Is weighing daily bad?
 

a friend just suggested to me that maybe the reason why i havent been loosing weight like i should is because i have been weighing myself daily. could that really be the reason my weight loss seems so slow? i exercise almost daily (about 4 times a week) and eat right. dont drink soda, no sugary stuff. just wondering maybe its a mental thing now =/

well, it could seem slower to you if you're not losing daily or even every other day, but it wouldn't be something that literally slows your weight loss. hopping on the scale doesn't pop calories into your feet. ;)

HAHAHA good point :D

As long as you dont obsess over it....I agee, 4 days might not be enough calorie burning, or/and you also need to see if you're over your calorie needs on a daily or weekly basis...I weigh daily!

I weigh daily and know of several friends that do. I also have a few friends that cant weigh themselves every day. They get all upset if they don't see the numbers go down, then feel like they failed so they binge. If you weigh yourself daily, you just have to keep in mind you're body weight fluxuates, even if you step on the scale the same time every day. So as long as you know you migt see the same or higher number than the day before and don't let it get to you, you should be fine. I only write my weight down once a week so I can see a visual of my progress, but I step on the scale daily to make sure I'm keeping on track.

As for your weight loss seeming slow, perhaps you've hit a plateau. You might need to change up your fitniss routine. If you're doing mostly cardio, throw in some weight training or vice versa.

I personally weigh every day because it gives me better insite into my relationship with my food. I can see better what effects my water weight and a lot more. If you have trouble seeing small numbers without getting discouraged i'd do once a week weigh ins. It really helps to have an accurate digital scale. I got the weight watchers scale at target and it counts to the 0.01 pound. Seeing a few ounce diffrance with an accurate scale really helps!

i do realize that weight fluctuates on a day to day basis. i dont freak at a 2-3 lb weight difference cause i know i didnt eat 17,500 calories in one day HAHA so it isnt real weight gain! but based on the daily weight i plan my meals, exercise, etc. i usually can only workout about 4 days a week because of my husbands work schedule and caring for my 2 1/2 yr old son. i would REALLY love to workout more. the days my husband gets off are the days i go to the apt office gym and workout on the treadmill. (hoping to get a 24 hr gym pass for my birthday:D) otherwise i do DDR for about an hour. i drink lots of water and make sure i do. i can tell when i dont drink enough cause i have poop problems and dont pee as much (sorry tmi but everyone poops =P) it just frustrates me that this weight is going soooo slow! ive lost 20 lbs since February =/ i dont think thats much and would LOVE to see about 1.5-2 lbs loss a week. well let me ask what do you consider official weight for the week? fisrt weigh in of that day, or do you weigh yourself a few times and make sure the scale is correct? i ask because this morning i weighed myself like normal (after morning pee and completely naked) and the scale said 199.2 (then a few seconds later when i ran to get the camera, said 200.6) but idk if i should count that or wait til monday (my NOW official weigh in day) and count it then. i made a chart to put above the scale that does daily weigh ins as well as weekly (official) tysvm for everyone giving tips ^^ i dont know what i would do without yall :hug:

You have lost 30 pounds, beautiful. :hug:

I weigh myself daily... it helps me see fluctuations and helps me to monitor what works and what doesn't for my body. Everyone is different, chickie.

:hug: ^_^ took a long time cause i wasnt serious until a few months ago when i went to the gyno and he TOLD ME i needed to lose weight cause my period stopped for 6 months (long sentence LOL) i guess i just wish the weightloss was more consistent then it is. took about a month to lose 1 lb >.< should have lost that in a week =/

There was a recent review of the literature (that is summarizing the results of many different studies) found that people who weighed most often, lost the most weight. This flies in the face of the common wisdom that says daily weighing is counterproductive (the theory being that the frustration of not seeing dramatic changes from one day to the next will be so severe that you'll be more likely to quit).

The problem with that theory is that it essentially assumes that we're all too stupid to realize that daily results will be smaller than weekly results.

There's also the theory that daily weighing reflects an obsessiveness that could lead to an eating disorder or other mental instability.

Again though you have to assume that most people are too emotionally fragile to use a scale with common sense.


