What's with daily weigh-ins?

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,855 Member
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    maidengirl_ wrote: »
    Daily weigh ins just seem like overkill to me and not healthy at all.

    If they seem like overkill/unhealthy to you, then they are . . . for you.

    To me, weight loss/weight management seems like a fun data-oriented science project. The more data, the more fun. I like understanding my fluctuations & how my body responds to different eating patterns. Really no emotion about it.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    limetree683 wrote: »
    I prefer to weigh weekly - but the idea of a nice graph sounds pretty good! Is it worth getting something like Libra for my weekly weigh-ins?

    Haven't tried Libra, but Trendweight is free.

    Libra is also free, and you don't need a fitbit account or a supported digital scale. (If you have one or both of those already, Trendweight may make more sense.) Libra is available as an Android app; Happy Scale only works on IOS.

    you can set up a fitbit.com account without owning any fitbit device. link that to mfp and never think about it again as weights logged in mfp will transfer automatically to trendweight
  • MNLittleFinn
    MNLittleFinn Posts: 4,271 Member
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    I weigh in daily, because, I'm on Maintenance and fluctuations can be annoying. By weighing every day, I can get my average weight for the week, and that's the weight I use as my weight
  • soufauxgirl
    soufauxgirl Posts: 392 Member
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    one phrase comes to mind after reading this thread....analysis paralysis.
    I understand and appreciate all the reasons, but I just cant imagine dedicating so much time to graphs and fluctuations and syncs..but power to you all if that's what you need to stay on track.
  • rnelson88
    rnelson88 Posts: 122 Member
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    Depends on your body, diet, and activity level
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,266 Member
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    yes your weight fluctuates daily and that can be discouraging when you see a gain or a stand still and can be a false celebration when you see a loss. I got into that habit many times before and I became obsessed. In my oppinion it's a little like watching the clock. Once a week is all I need to do and keep following the plan I made for myself. It will go down whether I watch it or not.
  • EmilyHughes801
    EmilyHughes801 Posts: 63 Member
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    I used to weight myself almost every hour of the day, just to see how different clothes, activities, and foods do to the body weight wise. Some of my clothes add an extra 3 pounds.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
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    soufauxgirl wrote: »
    one phrase comes to mind after reading this thread....analysis paralysis.
    I understand and appreciate all the reasons, but I just cant imagine dedicating so much time to graphs and fluctuations and syncs..but power to you all if that's what you need to stay on track.

    For me it's maybe 30 seconds out of my day. I step on my scale, it automatically syncs to fitbit, MFP, & trendweight, and then I go about my business. I check trendweight every few weeks to make sure things are on track, which is another 30 seconds, maybe a minute. It takes me more time to check Facebook than to do any of this stuff.
  • KatherinePM
    KatherinePM Posts: 22 Member
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    Yep I weigh twice a day in the morning and night. When I weighed in weekly it made me stressed. How it's just habit and I'd notice a 2kg increase and be able to tell what's happened, it's also interesting to see how much taking a wee effects your weight etc... Lol maybe I'm just weird that way.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    soufauxgirl wrote: »
    one phrase comes to mind after reading this thread....analysis paralysis.
    I understand and appreciate all the reasons, but I just cant imagine dedicating so much time to graphs and fluctuations and syncs..but power to you all if that's what you need to stay on track.

    So is weighing and logging every little thing one eats.
    But I weigh myself daily which then syncs to Trendweight, and weigh and log all my food. The more data I can accumulate, the better Imo.

  • soufauxgirl
    soufauxgirl Posts: 392 Member
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    I only log my food - that's all I do and am losing weight consistently. I think for me weighing myself everyday and weighing food everyday will just play with my mental well-being but we are all different.
  • Erik8484
    Erik8484 Posts: 458 Member
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    Christine_72 wrote: »
    soufauxgirl wrote: »
    one phrase comes to mind after reading this thread....analysis paralysis.
    I understand and appreciate all the reasons, but I just cant imagine dedicating so much time to graphs and fluctuations and syncs..but power to you all if that's what you need to stay on track.

    So is weighing and logging every little thing one eats.
    But I weigh myself daily which then syncs to Trendweight, and weigh and log all my food. The more data I can accumulate, the better Imo.

    First thing that sprang to my mind too :) "I have an app that I use to meticulously log everything I eat multiple times per day, but stepping on a scale once a day, now that's taking things too far!"
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
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    soufauxgirl wrote: »
    one phrase comes to mind after reading this thread....analysis paralysis.
    I understand and appreciate all the reasons, but I just cant imagine dedicating so much time to graphs and fluctuations and syncs..but power to you all if that's what you need to stay on track.
    It takes a lot less time to weigh myself and log it into Fitbit than it does to weigh out my lunch.

    As for the graph, I'll take a cursory glance two or three times a week when I'm on the toilet.

