Frequent (daily) weigh-ins: what have you learned?

frosty73 · February 2012

For those of us who weigh-in daily or frequently, what lessons have you learned from it?

I learned that eating a large bowl of split pea soup immediately before a weigh-in resulted in a pound of weight gain. I was thinking that it would be like drinking water, my kidneys would get rid of any excess immediately, and that sure didn't happen, even after I peed! Of course the next day the extra weight was gone.

So, what have you learned from your scale?

AirCircleI · February 2012

I learned from not eating gluten for a month that my weight doesn't fluxuate from, I presume, water retention. Since I have gone back to eating gluten, though not very much, my weight fluxuates again.

Dtho5159 · February 2012

That it sucks LOL. Im up and down and up and down most days.

melsinct · February 2012

I liked weighing daily because I got to know my body well and most importantly, the daily fluctuations didn't freak me out. I always weighed first thing in the morning (after peeing) and learned:

Eating restaurant food or anything loaded with sodium would make me "gain" anywhere from 1-3 pounds for about 2-3 days

After a night of drinking, dehydration will make me "lose" 1-2 pounds for a day.

Right before I get my period, the minor bloating sets in and I "gain" 2 pounds.

I also learned my weight is pretty consistent from day to day if I lay off the sodium and alcohol!

kgchisholm · February 2012

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

Teliooo · February 2012

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

That the scale does not reflect my size or health.

sandown12 · February 2012

Tried not to as week 2 told me 5 days in id lost 3.5lbs 100% all week on weigh in it was 1.5ls taught me that we can have a different result every day :sad:

pupcamper · February 2012

I liked weighing daily because I got to know my body well and most importantly, the daily fluctuations didn't freak me out. I always weighed first thing in the morning (after peeing) and learned:

Eating restaurant food or anything loaded with sodium would make me "gain" anywhere from 1-3 pounds for about 2-3 days

After a night of drinking, dehydration will make me "lose" 1-2 pounds for a day.

Right before I get my period, the minor bloating sets in and I "gain" 2 pounds.

I also learned my weight is pretty consistent from day to day if I lay off the sodium and alcohol!

Pretty much what I learned too I also learned that pop is evil for me I gain a pound or two for a day or two if I drink it - even if I have had at least 8 glasses of water that day. I have alos learned that a huge portion of pasta and rice will do the same thing, however a rgular sized portion will not. Wednesdays and Sundays tend to be kinder to me on the scale for some reason! lol

HMD7703 · February 2012

I do not weigh in daily any more. It was becoming an obsession. I had to educate myself (thank you Google) on weight fluctuations and what causes them. Weighing daily is simply not accurate. I weigh in 2 x's a week, always in the morning and mostly in the same type of clothes (pj's or skivies).

Now that my weight loss has stalled, I have wanted to move to measuring inch loss instead. I have yet to perfect this, as I seem to never measure in the exact same spot ?!?! Until I get the measuring bit correct, I go by how my clothes fit / feel / look on me as well as what the scale says.

kgchisholm · February 2012

I agree with that.

I lose inches and gain cardio endurance consistently, even in times when the scale won't budge. It's nice to remember we're more than a number!

therealangd · February 2012

I have learned:

* Weight fluctuates day to day
* My weight goes up after a hard workout
* My weight goes down after a HIIT run
* My weight goes up a for a couple of days once a month. (TOM)
* My weight goes up after a day of crappy eating
* My weight goes down if I keep hydrated
* I just found this one last month. My weight goes up if I injure myself. (This only happened once, so it could have been coincidence, but I don't think so)
* A litre of water is very heavy. Don't weigh after you drink water.
* Weigh first thing in the morning after you pee.
* Bowel movements affect weight loss.
* My weight can fluctuate up to 3 lbs from day to day.

BPayton27 · February 2012

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

This rings very true for me as well! I weigh daily, but only record it once a week.

I've also learned that a splurge McDonald's dinner will cause a short term colon cleanse effect, but will show on the scale a day later.

Pookylou · February 2012

Not to weigh in the day after a heavy exercise day, always after a rest day!

AmyLRed · February 2012

the biggest thing i have learned is that fluctuations are normal, and not to stress about being up1lb, .5lbs, etc. As long as the overall trend (weekly, monthly) is down, thats what matters. For example, last week i was 158.8, 158.6, 158.6, 158.8, 159, 159, 159, 159 and today 157.6 Once i stay steady for several days, then i know it will go down, even though it sometimes goes back up a few tenths of a pound. Who cares? i am still losing overall. I also do not log every time the scale changes, only when i get the same loss 2 days in a row. So if the scale says 157.6 tomorrow, i will weigh in on MFP. Likewise, i dont log the .2lbs gained. If it was a true gain and not fluctuations, i would. (To me a true gain would be if i got off track fora few days or a week and gained a pound or two.)

salxtai · February 2012

Eating restaurant food or anything loaded with sodium would make me "gain" anywhere from 1-3 pounds for about 2-3 days

After a night of drinking, dehydration will make me "lose" 1-2 pounds for a day.

I'd never connected restaurant food/ high sodium with the upped weight - good work on linking those!
Although that may be because I'm more likely to cheat on weekends, which is when I'll go to restaurants.

And as for the alcohol - lucky you! I put on up to 2kg for the next day or 2 :grumble:

happyjoyousfree1 · February 2012

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

That the scale does not reflect my size or health.

Bump

I just follow my plan and weigh in once a week. more than that makes you crazy!

dadeys1 · February 2012

Good info. Glad to hear my "discoveries" are normal. Thanks all!