I'm not saying weighing daily (or any specific way) is for everyone, but I think most of us have the common sense and emotional fortitude to weigh any way we want to without problems, and the good sense to recognize and change our pattern if we find it to be a problem. If that's daily, weekly, monthly, never, or every 10 minutes, I think we're all able to find what works best, just by keeping an open mind and being willing to abandon patterns that don't work.

Yeah, if you're so traumatized by the scale that you want to pig out every time you see the number - any number, getting rid of your scale may be a good idea.

It's not how often you use the tool that matters, it's whether or not you're using it in a positive, effective way both mentally and physically. If you decide that because you lost a pound, you can pig out, that's not a healthy way to use the scale (whether you do it every day or once a month).

But if you keep your head, it doesn't matter.

I do the same as 170starting. Mistakes that I make (inhaling a bag of potato chips) show up immediately the next day on the scale for me: 3-4 pounds of water gained. I want to get immediate feedback on what is going on.

But like so many others have noticed, there will be small fluctuations of water moving in and out of your body so daily obsessing over a 1 pound gain isn't good either.

I'm one who weighs daily (occasionally, multiple times in a day), but I only actually track it once a week. I make note of the first weight Saturday morning (post-pee and naked, like so many of you!!). This way I can get a feel for daily behaviors without visually seeing loads of the same number over and over on my tracker... but you can't let it mess with your head!

As to why you're not losing as quickly as you'd like (although you've lost 30lb and that's fantastic!! Slower weight loss is more likely to stay off.) -- here are some things you might want to consider...
1) Do you log/track your actual food intake? If not, try it for a week. For me, I weigh/measure most foods and track calories too. If that seems too involved (and it does take some time), then try just writing down a generic description of your food for a week. You may find that a) you're eating things without really being aware of them OR b) tracking makes you less likely to eat certain foods, cause you don't want to write them down!
2) How long are you exercising? My gym guy told me that for optimal fat-burning, I should be doing some form of cardio (bike, elliptical, walking/jogging) for at least 45 minutes. His explanation was that your body doesn't draw on fat-reserve to fuel itself until its used up all of... something, sorry I can't remember what, but that after like 25 minutes it shifts over to burning the fat... I'm starting to follow this advice this week, so I can't speak to its effectiveness yet!

Hope that helps -- may or may not work for you, but I hope it does!

PS. If you really want some feedback, post a days worth of food intake on the forum -- I'm seen lots of chickies give advice this way!

What kind of scale do you use? For tracking weight loss (especially if you weigh every day) having a consistent scale is very important, even if it's not 100% accurate. I used to have 2 scales (well one was my brother's, but I'd step on it occasionally) and they were like 1.5 lbs off of each other, but they were consistently off. It sounds like your scale isn't consistent enough. You don't gain a lb in a few seconds. I use a Tanita BC554 Ironman Scale and I love it!!

tysvm everyone ^^ i use a health monitor scale thats about 5 yrs old. idk maybe its time i get a new one haha my son always jumps on it after i weigh myself so maybe its broken =( but i sometimes can get consistent results it usually depends on where i place my feet on the scale.

If you're the type of person to want to keep rigid track of your progress, then I think that weighing daily is a good way to keep you focused! If you're like me, though, then it can become a source of stress. I started out weighing daily, but then I'd get discouraged when I didn't see much change, and when I get discouraged I gain weight. You could try weighing only weekly for two weeks and see if there's any significant change.

i dont log my calories or measure i just eat what i feel is right. i do know the correct portions for meat (about the size of your palm and as thick as a deck of cards) i usually eat at dinner two large serving spoons of veggies that were having and one scoop of whatever else were having as the second side. i always eat one serving of protein. normally i will have a banana or 100 calorie cottage cheese doubles (1 serving) after i work out. i always eat cereal in the morning. its either honey and oat blenders with almonds or honey nut cheerios. occasionally on days my husband is off ill have have eggs bacon and maybe a pancake for breakfast. i always make a point of cooking my own meals and try not to eat tv dinners anymore. i dont eat sweets unless im forced to haha and then i make sure i eat the serving suggestion. (basically i dont write down anything but try to keep a mental record of what ive eaten) i also have been upping the things i do around the house. my husbands job used to be to do dishes and now i made it my job =P when i exercise i always make it an hour. i try to sip on water in between songs on the treadmill and on DDR to stay hydrated so i wont retain water as much. i always try to keep moving.

