Weigh yourself everyday

KSCarnivore · June 2012

I weigh every morning and have seen a steady decline... never more than a few ounces increase at a time. Then, I went on a long driving vacation a couple of weeks ago. Could not weigh daily, did not get enough daily exercise and the food routine was turned upside down. I gained 4 1/2 lbs in one week. So yes, I definitely prefer weighing in every day. I've been home a week now and have shaken 2 1/2 lbs off, but am still paying the price for a week off the scales.

sugardreams · June 2012

Whatever scientific evidence is out there, I think ultimately it all comes down to what works for you. Some people might find it motivational to jump on the scale every day other might get too obsessed about it. As has been said before, it doesn't actually make you lighter or heavier but it's all about making the scale your friend and if that is once a day, fine. Once a week, fine too if that works for you!
I have found that if I weigh myself daily, it keeps me focused. Yes I know it fluctuates, so i don't worry about that so much unless it stays up for a couple of days (and even then it depends on the time of months..

) As soon as I stop the daily weighing, that usually means my motivation is slipping!

Alpine005 · June 2012

I weight myself every morning. I don't get too caught up with sudden drops or increases, but overall it's nice to see the progression. Guess when I don't weight myself everyday? When I've had a couple of bad days. What does that tell you? It gives me accountability. Everyone is different however, so to each their own.

hlandry6 · June 2012

I weight myself almost everyday..I believe it is what keep me on track and tells me when I need to pick up the pace... I really think that the whole reason I gained weight to start with was because when I moved out of my parents house I did not have a scale and therefore I had no idea how much I had gained............

JupitersGhost · June 2012

I used to weigh myself daily during the worst part of my eating disorder. I couldn't deal with the feeling of not knowing if I've lost or gained every morning and if I had gained, even just 0.1lb, it would ruin my entire day. I would also track my weight on a spreadsheet and if I felt I wasn't losing at an appropriate speed it would put me in even a worse place mentally.

I ended up gaining a lot of weight when I could no longer deal with the situation and went from continually starving to continually binging.

It's taken a long time to get over those feelings and I'm now trying to lose the weight I gained in a healthier manner. I weigh in once a week, or once a fortnight depending upon how I'm feeling and that works better for me. If I gain, I look back and see where I went wrong and if I lose, I continue with what I've been doing. The weight on the scale no longer dictates how I feel for the day and knowing that is a great feeling.

Weighing every day may work for some, but I do think you have to be careful that it doesn't cause you to fall in to a downward spiral to the point where you become dependant on the number.

laurels12 · June 2012

For me it keeps me motivated and in the right mindset. It also takes away the big build up to "weigh in day" and stops me getting so stressed about it.

My weight does fluctuate up and down all week, but by Thurs/Fri is heading to where it's going to settle for logging day and I'm totally happy with that! If it's starting to look iffy, then I can do something about it so that it's OK by Sunday (which is the day I log on here!).

Everyone has their own way -- no rights or wrongs...

boweed70 · June 2012

WebMD has a good article in favor of daily weigh-ins.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20051118/daily-weigh-in-may-help-dieters-lose

I have to agree with most of the people in this thread, though. It's all about personal preference and personal responsibility. You want to weight yourself daily? Go for it. There are many other worse habits you could form. Are you serious about losing the weight? Listen to that little voice in your head when it's telling you to put down the friggin bon bons. You can't lose weight by sitting on your butt and shoveling fast food down your gullet everyday.

patchesgizmo · June 2012

I weigh myself daily, but only record a lower weight if it is lower 2 days running.

cally69 · June 2012

Well I'm going to be brave and buck the trend. I only weigh myself once a month. Since I know that daily weight fluctuates I don't want to get fixated on a number which wouldn't reflect the hard work I'm putting in. Different strokes for different folks. Life would be real dull if we all thought the same way...X

amyliz0226 · June 2012

I weigh myself everyday. This morning I am up 1.2 lbs from yesterday. . . . . and stayed well under my calories and exercised ALL weekend long. I WILL NOT get discouraged because I know I'm doing what is right.

mcarter99 · June 2012

I think it's important to realize correlation doesn't mean causation. So just because the daily weighers lost more weight in the studies, their weighing didn't actually cause it, so if you switch to daily weighing, don't expect your weight loss to double. I think it makes sense that over 2 years, the people who weighed daily just tend to also be the people who actually dieted daily for the 2 years. So if you half-heartedly dieted you might weigh weekly and also lose half the weight of the others. But the frequency of the weighing probably had nothing to do with their increased weight loss.

somedaysoon84 · June 2012

I just took my scale off the bathroom floor and put it in my closet because compulsively stepping on the scale every morning, sometimes multiple times a day was drawing my focus away from other important aspects of my life, and it was making me feel frustrated, which for me usually leads to buying a cupcake or a cheeseburger to "make myself feel better." In order to stop the sabotage I felt coming on, I took action. I don't think choosing not to look at the scale for a week or two will adversely affect my weight loss, and it might help me get through that awkward part of getting back to the gym where my body is readjusting to the new shocks and I'm not really losing lots of pounds yet.

my boyfriend took my scale away from me. i was weighing several times a day, pretty much anytime it caught my eye. while i LOVE seeing the lower numbers, even if it was a tenth, i woudl get super frustrated with higher numbers and torture myself by severerly cutting cals for the rest of the day. i am already eating about 1200 cals a day (plus excercise cals), so cutting more is not a good idea, and i'd end up feeling like junk the next day.

while i understand completely that weights vary wildly during the day, it was still very upsetting when i weighed 2 pounds more than a did in the AM. my mind would tell me it's ok, but my heart was freaking out!

so he took my scale away. i got to weigh yesterday, and i was down 4 pounds!

some people can weigh everyday, and i think when i get closer to my goal, it will be more beneficial. i know being a control freak that its just too much stress on me right now. i spent years NOT looking at a scale. and now all i want to do is look at one!!

andrewh2010 · June 2012

FACT: In a study of 3,000 dieters, those who weighed themselves daily lost an average of 12 pounds, compared to a 6-pound loss for dieters who did weekly weigh-ins. Dieters who didn't weigh themselves at all gained four pounds.

I dont know if it's actually true or not, I read it online and found it to be very interesting. Definitely going to step on the scal every morning from now on haha

If you are overweight and starting a strength training/diet routine, it's best not to weigh yourself daily. You can actually gain weight in the initially stages as your body does not want to shed the fat, but you are putting on muscle with strength training, so you go up in weight.

We all have cameras everywhere these days, take a front and side shot of yourself in the mirror, stick to your diet and exercise for a month, then take another photo, MUCH better motivation to see a little less of yourself then seeing the scale a little less clockwise. :-)

KailaJordan · June 2012

I totally disagree with this "study". After reading an unlimited number of posts on this site as well as other ones over the years, it's become very clear that those who weigh themselves every day are the ones that become discouraged and give up. It's time to lessen the use of the scale and focus on measurements, the way the clothes fit and most of all, the way you feel overall....

I completely agree with this. I'm not overly interested in losing a lot of weight, half a stone would be nice, but I'm more concerned about toning up. Muscle weighs more than fat so it's best to go by measurements to tell how much you have lost.

kat9052 · June 2012

I also weigh myself every morning. Monday mornings are the worst! Makes me realize how much I gained back over the weekend, which is my own fault, but it happens when you have a busy weekend. Even though I don't want to lose a lot of weight, I still want to make sure I'm keeping it in a good range.

sgthaggard · June 2012

So a study says that people who weigh themselves daily lose more weight. I say that people who lose more weight tend to weigh themselves more often.

Correlation does not imply causation.