Record weight daily?

Niagarasailor
Niagarasailor Posts: 123 Member
edited December 18 in Health and Weight Loss
I like to weigh myself every morning and I know weight can fluctuate but it's so hard to then go in and record a gain, even if it's a small amount. Do you weigh yourself daily and if so, do you record the gains or just the losses?

One plus side to recording everything is then you have detailed charts to track how it goes up and down and find patterns for what it's doing over the long term.

:glasses:

Replies

  • bciochetti
    bciochetti Posts: 35
    I record every day, but I'm trying to gain weight. The only pattern I've noticed is that I gain more weight the days after I eat Chinese food, then it disappears the next day when I stop retaining all the water from the salt.
  • Nellie1drfl
    Nellie1drfl Posts: 127 Member
    I record my weight on a personal calender daily. I only report on MFP every other week on Wednesday. I only record daily for myself to see if there was a pattern and I gained a few lbs every Monday but lost them by Wed. I think it was all the salt I eat on the weekend.
  • ProjFit
    ProjFit Posts: 143
    I weigh every day, because im addicted to my scale. However, I only record on MFP every Saturday. Saturday is when i do my measurements as well. I like to see the weekly changes in inches. =)
  • Blessedmommy_2x
    Blessedmommy_2x Posts: 419 Member
    I record daily... but only the losses. If I gain a little I just leave my ticker where it is and I don't report anything until I lose again. Mainly because I don't want to keep showing the same few ounces lost constantly.
  • sherim71
    sherim71 Posts: 130 Member
    I have all the gains/losses recorded at home. I probably weigh in 5/7 days a week. I only report the losses on MFP if it is lower than the last time I reported on MFP. If I have a streak of gaining I just leave MFP alone and try to fix my issue.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    One plus side to recording everything is then you have detailed charts to track how it goes up and down and find patterns for what it's doing over the long term.

    ^^^^ This is why I weigh and log my weight daily. I can handle the daily variances, because I can "roll back" and look at my diet and see if I need to adjust anything, and I have reasonably accurate and honest data to make the assessment.

    To me, the whole point of this site is to gather data about what is working for you and what is NOT working for you so you can try new things to break plateaus and whatnot, and make honest assessments about what changes you need to make.

    This isn't a contest, and it isn't a race.

    However, not everyone can tolerate weighing in daily, and people should use the site in the way that it best supports them.
  • MMAQueen
    MMAQueen Posts: 279 Member
    i weigh myself every day, and record it everyday. we track and record our calories and exercise everyday, why not the result of it?

    a lot of ppl say not to weigh/track every day b/c then you'll be depressed when you gain... but if your only weighing 1x a week, and the day before weigh in day you have salty takeout, your entire weeks work might seem to have been for nothing! by weighing everyday, you can see your progress more clearly, and it becomes easier to see the patterns that the food you eat creates.
  • whatascene
    whatascene Posts: 119 Member
    Weighing yourself every day isn't the best way to go. Being athletic for almost all of my life I have seen all sorts of trainers and they have always told me to only record your actual weight on the same day every week and make sure it's in the morning when you have used the restroom and before you eat. Depending on what you ate before your weigh in WILL have an effect on your weight.

    I am in college and when I go home (my parent's scale is the most accurate scale I've ever encountered lol) I weight myself on the Friday I get there. I'm usually the lightest here. They cook these huge meals and we drink all weekend (I stay within my limit through all of this) when I go home, and by Sunday I'm up like 3 pounds. But after a few days, letting everything leave my system, I'm back to my first weight before the weekend. For women, you can fluctuate up to 4 pounds just by your period. Also, water weight fluctuates a lot for women, I can fluctuate up to 2 pounds sometimes. I "lost" 5 pounds in 2 weeks by just drinking water.

    You will fluctuate. By checking the scale constantly it can potentially upset you. I check it all the time, but I don't record it- I only count the 1 weigh in a week. If I gain though, I don't record it on MFP, I know that if I'm sticking to everything that that pound was some sort of fluke due to some water retention or whatnot so I leave my meter the same.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    I weigh every other week.
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
    I weigh every morning, but I only record it on Saturdays. Some people say weighing every day is discouraging, but for me, it provides valuable information. By seeing it every day, I am aware of how what I eat and do day-to-day is reflected in my weight, and I also have a grasp on the trends taking place. If I only weighed once a week, I would have no information other than the raw number; if I lost a little bit or gained, I'd have no idea if it was the result of a recent high sodium intake or whether I need to reassess my whole diet. But since I see the small changes every day, I can determine which it is; that allows me to react more quickly and make the best possible decisions.

