Weighing daily

In reading other threads, it is hard not to notice the divergence in opinion on the appropriate rate with which to weigh oneself.  Personally, I think it is a matter of personal preference more than anything; some people (myself included) seem to be motivated by a daily trip to the scale and others see it as demotivating and prefer a broader view.  Sounds good.

What I don't understand is why so many people seem determined to try to convince others that weighing daily is a particularly bad choice.  I've seen no less than five posts in the last day or so with some variation on a) weighing daily is less accurate, b) weighing daily is demotivating, or c) weighing daily is frowned upon by the (unspecified) experts.  Now, given that a is absurd, b is just a matter of opinion, and c doesn't match the literature (see, for example, Levitsky 2005; Linde et al 2005; Levitsky et al 2006; Wing et al 2006; Butryn et al 2007; Linde et al 2007; VanWormer et al 2008) I wonder what motivates the "don't weigh daily" recommendation.  Can't we all just get along and weigh ourselves when we please?

Edit: PM me with an email address and I'll send you any of the articles I cited above.

Thank you voice of reason!

YES!  I am so tired of hearing "my way is the only way", whether it is exercise, food or scale related.  C'mon people!  What works best is what works for you! (Though I would like to thank coreyander for the cool research articles - love having a basis in fact!)

I weight myself eevryday because I know if I have not eaten at least 3500 over my intake then I have not gained weightif it shows that I have. And always the next day the scales show the loss. So weighing everyday for me helps keep me in check with what I am doing.

I think that reaction is normal when we see member after member positively freaking out when they have these fluctuations.  Once they understand it's normal, they feel better.   The reaction tends to be "well then don't weigh daily if you're that disturbed by it."

It's only a bad choice if someone is upset when they see those daily fluctuations.  I have to weigh every day for medical reasons and at first it was upsetting.  Now I understand what can cause a 10 pound variation over the course of three days and I no longer worry about it.  Tracking my weight daily is of no use to me as far as weight loss goes, but it's useful for my doctor, techs  and nurses so they can help me monitor and manage my condition.

I log my weight twice a month and only watch the green trend line to see if I'm progressing.  It's in my profile if you want to see it.  That's where my motivation and reward comes in.

For ME only weighing once a month, on the first seems to work best.  I could not give a rats behind what anyone else does.  I do think it's silly to weigh 3 or 4 times a day though.

I've literally only JUST started coming onto these forums and watching what I eat, but I think I'm hesitant to weigh daily because I don't want to become too obsessed, you know? Just always thinking about it. I have friends who've tried to lose weight and it literally becomes all they talk about. I don't want to do that, but I DEFINITELY think I need the wake-up call of daily weighing.

That said, I think it depends on the person. Just do what works, there's no wrong or right way.

Original Post by coreyander:

What I don't understand is why so many people seem determined to try to convince others that weighing daily is a particularly bad choice.

I guess it is human nature to believe both that "I am special" and "Everyone is the same as me".  Contradictory, but human.  So, if we find some tool or technique that works for us, it must work for everyone else.  Add that to the unfortunate tendency of the newly converted or successful to proselytize (there is no more virulent proponent of clean air than a reformed smoker), and you find that people who don't weigh everyday need to "help" those of us who do to see the light.

That said, I have gotten many tips here in the forums that have really helped me on this lifestyle change to a healthy weight.  Sometimes what works for the very dogmatic works for me, too!  And when not, well, I didn't pay anything for the advice, and I don't have to take it.

I think it's whatever works best for you to keep you motivated/not get you frustrated. I weigh myself every day and log that into a spreadsheet I keep. I then create a trendline from those numbers and THAT is what I use to guage my weight loss progress. My actual weight number could go up or down up to 3 lbs in one day even though I weigh myself at approx. the same time every day under the same circumstances so I don't put a whole lot of emphasis on that number but a trendline will average everything out and show you what's really going on.

