I'm sure everyone on here can relate to me on this one. In my journey to lose weight I step on the scale every morning. I know that you should only weigh yourself once a week, but I always want to know exactly where I am. Alas, I think it is slowly driving me crazy! If I gain even an ounce I re-evaluate everything I did the day before and cut my calories even more which I know is super unhealthy, but I just want to see the numbers on the scale drop faster!!!! Anyone else relate?

I don't know that you should only weigh weekly, but you don't really gain any additional information by weighing daily. Day by day, the numbers just don't mean much. And it looks like you're pretty new at this? People often lose quickly and steadily in the beginning, so you may start seeing a lot more of those bumps along the road as you settle into your routine. They're totally normal, but not that much fun.

I weigh daily. The fluctuations don't drive me too crazy, but they can get to me a bit. But if I'm in a stall, I don't want to miss the day that I finally drop. If I'm losing, seeing it go is fun!

I am a true scale phobic, so I rarely weigh myself; my pants have to be literally falling off before I hop on the scale. If I have not lost I get upset and eat; if I have gained, I get upset and eat........and, if I have lost, I celebrate and binge!

Sadly, I am not kidding.

LOL!! Yes, I can relate! I started weighing daily months ago and it never bothered me until last week when I also started weighing at night to "guess" how much I would weigh in the morning...it got too obsessive for me. I think it's because I'm counting down to my goal so I was getting too tied up in the number on the scale. Remember, it's just a number...go by the way your clothes fit and the way you feel, too. You are not alone.

There is no blanket "should" or "should not" for the entirety of the weight loss community.

Some people weigh daily and take it in stride. Some people weigh weekly, or every couple of days. Some people weigh in only at their doctor's office once a month or two. Some people never weigh at all!

There is no "should".

Either you like to weigh yourself daily and use that information wisely and soundly... or it becomes detrimental to your plans and mental health.

From what you describe, you're closer to the latter. Scale fluctuations are normal, and not all scale fluctuations are FAT gain. Often times you could be losing fat, but there's heavy food going through your system, or water being retained. There are just so many variations that we absolutely cannot assume that all weight fluctuations are a sign that something needs "fixing".

You either need to re-evaluate how you're going to use your daily weighing (maybe you'll make a chart, and over the course of six months marvel at how many little ups and downs there are... and how over many months the downs are more often than the ups) or you need to quit weighing yourself daily.

Lock the scale up for two weeks and focus on goals that have nothing to do with weight. Eating healthier and within your (HEALTHY) range of calories, and trying to get in more activity. Adding in more fruits and vegetables to your day, etc.

Weighing myself daily does that same thing to me as well! It drives me absolutely bonkers. And I know I don't have any self restraint to wait to do it once weekly, so I get on every 2 days. The day I do not weigh myself is the hardest to get through, but I just keep telling myself "I can weigh myself tomorrow. I can weigh myself tomorrow."

I weigh myself daily. I always have throughout my weight-loss journey. It helps keep me on track now that I am 'maintaining' my weight loss.

The minor changes in my weight do not bother me a whit. That's just part of life for me.

However, you seem to be bothered by any minor changes in your weight.

Therefore -

Just throw the silly scale out the window. it is not helping you at all. Get rid of it.

You are obviously one of those people who only should weigh themselves on a weekly, or monthly, or yearly basis.

Losing weight should be a fun thing, not torture.

There is no right or wrong way to weigh yourself. You could weigh after a week and still so no to little loss or even a gain. What does it mean? Does it mean something is wrong? Maybe yes, maybe not? You just can't know short term.

But what isn't good is trying to lose a few ounces every single day and then changing things to make the scale move faster. Weight just doesn't come off nice and smoothly like that.

How long have you been doing this for? I've been dieting for three months and weighing myself for two. I weigh every day, because I find it much easier to pick out the pattern from the zigzag line when I have all the data. I've also had to get used to seeing the line go up occasionally. The important thing is to look at the general pattern, not the day-to-day blips, and also not to panic if sometimes the scales randomly stall for the odd week. (I'm getting a little stall right now, despite impeccable calorie behaviour. Possibly it's because I'm having to eat a lower percentage of fat while they check me out for gallstones, but to be honest I think it's just natural variation and the weight will drop off soon enough.) That's what works for me, though, and as everyone else has said, not everyone works the same here.