    I suppose I can imagine it would be a problem if you're placing value on those tiny changes, but if you can keep it in perspective, it can be a good method.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I weigh every day and record every day, whether it goes up, down or stays the same. I find it really interesting to see the patterns over time. I don't really see the point of doing that if you only record the losses. If your weight goes up, and you know logically that you haven't gained fat, but you still feel bad about it, then perhaps you are someone who is better off weighing weekly. For me, weighing daily has helped me be more relaxed and accepting about fluctuations, but if I was going to be discouraged every time I saw it go up, there's no way I'd weigh every day.

    (I don't record gains on MFP just because I'd rather not be congratulated for losing the same pound twice in a row! I just record them on my own spreadsheet,)
  • bizgirl26
    bizgirl26 Posts: 1,795 Member
    I weigh everyday but only record once a week. My weight can be up or down 2 pounds from one day to the next so you have to not get too obsessed with it. I decided to weigh myself everyday because when I have lost weight in the past I was more successful keeping it off when I weighed myself everyday. When I stopped all of a sudden I would be up 10 pounds and not even know it because my clothes just got snug lol
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    One plus side to recording everything is then you have detailed charts to track how it goes up and down and find patterns for what it's doing over the long term.

    ^^^^ This is why I weigh and log my weight daily. I can handle the daily variances, because I can "roll back" and look at my diet and see if I need to adjust anything, and I have reasonably accurate and honest data to make the assessment.

    To me, the whole point of this site is to gather data about what is working for you and what is NOT working for you so you can try new things to break plateaus and whatnot, and make honest assessments about what changes you need to make.

    This isn't a contest, and it isn't a race.

    However, not everyone can tolerate weighing in daily, and people should use the site in the way that it best supports them.
    I weigh every morning, but I only record it on Saturdays. Some people say weighing every day is discouraging, but for me, it provides valuable information. By seeing it every day, I am aware of how what I eat and do day-to-day is reflected in my weight, and I also have a grasp on the trends taking place. If I only weighed once a week, I would have no information other than the raw number; if I lost a little bit or gained, I'd have no idea if it was the result of a recent high sodium intake or whether I need to reassess my whole diet. But since I see the small changes every day, I can determine which it is; that allows me to react more quickly and make the best possible decisions.

    I suppose I can imagine it would be a problem if you're placing value on those tiny changes, but if you can keep it in perspective, it can be a good method.

    Yes to all of this.

    I weight daily: same time, same place, same nakedness. I want to keep track of what's going on and if any dietary changes are having an affect. I record with MFP daily, too, gain and losses. Am I addicted to the scale? Nope, just interested in stats for myself. I take weekly measurements, too, and I think there's a good balance between the scale and measurements.
  • Cyngen
    Cyngen Posts: 557 Member
    I step on my scale daily, not because I'm addicted to the scale, but to use this as a tool. It's a tool to keep me focused as I've just started this new lifestyle of eating properly. I'm on day 8 today. My scale keeps track of the weight, so I don't record it anywhere else, except for the once a week Wednesday logging on MFP.

    I believe everyone should do what helps them succeed, if it's stepping on a scale daily, or putting photos up on the bathroom mirror of the progress. Yup, I do that too :)

    Kurt
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
    I weigh once a week on Saturday morning and only record any weight changes then.
  • MarincicS
    MarincicS Posts: 265 Member
    I don't have a scale, so i only get weighed once every 4 weeks by my personal trainer, who brings her fancy scale with her. But i find it very hard to wait by week 2.5 or 3 and get so anxious for my weigh-ins. Can't WAIT for tomorrow's weigh in!

