To record, or not to record weight gain?

I'm in maintenance. My weight usually fluctuates 1-3 lbs from day to day. If it stays up then I record it. For me, weight creep starts to become a problem when I don't weigh, don't log, and don't record food.

People are different, though. You could always try both options. Don't record it, but if you start to feel anxious then put it down.

I had similar situation as you, where I started at one weight, took a long break, came back to it at higher weight. I did not change weight to the higher weight. Also, though, I only weight myself every two or three weeks because I become obsessed. I could never own a scale.

If/when I overeat I wait two days before recording it to let the water weight diminish. I also use Happy Scale for trends, but mostly use MFP. I like to see the historical spikes and how they resolved. But I hate to have my friends on my wall think I'm losing and losing when all I did was gain and lose the same pound.

When I took a break and came back with a weight gain I logged it for myself. When I'm actively restricting my calories I log my weight weekly on mfp and keep a daily log on my iPad. When I'm in a maintain mode I don't log small fluctuations one way or the other, since it could just be water retention or what not.

My preference is to log my weight once a week no matter if it is up or down. It is data.

I should log it, but sometimes I don't. I think if the gain continued for a two weeks, I'd record it then, but sometimes I have weekends like the one before last where I ate out a lot and had a lot of water retention which made the scale last week look like I had gained 3 lbs. But this week, after logging better, I had a 3 lb LOSS from 2 weeks before. I know I didn't lose 6 lbs in a week, so that means the gain from the week before was water weight and not a true gain - so gains like that I don't count. If, after being stricter on my calorie counting and consumption, a small gain had registered this week, I would have counted it then.

But it really is individual. I weight almost every day, but I only record once a week, and I pick Thursdays for that because I tend to be at my lowest during the week on Saturdays and my highest on Mondays - those darn weekends lol

I had lost 90 lbs back in 2012, but gained it all back in the last 5 years (thyroid cancer stinks!). When I started over in January, I recorded my then current weight and started all over. But if its going to trigger your anxiety or disorder, definitely do what will work best for you in the long run. The beauty of this is that its all very individualized, so we're all completely free to customize the process to what works best for us as individuals! Best of luck to you!

In my first year of MFP I logged daily and after hitting my goal weight I stopped logging my weight. Slowly my activity declined, I started eating more, logging less, and while I weighed myself I did not log it. After putting 30 lbs back on I realized that the accountability was a critical element for me and I logged my weight, reviewed my behavior and got back into the disciplined regimen that led me to success.

Now my goal has shifted from weight loss and more towards muscle development and fat loss, so I started monitoring weight along with body fat % and body measurements.

For as long as I can remember my weight has yo-yoed. This time I want it to be different. So I'm doing it different. I have made myself a graph chart and stuck it on my bedroom wall. I see it each morning and night but also coming and going from the bedroom. Not all of us have iron will power and discipline and I find it difficult to deal with people who go on about "you just have to be strong" " just have will power". Well it's not that easy. So here is what I'm doing different this time round. I'm looking at it long-term. Not just 6months. And when I look at it like that a few days here and there of over-eating are small change. If you don't want to record here on MFP do it on your own chart. Make your new start weight your current weight. A new start weight is a new start. Don't beat yourself up for how you got to it. Start fresh again tomorrow and watch your progress from there. Your weight can only come down starting today. So you had a binge. It's ok. It's not the be all and end all. Tomorrow is another day. Another new chance. So cut yourself some slack, take a deep breath and remember why you started. Find a new reason to start again tomorrow. And forgive yourself. Losing weight and getting healthy is not a race. It's personal to you. And will happen at your pace. Don't get demotivated just because you have gained. You still get a chance to start again. That's the beauty of tomorrow.

I would prefer to Change your weight that way when you do start losing weight again you can see it go down!

An alternative that I sort of adopted without thinking about it is to not record gains immediately, but to do so retroactively, after I've started losing again. I couldn't bear to record the almost 10 pounds I regained until after I lost it, and then I went back (the system lets you do that) and recorded the 3 month-long regain-spike. I also often avoid recording day-to-day fluctuations nowadays if I've gained a pound, if I lose it in the next day or two. I guess it just works for me.

I only record true fat/muscle gains. If it's water weight (meaning I went over only in my sodium/carbs and I'm still at a deficit), I'll wait.