Original Post by dnsmills:

I think it's whatever works best for you to keep you motivated/not get you frustrated. I weigh myself every day and log that into a spreadsheet I keep. I then create a trendline from those numbers and THAT is what I use to guage my weight poss progress. My actual weight number could go up or down up to 3 lbs in one day even though I weigh myself at approx. the same time every day under the same circumstances so I don't put a whole lot of emphasis on that number but a trendline will average everything out and show you what's really going on.

 I use CC's chart to log my weight.  The trend line is not a nice as my actual weight loss line.  What is the trend line?  What does it mean, please?

The trend line consists of points which are each the average of that day's weigh-in and the previous ten weigh-ins.  So, if you're losing weight, the trend line will be higher than the blue line and if you're gaining weight, the trend line will be lower than the blue line.

The point of the trend line is to smooth out fluctuations; however, it's not the absolute numbers you want to be interested in.  Look at whether it's going up or down.  If it's going up, you're gaining; if it's going down, you're losing; if it's flat, you're maintaining.  That's all it's really good for.

For maintaining, weighing every day helps me a lot, even with fluctuations it helps me see when my weight is creeping up by a couple of pounds and do something to counteract that!

I weigh everyday so I can follow my trend line, plus it helps me stay focused when I know Im going to step on the scale in the morning...of course, you cannot get discouraged if you're up a few pounds from the day before, cause chances are, its just water weight.

I've been weighing myself daily since November, and it has helped me go from 120 to 103.  I'm 14, 5'2, and I highly recommend weighing everyday.  It helps to understand how your body reacts to certain food/exercise, and you really learn a lot.  I can predict whether I've lost or gained weight because I'm so in tune with my body.  Weighing everyday helps to keep you on track and really helps to prevent relapse. 

I weigh every day too, but mostly just so I can see what's going on, it motivates me (and teaches me what foods make will make me retain water). BUT, I will say that I only log my weight loss once a week (Wednesday morning). That way if there is a slight gain from day to day, I don't worry about it, it's just an FYI. From week to week is what I am most concerned with.

I actually use an excel spreadsheet, where I type in my weight every day.  I chart it with a trendline that averages the past 14 days, and then I also have a measurements, BMI and Fat %age sheet, where I enter in the week's average as well as my measurements once a week.  (I know, I'm a bit OC)  That way, I'm really only looking at the average for the week, so the little fluctuations don't bother me as much.

I weigh everyday. And I can tell when it's fluctuation or if it's possibly real weight gain based by how I've been eating. But I like to weigh everyday so I can "catch" the scale when I've lost weight. If I only weighed once a week, and I happened to have eaten more or had a bit too much sodium the day before weigh-in, it can effect my results and make me think that I've gained and freak me out.

i really started to gain when i stopped weighing myself every day. i would have a cheat day and not want to get on the scale to own what i'd eaten. this became more and more frequent. gained back the weight, trying to lose it again now....and i've weighed myself each day since i started back!

Original Post by laphipps:

i really started to gain when i stopped weighing myself every day. i would have a cheat day and not want to get on the scale to own what i'd eaten. this became more and more frequent. gained back the weight, trying to lose it again now....and i've weighed myself each day since i started back!

This also happens to me. It's like, if I don't see the damage, it doesn't exist. And that's the wrong way to think.

My personal feeling:

I have to chose what to eat everyday

So therefore I (want to) weigh everyday.

Original Post by susiecue:

The trend line consists of points which are each the average of that day's weigh-in and the previous ten weigh-ins.  So, if you're losing weight, the trend line will be higher than the blue line and if you're gaining weight, the trend line will be lower than the blue line.

The point of the trend line is to smooth out fluctuations; however, it's not the absolute numbers you want to be interested in.  Look at whether it's going up or down.  If it's going up, you're gaining; if it's going down, you're losing; if it's flat, you're maintaining.  That's all it's really good for.

Thank you for the easy-to-understand explanation, Susie!  I'd believed that the trend line should be transposed over the  weight line to show optimum progress.  But the trend line keeps going down as does my weight so now I like the trend line!