yehudit45

I was in a wieght loss support group recently and they told us to weigh ourselves once a week AND NO MORE. They were very firm about it, because weighing in more often would cause us to focus on the scale and become obsessive about the little day to day fluctuations. Then when we reached our goal weight, we were to start weighing ourselves daily to catch any tiny increases before then became big slides back to where we had come from.

So I guess it's about what works best for YOU. If you need the daily scale reminder to keep your focus on eating and exercising right, then weigh yourself daily. And if you get too distracted by the small day to day ups and downs, then wieght yourself every week or two. Only you know what works best for you.

Yehudit

Lizzycritter

I hop on there a couple times a week. It depends on the person. For some, weighing daily helps them keep on track. For others, it can trigger self-destructive obsessive thoughts. There's a lot of emotion and self worth/confidence issues tied to the number on the scale or the tag in our jeans. Our society puts a lot of pressure on women to stay thin young and pretty, it's unrealistic but the message is constantly there. I've been trying to arm my daughter against this, and have been for years already, and she's only 6. I make it a point to tell her she's pretty, smart, has fabulouls hair, and she's good girl every day. Even so I've already heard her say "I like being skinny" more than a few times.

Andrea2929

Those are good points Lizzy. My mom tried very hard to keep me from getting a negative self-image. She threw out our scale when she found out I was weighing myself all the time (at the ripe old age of 11!) But I think where she went wrong was while she never, ever criticized my weight/looks she definitely was hard on herself in front of me growing up. I am trying to take care of my weight issues now, but even if I don't I am going to try very hard not to criticize myself in front of my daughter (who is only 9 months old but it's never to early right??)

vabeachgirlNYC

I used to weigh myself everyday. It made my day or it made me feel bad !

6 weeks ago I bought clothes in a new smaller size and decided to put my scale away and start going by how I looked.

A few days ago I realized all my new clothes were too big and I had dropped another jean size. My goal jean size! I decided to weigh myself thinking I must have lost a lot of weight in the past 6 weeks!

I have gained muscle which weighs more than the fat I lost so it takes up less room so I know that is why I lost another size. And that was what I kept telling myself after I saw that I had only lost 4&1/2 more pounds on my scale.

I put that scale away because I am happy about how I look in the mirror and how well my clothes fit. I think I want to lose one more size now so I have a new goal but I'm not going to worry about my weight anymore unless my new jeans start getting tight!

bobbienne

I weigh myself daily because of fluid retention...I find it is easier to gauge what causes me to bloat. It also helps me to decide if I have to add a few minutes on the treadmill.

I don't obsess about the fat but like to keep the water under control... otherwise I am really bloated at the end of the day and uncomfortable.

yehudit45

Sorry about the title--I couldn't resist.

What started as an innocent question (How often do you weigh yourself?) is turning into a forum on bigger issues. You just never know where a question might lead!

Vabeachgirl: You're right about muscle taking up less space than the equivalent amount of fat. I still remember when my sister was a member of the HS swim team. Despite hours and hours of heavy daily exercise, her weight at the end of swim season was what it had been at the beginning. Then she tried on her prom dress, which had fit her the previous year. It was now 2 sizes too big! All that swimming had made a real difference.

Bobbienne: As a nurse, I always told my cardiac patients to weigh themselves daily, and to call the MD if they gained more than 2 pounds in 1 day. Retained fluid was the best clue to developing (or worsening) heart failure. Bloat is a different issue than heart failure, but the principle is the same: fluid balance is respnsible for most of the day-to-day weight changes.

Lizzycritter: "Our society puts a lot of pressure on women to stay thin young and pretty." I went throught the same issues with my daughter. I tried to de-emphasize her focus on weight by not having a scale in the house, but she used her allowance to buy a scale she kept in her bedroom. Then, in February, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue inspired me. We went through the magazine page by page, identifying muscle definition in every swimsuit model. To model swimsuits well, you have to have some curves. It helped shift her attention from weight to nutrition.

bobbienne

[BBobbienne: As a nurse, I always told my cardiac patients to weigh themselves daily, and to call the MD if they gained more than 2 pounds in 1 day. Retained fluid was the best clue to developing (or worsening) heart failure. Bloat is a different issue than heart failure, but the principle is the same: fluid balance is respnsible for most of the day-to-day weight changes.

[/B]

Altough I don't have cardiac issues I had to respond: WOW...1-2 lbs?! I can easily gain 5-7 lbs in water and as much as 10 when I was younger I guess it explains my stretch marks LOL

gallusgal

Everyone is different. I don't think it's a terrible thing for someone who has been or is obese or very overweight to become slightly scale obsessed, it's better than eating yourself into an early grave.

I am on a few times a week but I only log my 'official' Friday weigh in. Last week I gained and lost four pounds in a day according to the scales and that's just silly!

The more I have lost the more I have been measuring too, taking measurements is a real eye opener.

jml2010

I hop on the scale every morning, when I'm deliberately watching what I eat in an effort to lose extra weight. When I'm not trying, I never look at the scale - too depressing.

I find it encouraging to see that it MATTERS what I put in my body. I need that continuous feedback or I'll just tell myself , "Oh, it doesn't really matter..."

kinmoratree

Like most of the rest who have responded, I find it helps keep me in check. If I weigh once a week, I tell myself that I can "catch up" after a couple days of overeating by eating less. Better to be consistant with the diet than to play games like that.