MoogieOh · February 2012

I weigh myself in the morning and at night.

I've learned that if I only gain a pound or so throughout the day, I can expect a loss in the morning. If I gain MORE than around 2 pounds during the day, I can expect to maintain or gain a bit.

So far, this has been true EVERY time.

This rings very true for me as well! I weigh daily, but only record it once a week.

I've also learned that a splurge McDonald's dinner will cause a short term colon cleanse effect, but will show on the scale a day later.

:laugh: :laugh:

_Ren · February 2012

I learned not to do it.

magreen1111 · February 2012

It's very frustrating! I try to be diligent with my diet but if I have one night of cheating it seems that I gain back most of the weight that I've struggled to lose all week. My husband took me out for Valentine's Day and we had Thai food and wine. I gained 3 pounds overnight. Yesterday, however, I watched what I ate, exercised alot and today I found all but 4 ounces of that weight are gone. If I didn't weight myself every day I wouldn't be able to adjust my habits based on weight gain. I found it to be helpful to me in losing weight, even if it's frustrating!

Kristiehaines · February 2012

I think it keeps you honest and is okay...until you hit a plateau and it is very discouraging.

MoogieOh · February 2012

I used to weigh everyday because it was so tempting. However the small gains are really disheartening and I now will only do it x2 a week.

bmqbonnie · February 2012

I gain a pound or two after starting a new workout program. Back when I was much more sedentary, even a leisurely walk led to temporary weight gain. But then I get a woosh in the downward direction when my body recovers.

Eating a lot of sodium increases by about a pound but it comes off quickly if I drink ridiculous amounts of water. I weigh more after days where I don't drink enough.

I gain a bit before my period comes and then immediately lose the day I start.

Sometimes I lose quite a bit after a few drinks or severe stomach upset.

Since I'm familiar with these things, daily weigh ins don't freak out or discourage me. If I go more than a day without weighing I fall off the wagon completely. Gotta face the music! And for all people talk about the scale being discouraging, seeing it go down at all is very ENcouraging. Doesn't happen every day, but often enough to keep me motivated.

Di3012 · February 2012

For those of us who weigh-in daily or frequently, what lessons have you learned from it?

I learned that eating a large bowl of split pea soup immediately before a weigh-in resulted in a pound of weight gain. I was thinking that it would be like drinking water, my kidneys would get rid of any excess immediately, and that sure didn't happen, even after I peed! Of course the next day the extra weight was gone.

So, what have you learned from your scale?

I have learned from past experience to only weigh and measure once per week. Regarding what I eat and drink or what exercise I do the day before my weigh-in, I pay no attention except that I stay within my calorie allowance.

I used to weigh myself everyday and it would bug me if the weight went up, even slightly, which it did do on many occasion. Fluctuations in daily weigh-ins are usual, but they still used to annoy and depress me.

Kaddyshack21 · February 2012

For me personally it is very demoralizing so I just don't do it. Once a week and then my scale goes back on the shelf. I have enough to fret about as it is.

luvmypwds · February 2012

I don't usually like weighing myself everyday, but I have been doing it for the last two weeks since discovering MFP, but only to see what I will learn. I do not intend to keep weighing myself everyday. What I've learned is that my weight fluctuates about a pound up and down, so it is more useful if I were to take an average if I were to weigh myself everyday. I learned that if I eat a super high sodium high meal the night before, I can gain 2 lb the next morning, which surely is water weight. The day after, my weight would go back to its normal range. My range seems to be between 111.5 to 112.5.

luvmypwds · February 2012

You're so right about the sodium - exact same thing with me.

AlfredRusselWallace · February 2012

At first the reward of losing pounds encouraged me to keep going with what I was doing. Then I hit a plateau that lasted for a over week (after the pounds had been dropping with every weigh in). The early reward kept my motivation up as my body adjusted and the weight loss resumed. When I hit a second plateau I took it in stride since I'd been through it before and knew it was all part of the process.

This is the first time in my life that I've actually looked at my weight and realized that I had to make changes to diet and exercise to lose unwanted pounds. Since it's all new territory I'm using daily affirmations (calorie counts and weigh ins) that show what I'm doing is correct.

Fifteen pounds down and about five more to go but the real reward has been the transformation of my body back into something reflecting good health!

So, I guess it's all what works for the individual.

hope516 · February 2012

I've learned that every afternoon I am two pounds heavier than when I woke up, peed, and weighed naked :explode:

I've learned that a day after an intense workout with my trainer makes me 2 to 4 pounds heavier but ALWAYS goes back to normal :bigsmile:

I've learned to NEVER, EVER, NEVER FREAKING EVER weigh the week of my period :noway:

I've learned that if I move it around it will give me a different weight, although sometimes it gets worse :blushing:

I've learned that it doesn't matter how many times I weigh myself after a major binge that damn number ain't going down :laugh:

I've learned that I am more important than the number on that scale :flowerforyou:

hbrittingham · February 2012

I weigh daily and it helps me not only stay on track with exercise and eating, but it also reminds me to get my water in. Yesterday I didn't drink as much water as usual and this morning my weight was up by almost 2 lbs. I'll drink my water today and my weight will be back down tomorrow. The fluctuations don't bother me. I know for a fact that I couldn't have gained 2 lbs in a day, especially since I didn't go over on my calories. But I like to weigh daily, it's probably the control freak in me.

Brandongood · February 2012

I learned weighing daily is a waste of my time. Too many factors for it to fluctuate. I would rather weigh once a week to see actual progress, along with using the mirror and measuring tape to see my progress.

Frequent (daily) weigh-ins: what have you learned?

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