Weighing yourself daily?

[KateFitbit]

There are times I weigh myself every day, especially when I’m following a food plan and working out and anxious to see any progress. It’s a great motivator to keep going.  

Then there are times when I just don’t pay attention (hide) from the scale. Usually, it’s after a weekend of indulging on pizza, wine, and dessert, because I know I’m not going to like what I see and I don’t want to get discouraged. Then it takes several days to get into the habit of weighing myself again. 

I’m thinking of committing to weighing myself daily, good or bad, and just go with it. Any thoughts on the topic? 

[farmer2]

many people get discouraged after stepping on the scale. i tend to weigh daily just because it the only way i can see any fluctuations. well aside from my jeans being tighter. i would so to people that are afraid of the scales, maybe try setting a goal weight range verses a specific lbs. just my thoughts though

[SunsetRunner]

I was one of the people that @farmer2 mentioned who would get discouraged if I weighed every day. When I first started I would only weigh in every 2 weeks or so just to keep focused on changing my lifestyle to become healthy and not focus on the scale. Once I became comfortable with my habits I started weighing once a week. Now that I have reached my goal I am weighing twice a week to stay within my range. I think having a goal range works better so the fluctuations don't get discouraging. IMO weight loss is very much a mental challenge so find what is going to work best to keep you motivated. Good luck! 😉

[Esya]

If you happen to have a smart scale you could weigh yourself without looking at the number and view the data later when you feel you are up for it.

[MagsOnTheBeach]

I weigh daily, it helps me push through to my next goal.  If it goes up, I acknowledge and remove the negative feeling and then analyze what I need to do differently.  I have roughly 30 more pounds to go so I am trying to be very focused.  When I didn't weigh daily I would make excuses to avoid responsibility (I had dinner out this weekend, I didn't get enough exercise so this number doesn't really count). Then I'd just stop weighing and move the scale out of the bathroom and the battery would die and I'd gain 30-50-80lbs.  So for me the scale is really important.  No excuses, just find what I can focus on doing differently.

[Sherwat]

I seem to weigh myself when I am feeling especially "thin" 🙂

I should probably weigh myself at least once a week in order to get a better picture of the ups and downs but I don't want to get discouraged.

[KateFitbit]

@farmer2 Good suggestion, I have unconsciously always had a range when I step on, I think, as long as it's xx or under it's ok.... 

@SunsetRunner Thanks for the positivity! Congrats on setting a goal, reaching it, and having the dedication to stay in range. 

@Esya I do have an Aria, (though it's not working as of yesterday!). That's a fabulous idea I never thought of! If I'm afraid of getting discouraged, I could always not look, but I'm still tracking... 

@MagsOnTheBeach I completely understand! That's exactly how I am now. When I realize I haven't weighed myself for several weeks, I know I'm in denial and really think I need to commit to doing it regularly, if not daily.  

@Sherwat I practically skip to the scale when I feel thin! 

Thanks for the feedback and motivation everyone!

I was ready to start weighing myself daily and on day 2 my scale stopped working. grrrr. Anyway will troubleshoot more this weekend or may have to wait until I get a new scale. I realize I feel much more lost without a scale, even though I've been avoiding it. I still have a tape measure though. May have to rely on measurements until then! 

[Baltoscott]

I'm in the "weigh daily" camp.  I've actually got about 15 years of records going back to an excel spreadsheet I set up to track bike mileage vs. weight.  Though looking at those records I see that I sometimes skipped months -- usually when my weight was trending up.  I think things work better when I track every day and just pay attention to the trend.  

Speaking of trends, I've linked my wi-fi scale to Trendweight which calculates a daily number that reflects a weighted average of the last 20 days or so.  That helps you realize that although daily changes of several pounds have some meaning, it is not really a reflection of fat loss or gain unless it persists over a few weeks.  You can link your Aria to it, or your fitbit account.

[WendyB]

I do not weigh daily. I will weigh every 3 days.

I will never weigh my self after going out to eat. Even if I stay within my calories I will gain 3-5 pounds due to the sodium restaurants use.

@BaltoscottTrend weight is pretty cool

[Baltoscott]

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@WendyB wrote:

I do not weigh daily. I will weigh every 3 days.

I will never weigh my self after going out to eat. Even if I stay within my calories I will gain 3-5 pounds due to the sodium restaurants use.

@BaltoscottTrend weight is pretty cool

---

Ha -- great timing for your comment, @WendyB.  Jane and I went out for dinner Friday night and then yesterday went to my brother-in-law's Birthday celebration for a big meal, homemade cake and ice cream, booze and .... I'm up 4 lbs since Thursday.  But, using my daily weigh-ins over the past week, TrendWeight still has me down 1.3 lbs for my weekly weigh-in on this thread.  So that's cool.  🙂

[WendyB]

@BaltoscottWoot for you! That's great! I should look at the over all week.

