How often do YOU weigh in?

Is it better to not obsess about the number? I don't own a scale. If I did I may just live on it . I would like feed back on what everyone else does.

I started off weighing in once a week.

Then I started using my WiiFit, and I do a BodyTest every morning (which includes my weight). I have found myself getting caught up in the daily fluctuations.

I prefer the "once a week" weigh-in.

I dont own a scale either...I just look in a mirror and go "hmm, maybe I should lay off the take-out for a little bit and start adding in some extra workouts".

I've been weighing myself every day- probably not the best idea, but I do it anyways because if I don't, it's all I think about!

I tend to weigh myself most mornings. I used to be determined to get to a certain number, but now I'm down to the last few pounds, I'm thinking what size I am and fitness level interests me more. I just like to understand my body and how my weight fluctuates...

Daily.  If I weighed weekly, I'd have to care about the numbers.  Do it daily and I can just monitor the trend.

e.g.  Yesterday and today I was up to 141.5 after being 139 for almost a week.  If I weighed weekly and had missed the 139 days but just caught the 141.5, I'd have been disappointed.  As it is, we went out for dinner Tuesday night, so I know it's just water retention from that.  (I looked up the nutritional info. when I got home.  How the heck did the restaurant get more than a gram of sodium into my steak?!)  For me, seeing the numbers regularly takes away any power over me they might otherwise have had and means that I don't have to wonder if my weekly loss was just a fluctuation or if it was real.

I think weighing yourself daily is very important because your body will flucutate up and down a few pounds naturally. Even if you weigh yourself every Friday you still may realize those fluctuations.

A little trick I do is weigh myself everyday and average the weight over an entire week.  That helps to eliminate the small variations and gives me a more accurate weight to monitor my progress with.

I weigh at the same time on the same day of the week, once a week.  Sometimes, if my diet's been all over the place, I'll weigh on a Friday morning to prepare for the weekend.

Daily.  If I weighed weekly, I'd have to care about the numbers.  Do it daily and I can just monitor the trend.

This statement seems contradictory to me, since to "monitor the trend" by using daily weigh-ins means using more numbers than weighing once a week. :D

Regarding averaging the weight, it'd be interesting to see the small distribution of the seven weigh-ins to see if such a measure is appropriate.  Something tells me, it ain't normal. :D

she'd have to care what the number on the scale said RIGHT THEN. PSHH we knew what she meant.

Mine has been all over the place and I weigh daily for the same reasons susie stated.

>>Regarding averaging the weight, it'd be interesting to see the small distribution of the seven weigh-ins to see if such a measure is appropriate.  Something tells me, it ain't normal. :D<<

lets see... this week I got:

144
141.4
140
138
137.2

average is 140.1

Was I really up to 144 or retaining water?

Am I really down to 137?

If I only weighed in on monday or friday, would my results seem different?

I weigh myself daily. It started out as an obsession, I needed to know that what I was trying was working and was a little paranoid about what number I would see... but after a week of seeing that yes, I was losing weight, I got over my obsession.

I still weigh in everyday, but it's more because I'm just curious.  Both because I know I'd think about it all day if I didn't weigh in every morning, and the fact that I think it's kind of reassuring to see the fluctuations. It's something I can look back at and see that even if I go up and down during the week, the general trend is still down. Plus the little victories of half a pound down (my scale only does full and half pounds) is a nice pick-me-up for the day.

i weigh every day.  works for me.  i'm in maintenance now and trying to stay well clear of 135, so if i start creeping up into the 133-134 range, i don't want to wait a week to do something about it.  so far, so good.

but i don't get emotional, and i don't obsess.  i step on the scale after work when i change out of my work clothes.  i make note of my weight (literally and figuratively) and get on with my day.  if it's creeping up, i watch the snacks for a few days. 

i feel like it's especially important that i do this right now, because my shopping hasn't kept up with my weight loss.  most of my clothes are very roomy, and i can't get rid of them because i can't run around naked.  once i've cleared my closet of the more generous clothing, i might be able to rely more on fit and less on weight, but for now i definitely need the scale.

Original Post by crazydiamondchrysalis:

>>Regarding averaging the weight, it'd be interesting to see the small distribution of the seven weigh-ins to see if such a measure is appropriate.  Something tells me, it ain't normal. :D<<

lets see... this week I got:

144
141.4
140
138
137.2

average is 140.1

Was I really up to 144 or retaining water?

