Weighing in daily to see results

My doctor suggested weighing in daily.
I would personally prefer to do weekly because the body can fluctuate so much that daily just doesn't seem to make sense to me.

Anyways! I am wondering the best way to get correct results and am wondering your opinons.

I have been weighing myself first thing in the morning (after going to the bathroom, for those that care) before eating breakfast or drinking water. This is after 6-8 hours of not drinking or eating anything and after a nights worth of sleep. I figure this is better than weighing myself before bed, but seeing an increase because of a big dinner one night compared to a smaller dinner the night before.

How off could my weight be from morning to morning? (IE : If I weighed in Sat morning at 222, Sun morning at 220 and today at 219) Would the results be reliable? Or should I give a pound leeway? Two pounds?

I exercise in the same clothes, so it's not that.

This sums up why I weigh daily.

Weighing every day will have some fluctuations, to be sure. But weighing weekly will still have those fluctuations (chances are, you're weekly weigh in will be on that one high day), except you won't know if they are fluctuations, because you don't know what it was yesterday.

Reliable... what does that mean? Think of it as simply gathering data points. Each point is meaningless - together, they form a trend. Only look at the trend.

From morning to morning, your weight will vary. How much is dependent on you - are you drinking a constant amount of water, do you have a salty meal, etc. Some people fluctuate only a few pounds, others 5lb or more.

My recommendation - if you can see a 2lb gain in the same light as a 2lb loss (either could simply be a fluctuation), you can weigh every day. If you freak out about it, weigh once a week.

I weigh daily to make myself aware of the flucuations as well as the overall weight loss. I log it and my caloric intake through the week and usually refrain from counting or measuring on the weekend.

I weigh daily for many reasons, but mainly because it actually desensitizes me to the scale's fluctuations.  I don't put too much stock in the number on the scale because I know that my weight tends to fluctuate up and down within 3 pounds or so because that's just what it does.  But I do celebrate a bit every time I see a lower number that I haven't seen before.  When I used to weigh weekly, it was a bit depressing if I'd see a gain from the week before.  Now that I've been logging my weight daily, I've started to see what my weight loss pattern actually is.  I tend to fluctuate up and down within a few pounds for a whole month until I finally drop 3-5 pounds in about 3 days.

The bottom line is: you can't tell much about your progress from just a few days of weighing.  Our bodies gain and lose water astonishingly quickly, so you need to look at long term progress and find your own body's patterns.

I agree with the last three posts; however, if you're the type to freak out over daily fluctuations then weekly (or even monthly) weighing may be a better choice for you. 

i weigh myself once a month - why?

because weight doesn't mean **** when you're building muscle (which i am) so instead i take measurements around my shoulders, bust,waist, hips, thighs, calves,biceps and forearms.

because those are the numbers that truly count - even when you aren't building muscle.

have fun with your daily weigh ins.

I prefer to weigh myself daily, also in the mornings. I see some fluctuations here and there but this helps me think about the kind of food I had the day before and evaluate if I ate something that I should have not. On the weekends I tend to be more relax, but try to count the calories in my head in order to stay as close as possible to my target. I think that a pound or two per week is great and I don't feel deprived on Friday or Saturday nights. However, this may not work for everyone, so give it a try and see if you prefer to keep track this way or weekly. Good luck!

Well here's how I look at it:

When you weigh yourself once a week, you might just be weighing one of those random fluctuations. It could be really high because you ate a big meal the night before or something. The most accurate would be to weigh everyday and then average it together.

i like to weigh in daily (first thing) then watch the trend line.

I think you should do what feels healthiest for you. You are going to have to pay attention to the overall trend regardless of whether you weigh every week or every morning. For me, weighing every day is a reminder each morning to stay on track and it helps me understand my body in terms of what too much salt or dehydration or hormones etc can do. But that's just me and you need to do what works best for you and helps you stay healthy.  Of course, you could try a compromise... maybe you could weigh every third day, for example?

I really agree with the notion of finding what's best for you and going with that.  I vary in my weigh-in routine.  In the beginning, I weighed in 3 times a day in order to learn when my body was heaviest and how it reacted to different things I was doing.  I considered myself a scientist in my weight loss. Then, I moved to the daily first thing in the morning weigh in.  I stuck to daily weigh-ins for a long time because the numbers usually were coming down, and I found it incredibly motivating.  now, the weight is coming off more slowly, so I kind of just do what I want with the weigh-ins.  I make sure I do it and record it once a week, but otherwise, i just do what I feel!  Whatever works for you is best.  BUt, make sure you measure yourself as well.  Weight is a construct, it represents a measure of health, but isn't real.  What is real is the % of body fat you have, and your % of muscle.  Weight is just a great way of tracking progress.  that's how I see it anyways.

Just don't weigh yourself when you are on your period!!! :)

Don't mind doing the daily weigh-in. I don't freak out about the flucuation. So long as the trend is downward, I'm on the right path. It's all in the math- expend the energy, intake enough energy to keep moving. I'm actually setting my weight loss goal well above BMI so I can do a second goal that involves muscle building. Already doing some lifting with the focus on cardio to lose fat. Next set of goals will involve more muscle building, less fat loss.

I also weigh in daily- first thing in the morning after I go to the bathroom. I get fluctuations but like others said, it's the trend that counts. I also find the fluctuations are much less then, say, weighing in before bed.

I find weighing in daily makes me more aware of how much things like eating salt, being adequately hydrated/dehydrated, etc. have on the number on the scale and it makes me think about staying healthy - reducing sodium, drinking enough water, etc. 

Weighing in weekly stresses me out. For example, if I had a high sodium day/couple of days before the weekly weigh in, the scale would show a high number that could be discouraging--weighing in daily helps you realize that's it's just a high day on an overall good trend :)

I weigh myself daily, too - like others, I get up, go to the bathroom, and hit the scale.  It's a part of my routine.  I'm learning about my fluctuations, and I've learned not to worry about a slight increase - it'll be gone in a day or two, and take a little extra with it.  That's normal for me.  I've also learned how my weight fluctuates during my cycle.  Week before my period?  I will predictably gain 2 lbs.  At the end of it, I get to see a really pretty number that I haven't seen in a long time. 

I'm a person who needs routine, and it's my daily reminder of why I'm doing this, and also a daily reminder that it's working.  All I have to do is compare to what it was a month ago and, even if I'm a little higher than yesterday, the progress is undeniable.  It's also helped me learn how my weight changes, and why.  It's always good to learn more about how my actions or other events affect my body.

Morning is the best time to weigh yourself, because you're fairly empty from the night before.  Eating different foods through the day or other factors can make your evening weight fluctuate even more than your morning weight.  I also prefer to weigh myself nude, so clothes aren't a factor.

Your weight can change a lot during the day, or from day to day, depending on a lot of things.  If you ate a lot of sodium, you might retain water and that will show up.  If you're new to dieting, you could be losing your water weight.  Some days during my first week my scale told me I lost about 2 pounds overnight.  I've also experimented, just for the heck of it, by comparing my evening weight to my morning weight just to see how much it made a difference, and I've seen it change up to 4 lbs.  So don't worry about a small jump - it will likely go away - just make sure that you're moving generally downward.

I am a daily weigher. I can tell whether or not the scale is higher because of fluctuation or actual weight gain judging by how I've been eating. If I'm eating maintenance or below and the scale is up a pound, yes it's aggravating at first, but then I remind myself of what I ate or what my exercise was that contributed to the rise.