my new weight on Facebook. A little bit of extra motivation knowing family and friends are expecting an update on the diet xxx
  • mousie1973
    mousie1973 Posts: 438 Member
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    I do it once a week on monday mornings after going potty... occasionally i will get on in the middle of the week to but that is just a peek and i know that it will likely fluctuate... so i really only count the Monday morning ones. and those are the ones that go on here. I don't post it on facebook...
  • shaunroberts
    shaunroberts Posts: 94 Member
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    Every Saturday at the same time; after an hours cardio, before I've had tea.

    I used to weigh myself daily but found its easy to become compulsive about it.

    Shaun.
  • rungrrl
    rungrrl Posts: 25 Member
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    I just put my scale away in the closet. I find that if it is out I obsess about it and weigh myself every time I go into the bathroom. Logically I know my weight will fluctuate but it bothers me when it fluctuates up. My husband will let me have the scale once a month.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    SamanthaPeake wrote: »
    how often do you guys weigh yourself. I keep jumping on the scales everyday , not sure it's right as its so disheartening to see your weight go up when you've been in constant calorie deficit so it's impossible. How often do you weigh in?? Thank you

    I step on the scale pretty much everyday...I've been maintaining for over two years, but I pretty much stepped on the scale everyday while I was losing too. I don't find it disheartening because I always understood that this isn't a linear process...you don't lose weight in a linear fashion...the reason being, weight isn't static.

    it would be greatly beneficial to learn about and understand natural fluctuations...maintenance can be a bear without that understanding...you don't have an exact weight...it fluctuates all of the time and those fluctuations show up whether you're losing weight, maintaining weight, or gaining weight.

    trend analysis is very important...far more important that weigh in to weigh in.
  • Lynzdee18
    Lynzdee18 Posts: 500 Member
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    I have to weigh every morning after I pee, before I drink. If I don't I feel out of control all day. A little obsessive-compulsive much? Lol. But I do map my trend and take more notice of that. Each to their own. Do what suits YOU best!

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