  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    When weighing daily becomes a crime you can take my scale from my cold dead feet. Since I'm still new at this 'care what you eat' business I weigh daily to satisfy my curiosity about not just my weight. I want to see if I understand how my body reacts to sodium. I want to see if I can learn how my body reacts to exercise. I want to keep tabs on my progress to a particular goal of April 23, which is now in doubt. This daily weighing even showed me that I can add morning pounds by putting half my daily 8 glasses of water after 6 pm. That could be something I care to know some day. Moreover, I don't let the scale frustrate me. If it measures a loss greater than my trend, I want to understand why. If it measures a gain greater than I expect, I want to understand why. If it measures no change, I want to understand why.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    When weighing daily becomes a crime you can take my scale from my cold dead feet. Since I'm still new at this 'care what you eat' business I weigh daily to satisfy my curiosity about not just my weight. I want to see if I understand how my body reacts to sodium. I want to see if I can learn how my body reacts to exercise. I want to keep tabs on my progress to a particular goal of April 23, which is now in doubt. This daily weighing even showed me that I can add morning pounds by putting half my daily 8 glasses of water after 6 pm. That could be something I care to know some day. Moreover, I don't let the scale frustrate me. If it measures a loss greater than my trend, I want to understand why. If it measures a gain greater than I expect, I want to understand why. If it measures no change, I want to understand why.

    Yep, so true. And very interesting observation re: the water after 6pm, I would never have connected the two.

  • jax_006
    jax_006 Posts: 87 Member
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    neohdiver wrote: »
    maidengirl_ wrote: »
    Daily weigh ins just seem like overkill to me and not healthy at all.

    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.

    This is the best thing I've read for someone that would do once/month weigh ins! I first thought people were bananas for weighing themselves everyday. As I for one, have always had an unhealthy relationship with the scale. I asked a similar question yesterday on here http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10362574/how-often-should-i-be-weighing-myself-for-weight-loss/p1 so that's why I am chiming in and saying 'Thank YOU' for enlightening me! I am going to start this routine to take the power away from the scale :)
  • hnyzthms
    hnyzthms Posts: 393 Member
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    synacious wrote: »
    I love, love, LOVE Trendweight. If I saw too high of a fluctuation months ago I would have freaked out and immediately cut calories. Because of Trendweight, I know the exact times of the month to expect spikes and I can predict my weight after a high sodium day within 0.2 pounds. It's helped me really know the ins and outs of my body and I love the reading/seeing the data.

    4w.png

    is this an app @synacious and does it predict what trend your weight should go?
  • gothomson
    gothomson Posts: 215 Member
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    Yeah it does, but daily weighing is a waste of time imo. I weigh myself once a week and keep it to that. I don't want to, or need to, know how much my weight fluctuates from day to day - it serves no useful purpose to me. The only reason I can see for doing it is if your seriously training for a contest or athletic event. Besides its about healthy living as much as anything else so I don't see how knowing you gained a 1lb one day and lost it the next helps with that goal. However, if your not obsessing on the weight but just feel comfortable doing that then why not.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    edited April 2016
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    hnyzthms wrote: »
    synacious wrote: »
    I love, love, LOVE Trendweight. If I saw too high of a fluctuation months ago I would have freaked out and immediately cut calories. Because of Trendweight, I know the exact times of the month to expect spikes and I can predict my weight after a high sodium day within 0.2 pounds. It's helped me really know the ins and outs of my body and I love the reading/seeing the data.

    4w.png

    is this an app @synacious and does it predict what trend your weight should go?

    It's a website and yes it does. I have a wireless scale (Fitbit Aria) and it sends the info to Trendweight for me. Trendweight takes that data and generates the graph you see to let me know how much I'm gaining or losing per week, how many calories more/less I need to eat to reach the rate I want, and how long it should take me to hit my desired weight goal. I know people who don't own a Fitbit Aria/Fitbit product, make free Fitbit accounts, and enter their weight daily to bypass the need for a wireless scale to use Trendweight. I know there are apps like Trendweight, I believe that two are called Libra and Happy Scale, but I cannot vouch for how useful they may or may not be.

    As a sidenote, I realize now by looking at my post again that the graph I linked directly from Trendweight automatically updates itself on my past 4 weeks, hence my post being in February but the graph showing March through April. When I originally posted that graph in February, it showed a downward trend and I was losing weight since I was cutting. I'm on a bulk now, which is why it is now showing an upward trend and my prior post makes less sense. Oops! In the future I'll take screenshots of the graphs instead of linking directly from Trendweight's website.

    Anyway, Trendweight has been useful for both aspects of fitness. When I started bulking I was eating 250 calories more than my assumed TDEE and still wasn't gaining. Trendweight helped me realize how much more I needed to eat to get there. I really like the data and facts it gives. I feel it's been an integral component in reaching my goals.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    gothomson wrote: »
    Yeah it does, but daily weighing is a waste of time imo. I weigh myself once a week and keep it to that. I don't want to, or need to, know how much my weight fluctuates from day to day - it serves no useful purpose to me. The only reason I can see for doing it is if your seriously training for a contest or athletic event. Besides its about healthy living as much as anything else so I don't see how knowing you gained a 1lb one day and lost it the next helps with that goal. However, if your not obsessing on the weight but just feel comfortable doing that then why not.

    For me it's more about not letting the weekly weigh-in confuse and scare me. One problem with weekly weigh-ins, and this has been stated repeatedly, is that weekly weigh-ins will only by coincidence be representative for your current "real" weight. You could be 2 pounds heavier or lighter the next day. No single day is more correct or important than another. Weighing daily makes me more aware that my effort today counts, so I will make an effort, but I can't undo all my effort in one day either. (A week of not caring could do a lot of damage.) Knowing all this, calms me. It takes much less time to just weigh myself than to fear that I have gained weight.

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