My official weigh in day is Monday. Three weeks ago, I was happy to see a 4.6 pound drop down to 197.4. I was a bit surprised and therefore not surprised a day or two later when the scale had gone back up a couple of pounds. The next official weigh in, I had to count a 1.4 pound gain to 198.8.

I told myself that it wasn't really a gain, I just hadn't lost as much as much as it said the week before. Well, now it has gone and done it again I suspect. This morning's weigh in had me down 5.4 pounds. "Really?" I asked the scale. Repeated attempts brought the same number.

I like to be accurate, and writing down that number officially kinda seems like cheating. And feeling like I have gained all last week, I don't really want to put myself through another week of that! So what would you do? Would you count it? Or would you wait a day or two?

If the number is the same for 3 days in a row, I take it and run.

Tara

Tara, I do something similar. My weight is never the same from day to day, so I don't count a new official lower weight until I've seen it 3 times.

Maggie, I'm curious as to what would make your scale weight fluctuate so much. I know water weight can make a difference, but you seem to have a definite pattern. Do you do something different in terms of diet/exercise/sleep on the weekends? Maybe you get less salt on the weekends, and so your Monday number is lowest in water weight?

You may never know the reason, so if it drives you nuts, maybe weigh on Mondays ONLY? Maybe buy or use another scale to see if the pattern holds true on different scales? Hmm... I don't know. I assume you've been weighing at the same time of day, under the same circumstances?

Regardless, it does seem to be an overall downward trend, so maybe you can focus on that, and not the little bumps in the road that probably don't mean anything anyway?

I'd take the number today. It is what it is. You are putting too much emphasis on the number on the scale. The real predictor of success is the lifestyle changes you make.

I choose a day of the week on which I will record. The same day every time. And I always weigh at the same time of day, under the same conditions (first thing in the morning, after peeing, before drinking water).

I get on the scale once. I record what it says.

None of the other days matter.

Jay

If Monday is weigh day, just write it down and move on to eating right and working out this week.

Little up and downs happen -- take it in stride and don't overthink it. Just stick to the program and put weighing out of your head til next Monday.

GL!
A.

If I have been on plan I take the lowest weight as my official weight until I see another lower weight. I figure the lowest weight is the one least burdened by excess fluid and waste and therefore the most accurate. (Do I really CARE about how much *ahem* poop I am carrying around?)

Weight fluctuates. Sometimes alot.

I always graphed my weight and looked at it over time. There might have been up and down bobbles, but over time the line moved steadily down. There is just too much fluctuation for me to look at any isolated weighing event with too much happiness and/or concern.

(I did like it when my scale hit 135 for the first time though, that was pretty exciting!)

I weight regularly. i was reveiwing my data of about 25 years old and saw a pattern for me. When I weighed more frequently my weight was lower than when I didn't. So I weigh dialy. I also use among other things http://www.physicsdiet.com/

I would take it. (I weight myself every Sunday and that's my official weight for the week)

I would take it, and if you're up a little the next day then oh well. The point is to see an overall downward trend on the scale over a long period of time. Day to day and week to week weight doesn't matter that much as long as you know you're doing well with your eating and exercise.

Thanks for your comments.

Well, the scale was up a little over two pounds this morning. I am a frequent weigher, and am not concerned about the fact that it has fluctuations during the day or on a daily basis. My concern is that, when counting on Mondays, I hate to have to document that I gained, when in fact, the number the week before was just too low.

Scale fluctuations are a way of life. Don't put to much pressure on yourself because the scale gave you a big drop one day and the next it was a gain. The scale is a funny thing, and you will go crazy if you obsess. If you are on plan and doing everything right you are on track!