I am just getting on the wagon again and I think that at least in the beginning, I will weigh every day. Helps keep me focused.

Everytime I get on my scale (it's a cheapie), I get a different result. I count only the first time. That is how a doctor's office would do. The important thing is not that you've lost (or gained) in a few minutes/ days/ weeks/ months, but that over the long haul, you are losing weight.

I love that =)

I weigh daily, I have found it really has helped me! I plan on weighing daily for a long time to come.

^^^^^ This times a billion.

I agree with a lot of the ladies! I weigh everyday! But if I miss a day? Eh whatever! As long as it isn't an obsession! I use it to track what foods really make my weight fluctuate!

I'd go nuts....
 

:DI could't handle weighing myself every day. I "gave up dieting" several months ago because I felt like a "failure" if I didn't lose at least two pounds a week (because I had so much to lose). I went to my doctor's office about two weeks ago because I wanted to talk to him about weight loss surgey. Discovered I lost over 50 lbs -- I realized by giving up dieting I also gave up the stress. I had been eating sensibly for several months. Its not for everyone I guess!! Most people feel they need more control. Now I figure I'll weigh myself every other week to keep track of my progress.

You're doing great and seem to have a handle on your scale so I'd keep doing what you're doing! If it ain't broke, dont break it.


Mary :D;) ;)

To answer the question in the title: I think weighing daily is pointless because our bodies doesn't drop that much weight i 24 hours, and even the smallest flunctuation in water/ bathroom visit/ etc can make it seem like you've gained more or lost more than you actually have. Also, there is the emotional component, it seems obsessive to stare at a scale every freaking day.

kaplods, thank you so much for your post in this thread. I've read posts on this very site where people have said that daily weighing is a "bad habit", and I've always vehemently disagreed with that perspective. First, there should be no moral judgment regarding when or how often different individuals step on the scale - weighing yourself is not an inherently unhealthy or negative habit that everyone should "break". Second, everyone is different. For some people, daily weighing is a source of frustration and discouragement, but for many others daily weighing is a tool that helps their weight loss, focus, and committment. I fall firmly in the latter category. As you said, we're all adults and can figure out ourselves whether daily weighing helps or hurts us, and adjust our habits accordingly.

So OP - do what works best for you! :)

I actually spent most of the last 40 years thinking that weighing daily was "bad," or at least obsessive and pointless (but I often did it anyway, and then I just felt guilty about it, and felt frustrated when I didn't see the big losses).

I think it really changed for me about seven or eight years ago, when I started keeping a symptom diary when my health issues were at their worst. We were trying to find a diagnosis (and then later compile evidence for my disability case), and the symptom diary I was using (MemoryMinder) had a space to fill in weight. Because there was a space, I filled it. There was also a space for body temperature, and I took my temperature every day, so I could fill that space too.

Because I wasn't expecting the weight to change (I wasn't focusing on weight loss at the time, as much as symptom control) there was no frustration when the weight didn't change.

I started seeing patterns I wasn't aware of. I knew for example that I gained wieght around TOM, but for the first time I could really pinpoint that the cause was TOM, not TOM hunger/overeating (the weight would appear days before the hunger, and would appear regardless of calorie intake).

I went weigh-in crazy for a while. I would weigh dozens of times a day, and I learned a lot about how my body works. When I weighed myself right before bed, and again first thing in the morning after using the potty, my morning weigh-in was almost always 2-3 lbs lower than the night before.

For a while, I also used the scale to remind me not to binge after an off-plan bite. Getting on the scale was almost like a reset button or at least a worst-case scenario you can't gain more weight from a food than the weight of the food itself. So I couldn't gain a pound from eating a 2 ounce candy bar. Seeing the extra 2 ounces on the scale, helped me not let a 2 ounce candy bar become an all-day binge (so I could "start fresh" the following morning).

Getting on the scale gave me a tangible symbol of "starting fresh."

