How often do you step on the scale?
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I've logged my weight every morning (when not traveling) for probably more than a decade, even before I started trying to lose weight. (I'm not obsessive; I'm a data geek, in ways other than this one, too.) Before starting to use a trending app (Libra, in my case, because Android), I put a dot on graph paper (date, weight). I have those going back years.
Once I started losing, that history was a great help. I'd already internalized what my weight fluctuations could be, how big they might be under various conditions, how long they'd take to drop off, and that sort of thing. That took a lot of the emotion out of it, for me. (It also helps that by nature I'm a very unemotional person ).
So, it was no surprise and not a source of stress when I saw fluctuations during weight loss. In fact, they usually looked smaller, because they were sitting on an overall down-slope weight trend.
That background knowledge helped me trust the process of logging: If I didn't cumulatively eat 3500 calories over maintenance, I didn't gain a pound.
I think it would be harder to start this during weight loss, especially if someone who is a little more inclined to feel stress about bodyweight, but I think that some might find that an ongoing record has that same kind of calming power in the long term . . . it just takes an effort of will to get to that point. (This is a case where a smart scale that automatically logs might be a help, for a time . . . though watching the changes while one's daily behavior is fresh in mind is where the explanatory gut-level understanding comes from, IMO.)
This is not an approach that will work for everyone: That's not what I'm saying.
It's definitely true, though, that there were weeks during weight loss when a weekly weigh-in would've told me I was gaining when I was actually losing (I think that would be stressful!), and in maintenance it's still the case that a once a month weight could be misleading in that same way. (In January, I've ranged up and down from extremes of 132.6 to 136.6 so far; In December it was 132.4 to 137.4. If I'd weighed on the 11th of each month, I would've seen 134.2 in December, and 136.2 in January: Pseudo gain, when I'm actually very slowly losing. And those aren't the only date pairs that would yield that misimpression.)
I think there's value, for anyone for whom it's possible (i.e., not everyone everyone) to work on internalizing the idea that scale weight is just a momentary snapshot of bodyweight's (plus its temporary food/water contents') relationship with gravity, not in any way a metric of one's worth as as human.
Personally, I don't believe we have a "true weight", but rather a current weight range (of fluctuations through a day, up to a small number of weeks), and a longer term weight trend (uphill slope of the current ranges if gaining, horizontal if maintaining, downhill when losing; over a period of several weeks to months and years).13 -
Now I weigh everyday. Why? Because EVERY time I regained the weight I dieted off, it was when I decided I didn't need to weigh anymore and stopped.5
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Every 3 days😭0
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I first started MFP 3 years ago so every single morning when I first started and I used happy scales to see my trend because I got discouraged with the fluctuations. Now it’s mostly once a week.0
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Once a week works for me1
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I don't think I'll ever buy one again. I was on it every day and couldn't stop. Now we got flooded I think I'll just go with my skirt size getting tighter or not.1
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I weigh myself once a week, on the same day, and roughly at the same time. Too much life happens in a day and I don't want to feel guilty for enjoying myself one day when I can work it off over the next few days. Weight loss (and life) is a marathon, not a sprint. Anyone can do really good (or really bad) for a day at a time. Trends take time to form just like habits. Daily victories are great, but the trend measured over time is more important to me. Weekly weigh ins are close enough together so that I can make corrections to my routine if I have gone up (even though over a week, nothing should be substantial), and the weekly weigh ins are far enough I feel to actually celebrate weight loss.4
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I weigh myself once a week, on the same day, and roughly at the same time. Too much life happens in a day and I don't want to feel guilty for enjoying myself one day when I can work it off over the next few days. Weight loss (and life) is a marathon, not a sprint. Anyone can do really good (or really bad) for a day at a time. Trends take time to form just like habits. Daily victories are great, but the trend measured over time is more important to me. Weekly weigh ins are close enough together so that I can make corrections to my routine if I have gone up (even though over a week, nothing should be substantial), and the weekly weigh ins are far enough I feel to actually celebrate weight loss.
