When do you weigh yourself?

What time or time(s) of day do you weigh yourself? How frequently?

The weight that actually means something to me is the one in the morning right after I go to the restroom.  I am addicted and actually end up weighing myself after work and right before I go to bed, but brush off what the scale says and really just focus on the one in the morning.

Morning, after I go to the restroom, haha. I usually weigh myself maybe 3-4 times a week, avoiding the scale after days of heavy eating. It's a psychological battle.

I usually weigh myself using my gym's scale right before working out nearly every day, though I'm pretty sure it's recommended you only weigh yourself weekly.

I weigh myself daily in the morning right after going to the bathroom as well.  I've heard you weigh a little less after showing though, not sure if theres any truth to that.

I like weighing myself daily because although i know water and time of the month and all sorts of things can account for small fluctiations, so can doing something wrong like measuring portions incorrectly or overeating for a day.  If i see an increase that cant be attributed to working out or it being that time of the month i can check my portions and see if i'm eating balanced meals and getting all the nutrients i need and get it all in check quickly instead of being surprised in a week and having to work harder to correct it.

I also weigh myself once a day, right after going to the bathroom and taking my clothes off. I figure that is the most accurate way to do it since different clothing weighs different amounts.

I don't like the idea of weighing weekly because things can be getting out of hand without me realizing it, plus, who knows -- maybe that one day will just happen to be a "fat" day and I'll be discouraged.

With the daily weighing, if my weight has gone up, I also take into consideration the trends and look at how where I am now (trend wise) compared with where I was a week ago. That helps put it in perspective for me.

I also weigh myself in the morning, and periodicly through out the day.  I wake up get on the scale after going to the bathroom, then go to the gym, weigh in there to see the difference in scales... always is... then I weigh myself when I get back from the gym.  I then take a shower and dry my hair, then get back on the scale to see the final weigh in for me in the day. 

When I get home from work I do weigh in after dinner just to see the difference the following morning, if I had a larger then expected dinner, I wake up a little earlier and put in an extra twenty to thirty minutes at the gym...

Right when you wake up everyday is the most accurate. Especially if you are consistant with what time you eat dinner and go to bed.

Original Post by djchicky11:

Right when you wake up everyday is the most accurate. Especially if you are consistant with what time you eat dinner and go to bed.

there is no "most accurate" time to weigh.  all you can do is be consistent.  i weigh before lunch, because i know from experience that i'll get the lowest number then, and because my schedule accommodates it, but when my schedule changes, i'll probably shift to before dinner.  i always retain water in the morning, and it takes several hours to release it.

saturday morning after i pee

Original Post by pgeorgian:

Original Post by djchicky11:

Right when you wake up everyday is the most accurate. Especially if you are consistant with what time you eat dinner and go to bed.

there is no "most accurate" time to weigh.  all you can do is be consistent.  i weigh before lunch, because i know from experience that i'll get the lowest number then, and because my schedule accommodates it, but when my schedule changes, i'll probably shift to before dinner.  i always retain water in the morning, and it takes several hours to release it.

 actually there is... you think after you have eaten throughout the day or worked out or drank any fluids that your weight will be accurate? depending on the weight of your food your weight can fluctuate. Say you eat a chicken breast, you are going to way a lot more after eating a chicken breast then when you have an empty stomache in the morning. All food weighs different amounts! If you eat a candy bar your weight is not going to fluctuate that much after eating it, but the next morning that candy bar will be prevalent on the scale. The only thing that would be accurate is if you eat the exact same food and the exact same amount at the exact same time every day. Then ya you can weigh yourself at anypoint in the day for your "most accurate" time. 

The morning is the most accurate and consistent weight to go by period, if you eat dinner at the same time every night (no matter what you are eating) and you get the same amount of sleep each night.

Thanks! :)

How often you weigh is your own choice. Some people get overly obsessed and have to limit themselves to once a week. I like to weigh whenever I am in the bathroom in my house that has the scale in it, just for fun. I do like to weigh before going to bed. I usually weigh 3-4 pounds less the next morning.