We are going out to eat Wednesday so I will be brave the next day and check out the weekly trend

[SunsetRunner]

I check my weight daily after waking up and before going to sleep. Not to see the progress but simply to get readings and enter them in the app ( Fitbit and any other app I use ). The weight over a day will change and it's important not to go crazy about it. There are many factors that may affect weight and if one knows how the human body is functioning, weighing daily should be fine. One of my wife's friends dropped using a scale at all as she couldn't see any progress and backed it up with semi-scientific-research articles that numbers are not important during weight loss. On the other hand, I'm one of those people who see a progress actually every day but I'm very rigorous with my diet and exercise routine. Although, if I see my weight went up or got stuck, there's no reason to panic or get discouraged by numbers. The more data I collect, the better view I have if what I do makes sense and works.

[LarryJCampbell]

For me, weighing daily works best by far. However, I use my daily weight merely as a reference point. I keep a spreadsheet which has each day's weight, but also includes a weekly average, which gives a much better reading of how you're actually doing as far as losing weight. It's perhaps too much trouble for some people but definitely worth it if you want a true reading on how you're doing toward reaching your goal weight.

[Deborah58]

I weigh myself every morning. I got in the habit of doing this when my cardiologist asked me to.

[tractorlegs]

@KateFitbit I know I'm joining this thread a little late! I weigh daily. I've discovered that it can be a useful tool to gauge my body's immediate responses to certain stimuli, and in the long run keeps me from becoming discouraged. For example, if I eat a good, healthy salad (like a nice Cobb) for dinner, I can always expect my weight to be higher by a pound or a pound-and-a-half the next morning. Then, 24 hours later, that little gain disappears and I'm back on track. How that works positively for me is that in the long run I no longer get upset or discouraged with a tiny, temporary weight gain because I know what circumstance caused it. 

I live in the desert where daily temperatures frequently run over 100F. Another way daily weigh-ins help me is if I see a sudden and unusual drop in weight, I may have a problem with dehydration and then purpose to drink more water to keep it from happening again.

[WendyB]

That's a good tip on the dehydration @tractorlegs

[KateFitbit]

@tractorlegs very good points. Agree with @WendyB on hydration.  I was always surprised on how I could lose weight after a night out drinking with friends, maybe it was the walking from bar to bar? But then began to suspect it was likely alcohol dehydration. 

Many times, for me a temporary weight gain or no weight loss when I'm expecting it after a day of exercise and conscious eating can be discouraging. 

After posting this, the gods must have decided to answer my own question, my scale broke and I wasn't able to weigh myself at all. Now over three weeks later with a new scale, I learned I'm up 3lbs. At this point, I'm completely committed to weighing myself daily first thing in the morning. It's a conscious sign of committing myself. Even if discouraged, I won't give up, so may as well keep going. Feeling fit and healthy is worth it. 

[Daves_Not_Here]

Coming in late, too.  I think there are a number of benefits to daily weighings that lower anxiety:

• Demystification - It helps me understand and accept the natural variability of weight over time -- there are two trends: The day to day fluctuations are noise.  The moving weekly average indicates actual weight loss or gain.
• Blip Management - I can understand the difference between a temporary blip and a trend.  On any given day, my weight can spike up 2-3 pounds due to water and digestion.  If I only weighed once per week and was up 3 pounds, then I wouldn't know if I had actually gained or had a blip day.  But if I go up 3 pounds from yesterday, I know I didn't gain because I know I didn't eat 10,500 excess calories yesterday (3 lbs x 3,500 cal/lb = 10,500 cal).
• Physics Validation -- by carefully measuring calories in and out, and tracking my accumulated calorie deficit, I can see the 3,500 calories per pound rule working like clockwork.  More demystification.
• Confidence -- by seeing the physics validated, it gets it through my thick skull that all I have to do to lose 10 pounds is accumulate a 35,000 calorie deficit.  Its not that I might lose 10 pounds, but that I will lose 10 pounds.  And then it happens, and I gain more confidence.
• Reduces Temptation -- personally, I can resist anything except temptation.  By weighing myself every day, I'm less likely to binge eat/drink versus knowing I have an entire week to burn it off before I weigh again.  It does help that when I splurge on the weekend, the blip the following day slaps me upside the head.  Logically, I know I didn't actually consume 10,500 excess calories, but emotionally, I still don't like the 3 pound ding so I try not to go crazy.
• Daily Motivation -- for me, whatever I measure improves.  When I take my eye off the ball, the wheels come off.  Weighing myself today reminds me not to eat like a pig today.   

[tractorlegs]

@Daves_Not_Here -- again, great post. Very informative! 

@WendyB -- Congratulations on 20,000+ posts! You must like it here lol --

[WendyB]

LOL @tractorlegs I guess I do! Thanks!