Weight fluctuations - why it is a bad idea to weigh everyday
I started the south beach diet 4 weeks ago and my weight loss has been steady but slow. I shed about 7-8lb on my first 2 weeks (PH 1). However, I have been losing about 1lb/week for the last 2 weeks because of TOM and undereating.
I'm sharing my chart to show it is a BAD idea to weigh yourself everyday. It can be defeating to see 3 lb weight gain overnight. My doc's suggestion of 1 weigh-in per week is perfect. Today will be my last daily weigh-in, I am switching to weekly.
I love charts. I am a nerdy engineer that loves to track my progress using charts. My next charts will be my daily caloric intake.
Last edited by redflatshoe2; 02-10-2009 at 08:58 PM.
I have found that in my experience, weighing everyday is a great way for me to stay accountable. By being aware of those natural fluctuations, I'm less likely to freak out about it. I understand them better. I don't question if it's a flukey thing or an actual gain. I find that I have an easier time maintaining weighing everday simply because I am very good at lying to myself. I lied myself UP 20 pounds this fall because I didn't weigh myself everyday. My scale tells me no lies. There have also been studies done that people who weigh everyday tend to keep weight off longer. many maintainers weigh every morning.
It really is an individual thing.
ETA: I also don't see why you say it's "bad" to weigh everyday from your chart It's simply showing natural ebbs and flows.
There's nothing wrong with weighing daily, if you're not freaked out by fluctuations and do not take the number on the scale to mean something that it does not.
There are many ways that "this time" has been different from all of my prior weight loss attempts, but one of those ways is weighing daily. Weighing daily has helped me see what normal fluctuations look like, and also has shown me that the relationships between my eating (what I'm eating also, like sodium) and my exercise and my weight aren't simple. I can't expect an on plan day to result in a loss by the next morning, nor an off plan day to result in a gain by the next morning either.
I think it's just another way that we are not all the same. For some folks, the scale can get in the way of progress if they weigh too often (and how often is too often can also vary a lot from person to person), and for others the daily weigh-in is no more bad than brushing teeth. It all depends on what value or judgement you place on those numbers.
Because it works so well for me, I would encourage everyone to at least try weighing daily - to get familar with how their body works, for at least a month or two, but I realize it's probably not for everyone - but it sure works great for me.
I've weighed daily and I could post charts that show why it's bad to weigh weekly - because Day 1 was a new low, and Day 8 was a 3 pound bump up, and I would have thought the week represented a net gain. But daily weights showed me that during the week, I had been even lower.
I think there a great pros and cons either way - you just have to do what works for you.
A year or so ago, I went through a spell of weighing myself several times a day. I wasn't obssessed, I was just rationally experimenting to really understand my weight. I even weighed before and after meals and going to the bathroom. It helped me see not only how my weight fluctuates during a month, but how it can fluctuate during a single day.
Of course my charts were craggy, but I also learned some of the factors affecting the crags, and even some ways to counteract them. I know how to flush out sodium retention weight gain (say after a low calorie, but high sodium chinese restaurant meal), and about how long it takes (drink a few extra glasses of water - about 48 to 36 hours).
For a while, I was having the best of both worlds (weighing daily and weekly) I would write my daily weight on a daily chart, but Monday's were the weight that "counted" for the week.
I still occasionally weight a couple times a day, especially if I'm "waiting" for water retention to disperse. I don't get discouraged by the scale very often anymore, because I have taught myself to see it as a tool, not judge and jury.
I weighted myself everyday. I took it each day with a grain of salt and only counted my weekly weight ins. It helped me to figure out what foods did what to my body. I needed the structure.
I haven't wanted to weigh myself I had the sugery because I'm afraid of the swelling weight, I know how much the skin my surgeon took off weighed and I know how much the implants weigh so I struggle.
What have I learned about this ... I don't need to weigh myself to know how I'm doing. I think in the long run it's teaching me good habits to not weigh myself everyday.
i weigh many times a day and im used to how my body weight changes so much so it doesn't upset me if i go over 4 pounds in one night .It would kill me however to weigh in once a week and have gained the 4 pounds THAT day..
I weigh myself daily and I have to say if I DON'T weigh myself, it means I don't want to see what the scale has to say, i.e. I'm behaving badly!
I like to weigh myself everyday because between Monday-Sunday I choose my lowest weight as my weight for the week. Each week I try to hit a new low weight.
When the scale spikes I don't feel happy but I will exercise a bit more or eat a bit less and the scale always goes back down.
I'm trying to weigh in only every couple of days. I agree that it's all about your own mental mindset how the scale affects your attitude and your approach to staying on plan.
I've had a really great couple of weeks of weight loss and hit the lowest I've been in about a year. The last couple of days I've wanted to stay away from the scale so I keep that success feeling. I am still on plan and everything, so I'm telling myself "OK, don't weigh in again since you can't really have dropped much more weight in a day, and you could be fluctuating because of TOM and you will feel bad if you're up again!" So for me it's not good to weigh in excessively right now!
This brings me to a Wii Fit complaint too... It tells you in the beginning of your weigh in that your weight can fluctuate daily up to 4 pounds but THEN if I gain 1.1 pounds in a day it asks you why you gained the weight and gives me options like "large meals, not exercising, excess snacking" etc. It's absolute silliness! And a bit judgmental to be completely honest with you Mr. Wii Fit! lol
I have to weigh everyday or I'd make myself crazy. I can handle seeing my weight go up three pounds overnight. What I could not handle, however, is working hard all week and staying on plan, only to have my weekly weigh in be the day where I was up three pounds. I know that I cannot gain three pounds in "true" weight overnight, but over the course of a week...? It would just send me to all sorts of bad places and discourage me.
I find that by weighing daily, I tend to bounce between a few weights for a couple days, and slowly my bounce gets lower and lower
AAA I don't know which to do. I used to weigh in every day and looked forward to it, but then I'd go off track so much more often, especially if I had a good day for some reason. Now I've tried weighing in once a week, and it sucks!! 1 lb lost in one totally OP week.
I think I will either hold off weighing in till the end of the month, or go back to once a week.
I can't expect an on plan day to result in a loss by the next morning, nor an off plan day to result in a gain by the next morning either.
I have noticed that the night of or day after being "bad" nothing happens, but then after a couple of days (even "good" days!) it catches up with me. Then it takes forever to sink back down again....
Since I picked up an old scale from my parents over Christmas, I've occasionally weighed myself a couple times during the day to see how I fluctuate, and you know what? I don't. It's kind of freaky. I'm 132.6 in the morning, I'll be 133 midday and 132.8 at night. Then the next day I'll be 132.0 in the morning, 132.4 midday and 132.0 at night--I must do all my fat burning and fluxing while I sleep
What /does/ fluctuate is my waist-line. First thing waking up my waist is 27.5", after breakfast it's 28", and by the end of the day it might be up to 29".
Weight fluctuations - why it is a bad idea to weigh everyday
It's simply showing natural ebbs and flows.
