What's with daily weigh-ins?

WalkingAlong · February 2016

I'm the only one I know who does this but sometimes I weigh and don't even look at the scale. It gets logged wirelessly to trendweight.com and I can check it later, not daily, and look at only at the long term moving average.

Also I like to weigh daily just because I do better with daily habits than with weekly, if it's a 5-second thing.

NaturalNancy · February 2016

I like to weigh everyday, once in the morning, helps keep me on track.
I like it.

wrenak · February 2016

When the numbers on the scale dictated how I felt about myself and if I was going to give up or keep going, it was a bad idea. Once that number didn't dictate my self-worth, it actually became quite helpful to see the daily numbers. If I'm up on my official MFP weekly weigh-in, or the same, seeing the daily fluctuations and patterns helps me not go, "But I did everything right! All week I ate within my calories, I exercised, what's wrong with me? What's the point of even trying?" Plus I like seeing all that data turned into a when I'm likely to reach my goal based on how things have been going. Right now it shows my birthday this year being when I hit goal. Will I for sure? Probably not. But as I go along I can see the expected date and adjust my expectations.

KateTii · February 2016

I love daily weigh-ins because you get to learn how your weight changes based off what you've eaten, hormonal changes and toilet habits. If I weigh in once a week and that happens to be two "high" days, it looks like i've made no progress!

Jruzer · February 2016

Some of us like data and don't freak out about daily variations. If I had a way to weigh myself continuously I would like that even better - I think it would be cool to see the variations and how they correlate with my eating and exercise patterns.

If you weigh infrequently you're still subject to daily variations but don't have enough information to put it in context. It's possible for someone to weigh weekly or even monthly, and because of the natural variations not see any weight loss when in fact they are losing weight just fine. Look at all the threads on this forum where posters are freaking out about an upcoming weigh-in; the daily weighing takes the power away from this event. It's just another data point.

VintageFeline · February 2016

Knowledge is power. Data is power. Collecting a daily weight is knowledge and data. For me it improves the accuracy and likelihood of hitting my goal because I can see where I might need to tweak things by looking at the collated data. Without that the guessing and experimenting factor would be a lot higher.

I'm going away for a couple of days this week, I won't be able to weigh and that's fine. That, to me, shows I don't have an unhealthy attachment to the scales, it's just a tool I'm using to hit my goals effectively.

Christine_72 · February 2016

I weigh every morning then sync my weight in Trendweight. It smooths out the fluctuations, and lets me see exactly how I'm doing.

zyxst · February 2016

So don't weigh-in daily?

cafeaulait7 · February 2016

I weigh daily and take an average if there's any question (I'm in maintenance). When I lost, it was at such a slow rate that I wanted as many data points as possible, and I used the weekly average as my weight each week. Now it's just habit, I think. It doesn't worry me at all or anything.

I have enough high days from fluctuations that I'm sure half of them would fall on weigh-in day if I picked one day of the week. That could get demotivating.

Panda_brat · February 2016

That is why I love the iphones health app. it automatically gives my average weight for the past week, month and year.

Christine_72 · February 2016

Yep, that's why I weigh daily too. Knowing my luck, the one day a week I chose to weigh would be my fatty mac fat fat, fluid retentive day, and it would look like I gained weight when in fact it was just a normal fluctuation that would be back down the next day.

Jruzer · February 2016

Here's the kind of thing I mean when I say that daily variations can hide long term loss. This is one of many examples from my own data:

Let's say I weigh in on April 30 (bold "X"). That weight is higher than the weigh in from both one week (circle) and 2 weeks (square) prior. It's also more than the weight from March 31, one month prior.

So if I'm a weekly or monthly weigher, I'm now freaking out because it looks like I've gained weight over the last 2 weeks or last month.

But because I'm a daily weigher I can generate a long-term average which is plotted in green. According to this data I lost about 4 pounds over that 6-week period.

B_TEEN · February 2016

I use daily weigh-ins for two purposes: (1) an attribute of accountability to my over all health - it's part of my habit/process and (2) provides trending information over time.

I monitor other aspects of my health daily - blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, physical activity and a few other areas. I understand this may be info overload to some but this is what works for me.

TheBeachgod · February 2016

I weigh daily for many of the previously posted reasons but Trendweight also has a tab to see Lean Mass (LBM) and I use that to set my Protein macro vs. total bodyweight.

sijomial · February 2016

I can understand the "overkill" part - but unhealthy?
That makes no sense at all to me. What detriment to my health is caused by knowing how much I weigh first thing in the morning?

I don't need to know, I just prefer to. The number on my bathroom scales doesn't make or break my day!

nesa98 · February 2016

Very cool. . Thanks

clevelandkat40 · February 2016

I firmly believe that weighing daily vs weekly, or relying on measurements vs the scale, is a personal choice - nothing more, nothing less.