Original Post by djchicky11:

actually there is... you think after you have eaten throughout the day or worked out or drank any fluids that your weight will be accurate? depending on the weight of your food your weight can fluctuate. Say you eat a chicken breast, you are going to way a lot more after eating a chicken breast then when you have an empty stomache in the morning. The only thing that would be accurate is if you eat the exact same food and the exact same amount at the exact same time every day. Then ya you can weigh yourself at anypoint in the day for your "most accurate" time. 

The morning is the most accurate and consistent weight to go by period, if you eat dinner at the same time every night (no matter what you are eating) and you get the same amount of sleep each night.

Thanks! :)

the measurement tool can be accurate or inaccurate; the measure just is.  i'm not saying you should eat a three pound meal just before you get on the scale, but to say that weight is more or less accurate at any particular time of day is a misnomer.

yes, it's a good idea to weigh at the same time every day, but that's about consistency, not accuracy.  and not everyone's weight is lowest first thing in the morning.

Now that I have a decent, accurate scale, I will be weighing every morning.  My old scale was off by 30 pounds.  Not fun!  It was weighing me 30 pounds lighter than I really am!  Yikes!

Original Post by pgeorgian:

Original Post by djchicky11:

actually there is... you think after you have eaten throughout the day or worked out or drank any fluids that your weight will be accurate? depending on the weight of your food your weight can fluctuate. Say you eat a chicken breast, you are going to way a lot more after eating a chicken breast then when you have an empty stomache in the morning. The only thing that would be accurate is if you eat the exact same food and the exact same amount at the exact same time every day. Then ya you can weigh yourself at anypoint in the day for your "most accurate" time. 

The morning is the most accurate and consistent weight to go by period, if you eat dinner at the same time every night (no matter what you are eating) and you get the same amount of sleep each night.

Thanks! :)

the measurement tool can be accurate or inaccurate; the measure just is.  i'm not saying you should eat a three pound meal just before you get on the scale, but to say that weight is more or less accurate at any particular time of day is a misnomer.

yes, it's a good idea to weigh at the same time every day, but that's about consistency, not accuracy.  and not everyone's weight is lowest first thing in the morning.

 Okay maybe this will make more sense to you.

The most "consistent" timeof day for anyone is after you wake up, should that be morning, noon, or night depending on work schedule.

If you eat chicken pot pie for lunch one day and decide that your weighing in time is 2 hours after your lunch then you are obviously going to weigh more then on a day that you eat a light salad.

Therefore, the most consistent and accurate time to weigh is in the morning lol! wow! Is that so hard to understand?

In the morning, after going to the loo, but before breakfast. If I'm thirsty I drink some water first else I may weight less due to dehydration. But everyone tends to weigh a good pound or two more by the evening, presumably due to liquid and food intake.

I reccommend using a good brand of digital scales as they tend to be very accurate. Mine also tell you your body fat too :)

I hardly ever weight myself... and I think weighing yourself daily becomes unhealthy and obsessive. I know that weighing yourself daily is inaccurate due to water retention and time-of-month, among others factors.

I think weighing yourself every two weeks is good enough. If you're following your diet and working out like you should, than you WILL lose the weight. You don't need to weigh yourself daily to know so. This also can be discouraging if everytime you weigh yourself (let's say every day for a week) the scale doesn't budge. Sometimes, people think it's going to happen overnight, and when they see that it doesn't, they stop dieting/working out completely.

If you feel good, look good, you're healthy, and you're dropping inches... in my opinion, that's all that counts.

First time I lost weight I weighed daily (first thing in the morning after using the facilities and before any food or liquid intake).  I wasn't counting calories but more or less paying attention to what I ate and the daily weigh-in helped me stay focused.