    I have just ordered the FitBit Aria scale today though, so in a couple more weeks i'll have my own scale, to which i will try not to become addicted! My plan is to start weighing each week, but before recording anything, i'll need to sync up with my PT's scale. Wouldn't want to overstate any weight loss due to differences in the scales. But certainly don't want to UNDER state any losses either! :-)
  • Ravenesque_
    Ravenesque_ Posts: 257 Member
    One plus side to recording everything is then you have detailed charts to track how it goes up and down and find patterns for what it's doing over the long term.

    ^^^^ This is why I weigh and log my weight daily. I can handle the daily variances, because I can "roll back" and look at my diet and see if I need to adjust anything, and I have reasonably accurate and honest data to make the assessment.

    To me, the whole point of this site is to gather data about what is working for you and what is NOT working for you so you can try new things to break plateaus and whatnot, and make honest assessments about what changes you need to make.

    This isn't a contest, and it isn't a race.

    However, not everyone can tolerate weighing in daily, and people should use the site in the way that it best supports them.
    I weigh every morning, but I only record it on Saturdays. Some people say weighing every day is discouraging, but for me, it provides valuable information. By seeing it every day, I am aware of how what I eat and do day-to-day is reflected in my weight, and I also have a grasp on the trends taking place. If I only weighed once a week, I would have no information other than the raw number; if I lost a little bit or gained, I'd have no idea if it was the result of a recent high sodium intake or whether I need to reassess my whole diet. But since I see the small changes every day, I can determine which it is; that allows me to react more quickly and make the best possible decisions.

    I suppose I can imagine it would be a problem if you're placing value on those tiny changes, but if you can keep it in perspective, it can be a good method.

    Yes to all of this.

    I weight daily: same time, same place, same nakedness. I want to keep track of what's going on and if any dietary changes are having an affect. I record with MFP daily, too, gain and losses. Am I addicted to the scale? Nope, just interested in stats for myself. I take weekly measurements, too, and I think there's a good balance between the scale and measurements.

    I do this too.
  • asafcat
    asafcat Posts: 16 Member
    I weigh myself almost everyday. This has helped me to see my weight fluctuations, especially at certain times of the month. Prior to doing this I have not had success losing weight because I would see a "gain" and not quite know where it came from and get discouraged.

    I don't record my weight everyday on MFP but I do record every week. If the weight gain is still there after a week I will adjust my weight on MFP.
  • vidoardes
    vidoardes Posts: 70 Member
    I have to echo the majority of sentiments here, I weight every day, first thing in the morning before breakfast, same time, in my birthday suit, but I only record it on here once a week. Weighing every day has let me know that I put on weight Monday Tuesday Wednesday, but loose it through the second half of the week so Saturday is usually my lowest point. It has cycled like that for eight weeks so it is obviously the way my body works. It also helps if I have put on too much by Wednesday I know I need to push hard to reverse it.

    As long as you can put up with the swings and not get depressed, I would recommend every day, the information it provides is invaluable
  • caitlinmcauley
    caitlinmcauley Posts: 59
    i weigh myself everyday, because i find that for me personally, it motivates me. i only record on here 2 days a week, or if ive held a certain weight for 3 days. that way, if i fluctuate from day to day, i dont have to put in a gain.
  • hazelsmrf
    hazelsmrf Posts: 96 Member
    I weigh every morning naked. I record all weighs on a spreadsheet I have in Google Docs, but only record the losses on MFP. I don't consider the gains to be true gains, just fluctuations in water weight.
  • pgrant0328
    pgrant0328 Posts: 58 Member
    I weigh myself everyday and record on MFP both the losses and gains. To myself I must remain true. If I don't weigh myself daily I tend to become out of control and then become afraid because I think I've gained a lot of weight, which usually I do.
  • xarla16
    xarla16 Posts: 84 Member
    I have come to realize that in the morning I can almost predict which way the scale will go. Almost every morning, before I get in the shower and before I eat my breakfast, I weigh myself in my birthday suit. If I wake up feeling like I'm a little dehydrated, I know my weight will be up a little. I also know that if I drink my 8 glasses of water that day, that my weight will be gone down the next day.

    I like weighing everyday (or almost everyday), it doesn't frustrate me, it just lets me be a little more in tune with what my body is already telling me. I log on MFP every time I get down 1 full lb. If I hop on and it says 148.2, I keep it at 149 on MFP until it is under 148, it gives me just a tiny bit more motivation.
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