Am I really down to 137?

If I only weighed in on monday or friday, would my results seem different?

cdc, that looks to me like nice, steady weight loss (with some water fluctuation, of course).  when i was trying to lose, i took averages for awhile.  helped keep me motivated.  but after awhile, i found it much more helpful to look back to past weeks/months for perspective: if i had a high number one day, rather than comparing it to other numbers during that week, i'd look back to remind myself how much progress i'd made.  144 isn't great compared to 137, but compared to 157 it's pretty sweet, you know?

and now that i'm stabilized in maintenance, my understanding of water weight is getting more clear.  my weight doesn't fluctuate more than about 2 pounds in a week.  if i'm retaining water, my weight is up but my bf% (according to my scale; i know it's not accurate) is down.  that makes it pretty easy to think, "okay, too much salt yesterday," but for me (for most people?) salt usually goes along with high fat and high calorie foods, so i also think, "more veggies, less crud."

I weigh once or twice a week.  The number doesn't really upset me because it doesn't seem to jump up much more than a couple of pounds, which I can rationalize.  If the general trend is up, I'll do something about it.

I weigh-in for here every Friday.  So far its working. 

I stopped stepping on the scales a few months ago and gained back most of what I'd lost.  I'm going to stick with every Friday until I'm back down to 160lbs and then go on every day.  I need to be strict with myself or I let myself go.

I weigh in only when my clothes either are too loose or fitting too snuggly.

I did the weekly weigh in thing and found myself getting ridiculous over small fractions of numbers and then I was weighing myself more often and fussing over normal daily fluctuations, and assigning blame to a piece of pizza, that I was fully dressed, or the ubiquitous water retention. I did not think it was healthy to focus my long journey to health in terms of fear of fractions.

So, I just said no to the scale and mainly use my clothes as the judge. I try on some of my too small clothes whenever I think there has been a change. That motivates me in a more positive way than the scale did. When I drop a size, I'll weigh in and adjust my weight on CC at that time.

I weigh everyday.  I like knowning the number.  It doesn't affect how I feel about myself, or my day.  I just like knowning.  I understand that I will fluctuate (up to 3lbs for me) but I love to see that number.  Even if it is a number I am not happy with, I just remember stepping on the scale, and it reading 23 pounds more than what I weigh now.

i feel the exact same way. i just like knowing, but i don't let if affect me other than when i realize i'm probably retaining water and need to start drinking more!

Original Post by susiecue:

Daily.  If I weighed weekly, I'd have to care about the numbers.  Do it daily and I can just monitor the trend.

e.g.  Yesterday and today I was up to 141.5 after being 139 for almost a week.  If I weighed weekly and had missed the 139 days but just caught the 141.5, I'd have been disappointed.  As it is, we went out for dinner Tuesday night, so I know it's just water retention from that.  (I looked up the nutritional info. when I got home.  How the heck did the restaurant get more than a gram of sodium into my steak?!)  For me, seeing the numbers regularly takes away any power over me they might otherwise have had and means that I don't have to wonder if my weekly loss was just a fluctuation or if it was real.

 I'm the same as Susie but I've also learned not be obsessive about the numbers cause they are going to be all over the place - I look at it as a trend that I can then analyze over time.  Because I'm diligently tracking my calories and I know that it's impossible to have gained 1 or 2 pounds over night, I know that any increases are likely water retention or the food still working its way through my system.  I only record my weight once a week on here though for the most part.

But to each his own - there's no right or wrong just what works for you.

I do it ever morning after cleaning myself up.

For me it is the opposite of obsessing to some extent because I can easily see that the number fluctuates, and come to realize that it is normal (and to what extent normal is).  Where as if I weighed in rarely then I would not know if the number was an outlier or a trend.

Averaging is a good way to compare week to week to see if you're losing weight.

144 to 137 is a great week! But if on Saturday your weight was 140, would you think that you failed on Friday night or would it cause you to eat differently on the weekend?  By averaging your weight over an entire week, you are better able to monitor your progress.

For me, weight managment is a psychological challenge more than anything else and I think that anything that can hlep you overcome those hurdles along the way are good.