How often do you weigh yourself??

tenniswife7
tenniswife7 Posts: 3
edited September 28 in Motivation and Support
Hi Everyone....

I'm new here and I've just gotten through my first week on a 1200 calorie diet using MFP.
At one point, about 5 days in, I had lost 4 pounds which makes sense because my eating was so out of control.
Last night, I caved after being good all day and ate whatever I felt like. I didn't go that overboard, just some extra snacks
(all healthy) and a glass of wine. I weighed myself today and I'm back to my starting weight from one week ago. Can one night
of bad decisions ruin 6 days of healthy eating??

How often does everyone weigh themselves? I've been weighing myself 2-3 times a day. Maybe this is too much.....

I'd love to hear some advice from others!

tenniswife7

Replies

  • Alison_84
    Alison_84 Posts: 86
    I weigh myself every day, very first thing in the morning. Perhaps I'm a little OCD but I then enter the weights into a graph I have going on my computer. It's kind of cool to see the fluctuations as I'm losing. I only "check in" on this site once per week though, and I count my "weigh in day" weight as my official weight for the week.
  • Remi79
    Remi79 Posts: 346 Member
    You should weigh yourself in the morning after you use the bathroom. That's the only weight I go by. You can go up and down like 3 - 4 pounds if you weigh yourself at different times.
  • Just_Bethy
    Just_Bethy Posts: 272
    I weight every morning..stark naked after bathroom...my weight can go up or down by 4lbs for no reason..it comes back off after a couple of days...or I can sit at a weight for a week and then drop 2 lbs in one day...small fluctuations I no longer worry about..Its the long term that really matters..over weeks and months!!..Also..look for NSV. (non scale victories) they mean a lot more!!! xxxxx
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
    You should never weigh yourself more than once a day. Your body will fluctuate wildly each day. I have gone up and down 7 lbs between night and morning before. If you weigh yourself daily, do so after going to the bathroom in the morning, but I stick to once a week. You get more accurate measurements that way.

    And no, 1 night of snacking will not cause you to gain all that weight back.You probably just gained water weight and if you weigh yourself in again in a day or so, it should all be gone.
  • KeeleySue
    KeeleySue Posts: 158
    I try not to weigh myself too frequently. Weight can flucuate so much in a short time span that I find it discourages me.

    Ideally I would like to weight myself just once a week but have found I'm doing it once a day. It's very hard for me to not get on the scale more than that but I know that it just wouldn't be good for me.


    As far as one night ruining 6 days, it can make a difference. But, if you go right back to 'good' eating, you should notice that the one day isn't going to make a huge difference, you will probably lose that weight pretty quickly and then some.

    And sometimes you should allow yourself treats. If you are good 24/7/365 it is going to get old and boring quick. You will find that when you do 'rebel' it will be way worse than if you allow treats once a week/twice a month/etc.
  • oBirdieo
    oBirdieo Posts: 148
    I weigh myself every morning but only record a loss if it's sustained over 2-3 days.

    You definitely shouldn't be weighing multiple times per day as your weight will fluctuate during the course of the day. I recently bought some new scales and tested them out over the course of a day and saw that I weighed 7 pounds (!) more at night than in the morning.