This time around I am weighing in once per week (Wed. morning, first thing after using the facilities).  Since I am counting calories and now know that it takes a 3500 calorie defecit to gain or lose a pound of body tissue, I see no point in weighing daily and looking at meaningless fluctuations due to water retention, a big meal the night before, or stuff  in the colon.  H8sfat makes a good point that if you are tracking your eat to burn ratio properly and honestly the weight will come off and, for some people at least, seeing too much fluctuation or no regular drop can be discouraging.

BTW, if you have a digital scale that give you weight in decimal places, ignore the number after the decimal, it is meaningless.  No home scale is accurate to a tenth of a pound (or kilo) even if they give you a reading.

Original Post by rwnorth:

First time I lost weight I weighed daily (first thing in the morning after using the facilities and before any food or liquid intake).  I wasn't counting calories but more or less paying attention to what I ate and the daily weigh-in helped me stay focused.

This time around I am weighing in once per week (Wed. morning, first thing after using the facilities).  Since I am counting calories and now know that it takes a 3500 calorie defecit to gain or lose a pound of body tissue, I see no point in weighing daily and looking at meaningless fluctuations due to water retention, a big meal the night before, or stuff  in the colon.  H8sfat makes a good point that if you are tracking your eat to burn ratio properly and honestly the weight will come off and, for some people at least, seeing too much fluctuation or no regular drop can be discouraging.

BTW, if you have a digital scale that give you weight in decimal places, ignore the number after the decimal, it is meaningless.  No home scale is accurate to a tenth of a pound (or kilo) even if they give you a reading.

 Thank you for pointing that out. I like hearing from people that aren't [always] depending on that number on the scale to show them how good they look. It's not always the number, but the inches you're losing and the all-around healthy feeling you all of a sudden have. Don't become obsessed with a number!!

Original Post by djchicky11:

 Okay maybe this will make more sense to you.

The most "consistent" timeof day for anyone is after you wake up, should that be morning, noon, or night depending on work schedule.

If you eat chicken pot pie for lunch one day and decide that your weighing in time is 2 hours after your lunch then you are obviously going to weigh more then on a day that you eat a light salad.

Therefore, the most consistent and accurate time to weigh is in the morning lol! wow! Is that so hard to understand?

don't talk to me like i'm a moron, okay?

my point is that there's no "right" way to do this.  bodily functions take place 24 hours a day, and weight fluctuates 24 hours a day.  the food we eat doesn't just sit there; it is digested and processed, and waste is expelled throughout the day.  and all of these processes work more rapidly when we are awake and moving than when we are asleep.

there is no "correct" weight; there is is no "accurate" time of day; there is no "optimum" amount of water in our tissues, nutrition in our digestive systems, liquid and solid waste waiting to be expelled, etc.  there is only what works for each of us as individuals. 

you like to weigh yourself in the morning?  good for you.  but there's no reason to tell everyone that they should do the same.

Original Post by djchicky11:

If you eat a candy bar your weight is not going to fluctuate that much after eating it, but the next morning that candy bar will be prevalent on the scale. The only thing that would be accurate is if you eat the exact same food and the exact same amount at the exact same time every day.

 Actualllyyyy.... no. You don't gain weight overnight. But what you DO do, is retain water overnight. Which is why you may actually weigh more in the morning... your body has retained water overnight to keep itself appropriatly hydrated.

Your "candy bar" theory is not accurate. If you eat one candy bar and then weigh yourself the next day... you are NOT going to see it on the scale. Keep eating them every day and you will notice the number on the scale slowly rising, but not the next day. BUT, if your sodium intake is high one day, when you weigh yourself the next day, you WILL see the numbers rise, due to the large water retention that all that sodium has caused your body to do.

"The only thing that would be accurate is if you eat the exact same food and the exact same amount at the exact same time every day." --- Not true. If it was, than why is this person eating 2,500 calories per day, every day, not working out, and they are still gaining weight? It's called MOTABOLISM. It's a pretty cool little thing all of us have. And as we get older, so does it, and just like us, it slows down, little by little... which is why us healthy people choose to workout and eat conciously to keep it high.