For a while, I got on the scale every time I went to the bathroom. Before and after every meal...

I wasn't doing it to be obsessive, I was doing it to learn and practice what I'd learned.

When I decided that losing wasn't the only kind of success, that just staying the same was an acheivement worth celebrating, it was a huge moral boost to get on the scale and see the same (or very similar) number.

When only losing was success, I had a lot more opportunities for failure than success. Eventually the failure would overwhelm me, and I'd quit. But when I chose to see "staying the same" as just as much a success as losing, then I got to succeed every day (and more than once a day, if I wanted to).

Succeeding more often than not, turned out to be the secret for me. I truly am never tempted to give up, because I am too proud of the success I am acheiving. Even when I'm not motivated enough to lose weight, I'm almost always motivated enough to keep from gaining. And since only gaining is failing, I only have to commit to not gaining. It's been an easy commitment to make, and I never feel like I'm failing.

Others may see my slow progress as failure, but this is the first time I've ever been on a six-year downward or at least stable trend. I still can hardly believe that I've gone six years without a significant gain (sure I have fluctations, but I've never let a bad weekend become a bad month, and I've never gone off plan long enough to regain).

For me, the daily (and occasionally more often) weigh-in is helping me stay focused. If I had to weigh myself ten times a day for the rest of my life, to stay on track, I would do it. Obsessive or not, I'd weigh as often as I found helpful.

For me, twice a day is usually enough (I love seeing that two pound or more difference in the morning, even when I know it's not always "real" weight loss), but I don't hesitate to weigh as often as I need to. If I slip and getting on the scale helps me remember not to turn the small slip into a huge one, I'm going to get on that scale, and the heck with whether anyone (including me) considers it "obsessive."

I weigh daily or I lose momentum but there is no rigid rule. The only way weighing daily could inhibit weight loss would be if seeing a number you didn't like led to a binge. The mind is the biggest influence on whether we stick to losing weight or not but it cannot influence what the scale reads out.

As to tracking: I record my lowest weight on my ticker as it happens. Provided I've stuck to my Plan, I don't bother to record any little bounces, as these can only be water. On the other hand, if I know I've overeaten and "deserve" the weight gain, I do record it.

I weigh daily then average out my weight on a Sunday. For me, I don't like the idea of the number on Sunday defining a weeks of hard work if I just so happen to be storing more water or something similar. I find that getting the middle number of all the weights I recorded reflects the weight I'm at more accurately than a one off weigh in, then I record it on a chart and keep going!

It seems obsessive to take less than one minute to get on a scale and get off on a daily basis?

Hmmmm.....this is an interesting thread. I am a daily weigher. I don't think it's obsessive to weigh yourself each day and work out which foods, behaviours affect your weight loss. I call it a clever thing to do :)
I can be obsessional about the reading on the scale. I reached goal a few weeks ago, and have been trying to lose 6 more pounds. The scale does not want to oblige and I am (admittedly not for the first time) stressing about the numbers. BUT - I would stress about those if I saw them once a week too. This is a very personal thing, and if you want to weigh yourself daily, then go ahead.

TBH, I never thought about weighing in daily to see how food fluctuates and see what it does to my body - but I am a daily weigher. I guess for me it is a double-edged sword. When I wake up and weigh myself and I weigh less, I feel so motivated to keep going and working hard and when it shows that I've gained or haven't moved at all - it definitely dampers me for a moment but I just keep going and hope for a change by the end of the week.

You may want to think about another scale - a food scale, and some measuring cups. People who eyeball their food tend to underestimate how many calories they are eating. Stuff like cereal, the portion size is actually really small. If you measure out a cup of cereal, it looks like nothing in the bowl. What people pour out as a normal sized bowl of cereal is often 2 or 3 servings from how it's calculated in the nutritional info, and what you may think is a good portion could really be a 500 calories bowl of cereal once you add the milk.

It also depends on how the food is prepared - are the veggies plain and steamed or at they cooked with oil or butter or in a cream sauce or with cheese? Same thing for the other side dishes.

Plus, even if you aren't calorie counting, many people who do count find that they need to cut back on their calories as they lose weight. Even if you aren't counting the calories, what you ate 30 lbs ago and lost weight on may be too much for your new 30-lb smaller body to still lose weight on.