    You may just be retaining water due to the alcohol, or maybe you ate too much salt. Either way, just drink lots of water and get back on plan now. The way I look at it is this -- this is real life and we're all going to have days where we eat or drink too much and that's not a problem as long as we're eating healthily the vast majority of the time. It all evens out, in my experience.
  • ksnipes26
    ksnipes26 Posts: 1
    Honestly, I hardly ever weigh myself because my weight fluctuates. I tend to stress over a few pounds and it makes me demoralized. I go by the fit of my clothing. When my clothes start to fit better, hang right or even just get too big I know I'm on the right track. It sounds to me like you are weighing yourself too much - try once a week, same day and approx time of day each week.
  • Cherese1983
    Cherese1983 Posts: 211 Member
    It's healthy to weight yourself every week or 2 since your weight can fluctuate so much. 1-2 weeks will give you a more accurate number. You should also weigh yourself in the morning (naked) to get a more accurate number as well. Good luck!
  • AngieM76
    AngieM76 Posts: 622 Member
    Maybe you are retaining water. I would say its more that then what you ate. I weigh myself once a day, in the morning, but I only weigh in on here once a week, on Fridays. Sometimes I will hop on the scale before bed but I dont let what I see bother me because I know I have been eating all day and drinking water so if my weight is up a couple at night vs the morning, I dont let that bother me.
  • cindyjkunz
    cindyjkunz Posts: 5
    I am doing the Prism Weight loss program and I only weigh in once every six weeks. It' to break that compulsive behavior of letting the scale dictate how I feel about myself by it's up and down fluctuations. I've gone down 13 pounds in six weeks. Yeah!
  • Missyrth
    Missyrth Posts: 59 Member
    Once a week, same time and in the morning.
  • mitymex
    mitymex Posts: 10
    I weigh myself every morning, if you have been weighing yourself several times a day your weight will fluxuate according to the amount of food you put in your body. I check in on MFP once a week to get a recorded weight. When I first started I was only checking it 2 times a week. The thing you have to becareful with is getting discouraged if you see any weight gain at all. So far 10 weeks in I have lost 27lbs. Good Luck and I hope this was helpful.
  • baylakegirl
    baylakegirl Posts: 1 Member
    First thing on Monday mornings and that is my official number. Cloths off and before you shower (wet hair I'm convinced adds 5 lbs:). As for your splurge, pick a day and just do it.......reasonably. If you give up everything good you'll be craving all the time. I pick Friday as my splurge day since I can then do a little more intense and longer workout on Saturdays and make up for it.
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    every morning
  • McBody
    McBody Posts: 1,703 Member
    I don't weight myself any more. My husband chucked the scale because I was developing an eating disorder from obsessing over the numbers on the scale! I would weight myself every time I was near the scale and it became a head game instead of a healthy lifestyle. So since the scale has disappeared I've managed to get a lot stronger and a lot more toned.

    Be careful with the scale- it causes a lot of issues for many women.
  • fluffyduck2004
    fluffyduck2004 Posts: 12 Member
    i weigh once a week on a monday morning b4 i have breakfast or get dressed, i dont weigh more often as your weight can go up 2-3lb during the day with your usual daily activity, i have in the past weighed a day early and the scales have lied and told me ive gained lol then i weigh on my usual day and ive actually lost so not to get disheartened i just weigh once a week and try not to think about the scales
  • SheilaSisco
    SheilaSisco Posts: 722 Member
    I do it like Alison does... I weigh every morning but only check in once a week. I know ppl who weigh several times a day... BUT... if you insist on doing it that way you need to be very aware that your weight can and will fluctuate by 2-5 pounds in a day and you can't let that get to you. That being said, the weight you put on is most likely water weight and easily lost... it is about impossible to put on 5 pounds of ACTUAL weight overnight. Just drink a lot of water and don't stress it. It'll come back off.
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
    I've been weighing in every morning, and getting really discouraged. So, I've decided that once a week, in the morning, after the bathroom, and naked is the better way to go. You can get very frustrated weighing in every day, and 2-3 times a day is just too much. Take care.
  • brocantrs
    brocantrs Posts: 273 Member
    I weigh myself once a week, sometimes even a few days longer.
  • janeosu
    janeosu Posts: 140 Member
    I usually weigh every morning. It helps me personally to do it that way and if it does fluctuate, I don't stress.
  • gmkimby
    gmkimby Posts: 58 Member
    I weigh myself once a week, early Monday morning. I use to weigh myself everyday, but quickly became discouraged due to the constant change because my weight flucuates throughout the day.
  • sophjakesmom
    sophjakesmom Posts: 904 Member
    Once a week, same time and in the morning.

