Discouraged

Hi all!

I am wondering what is a good time to weight yourself. I started eating right and exercising this past Monday and it has become clear to me that I am driving myself crazy by weighing myself to much. Should I even weigh myself everyday?

Another question. This is not the first time I have lost weight. A year ago I started this and lost 15 pounds. It was SOOO much easier than it is now. I know it has only been 5 days but I swear, last time I was down 5 pounds by this time. I don't know if perhaps there were other factors at play then, but now I am basing myself on that. Hence the driving myself crazy by weighing myself thing.

So. Monday morning I was 225. Today, Friday morning, I am 222. Is that a good start?

hiya you shoul ideally weigh yourself on the same scales at the same time once a week, weight fluctuates a lot through the course of a day and a week, xx

As the previous post rightly said, body-weight goes up and down all the time and for no real reason.  If you can step on the scales, see a higher weight, shrug your shoulders and put it down to natural fluctuations.... weigh every day.  But if getting on the scales all the time and not seeing what you expect is ruining your day and causing you anxiety you should probably limit yourself to maybe one at the start of the week and one mid-week maximum.  Or remove your scales from the house completely and check-weigh yourself at some other location e.g. a gym or a pharmacy.

If you lost 1% per week of your total body-weight that would be extremely impressive.  So that's 2 - 2.5lbs in your case.  If you've lost 3lbs in five days you're doing very well indeed.  However, be prepared that next week you might only lose 1lb, or nothing at all.... It's the average loss per week to keep an eye on.

Weigh yourself again on Monday... in the meantime, try to focus on what people these days call 'the journey' rather than purely 'the outcome'.   Enjoy healthy foods and exercise for their own sake rather than purely as a means to an end.  Control portions/calories sensibly rather than crash-dieting to get quick results.  That way, you'll be happy to keep going regardless of what the scales say.

If you are doing exercise, maybe much more than you usually do you might add muscle to your body. Dump the scale altogether, get an new measure for yourself. I am on a furious exercise regime out in the mountains--and there is no scale but I know that my body is transforming. So what do you do? Go by feel and look.

Do you feel like your body is getting more toned, do you notice that some of the less than attractive parts of your body are losing there softness, flabiness, etc.? Maybe your leg muscles are becoming more defined and your waist is tightening up? On the one hand you may add muscle weight in place you want (legs) and lose fat around the waist.  Find out for yourself how your body react to weight loss without the scale and you will be more comfortable, relaxed, and ready to enjoy getting fit.

Also, unless you are frequently measuring your body fat too, it is unfair to yourself to go by weight loss alone.

Indeed I have been using free weights for the first time in my life. I am doing upper body one day, lower body the next. I am also talking a morning and evening walk. I find it has been a great way to start and end the day.

A previous poster said go by how I feel. I must admit that I do feel pretty good physically when I think about it. It has only been 5 days but I can feel the difference. So I suppose that is progress as well.

Thanks for the input everyone!

Well i weigh every morning and it has only went up one time and it was when i ate some boiled chicken dunno why.


Every time i usualy lose 2 to 8 ozes every morning.

Like many people said, you need to do what works for you. Sounds like you started around the same time as me. I know I'm learning a lot this time around. And, I'm doing this because I've decided that not only do I want to live longer, I want to enjoy those extra years.

So, for me that means I'm determined to recommit myself each day to my plan. Right now I'm weighing myself every day because I think it will help keep me on track. I have to be accountable. My goal in doing that is to see it either stay the same or go down on a daily basis. If it goes up I'll take that as a cue that I may need to adjust something. For me week is just too long to wait, making it far to easy to fall of the wagon.

Sounds familiar.  The first time (a long time ago now) I ever tried to lose weight I lost a great deal all at once.  Now, when I get motivated and try I lose hardly anything.

One thing I attribute to my smaller losses now is age, as you get older it is hard to take off weight.  Also, over time I have learned to eat healthier, so the changes that I make are not as drastic.

I also have a problem with weighing myself several times a day and need to get into the habit of once a week.  I have chosen Thursday mornings as my weigh in time.  It will be my first official weigh in (though I still get on the scale all the time I will not post it to my home page here on this web site) this coming Thursday.  I'm not expecting much this week as over the holiday weekend I was not well behaved.

Consistency counts, we must remember that Rome wasn't built in a day and we must stick with a plan over a long period of time to see results.  The weight did not come onto our bodies in one day, so how can we expect to take it off that quilckly?

Be patient!