Got a new scale & compulsive about weighing

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  • I have heard ...
    Do not weigh more than once a week
    It is good to weigh at the same time everyday it keeps you accountable.
    Who is right?
    I love to see my daily progress and also when I screw up.
    I so love this scale and in the past I was allergic to them.
    Any comments?
    Can a girl become addicted to her scale?

    Thanks
    Wendyinnm (no snow )
  • It isn't the weighing that's the issue, it's how you take the numbers.

    Personally I'd rather weigh every day so that I can start to understand fluctuations and not get wound up by them. Weighing every day I understand that my weight doesn't necessarily stay static, and I learn not to be upset if I go up suddenly for no apparent reason as I know it will probably come off within the week. If I was weighing weekly I'd never know whether I'd caught my weight on a low day, a high day or an average day.

    That said, even though I weigh every week day (I don't go to the gym where the scale is at weekends), it's a lot easier to take a longer term view of the numbers. So you get used to the daily fluctuations but you see the monthly downward trend.

    If you're going to get wound up in an "oh my god I gained 4lb in 24 hours" sort of way, then maybe weighing every day isn't for you, but if you take a more realistic view of what the numbers mean then it's not so bad.

    For me, weighing every morning starts the day off by reminding me exactly why I'm doing this. The scale might be 169 tomorrow, or 168 or 170. But I know that it won't be 260, and that's the only thing that matters really.
  • The right way is the way that works for you.

    I can't weigh everyday, in fact once a week annoys me as well, so I tend to weigh when I feel like it! I use my clothes a lot as a measure, if I feel my clothes getting loose I'll jump on the scales.

    Some people find scales motivating and do it every day, if that works for you, do it!
  • I weigh every day at home in the morning and also whenever I'm at the gym (usually 4-5 times/week). Like Helen, I like knowing what's happening -- the 2-3 pound fluctuations don't hit me as hard as they would if I were only weighing once a week. I tend to pay attention mostly to the "new lows".

    Like Kykaree says, whatever works for you .

    I did read something somewhere in one of the forums about the majority of long term maintainers weighing themselves daily (if I remember correctly, it was about 70 or 80%). That made me feel better about my compulsive data habit .
  • Thanks to all ! I am a pretty positive gal so I take the lb up or down with a grain of salt (only gourmet sea salt )
    I will continue weighing in each day because it helps keep me accountable.
    I do appreciate all of your responses.
    Thanks
    Ciao
    Wendy
  • Ha, me too
    I thought that I was the only one with this problem.
    I just have to convince myself that going up and down 1 or 2 pounds every now and then is ok...its the long term weigh in that counts.
    -CK
  • I'm a new person here- but I can definitely relate to this one!
    I weigh myself everyday, and even though I keep saying I'm only going to weigh myself once a week, I can't stick to it. I understand that weight is variable, but it still kills me when i see 150 on the scale one day, then 152 the next!
  • Almost Daily
    I weigh myself every other day or so. I am too paranoid to weigh in only once a week since my pattern used to be that I'd lose 5-8lbs then feel so good about myself that I'd forget to watch my portions and slough off on the exercise and find that weight creeping back up.

    I feel more in control of myself by stepping on that scale. I don't overrefine upon the small weight fluctuations, but if I see a sustained increase over a few days, then I carefully look at my diet for any of those sneaky excess calories that tend to creep in from time to time.

    It may seem excessive, but it's been working for me and I intend to make my every other day weigh-ins a permanent part of my life.

    Regards,

    ~Silvervixen
  • I officially weigh myself every week...but I do weigh every day just to see how my progress is doing, but like the others I understand if the weight goes up and down throughout the week...I am just too curious to wait for a whole week to weigh myself....I also have two scales I have a digital and a non-digital to make sure I get an accurate reading...
  • If you can weigh yourself without having the numbers tell you how to feel, then go for it.

    I don't know anyone who can do that though... I personally find it a trigger and would rather not set myself up that way. I think it's best to weigh once a week, same time to get the most accurate reading. Our weight fluctuates so much on a daily basis, so maybe it's not really accurate when you do it every day?

    And what happens when you start doing it more than once per day? I find it, for myself, too dangerous.
  • I feel the same as most of you regarding weighing in. If it doesn't emotionally effect us when we go up in weight I think it is healthy to weigh in daily.
    I did weigh myself throughout the day when my scale first arrived. I bought the WW BMI body fat hydration scale from HSN. It was interesting to see how throughout the day my weight was. That was the only time I did that!
    Today I OFFICIALLY weighed in at LAWeightloss. I gained 1 lb back. I contributed that to two things. I have not pooped this morning LOL and I cooked Kale for the first time last night. My husband tried it raw(not a good thing) I told him I can make anything taste great! Well... I somehow oversalted (sea salt) and it was almost too salty to eat. I am not a big salt person. I ate it because it is a power food (kale not salt) and because I worked so hard on making it great tasting.
    Suggestions on getting this salt out of my system???
    thanks!
    wendyinnm
  • weighing in
    When I quit weighing every day I lost control. I also go by how the clothes fit and when they started to give me fits I got back on the wagon. Weighing in again was hard but after I faced the music things are better. Been OP for 10 days now and the clothes already feel better. A ways to go but getting there
  • Wow! Congrats, Jellybean on facing the weight gain, and persevering!!


    I pretty much have to weigh every day for the same reasons--I didn't over the holidays, and put on 10 lbs (over the course of a month). I noticed my clothes weren't fitting right, but blamed it on the dryer. . .and avoided weighing myself because I knew it would be ugly!!

    Weighing in every day helps me be accountable. I do it in the morning, so if the scale goes up I am extra focused that day. That's as far as I go though, because I do tend to naturally fluctuate some throughout the month. So, I think weighing in every day is good as long as you are comfortable with the fact the scale may move oddly sometimes.
  • I weigh myself every day, when I get up. I go to the bathroom first (every ounce counts!!) and I try to make sure that I wear the same thing. Is this too freaky? Jeans weigh an awful lot!!
  • I only weigh myself once a week because I DO get compulsive about the weighing and have irrational reactions to natural fluctuations in my weight. My doctor recommends only weighing once a week when I'm actively losing, and every day once I get to the maintenance stage. I think it's an individual decision based on your own comfort level.