Weigh ins

ldaratha
ldaratha Posts: 29 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’m on week 2 and have Bad habit of weighing myself daily. Today it bit me in the butt as the scale shows a 2 pound weight gain from yesterday, with no explanation.I should really just weigh in on Monday AMs which was my original plan!! I just find any tiny loss is a big motivator for me. How often do others weigh themselves?

Replies

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Actually there is a good explanation. You should read this:

    http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/


    I take my numbers from my Friday weighing. The reason is I am far more likely to eat out on Friday and the weekend than I am earlier in the week. Weighing Friday morning is more likely to give me a number that is less influenced by normal body weight fluctuations.

    I do weigh each day now but I didn't start that way. I didn't weigh for over a month when I started because my relationship with the scale was so bad. It actually only matters what makes this easier for you not what anyone else does.





  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    edited August 2019
    Our weight fluctuates naturally every day regardless of whether we are trying to lose/gain/maintain our weight.
    You might find using a trending weight app will help, if you have android phone its libra and if iphone, use happyscale. The main thing is seeing the overall trend is going in the right direction but its early days for you to see progress, it takes time, a lonnnng time actually. So keep going, if you are eating consistently in calorie deficit you will lose.

    All the best.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    See useful thread >> http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634529/why-did-the-number-on-the-scale-go-up-this-week-heres-why#latest
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,154 Member
    I tend to weigh myself daily on the Libra app, which provides a trendline over time that can help ease the stress of daily fluctuations. I only log my "official" weight once a week, which is Saturday morning, first thing after using the bathroom, and naked to get the most consistent results.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,970 Member
    I weigh daily, and track weekly averages (with notes if I know I may be retaining excess water for some reason). Helps keep me sane, actually, but I've been doing it long enough that I'm pretty used to my trends and fluctuations.

    Only weighing once a week was really bad for me, because if that one day happened to be a higher day, I would freak out. Big, daily differences I know are just water.....
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    Daily using Libra (it's a trendweight app), I never waste too much thought/energy on one data point, whether it be a loss or a gain. I focus on my trending weight.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    I weigh daily. It keeps me engaged in the process. I accept the fact that there will be fluctuations and plateaus. My scale syncs to MFP through a weight trending app so I can follow that to get a better idea of what's "normal" for me.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,967 Member
    Weighing daily is not a bad habit, it is just a personal preference. Your weight will fluctuate. That is perfectly normal. If you weigh daily you will begin to see patterns such as how your cycle (if you are female) affects your weight and how certain foods or new exercise affects it. Some people don't like to see the daily fluctuations, and that is ok. If it bothers you then don't weigh daily. Weighing daily and using a weight trending app is less stressful to me than weighing once a week. If you only weighed once a week and your weight was up by 2 pounds on the day that you weighed you might not see that you had actually lost weight this week. And I have known a lot of people who stress about what they are eating today because tomorrow is weigh in day. I never worry about my daily weight, I just record it and look at the trend. I have been on mfp for almost 4 years and in maintenance for almost 2 and I have weighed almost every single day. The only times I do not weigh is if I am out of town and not at home.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    I weigh daily. It does wonders for making me not take that tempting snack late at night, because I want the best weigh-in I can get the next morning. I often do a weigh-in at night too, but on a more casual basis, like if I've had an extra 4 trips to the bathroom during the day and want to find out if I've lost another pound LOL

    Scale fluctuations were a little demoralizing at first, but over the course of a month I got used to them. Weight loss is not linear, and once you've really internalized that, the daily ups and downs stop being annoying and become just part of the process.

    By weighing in every day and sometimes more than once a day, I've gotten a really good feel for how and when my body loses weight and fat, which is useful knowledge.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,886 Member
    I'm up 2 pounds today too, and because I weigh daily I know the reason is because I am ovulating and retaining water.

    Because of this (and because Lyle McDonald said to) I compare myself to last month, not last week.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
    kgirlhart wrote: »
    Weighing daily is not a bad habit, it is just a personal preference. Your weight will fluctuate. That is perfectly normal. If you weigh daily you will begin to see patterns such as how your cycle (if you are female) affects your weight and how certain foods or new exercise affects it. Some people don't like to see the daily fluctuations, and that is ok. If it bothers you then don't weigh daily. Weighing daily and using a weight trending app is less stressful to me than weighing once a week. If you only weighed once a week and your weight was up by 2 pounds on the day that you weighed you might not see that you had actually lost weight this week. And I have known a lot of people who stress about what they are eating today because tomorrow is weigh in day. I never worry about my daily weight, I just record it and look at the trend. I have been on mfp for almost 4 years and in maintenance for almost 2 and I have weighed almost every single day. The only times I do not weigh is if I am out of town and not at home.

    All this. I have weighed exactly the same thing from one month to the next, while daily weigh-ins showed a very clear downward trend. My weight fluctuates quite a bit.

    I would be far more unhappy if I only weighed once a week/month and that particular day happened to be high so I felt like I worked “so hard” for a week/month for “nothing” - when really I just happened to weigh myself on days that had weights that were higher/lower than my average and I really was losing as I wanted to.

    I weigh daily and have for the last 2800 days. I don’t get upset about a weight. Up/down/whatever. I look at my trends and adjust if I need to.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
    ldaratha wrote: »
    I’m on week 2 and have Bad habit of weighing myself daily. Today it bit me in the butt as the scale shows a 2 pound weight gain from yesterday, with no explanation.I should really just weigh in on Monday AMs which was my original plan!! I just find any tiny loss is a big motivator for me. How often do others weigh themselves?

    There is an explanation...that is that body weight isn't static and fluctuates naturally. Your body is comprised of roughly 55-65% water and that will always be in flux...and that will affect the scale. You will also always have varying degrees of waste in your system, etc...that will also show on the scale.

    Weight management is about long term trends because your weight is always going to bounce around and fluctuate...you don't have a "real" weight.

    I used to weigh in daily, but now it's more like 2-3 times per week.
  • kimondo666
    kimondo666 Posts: 194 Member
    started to weigh ins myself daily at 7/28 and love it. Sometimes is up 2 lbs but shows graph report nicely. Ya can check in on reports. But you need to have healthy mind to do daily. If you put too much focus on daily weight its not too good for you. What matters is long term weight.
  • ldaratha
    ldaratha Posts: 29 Member
    Thanks for all replies. Something to think about!

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