About 20 days ago I made a goal to stop getting on the scale everyday and by November go down to only once a month. My goal is to slowly step down to only 3 times a month then twice a month, and then finally only once a month.
I haven't been on the scale since last Thursday and my next scheduled date with the scale is Tuesday. I can't believe I haven't started going into withdrawal symptoms. I really do feel better about myself and I'm not worrying every day about every pound fluctuation. Previously I was getting on the scale 10 + times a day.
On a side note do you think once a month is too long a time between weigh ins? Do you think twice a month would be better or once every 20 days?
Are you at goal and maintaining ? Or are you still trying to lose? When I was losing I tried to weigh once a week, sometimes twice. Now that I am at goal I weigh everyday . My concern is seeing that the scale doesn't go up.....and keep going up.
Are you at goal and maintaining ? Or are you still trying to lose? When I was losing I tried to weigh once a week, sometimes twice. Now that I am at goal I weigh everyday . My concern is seeing that the scale doesn't go up.....and keep going up.
At my goal weight. Take some advice from somebody who has been at their goal weight for 5 years and got on the scale every day. Stop getting on the scale everyday, it will just drive you crazy!
IMHO if you are confident about your maintenance then I would suggest aiming for every two weeks for your weigh-in. That way, should the dreaded "creep" start up for whatever reason, you can catch it early.
I'm looking forward to being where you are in your maintenance. It sounds like it's a way of life for you now, rather than a conscious effort every day.
IMHO if you are confident about your maintenance then I would suggest aiming for every two weeks for your weigh-in. That way, should the dreaded "creep" start up for whatever reason, you can catch it early.
I'm looking forward to being where you are in your maintenance. It sounds like it's a way of life for you now, rather than a conscious effort every day.
Dagmar
Thanks for reply but IMO that is EXACTLY why you should not weight yourself every day. Believe me in one week or two weeks you are not going to gain more than 1 or 2 lbs unless you are on vacation or something. If you do the daily scale and see 2 lbs up from yesterday and you freak out and worry about it the rest of the day. The thing is there is no way you gained 2lbs in fat in 1 day, its just water weight or the time of the day or a scale miscalcuation.
I prefer to weigh every day, it is affirming to me and doesn't cause me mental stress. I does help me maintain a certain amount of focus and reminds me how hard I've worked and starts my day out with the right attitude.
But everybody is different and you should do what works for you.
I agree with Jo. Daily weighing works for many of us. If it doesn't work for you, that's fine, but it works for me. The fluctuations don't "freak me out"---I can predict those fluctuations depending on my hydration status, weightlifting schedule, hormonal variations, etc.
The benefits of daily weighing are very individual, but it is helpful for me.
I'm with Midwife and Jo; daily weigh-ins work for me. The fluctuations don't bother me; frankly, I'd rather just know what my weight is than spend all day wondering and worrying about it.
And it forces me to be accountable to myself. I know that not weighing every day would be the first step to gaining it all back. Just like when I stop counting my calories, if I didn't look at the scale every day, I'd be able to lie to myself about how much I am eating and the impact it has on my weight. Then when I do weigh in over my red line, I'd tell myself it was an anomaly; I'm just "retaining water," I don't really weigh that much. Then my weight would creep even higher until the next weigh in (which I'd probably put off for who knows how long--it's easy to "forget" to do something when I don't do it every day). Who knows how much weight I would gain before I'd finally accept that I need to start losing again?
I know that weekly or monthly weigh-ins work great for some folks, but I know myself far too well to think they'd work for me.
I've been weighing pretty much daily since I started maintenance as well, I might cut that back eventually, but at this point it is working for me. I have six days of vacation in Florida in October, next week actually, then four days in the mountains for my anniversary in November - I figure I will measure daily a least until those are over, which then takes me to Christmas, so maybe after the holidays...
Yeah, I'll likely weigh daily forever.
I do like knowing what impacts my weight, so it has been interesting seeing that perspective with the daily weigh in.
But, benchmarkman, if weighing less often works better for you then stick with what works!
Last edited by Shannon in ATL; 10-07-2008 at 11:29 AM.
Reason: typo
Benchmarkman, I'm glad your scale use is working for you. Good job with working towards your goal!
As for me, I, too, am in the group that prefers to weigh every morning. I don't get too crazy about minimal fluctuations. In fact, I give myself a 3 lb window of opportunity before I kick in with each change. I think this is what some of the forum refer to as my "red line".
I would have to admit that some days the scale makes me insane, but I have refused to let myself jump off and on it based upon what time of day it is, etc. However, I think the scale and I are on good terms.
I am mentally preparing myself now for a potential weight gain when I have surgery in early December. I don't consider this an inappropriate thing to do as I don't know how my body is going to react to not being able to exercise as I have done for the past several years. For me, I am preparing for a bit of a gain knowing that I AM strong enough and commited enough to my weight loss and maintenance to continue to lose anything I may gain.
Congrats again on meeting your goal. In the end, what we each have to find is what works for each of us as an individual. Having this group merely allows me to see and consider what others are doing.
I would recommend weekly. It's usually infrequent enough to prevent you from obsessing, but frequent enough to allow you to see if your diet plan is working. It's good to be able to make adjustments if you end up not losing (or gaining) one week.
I agree with everyone else who said do whatever works for you.
When I was losing I weighed every day. Now I'm maintaining, I'm trying to only weigh once a week. On Sundays I have a big roast chicken dinner with gravy and Yorkshire pudding, and I KNOW that on Monday mornings I am always more than I was on Sunday morning. Seeing that on the scale would only depress me.
But if I weigh in once a week and see the scale say the same, or even go down a bit, then that's a good thing.
Help me out I am starting to feel the urge to jump on the scale. My next date with the scale is not until Tuesday. I've been doing so good until today.
On a side not I am considering changing my weigh in goal from once a month to 2 or 3 times a month.
I'm meeting my goal!!!!!
every second week?
"creep" start up for whatever reason, you can catch it early.