I know this goes beyond the question you asked, but if you concern is that daily weigh ins are making you lose weight too slowly, that is not going to be the case (unless it's because you eat more if the scale doesn't say what you want it to say, of course). Chances are that it's what you are eating that is making the loss go more slowly than you would like. Rule of thumb is that only about 20% of weight loss comes from the exercise part of the equation, 80% comes from what you eat.

I like to weigh myself everyday, but I only started doing that when I got a didn't round up to a whole or half number. When I step on the scale on Monday and I'm at 201.8, it's nice to see that on Tuesday I might be at 200.9, while that isn't an entire pound, it's close and it motivates me.

I think it very much depends on the person and their attitude to it - I have a tendency to be a bit obsessive, so I haven't bought a scale and I plan to weigh in once a month at Boots. (First weigh-in in three days!) I figure it'll stop me fretting over daily fluctuations, and I know I would. I'd rather get a very general view of what's going on than get caught up in the small details.

But some people use it as a tool to get to know and understand their bodies better, and the details are important to them; it's a small time investment to a better understanding of their dieting process.

There's no one right way, I think; it's about deciding what's best for you.

I think it depends where you are in the losing weight process. When I first started I was obsessed with the scale, weighing myself 3-4 times a day, if I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night , I weighed myself. I solved this by locking my scale in the trunk of my car, since I lived in a 3rd floor apartment I at least thought about it before going down to bring it back to weigh myself. I settled down to about 2-3 times a week. BUT NOW I am at goal and I do weigh every day, once a day. I post my daily weight on my calendar so I can see at an instant if there is a trend develping, either up or down..

What a great idea! Takes all of the pressure off that "one instance" when you weigh yourself. And, I truely believe the overall trend is what is imporant anyway.

Even if I were to get on the scale 20 or more times a day, I would still spend far more time daily on any ONE of the following: brushing my teeth, flossing, using mouth wash, washing my face, combing my hair, putting on makeup and deodorant, plucking my eyebrows, shaving, showering, cleaning my glasses... but no one has ever told me that my personal hygeine or beauty regimen is obsessive.

I spend tons more time checking my watch than my weight and my weight is a lot more important than the time. I'm not checking it to see whether or not I've lost 10 lbs? I'm just checking because adding it to my routine has value for me.

It's no stranger than checking the time, the weather, or performing thousands of tasks people do on a daily basis without ever being accused of being obsessive.


I find this the funniest argument against weighing daily. Of all the things that can be considered an obsession, anything that takes less than a full minute (and heck you can weigh yourself at least 20 times in a minute), hardly qualifies as obsessive.

when I was losing weight, I weighed twice a day...even tho I know the scale would not show much changes some days, the practice kept me accountable. If you find something that keeps you accountable then I would say stick with it...I doubt that weighing yourself everyday is contributing to weight loss...you should be careful however not to get complacent and keep on your routine. Remember that you might have to change up your weight loss routine sometimes..good luck on your journey

If you actually read my post you would have read that's my opinion.

And she was stating hers.

And I am stating mine. Sadly viewing daily weigh-ins as obsessive or crazy or stupid or pointless is extremely common. So common that many of us have felt guilty or crazy for weighing more than once a week (or once a month, or whatever common wisdom decided was the exactly appropriate frequency of using the scale).

And yet, no one says "You brush your teeth every day? More than once a day? Wow, that's obsessive!"

"You wash your hands and look in the mirror EVERY time you go to the bathroom, Wow" that's obsessive!

You wear a watch and look at it several times a day? That's obsessive!

I do find it interesting that weighing daily is so often considered so strangely excessive. When I weighed less frequently, I spent tons more time thinking and worrying about my weight. Wondering how every bite, every bit of exercise was going to affect the next weigh-in. Now, I spend a lot less time thinking about it. If I'm curious, I don't wonder and worry, I check. Thought, action, over and done in 5 seconds. Quicker than washing my hands, combing my hair, or putting on lipstick. I've probably freed up an hour a week just by weighing once or twice a day. Even at 20 times a day, I'd still consider it a bargain.