wydok

I think one of my frustrations is that I want to see daily progress in my weight loss, so I get on the scale very day.

Sometimes my family will go out to eat, and I will end up eating more food than the current diet allows. For example, last night we went out to eat and I had a steak at Applebee's. Calorie-wise, I was still under 2000 calories (but not by much), so in a way it was a cheat day for me since I right now I usually try to stick to 1200-1500 until I am at my weight goal (which I am so close to, I can almost taste).

I stepped on the scale this morning and was 1.6lbs higher than yesterday. Then I got mad at myself for "eating so much".

But I didn't really eat that much. If 3500 calories is converted into 1lb of fat, that means I would have had to have eat an extra 5600 yesterday to gain 1.6lbs of fat, which is just ridiculous. I am assuming this weight comes from the actual food matter still being digested.

Am I shooting myself in the foot by weighing myself every day? Should I go to once a week, or once very few days instead?

ele89869

Also the amount of water in the body fluctuates, so even if you get on the scale every day, try to see the numbers as a trend. Your body weight numbers are not going to be a perfect linear progression. Or get on the scale no more than twice a week.
Good luck!
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lamafri

Yes, people generally recommend a weekly weigh-in. I, on the other hand, like real-time data. I weigh myself every morning so I can see the data on the Fitday graph. I also weigh myself most nights. I know I lose about two pounds over night, so I look at it as a preview.

Gingersnapelle

I step on a scale about once a month. The reason being that when we gain muscle, our weight could temporarily go up - and that's discouraging.The results are better measured by how our clothing feels, body measurements and whether or not we're getting more muscle tone.

qnls2

this week I have stepped on it every day because this is my first week back on the road to weight loss. I am very bad about weighing daily as I shouldn't do, but I am hoping to become more disciplined and only weigh once a week!

lunarsea

I weigh myself every day first thing in the morning, but understand that my weight will fluctuate based on water retention, time of the month, etc.

A handy tool for tracking long-term weight trends is https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/HackDiet/ It smooths the daily weights statistically so you see trends rather than 'I ate salty popcorn and drank a gallon of water before bed'.

efduncan

For some reason I weigh every day too. It makes me think of my diet more if I see the scale moving, hopefully the right way.

tomiladr

I am just getting back on track since the new year as many of us are. I am going to stick to weighing myself once a week. Always at the same time. I find it motivates me to wonder what is going to happen in 7 days. It's kind of like not peeking at your Christmas presents. If your calorie intake is accurate, you will know if you are succeeding by that. If I was not trying to lose and was just maintaining my weight, I would probably weigh more often. As another person said, there are many factors that affect your weight. Just try to be consistent. Think of it as a controlled science experiment.

laurae1967us

I weigh myself once a week at the same time and under the same conditions so that I am comparing apples to apples (first thing in the morning, after I use the bathroom but before I eat or drink anything, and no clothes on).

I would drive myself crazy weighing once a day. Weight fluctuates depending on sodium intake, exercise (increased excercise can make you hold onto water), etc.

I also try to focus on my healthy habits instead of the scale. The scale is important, but the healthy behaviors are what get the scale to move down.

judyanns

When I first started my diet in 1-6-09 I would weigh myself every monday or it would drive me crazy. I lost 44lbs. I am maintaing my weight now by weighing everyday if I go up 1 lb I watch what I eat more closely.