I used to believe that daily weigh-ins were unhealthy, because at that time in my life, the number on the scale meant EVERYTHING to me, and I couldn't handle seeing those daily fluctuations. Now, I prefer daily weigh-ins because I like understanding the trends and the effects different foods have on my body, and though it may seem counterintuitive, my daily scale session helps me obsess LESS about my weight than I would if I popped on once per week and happened to be having some sodium bloat that day.

My concern with the recent popularity of daily weigh-ins is that I don't think it's right for everyone, and because people tend to jump on the latest bandwagon, some folks may be treading in dangerous waters. (Just like I couldn't handle daily weigh-ins when I was at a different place in my life.)

Projectjustme · February 2016

^ this for me - I am going through a lot of hormonal changes and I am also very interested to see how the food I've eaten affects me (sodium, hydration etc). I can gain anything up to 8+ in a day, given where I am in the month, but I am well aware that I haven't eaten anywhere near enough to cause this level of gain in a day or even a week

lemurcat12 · February 2016

This.

And also, for me, if I don't weigh myself regularly I start getting more neurotic about getting on the scale and am more apt to be like "oh, went out to dinner last night, I'll wait until tomorrow" and next thing is I've missed a week. Weighing daily is the best way to make it just part of my day, like brushing my teeth, and not fraught.

I don't log my weight daily, however. When losing I logged on my official (set by me) weigh-in day and when maintaining I'm not really logging until there is a significant lasting change.

lemurcat12 · February 2016

This is a good way of putting it, and I'm the same way.

WishfulThinking0 · February 2016

I used to weigh daily but I don't anymore. Daily weigh ins do provide the motivation for the day but also can have the complete reverse effect but not all the time. For me weighing once a week gives me enough motivation to eat as clean as possible so that one exiting weigh in shows a pleasing number. But everyone to their own you should just do what suits you! No fuss

neohdiver · February 2016

Nonsense - which I hope you appreciate from the responses you've received.

One additional reason that was hinted at - but I don't think was stated explicitly - is that it takes away the power of the scale. When you weigh once a week or once a month, that day becomes important and people often start gearing their food consumption as the weigh-in nears toward making sure they show a loss/gain/maintenance on that all-important day. The farther between weigh-ins, the more significance an individual weigh in has. That is not a healthy relationship with either food or the scale. Someone I know ran into health insurance problems because they insisted on having their doctor's visit before the Christmas holidays in order to have an A1c that wasn't tainted by Christmas excess, but unfortunately it was too soon for insurance purposes. Even though I do weigh daily, I experience some of this effect because I had set a goal of losing 20 lbs by my 2 month follow-up following diabetes diagnosis. As the appointment approached, I started to think more about the weigh in & wonder if I was going to make it. I don't think I changed any eating habits - and my weight trend line didn't take a nose-dive. But I was much more aware of that 2-month weigh in than I am of stepping on the scales every day. I have deliberately not set a goal for my next visit (in a couple of weeks). Both are the same principle - take away the power of special days by making every day special (or routine).

When it is just something you do every day, you either freak out every day about what will show up on the scale the next day (in which case you need professional help) or it becomes a routine, healthy part of your life habits - like brushing your teeth. No pressure - since you will be weighing in again tomorrow, the next day, the next day, etc.

Christine_72 · February 2016

^^^ Nice explanation ^^^

Panda_Poptarts · February 2016

I like knowing how different foods, environmental factors (stress, etc) and times in my cycle affect my weight fluctuation. I weigh daily as a habit first thing in the morning. It helps me be accountable.

tomteboda · February 2016

I honestly feel that NOT weighing myself very regularly contributed greatly to my gaining so much weight to start (over many, many years). I would freak out about the scale for a few hours, then ignore it until my next unfortunate encounter with a scale months, or years later.

Now I weigh myself daily. I intend to continue this habit, along with honest logging of food, because I never want to go back to where I was again.

ladyv_39 · February 2016

I agree. I'd get frustrated if I weighed myself every day and saw all the fluctuations. Once a week should be enough.

chandanista · February 2016

Meh. I do lots of things daily that many may consider unhealthy. I look in the mirror, put on makeup, dress nicely (maybe change if I don't like it)... These could be symptoms of narcissism, but in my case they aren't as there are no other symptoms and I don't obsess over my looks the majority of the day.

Same with daily weighing. Could be symptom of an unhealthy relationship with my weight, but due to how I use the knowledge, how much it affects my daily life and how little time it actually takes...I am leaning towards "not an unhealthy interest."

tomteboda · February 2016

I'm going to add that for the first several months I found regular weigh-ins very traumatic emotionally. It honestly is only as I've gotten more successful at managing my weight and eating habits that I've been able to become a lot more calm about them.

Rocknut53 · February 2016

Same with me. I lost 24 pounds (not even close to my goal) on here in 2013, got complacent, didn't get on the scale much and now here I am again trying to lose some of those pounds I gained back. Daily weighing is part of my ritual as is measuring and weighing food and exercising. No falling off the wagon this time.

azulvioleta6 · February 2016

What's with people who are scared to get on the scale every day?

There is nothing wrong with a daily reality check.

What's with daily weigh-ins?

Replies

Categories