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? 

[Daves_Not_Here]

OK -- I finally figured out how to post a graphic.  Woo-hoo, I had a flash of technical competence!

This chart shows the weekly water-weight blips.  Actual Weight is what I see on the scale first thing every morning.  I get Predicted Weight by aggregating my caloric deficit over time and decrementing my weight at 1 pound per 3,500 calories (kind of like a P&L and Balance sheet). 

Most of my activity is on weekends, so I eat more carbs, drink more glucose, fructose, and sodium leading to water retention.  You can see these as slight upward inflections in the Predicted line.  These feel like "cheat" days, even though I can have a 2,000 calorie deficit.  By seeing and expecting the subsequent spike on Monday, I'm not discouraged because I know by Friday I will probably hit a new low.

[ErinJ80]

I've never been into fitness. Complete newbie here... combining Fitstar workouts with walking and yoga so I'm active every day and (hopefully) shedding at least a pound a week. 

I've done a lot of research on this, and from what I can tell, the best way to do it is every single morning as soon as you wake up and before you've even had a cup of coffee. Basically, I wake up, go to the bathroom, take off my clothes and jewelry, and hop on the scale before I pour my coffee. 

The important part is that you don't look at that number and let it sway you. Remember that your weight can change based on everything from the previous day's fluid or sodium intake to where you are in your menstrual cycle. What you'll want to do, even if you're using Fitbit, is write that number down all week and then average it out at the end of the week. That gives you a more accurate representation of whether what you're doing is actually working for you. 

Hope this helps! 

[Dominique]

---

@ErinJ80 wrote:

the best way to do it is every single morning as soon as you wake up and before you've even had a cup of coffee 

---

Yes, definitely the right time of the day to do it (whether you choose to do it every day, twice a week, once a week etc.).

What you'll want to do, even if you're using Fitbit, is write that number down all week and then average it out at the end of the week. That gives you a more accurate representation of whether what you're doing is actually working for you.

---

If your weigh-ins end up in your Fitbit account, you can let TrendWeight do the math (moving average) for you. If you’re not familiar with it, check it from the link in @Daves_Not_Here’s or my own signature. Note that you don’t have to show it to the world, if you don’t want to!

[exhile]

How about weighing yourself in the morning before and after a jog on a treadmill? That's what I do and it usually results in me losing 1-1.4lbs of water weight. I weigh myself daily at around the same time of day. My weight loss is a gradual progression after weeks & months. I do see the results.

---

[Daves_Not_Here]

---

@exhile wrote:

How about weighing yourself in the morning before and after a jog on a treadmill? That's what I do and it usually results in me losing 1-1.4lbs of water weight. I weigh myself daily at around the same time of day. My weight loss is a gradual progression after weeks & months. I do see the results.

---

---

@exhile - I think you have a strong approach to find your minimum weight for the day, especially when you are trying to lose weight.  While my brain knows water causes weight to fluctuate, my heart likes to see new lows.  Emotionally, it feels like you are chipping away at it and making progress.