Yeah that is how it should be. Happy for you. Some can't do what they should and know is best. lol.0 -
Once a week officially, to log my weight. Might step on twice a week to see how it's going.
If I weighed daily I'd get so frustrated at not seeing the scale move, I used to do this and didn't enjoy it. Plus one week of the month my weight goes up a bit even after a calorie deficit1 -
Every day. Like everyone my weight fluctuates daily, going slightly up and down.
I do it because "ooh I lost 100 grams yesterday" makes me feel good and a little boost to keep going and exercise a wee couple of minutes longer. I only used to weigh once a week and found I would feast and famine. This way I keep better portion control and am much more relaxed.0 -
I weigh myself every Monday morning, but have recently started doing the odd Friday as well, so I can assess how the week has gone before I enter the weekend where the working day does not define my activity and I am prone to overthinking about meals, snacks etc0
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When I'm losing, 4-5x per week. When I'm gaining or maintaining I try to weigh daily.1
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Almost daily. But when I get to maintenance, I'll change that to less frequently.0
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Daily except during my period.
As a woman the massive fluctuation during my period is depressing so i just skip stepping on the scale until my period is over for the month and then go back to daily weight ins.1 -
designerdiscounts wrote: »I have weighed daily for a long time and am considering laying off for a while. I’m at my goal weight and want to work on recomp, so the scale may not reflect the changes I’m hoping to see. I got my body fat tested 3 weeks ago and plan to get that done again at the one month mark. I’ve also been taking my measurements intermittently for the last 5 years so there’s lots of data there to compare. Scale fluctuations can make or break my day, wish they didn’t but they do.
All of this ^^. I lost 44 pounds about 3 1/2 years ago and have basically kept it off - I say "basically" because last I checked, the number is higher, but I've also been lifting weights/working out for 3 years and know that my body comp has changed some because I still wear the same clothes. When I was losing, I did weigh almost daily. But the number totally affects my mood, and sometimes my actions too (get a bit too restrictive) - so I don't weigh at all anymore. I rejoined here to drop a bit of "fluff" which has been working - I can tell by my clothes and the mirror, and that's enough for me. Measurements are a great idea, like you're doing, as well as the body fat test.2 -
TMI alert! I only weigh myself on the days when i can go to the loo before I eat or drink anything! So about once a week or fortnight ...1
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I weigh almost every day but only log once a week.1
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I weigh myself pretty much every day that I wake up in my own bed. I’m not as consistent with getting the weight into my Happy Scale app, but I do step on the scale every morning after I get up and before I have breakfast. It’s no big deal to skip it if I’m traveling or whatever, but I’ve found that things begin to creep upward very quickly when I’m not mindful of where my weight is at.
I back that up with how my clothing fits. I have a particular pair of pants that serves as the arbiter of my size. No stretch and a side zipper—-they tell me right away if I’m getting too comfortable in my portions sizes and snack choices!2 -
I typically weigh in daily but sometimes I take breaks. In my case my weight can jump around quite a bit. Like i'll lose 10 pounds in a couple weeks and then i won't lose anything for a couple weeks. It can be very frustrating when you're doing everything right and you gotta wait for the weight to star coming down again.. I've remained positive though and now ive lost over 210 pounds. 100 pounds more to go.2
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Daily works for me. Even though I've been maintaining a major (100+) loss for years, and I'm in the same 7 lb range for years, I find that if I take a week or more off weighing that is when my weight goes up or I start playing weird mind games with myself. I'm better off weighing daily and accepting fluctuations, then using them as motivation in some cases.
However, there are (rarely) times when I don't weigh in for 1-2 days because I do not want to see what extra salt/activity has done to that number. Mainly if I eat Chinese food or pizza and then don't drink enough water the same/next day.2
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