The important thing is that you are comfortable and can handle the information you're getting, rather than panicking because of it. Definitely don't start changing your calories every day based on this, because it sounds like you're going to cut them so much you end up hungry and bingeing. You've lost 19lb, you're doing very well indeed.

I'm a daily weigher, too. Mostly out of curiosity. For example, I now know that if I eat pizza, I'm going to see a gain of at least one to two pounds from water retention. Needless to say, I don't eat pizza very often!

I am on WW, so I get an official weekly weigh in. I've found the daily helps me during those weeks when I know I haven't really gained, it's just water retention from too much salt or my monthly cycle.

I don't think daily weigh in's should be used to adjust diet, tho. You'll chase your tail if you continue to do that. Chart it and see what happens over the course of a week, maybe even a month. If the overall trend is down, then you're doing good stuff. If it isn't, then that's the time to adjust.

I agree with everyone else - the only way you 'should' do things is the way they work for you. It seems that daily weighing may not be working for you, though, if it's causing you stress. Remember, the more stressed you are (and I know, trying to lose all this weight can be stressful as heck), the more likely you are to stay the same or even gain. Cortisol is an evil little hormone.

You need to find a way to relax about the scale. Maybe try weighing only once every three days for a bit, see if that makes any difference.

Have you figured out your approximate calorie needs? At a high weight, you can eat a lot more than you think and still lose weight. Cutting calories by a huge amount may make you lose faster, but it can also make you exhausted and cause cravings for high sugar/fat foods. Cut them too much consistently and you may end up gaining weight by putting your body in starvation mode. If you haven't tried it before, here are a couple calorie calculators:
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
http://www.cookingnook.com/calorie-calculator.html

Good luck, and don't let the scale get you down. They're just numbers. What matters most is feeling and looking better.

I started my weight loss journey June 1, 2011 and I have weighed myself every day since.

if you feel you just have to weigh every day, i'd recommend plotting it on a chart. you can find some on line or make your own. although there will still be daily fluctuations, you will see the overall trendline heading downwards and that should hopefully help you feel a little less crazy over every single daily change.

fwiw, I've ended up doing a middle ground when it comes to weigh ins this time. I don't weigh daily because I don't want it to become something that I absoutely HAVE to do and start twitching if I miss a day for some reason. But I also don't want to force myself to wait for a whole week if I want to know sooner. So on days I feel like checking, I get on the scale. On other days, I skip it, knowing I can always check tomorrow if I want to. It has ended up being 3-4 days a week, so it's still a lot, but it still helps me feel like I'm not living and dying by the number on the scale, the way daily weigh ins can sometimes make me feel.

Thanks for all the advice I am going to try to limit myself to once a week (Fridays probably, cause I tend to eat something a little naughty over the weekend) and write it in my weight loss journal so I can see the progression. Seeing I have lost 4lbs since the last time I stepped on the scale may be more encouraging :wink:

SHOULD I WEIGH IN DAILY?
The scale can be your worst enemy or your best friend. When you start a weight loss plan you can have immediate weight loss i.e, water weight, then your weight loss will start to trickle to a 1-2lb a week loss which is healthy weight loss.

Keep in mind that these numbers may fluctuate DAILY depending on exercise, bloating, constipation, etc so the key is not to get discouraged when the scale does not go YOUR WAY -- pay attention to your clothes as well and especially how you feel.


Now for myself, I had to literally put my scale in the trunk of my car when I started changing my eating habits because I knew I was eating healthy and I knew my clothes were fitting better; however, the the scale was not going MY way and it was discouraging -- hence it was my enemy. I feel these are the times we fall apart and stray away from our diet.

So early on, until you are comfortable with your dietary/exercise changes it may not be best to observe these daily changes IF they are dicouraging to you and in hindsight you realize that when the scale doesn't go your way you tend to give up. Once a month, seeing a 4-8lb wt loss (or any loss) may be better than not seeing the scale move at all for a week - which can happen. I am now comfortable with my eating plan after 53 days and the scale no longer discourages me because I know I am eating healthy and I know I look and feel better! -- I choose to suffer the pain of discipline!

LGW
Everyone must suffer 1 of 2 things - the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment -- author unknown