I have been weighing myself, but trying to keep all the variables constant: amount of sleep before, time of day (first thing in the morning after restroom break), clothing, etc. Normally, it's been on Saturday mornings after I had a great night's sleep. :)

I like to weigh once a week. Sometimes if I'm feeling particulary "light" I'll weigh in early. I agree we shouldn't focus on the scale or obsess with it, but it is an easy way to "keep score". As I've mentioned before, I plan to transition to a body fat monitor once I'm where I want to be weight-wise.

Regards,
Michael

It seems to work best for me to weigh each morning, however, I understand why this might not work for all people. It could discourage some if they step on the scale and they see a gain, especially if they are expecting a loss. They could easily say, forget this, and then go on a binge.

I try to weigh myself once a week, however last week I gained a pound and got angry with myself. However, since then I have lost 2 lbs! So the main thing is, is to not give up on your diet.

odd. i swear my doc's office scales have always been way WAY off :p

Slave to the scale
 

I wasn't sure where it would be more appropriate to post this but it does have to do with weight loss. I was wondering what everyone's feelings were on the scale. Do you weigh everyday, once a week or what? I was weighing everyday, but I feel like if I do that I am setting myself up for failure since weight can fluctuate from day to day. I was thinking about going to once a week. Any thoughts or ideas or what works for everyone else would be greatly appreciated.;)

I weigh myself everyday. Yes it fluctuates but if you use the fitday tools and log your weight, over only a few weeks, you will see your weight dropping overall.A good feeling for sure.
I could see it being frustrating though if after many weeks there is no weight loss. But it could also be a sign that further changes or modifications are needed to improve weight loss.

People's minds work differently, I like weighing myself first thing every morning, because it is an early morning reminder of my fitness goals.

Yes, I think this is a personal decision. I've historically tried to keep it to once a week but as of late have tended to check more often. When I was running a 2,000 or 3,000 daily calorie deficit I KNEW I was going to see a big weekly loss. Now that I'm closer to a 500 to 1,000 deficit (with the occasional surplus) I'm not so sure.

A number of folks who are maintaining seem to like to check everyday. In the end it's whatever works for you.

Regards,
Michael

I agree with the above posts. I am a scales addict and will weight several times a day - dumb I know but I do it anyway. The graphs on fitday have helped me accept the spikes -- and the fact that my scales will change up to 1/2 pound in 15 seconds. I am nnot able to get myself to weight in just once a week. The only time I don't check at least daily is when I'm out of control and gaining.

Do what works for you, however if you weight frequently watch for the down effect of those up cycles. Even though you know a one day 3 pound gain is fluid they can derail you. Mary

Hi,
I too have been wondering what would be the best answer on your scale question. This is what I have come up with.....
I think that if we are acheiving our caloric and exercise goals ,and are tracking religiously on a daily basis a weekly weigh in would work.
If however for whatever reason we are deviating from our plans perhaps jumping on the scale daily would be better , as it will give us immediate information and we can act accordingly.
There really isn't a right or wrong answer.It's whatever works for you.

I used to weigh once a week, now I weigh 2-3 times a week (always Monday and Friday, sometimes Wednesdays too). I think as I've lost more weight and gotten smaller, checking in more often feels more necessary, since I need to manage things more tightly. But I think in the end whatever seems worth it for you is probably correct!

yes the scale
 

I too have had a battle with going on the scale too often. I have started my wieght loss with a couple of days of fasting and would love to see the numbers move in my favor, but they havent. This is a little discouraging for me. I wanted to cleanse my body before i started on my goal. Has anyone else done this and how did it work for them? I believe that stepping on the scale should be a positive experience, and if it goes up in numbers then its water and how is the best way to eliminate this? The scale is a person thing for me. Thank you for this post!;)

When I first started on this weigh-loss journey, I weighed myself once a week and logged it on Fitday. It seems the most humane way to go about it because then I can really notice whether or not I'm losing weight and I wouldn't obsess about the daily gains/losses, especially at first. 8 months later, I'll occasionally weigh myself once in the morning and once in the evening just to see what the difference is. If I've eaten lots of salty foods and carbs the weight difference from morning to night can be up to 5 lbs, especially during "that time of the month". I've learned not to freak out, that it's just water retention. It's an educational process for me, learning what my body likes and doesn't like (for example, I have learned that my tastbuds love the taste of Doritos, but my body doesn't and reacts by retaining water...doh!).

With regards to "cleansing", my experience is limited only to when I started. Anecdote: I bought some "cleansing" tablets hoping this would jump start my diet but after about a week, found that I was more bunged up than ever and that the only thing that was cleansed was my wallet :(

I was weighing every day, but I find that as long as I stick to my FitDay tracking/goals, I really don't need to. But then again, sometimes I feel like reverting back to every day. So I'm terribly inconsistent in this regard. :D

A friend of mine has an electronic scale. She obsesses over if the scale went up 0.3 pounds from the day before. It makes her anxious and sad as well. Never use an electronic scale is my recommendation, they're just too accurate! :p

I agree! My scale only has .5 lb resolution and that's bad (or good) enough for me. I'd be even happier if it only weighed in full pounds, to be honest!

Regards,
Michael

I weigh and take measurements once per week, always at the same time of day. That's often enough to create a trending line that can be followed and used for course correction; and it's rare enough so that I can be pleasantly surprised.

Frankly, I don't think food translates to body weight on a 24-hour basis (could be wrong), so I don't see the point of using daily weights to correct eating habits.

I used to weigh-in weekly...I switched to weighing in the first of each month. It's just a number after all and it shouldn't be the only measurement you take to track your progress.

Hi :) I am an UNHEALTHY scale watcher. I became quite aware that it was an obsession when I was checking my weight even when I got up at night to potty. So, I threw it away. However, I wanted it back when I became a member here so I bought a new one. I found myself back in the same pattern so yesterday I put the scale up in a high spot that's not easy to get down. Now I plan to get it down on Friday and put it back up there on Sundays. I'm not losing weight very fast and put a pound or 2 on every once in a while. I am only eating 1200-1400 calories. My clothes are fitting more loosely. For God's sake, I'm a trained mental health professional and I know that it is unhealthy to watch the scale like that. Developing healthy lifestyle habits is the only thing that will work long-term. The whole obsession with numbers and with body image is what gets me caught up in this unhealthy cycle of losing and gaining. :) I'm grumpy this morning but my answer is weigh only once/ week at the most. We put on and take off water weight, etc so weighing daily is not really beneficial.

Right now, I weigh myself daily. In the morning, in my nightie, just after I pee. I like to see the small ups and downs. I only record my weight officially on Mondays. But at this point in my journey weighing myself daily is allowing me to see the types of foods that make me hold water. I know that I can't possibly gain 3lbs in one day but I can retain that much water from eating a bunch of salty foods.

If I'm not doing so great, I weigh myself once or twice a week so I don't get down on myself. Once results start kicking in. I weigh myself in the morning and at night to remind myself of how much the hard work is paying off. At the end of the day, don't be too harsh on yourself when it comes to the number. Even when I'm doing great, I remind myself that even the scale fluctuates in accuracy. The important thing is to be consistent and see the results on your body and in your mood and confidence.