How often should I weigh myself?

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Bnoland27
Bnoland27 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hope all is well,

How often should I weigh myself? Weighing myself every week holds me accountable, however, it can be nerve-racking. Watching the numbers on the scale go up and down has been very depressing. I was thinking every two weeks but I'm not for sure........

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  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    As often as you feel comfortable with, whether it’s daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly or even less. What’s more important is that you do it in the same setting (first thing in the morning, after using the bathroom but before eating, wearing the same amount of clothing) and that you have a view of the overall trend rather than what happens between two data points.
  • 303lissy
    303lissy Posts: 427 Member
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    I weigh every day, which at first glance seems counter-intuitive, but -
    - it gets old real quick, so it's less scary. I wake up, I pee, I wash my face and brush my teeth, I weigh and log. Done.
    - I've become more familiar with my body, so weight fluctuations are less of a thing. Oh look, the scale went up 0.6lbs. That makes sense, I... had a really salty dinner last night, or I really overindulged on the pasta, or it's close to my TOTM.
    - Body weight fluctuations are a thing. You can consistently be under your calorie goal all the damn time, and you could still be retaining weight, even if you're losing fat. The "perfect weight loss" will still never be a perfect downward slope... it's gonna have data points that randomly hop back up.
    - Your weight does not define you!
  • RenaTX
    RenaTX Posts: 345 Member
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    I weigh daily. I just keep in mind that weight will fluctuate.
  • Leannep2201
    Leannep2201 Posts: 441 Member
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    I used to weigh weekly, but on a couple of occasions when the scale went up, I didn’t like it very much, and decided I wanted more information.
    So I now weigh daily, but just record my weight on a Friday, when I’m often at my lowest. I find that this way, I don’t worry so much if the numbers go up, because I can often pinpoint why (salty meal as mentioned above, change in exercise routine etc) or notice that the scale will go back down, usually within a day or two!
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    If you are absolutely sure you are in a calorie deficit and you are losing weight at a safe rate then it doesn't matter until you need to check those things again.

    How often you weigh is completely up to you what else you get from the scale when you weigh. You mentioned accountability and for some people that is big benefit. If the scale is making you crazy at times you can either learn to ignore the fluctuations, steer into it and weigh more often using one of those trending apps I see people talking about, or wait longer periods between weighing. The last option is probably not ideal for you because you need the accountability.
  • fb47
    fb47 Posts: 1,058 Member
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    I suggest you read this https://aworkoutroutine.com/weighing-yourself/
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
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    I generally weigh myself every morning. I'm on holiday at the moment and didn't bring my scale so this month, I am not weighing myself.

    1. If it's nerve-racking, consider weighing yourself less often.
    2. As a woman, daily weighing can give you a heads up on TOM. I start my period within 24 hours of a 2lb weight gain. It's like clockwork with me. It had saved more than a few pairs of nice underwear, and I know with menstruation water retention is perfectly normal and expected.
    3. Make yourself a chart (or enter the numbers daily), to see your overall progress. Weight loss isn't linear and there are so many things that can cause weird gains and losses from day to day. Just changes in how much salt you ate the day before can swing numbers in either direction: it's just water, so it's no big deal.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    fb47 wrote: »
    I suggest you read this https://aworkoutroutine.com/weighing-yourself/

    And this: https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-bmi-and-weighing-frequency.html/

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