How often to weigh in maintenance

13

Replies

  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
    My bathroom is *tiny* so I find myself standing on the scale nearly every time I brush my teeth, unless I lean the scale up against the wall - which has a tendency to mess with the calibration over time. If the number is outside the range of numbers I'm used to seeing, I log it in my phone and keep logging the trend until I'm back in the range I'm used to seeing for a week.
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
    I'm .8lbs away from hitting my goal weight, which will be 150 (range being 153-147). So close right? :)

    But, this isn't my first rodeo. I lose and gain like champ, maintenance is a tough pill to swallow.

    During my most current round of weight loss (15lb cut) I weighed every Sunday. I plan to do that same thing going into maintenance as well. I've been really comfortable eating at my current deficient (1400 calories/daily), so eating close to 1800 will be struggle "mentally" when I decide to switch.

    The last time I did this I weighed everyday for about 6 months then it became a chore so I just quit. I think for me, once a week will at least give me enough data to figure out where I'm at and not get obsessed with it. I think. We'll see!

  • armyvet25
    armyvet25 Posts: 48 Member
    I weigh in daily no matter what, it keeps me from ignoring my mistakes/cheats/ and saying I'll do better tomorrow, I need the accountability. If I were to go a whole week or month, I would fail horribly, and would probably give up.
  • dashagrr
    dashagrr Posts: 43 Member
    GaryRuns wrote: »
    BreezyWerner wrote: »
    mtaratoot wrote: »
    Every day shortly after I get out of bed. Close to the same time every day under similar conditions. Then enter daily data to a spreadsheet that calculates a moving average to even out the inevitable daily spikes. I also use a website that does a weighted moving average which I like better because it assigns a higher value to measurements in the recent past versus farther in the past (about ten days).

    I have seen many times when, if I had been only weighing once a week, the scale would have told me something that I would have completely misinterpreted. Weighing every day that I am near my scale works great for me. All that said, I haven't COMPLETELY disassociated my emotional response from the number I see each day. It's still a little bit of a challenge. But I KNOW in my head what it is, and I try to convince my heart (or liver depending on where you think emotions come from :smile: ) that it's just a number, and then look at my TREND. I'm a recovering scientist, so data are my friend.

    As an example, here's the graph of the last six months from Trendweight:

    3o27rb3ajg1u.png

    As an example, if I weighed myself on Sundays, my scale weight between September 1-8 went up four pounds, but the weighted moving average went DOWN a third of a pound. Conversely, between August 18-25, my scale weight went down 1.8 pounds, but my trend was UP 1.3 pounds. It's the trend that's most important. I will continue to work on disconnecting from the daily readings because without taking the daily readings, the trend is less accurate.

    A recovering scientist.... I am a recovering electrical engineer. Totally get it.

    It comes from a dieting book by a programmer, The Hacker's Diet (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hacker%27s_Diet). The guy who put up and maintains TrendWeight based the algorithm on the one that John Walker, the programmer, describes in his book.

    If you're a geek and have the time and the interest the book is free and an interesting read. It's linked in the aforementioned Wikipedia entry.

    So excited someone has mentioned The Hacker's Diet! IMHO, the best book out there on weight loss, and I have read quite a few (it's also free). Old book but spot on. Before the rise of online tracking tools like MFP.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,675 Member
    I weigh myself at least once a week, but rarely more than twice. My weight fluctuates a lot depending on what I eat and whether my muscles are holding on to water after a hard workout, so I pick a day that isn't after a high salt meal (i.e. pizza or any restaurant meal) and isn't after a hard workout or long run. If the weight seems to be more than I expect or less, I'll weigh myself again a day or two later to see if it's a fluke or a trend.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
    I weigh myself every day. You can use an app like libra or happy scale. It will show you your trend weight and smooth out the fluctuations. Weighing every day helps me see what my weight does daily, based on exercise, diet, and hormones. I have begun to recognize patterns. This is helpful because I know I will weigh more after lifting and after ovulation. If I was only weighing once a week or less, it would be harder to recognize these patterns and I might attribute the scale going up to fat gain instead of water for muscle repair.
  • ghudson92
    ghudson92 Posts: 2,061 Member
    I've gone from weighing daily to weighing once or twice a week. Purely because, when I got my new phone I lost two years worth of data on the libra app and I just couldn't be bothered anymore.
  • kcmcbee
    kcmcbee Posts: 177 Member
    I do every day.
  • walktalkdog
    walktalkdog Posts: 102 Member
    armyvet25 wrote: »
    I weigh in daily no matter what, it keeps me from ignoring my mistakes/cheats/ and saying I'll do better tomorrow, I need the accountability. If I were to go a whole week or month, I would fail horribly, and would probably give up.

    This is my situation as well.
  • JasonJoyHedenskog
    JasonJoyHedenskog Posts: 143 Member
    If I don’t weigh daily I tend to get off track w my eating. It just works for me.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
    I way every morning, at this point, purely out of habit...
  • DickAich
    DickAich Posts: 9 Member
    I've been in maintenance for a while now but I still keep track of calories intake and weigh myself on an InBody 570 at the gym. I give myself a couple pound up and down as normal fluctuation from my maintenance weight. I don't worry about a couple pounds since I know what I am eating. It has always gone back down. There are more days when I see I need to have a snack than days when I can't. I also weigh myself on the same day of the week at the gym BEFORE my workout and fasting (no breakfast but protein drink). It works for me.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I weigh every morning after I go to the bathroom and before I eat. I know I'll bounce around within a few pounds. I worry when I bounce higher. If I weighed every week, I'd fret.
  • katsheare
    katsheare Posts: 1,025 Member
    Inspired by this thread (and my love of being able to make informed decisions - data!!) I've reinstalled Happy Scale (other trend trackers are available) and started tracking my morning weight.

    Interesting week to start: TOM (predictably) and being whacked with a proper nasty illness. And I don't see a notes section on Happy Scale - does anyone know of a good tracker that has them (without just using excel and doing the maths myself...)

    This seems like the right place to go...
  • aimjolie
    aimjolie Posts: 60 Member
    I like to weigh myself every day. I now take into consideration daily fluctuations. If I am eating healthy and in my calorie range and see a slight fluctuation, I don’t get upset because I know it’s temporary. Sometimes I get a surprise when I ate more than my caloric range and still didn’t gain weight. Even if I hit a plateau, I think this is better than gaining. Some think weighing once a week is better. See what works best for you.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    katsheare wrote: »
    Inspired by this thread (and my love of being able to make informed decisions - data!!) I've reinstalled Happy Scale (other trend trackers are available) and started tracking my morning weight.

    Interesting week to start: TOM (predictably) and being whacked with a proper nasty illness. And I don't see a notes section on Happy Scale - does anyone know of a good tracker that has them (without just using excel and doing the maths myself...)

    This seems like the right place to go...

    Libra lets me make notes.

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