Weighing yourself?
 

How often do people weigh themselves? I'm just starting, and I'm planning on a weekly weigh-in. I don't have regular access to a scale, though. I've heard you should always use the same scale, and always weigh yourself at approximately the same time each week for the most consisten results. Should I be weighing myself more often than once a week? Or less?

I usually weigh once a week, but it's a personal decision. I agree that one should use the same scale, at the same time if at all possible. I try to position mine in the same spot, step on in the same way, etc. to keep any variables as consistent as possible.

Regards,
Michael

I'm one of those crazy weigh every day people. I don't like surprises, and I weigh in and log daily and it motivates me and helps me stay on par. A scale doesn't have to be so technical that it is able to launch people into space. The technology it needs is that it just needs to be accurate. You can get such a scale for about 20.00 just about anywhere. I use a digital scale that weighs in half pound increments.

Weighing
 

I use to way myself before my weight ballooned to 145 :(
I get frustrated every time i see that i haven't lose any weight
even though i was exercising and dieting!
So i stopped weighing myself :(

Weekly works for me. Like Micheal said it is important to have a routine.

For example, I weight myself every Friday morning before my workout. On Thursdays I try to have a fairly consistent, low sodium diet. One salty meal could add 2-3 lbs of water weight the next day. I try to get the same amount of sleep every Thursday night. On Friday morning, I try to always get up about the same time and go through the same routine every week. I always have a banana on the way into my workout and will get onto the scale after I get my workout clothes on before I put on my shoes.

It's amazing what a little change to the routine can make. One week we had a going away lunch for someone at work. We went to a restaurant. Like I usually try to do, I had looked up their menu before had and knew what I was getting. I had even called ahead to find out their serving sizes. The one thing you cannot control is how they season their food...and like almost all places, it has lots and lots of sodium. Long story short, I hopped on the scale the next morning as was up 2 lbs....which at the time was a shock since I had been consistently dropping 1-2 lbs or more every week. Well the next week I was down 5 lbs. All that extra weight was water as a result of a high sodium day.

Point is, be aware of tricks the body plays when weighing and don't let a bad scale reading throw you off.

Good Luck!

Yup, weekly for me... that is most of the time. Most people experience their most rapid weight loss during the first few weeks and daily weighing can be motivating as others have noted. As the loss starts to level out the day-to-day fluctuations can be discouraging as bongatforums said (I too can get discouraged with lack of progress and have been known to "spluge" on a "oh what the heck... not losing anyway" whim). At that point weekly seems to make more sense.

I agree with Michael and Frenchhen that owning your own scale that will allow you to weigh yourself at a same time of day would be a good idea.

I weigh almost daily, but I only record on Sunday mornings. We do a weekly "Taking Stock" poll on my facebook Atkins support page, so I record Sunday mornings. Weighing daily used to let me know which jeans or what dress I could wear. Now that I've lost 40 lbs, clothes are baggy, so I don't need to weigh every day.

I weigh in daily, at the same time, and record it here. I like to see lots of movement on the weight report but I don't get bent out of shape when I see a five pound jump.

Yep, agree, I like seeing the fluctuations, when I see those jumps I can think rationally and say, "Did you eat an extra 7000 calories this week? Did you not exercise? well then that gain is a fluctutation, not a "gain" and it will disappear in a day or so... " and I don't lose my drive to the goal.

I weigh daily as well. I don't stress about fluctuations. I actually find it very interesting to see how different foods, caloric value and exercise impact my weight. On the days my weight goes up I'm motivated to make better food choices and to exercise more and on the days my weight goes down I see I'm doing things right and I'm motivated to keep up. I feel daily weighing brings me more in touch with my body and lets me know myself better.

Good point Majja! Nice to see how someone with a healthy attitude about fluctuation. Now if only I could adopt such a thing. :rolleyes:

I don't want to weight myself everyday but I can't help it. Once I took the scale in the basement and try to just weight 1 a week. Then I found myself walking down the basement every morning. So what the heck, just put it in the bathroom.
I do get discourage when my weight up but I just have to get on the scale. I wish I could just think positively or just weight 1/week.
Mai

I weigh once a week as well......every now then I may wanna see how my wt flunctiates with certain foods...

I too weigh daily, I am in the early stages of what I am calling round three of my significant weight loss having lost 80lbs a few time before, I at 51 y/o am rady do do it for the last time!,
I journal my weight daily and what I may do is recored it weekly, but now I need to keep close watch of it ! I am not a successs as yet but with the help of those here and the site in general I know I will be,, Thanks Bo

I weigh daily. I make small adjustments to my caloric intake on a daily basis. I use this data to come up with a "calories per pound target" which is then adjusted up or down monthly. This is a lot of work and I do not recommend it. As for fluctuations, you can see a 2 lb. increase or decrease just from your water intake. For some it can be discouraging to see that jump in one day, but I just focus on the long term trend. I keep a simple goal of losing 5 lbs. a month. I also measure body fat to see a more realisitic view of what I am doing. I am currently at an embarrassing 36.2% body fat.
Weigh in will vary. Do what feels comfortable for you.

