Sorry if this has been mentioned before, but I am having issues with weighing myself. I am on a new journey and I'm excited about losing weight. So, I like to stop by the scale daily and check it out. I know, I know... not a good idea. Well, it seems that I fluctuate 3-4 pounds a day?!? Why is that? I just get a little discouraged, so I am going to stop. Just wondering if this happens to others and maybe if you know why it happens. Thanks a million! ~aholden

Good morning, Aholden! I'm so glad you're excited about this new journey! It's a fun ride, even though it gets bumpy at times!

As far as weighing, it's really personal preference, I think. Do whatever causes you less stress. Some people weigh daily (I'm one) because they like to see trends in the making, good or bad. They've accepted that there WILL be daily fluctuations, and so don't get totally flustered by them. I've read one's body weight can fluctuate up to 6 pounds in a single day (as in your morning reading vs your evening reading).

Other people weigh weekly. Daily weighing and fluctuations throw them for a loop, so they limit themselves to once a week.

Some people even weigh monthly.

Lots of things can affect your weight -- activity, water retention, TOM, sodium...

The key is consistancy. Try to weigh at the same time, on the same scale, wearing (or not wearing) the same clothes. That way, you can see how the trend is going. If you see a trend you don't like developing over time (not just 24 hours), then you can try to address it. There are lots of folks here who'll be glad to help out!

Again, !

If you weigh in daily, and see a gain, it could be water weight, pms.. sodium.. don't get bummed.. I did this last week and had a loss the next day..

I weigh usu. 2-3 times a day if I remember to. It's very entertaining. In the space of 20 minutes I can gain 2 lbs without eating/drinking or going to the restroom or anything. I am usu. lower in the mornings (combination of fasting AND dehydration, so I don't think morning weight is any more accurate than evening weight), and I'm usually 2 lbs heavier at the end of the day. This can vary per person, it's just for me a 2 lb difference but for some it will be greater. One time I weighed before I used the bathroom, weighed again and somehow gained 2 lbs. About a half hour later I came back and had lost that 2 lbs again. Try not to take any gain OR loss too seriously until you see it repeated over the course of several days. You'll have to learn what natural wiggle room your body has and go from there. I find it's much easier to focus on my eating and exercise, I know the scale will follow if those two are in line.

It's also cool that last night's high was last week's low!

Thanks to you all for your replies. I started a FitDay journal today. I just don't want to get discouraged this early on in the game. Thanks for this website and all of your support. I find myself checking in about every hour to see what is new. You guys are SUPER! Thanks a MILLON!

i find that i am a daily weigher. i always weigh in the morning when i get up and go to the restroom. i weigh with nothing on my my undies. weight does flucuate from hour to hour and even day to day. last week on friday morning, i weighed in at 177. after the cardio class i took that night, by sunday, i weighed in at 181. i gained 4 pounds in fluids. by monday, the weight started coming back down. this morning, i am soooooo happy to report i was back at 177.0. now, if i can just get it to move down to 176 by friday mornings weigh in.

Actually, your weight does fluctuate between 3 and 4 pounds a day. Soooo....if you rely completely on your scale to gauge your success, you may just want to do it once per day. I do it twice, once in the morning and once in the evening. But the only one I count is the WW scale on Friday morning.

I am the type that gets too frustrated to weigh daily. I weigh every Saturday morning on the same scale after I get up and go to bathroom. Weigh in my undies only, figure my Nightgown might way 5 lbs. lol. Good Luck on your weight loss journey and new lifestyle