    I agree with this. I weigh myself at the gym, because they have a good scale. The rest of the week, I really try to focus on eating right and exercise. I have fallen in to a 2 weeks of loss, 2 weeks of maintain pattern (I think tied to hormones) so I don't stress when I go a week with no loss. Usually that is the week I start to feel my clothes are looser. Good luck to you!:drinker:
  • ewtx1000
    ewtx1000 Posts: 24 Member
    I weigh myself once a day, first thing in the morning about the same time before any eating and drinking to get the most consistency. There will be fluctuations, but soon you'll learn more about your own personal patterns. Hang in there and don't be discouraged for an 'up' day.
  • Shushonet
    Shushonet Posts: 37
    If you ate snacks with salt you might have absorbed some liquids that will leave your body by the end of the day.
    If you are before your monthly period, you might gain even 3 pounds - for the same reason as salt, your body absorb water.
    Don't forget to pee etc before.
  • tenniswife7
    tenniswife7 Posts: 3
    Thank you everyone!!!! Wow - your responses were all so helpful and reaffirming. I think I will try to weigh myself just once a day in the morning and maybe I'll start every weighing in only every other day. I was about to be sad all day about the weight gain, but instead - me and my daughter are going to the gym where she can play and I can "work off" those 4 pounds!! :) Gotta undo the damage from last night. I'm going to drink tons of water today in hopes that it's water weight.

    You all are truly wonderful support. Thank you!
  • EmilyJ1979
    EmilyJ1979 Posts: 144 Member
    Most mornings when I get up if I'm at home.
  • RGJeff
    RGJeff Posts: 32
    Every day.. If you do it every week or two, you can get the same weight or higher due to fluctuations which can be very depressing. Its nice to see what's going on every day. Only record a half pound or a quarter pound loss though for any one day, that helps avoid showing weight loss or gain that isn't real...
  • DrAJ84
    DrAJ84 Posts: 117 Member
    Thank you everyone!!!! Wow - your responses were all so helpful and reaffirming. I think I will try to weigh myself just once a day in the morning and maybe I'll start every weighing in only every other day. I was about to be sad all day about the weight gain, but instead - me and my daughter are going to the gym where she can play and I can "work off" those 4 pounds!! :) Gotta undo the damage from last night. I'm going to drink tons of water today in hopes that it's water weight.

    You all are truly wonderful support. Thank you!
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    You will get frustrated if you weigh daily because any given day you fluctuate--- you can gain muscle, lose water etc. Try tracking measurements and not just the pounds. i.e. girth of waist, hips, chest, arms, thighs. You can also use a body fat monitor to track body fat percentage. I bought one from amazon.com relatively inexpensive. Omron HB-306 has been of good quality for me or if you go to the gym sometimes your healthclub has them.
  • Schraudt814
    Schraudt814 Posts: 496 Member
    I weight every morning..stark naked after bathroom...my weight can go up or down by 4lbs for no reason..it comes back off after a couple of days...or I can sit at a weight for a week and then drop 2 lbs in one day...small fluctuations I no longer worry about..Its the long term that really matters..over weeks and months!!..Also..look for NSV. (non scale victories) they mean a lot more!!! xxxxx

    I totally agree with the emphasis on NSV's!! I freak out a little bit when the scale doesn't move or **gasp** goes higher- but when it comes down to it, it's about how you FEEL...you said you've done it for a week- one thing that you have to remember (I have to tell myself everyday) is that it can be a sloooow process. Personally, I weigh myself once a week- when I start weighing too often I start get a little panicky thinking I'm not doing enough which leads to extreme changes that aren't realistic for a lifestyle! Stick with it here, it will help you achieve your long term goals!
  • cindyjkunz
    cindyjkunz Posts: 5
    I was given a Wii Fit Plus. So I have been weighing in daily, about the same time. I walk an hour right away in the morning. Then am working on getting 60 minutes of Wii Fit in after that. It seems to be working well for me this past ten days I've lost 3 pounds giving me a told of 23 lost. Yeeaaah!
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