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    When should I step on the scale? I’m scared 😱

    Posts: 11 Member
    edited December 2024 in Motivation and Support
    Hi! I started low carb last Sunday. I’ve stuck to the meal plan and exercised 5 days this week. I’m excited to see if there’s any progress but I’m afraid of disappointment. How often do you all weigh in? 5’2-265lbs

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    • Posts: 74 Member
      Today is an ideal day because it's been a week. Weigh without clothes before you eat anything because this gives you a true measure of your weight, but remember, a scale weighs whatever is on it, so your weight will reflect water, fat and muscle. Any drop is water weight at this point is good. I would not weigh everyday as it can be nerve wrecking. Your body needs at least a day to adjust to what you put in it, so try to weigh once a week, no more than twice and space those days out, so when you weigh again, weigh around Thursday. Make sure to eat adequate protein to maintain your muscle. Good luck.
    • Posts: 274 Member
      Once a month for me
    • Posts: 7,460 Member
      Daily. First thing in the morning, after a short stop in the bathroom. Put it on a weight averaging app. Don’t pay any attention to the actual scale weight, only the app.
    • Posts: 12 Member
      I do a little bit of all of the above. I like to weigh every day first thing after I use the rest room, BUT if I know i might not be in the mood to take any bad news or if it has been a bad day the day before than I know to skip the scale and wait a day or five. Self police your attitude about weighing in, know thy self enough to say "hay not today" or "Heck yea I wanna know today".

      Yes the weight fluctuates soooo much depending on reasons, so the best thing I feel one can do is be aware of this and to always take that into consideration!

      Look for that comfortable time scale that plays well with you!

      Just my thought <3 Wilt
    • Posts: 67 Member
      Sometimes not for a week, sometimes twice a week. It all depends on how I'm feeling. Some programs (like beachbody programs) have you do a weigh in weekly I think. The scale is just one way to see how hard you've been working. There are a lot of nonscale victories as well like how your clothing is fitting! Keep up the good work 💪
    • Posts: 971 Member
      I weigh daily... but it’s not a mental or emotional hang up for me. If I miss a day or 5 it’s not a huge deal. I feel disappointment if it goes up significantly, sure, but I also know that it’s normal and eventually it will drop. I like seeing the charts and watching the fluctuations, the steady decline over time. December was frustrating because I completely stalled out, but considering everything we had going on paired with a LOT of travel I considered it a win.
    • Posts: 188 Member
      Daily, at the same time. I use this as a guide to see if it’s going up or down for 2-3 days in a row to make a correction, or if it’s just fluctuating.
      +/- a half pound a day could be water or one meal. To track actual gain or loss, I take weekly average.
    • Posts: 396 Member
      I always did so once a week, but when I fell off the scale wagon I saw increases. I'll be trying daily to re-establish the habit and keep accountable. I started today.
    • Posts: 4,361 Member
      If you're working out from the start.. i'd wait. why? becasue the false water weight from the tears in your muscles from working out. It can last up to six weeks. and if you step on the scale and see no progress.. the devil on your shoulder will tell you what you're doing doesn't matter and just eat what you want.

      stick to what you're doing and weigh in a month or so.
    • Posts: 11 Member
      elisa123gal wrote: »
      If you're working out from the start.. i'd wait. why? becasue the false water weight from the tears in your muscles from working out. It can last up to six weeks. and if you step on the scale and see no progress.. the devil on your shoulder will tell you what you're doing doesn't matter and just eat what you want.

      stick to what you're doing and weigh in a month or so.

    • Posts: 11 Member
      One month...that’s a very long time! I weight this morning and was 11lbs down. I plan to do it every Monday morning. But I do understand your point! Thanks
    • Posts: 4,195 Member
      Daily weighing is a good habit to get into--no big shocks that way!
    • Posts: 450 Member
      Weigh when it works for you! Body measurements are important too. I lost 3 inches off my hips even though I only lost 5 pounds!
    • Posts: 43 Member
      Once a week is fine
    • Posts: 338 Member
      I get on the scale every single day. Hoooweveeeer.... I do this because I know and understand that my weight will fluctuate and I don't let myself get excited/frustrated by gains/loss because I know that as long as it's steadily going down it's *NORMAL!!* for your weight to be up and down daily.

      I don't have the willpower to wait a week, I really don't! But... if I could that's what I would do!
    • Posts: 55 Member
      I'm in the minority and do it only once every three weeks or so while I am losing. I found that I had a really hard time not getting discouraged when I had a really great week and the scale did not reflect all my hard work. Once every three weeks was a nice way to guarantee the numbers would move. In between weighing, I try I really reflect on how I feel physically, mentally and how my clothes fit. That's what helps me. Everyone is different and you will find what works for you and what you are comfortable with.
    • Posts: 1,152 Member
      Weekly under the same conditions. When I had a scale, it was every Saturday morning right after my morning pee. Now it's every Friday evening at the gym
    • Posts: 1,015 Member
      thewiltedred wrote: »
      I do a little bit of all of the above. I like to weigh every day first thing after I use the rest room, BUT if I know i might not be in the mood to take any bad news or if it has been a bad day the day before than I know to skip the scale and wait a day or five. Self police your attitude about weighing in, know thy self enough to say "hay not today" or "Heck yea I wanna know today".

      Yes the weight fluctuates soooo much depending on reasons, so the best thing I feel one can do is be aware of this and to always take that into consideration!

      Look for that comfortable time scale that plays well with you!

      Just my thought <3 Wilt

      This is great advice!

    • Posts: 703 Member
      I will.only be weighing myself once a month and it will be on the last day of my womans cycle. That's the day I weigh the lowest and all my water weight I hold onto all month is finally gone. I used to weigh daily but those plateaus for 2 and 3 weeks were rough so I figured out what works best for me.
    • Posts: 11 Member
      Week 2 and I gained a pound! How in the heck could this have happened? I lost 11 lbs in week 1. This is ridiculous. I’ve been working out 5 days and staying below 30 carbs daily.
    • Posts: 6,252 Member
      I weigh in daily. First thing in the morning after voiding for consistency.

      Doing this for the past 5 years helped me realize what to expect and establish a causal relationship to food/activity.

      Understanding the math behind it took away the fear.
    • Posts: 5,646 Member
      preciouslove1 wrote: »
      Week 2 and I gained a pound! How in the heck could this have happened? I lost 11 lbs in week 1. This is ridiculous. I’ve been working out 5 days and staying below 30 carbs daily.

      Did you read all the comments in this thread about fluctuations and how weight loss isn't linear? You had a massive drop in water weight your first week, this is likely just your body equilibriating, or some other water weight fluctuation in the opposite direction. You lost 10 lb in two weeks, that's great.

      Example, this is my weight loss graph from Trendweight for the past few weeks, all over the place, but overall heading in the direction I want it to:

      hlbmjjrr1t75.png
    • Posts: 5,646 Member
      Oh and that missing day last week (pale diamond) is where I shot up nearly 2 lbs. Ovulation bloat, and it was gone by the next day.
    • Posts: 11 Member
      Excellent progress Nony_Mouse! I’m trying to stay the course and stay motivated. My husband is hiding the scale for a few weeks. Can’t promise I will not go looking but I’ll try to stop...
    • Posts: 44,449 Member
      I use to be a monthly weigh-er......but now I am a weekly weigh-er
    This discussion has been closed.

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