Joe

Male, 5'7", 53.
Start : 04/16/12 - 276.8 lbs.
Today: 06/18/12 - 262.4 lbs.

You need to use the same scale because each scale will read a little different. I have 2 scales and they seem to read about 3 lbs different. As for how often to weigh in I say do what you feel comfortable with. I myself weigh in daily. I like to know if what I am doing is causing water retention. I know there is NO way I am going to eat enough to really gain 5 lbs in a day, but it makes me think of what I ate and drank the day before so I can understand how my body is reacting.

Truthfully I find that weight on the scale isn't always the truest measure of where I am at in this process of getting healthy and reshaping my body. I find that my weekly measuring is a truer indicator of my progress. Picking key areas like your neck, chest, waist, hips and thighs to measure with a cloth measuring tape will help especially if you are building muscle as muscle is more dense and takes up less space.

I weigh in daily, at the same time, and record it in a temporary form. Then at the end of the week I average the daily weights and record the average and put it on a chart. This eliminates the effect of daily fluctuations, which can distort the once-a-week weigh results. I am new to this site, and am figuring out how to adapt it to this weigh method. (I used to keep the graph paper with the weekly averages taped to my bathroom mirror.)

I do this but I take the lowest result. It makes me feel better and keeps me motivated so what the heck?

I weigh at the same "time" of day (first thing when I get up...reguardless of what time that actually is), on the same day of the week (Wednesday, I need a bit of a chin up by mid week), wearing the same thing (nothing :p), before consuming anything (including water), and after doing my morning business.

Why not just leave the scale in the basement? The daily round trip on the stairs just burns more calories ;).

I weigh daily, mostly because I can't help myself. I'm not sure I am doing myself any favours though. I think I am going to try to weigh less because I am obsessing a little too much over every flucuation.

I did not bring my scale on vacation and I should have a it would have keep me more aware I was slipping a bit!,, back home and still focused,, I like weighing everyday,, and I record it on the fridays thread

Bo

Hi. I've been on Fitday since 2007, but just noticed this forum...ha.

I weigh myself most days. Depending on what I'm doing, I might miss a day or 2. Sometimes if I know it's going to be higher...I skip that day in order to give myself time to lose it :D

If the scale goes up, I am motivated to lose it, if it goes down, that makes me motivated to continue what I'm doing.

Sometimes waiting a week to weigh in can cause a 4 lb gain. So I like to stay on top of it.

I weigh myself everyday...but you have to remember that it's not just the weight that matters. At a minimum you should also keep track of the inches of your waist.

I remember around the 6 week workout range my weight started plateauing. It was really discouraging and I was ready to give up. It wasn't until I noticed that I was losing inches in my waist that kept me going. In the end, it's not the weight I want to lose it's the inches.

That is why I think everyone should also keep track of the inches in their waist.

- Sara

LINK REMOVED

Trying on clothes is a good motivator, too.

I am wearing a lot of stuff I haven't worn in forever.

I have different stacks. There's a big pile of stuff that's flat out too big that I never want to wear again (it's going to Good Will).

There's a stack of clothes that I'll still wear, but is pretty loose so if I want to wear it again, now's the time.

I have a stack of stuff that fits nice.

I have a stack of fits, but a little snugger than I like.

Then there's the stack of stuff that is flat out too small.

Every now and then I'll try on some of the clothes and it's fun when it moves stacks because I'm losing weight.

I weigh myself every morning as well,but I don't let myself obsess on it because I expect some fluctuation...I do find that if I have been vigilant about my water intake, there seems to be less fluctuation in my weight from day to day.
I do my measurements once a month or so and it is a nice little validation when I feel like the pounds have not been coming off as fast as I would like.

I weigh every few days or so. When it goes down, it goes into the permanent Fit Day log, if it goes up I put it on a sticky note. It motivates me when I look at the Report's 'Weight Change' chart only showing the downward trend. The longer lines between recorded weights doesn't bother me as much the lines going up. It's a mind trick that works for me.

Just a personal opinion, please don't attack me for it.

I don't think you should weight yourself that much. Just keep on working out and make sure to follow a solid healthy dieting plan.

You will see results, you will even feel it and you won't need a scale to tell you that.

I weigh daily, first thing in the morning, always looking forward to the result. I bought a beam balance and have been weighing for the past few months as I deliberately try to lose weight. I'm presently half way from 161 to 135. It's been quite a mystery why weight sometimes goes up when I think I'm eating ok.

I discovered Fitday only three days ago and now I'm really excited to weigh all my food and get a handle on calories, carbs, etc. Now I can get serious about following a strict very low carb diet. Weight is already plunging!