Up until very recently, I always weighed myself only once every 6 - 8 weeks because that way I always saw a loss and the scale never became my enemy. Personally, I think that while actively dieting it is important to focus on inches, the fit of your clothes, and your daily successes -- because in the end, those are the things that REALLY matter. Too many people seem to get so depressed about day-to-day fluctuations of 1/4 lb or whatever. I wanted to keep the scale a positive, motivating tool so I really limited the frequency of my weigh-ins.
HOWEVER, now that I'm down to a normal BMI and easing into maintenence mode, I decided to buy a scale this weekend. I'll now be weighing myself every morning to make sure I stay below 145 lbs -- which is my self-imposed absolute highest allowed weight for the rest of my life. Excluding any possible pregnancies, of course
.
I think the key is not to get obsessive about the numbers. Example, the day I bought my scale (Saturday) I weighed myself kinda for fun -- y'know, new toy to play with
. It was 7pm and I'd just had dinner. I weighed 146 lbs. The day before (at the gym) I'd weighed 143 lbs. Sunday morning and this morning (first thing after waking up and a pee), I weighed 143 lbs. And I bet if I went and weighed myself NOW (7:30pm, right after dinner) I'd be up to 146 lbs again. But it doesn't bother me -- I know what I "really" weigh and I'm realistic about my body's natural daily fluctuations due to food, exercise, water, or whatever.
I think that if weighing yourself daily is causing you grief and turning your attitude sour, then weigh-in less frequently. There's enough stress involved with weightloss already, the scale shouldn't be an added pain in the butt.
By the way -- I purposely bought a cheaper digital scale that DOESN'T do the whole decimal point thing...I don't care about the .2, .7, .3 or whatever. I know a lot of people track their absolute exact weight, but in my opinion -- and FOR ME -- that seems slightly obsessive and could lead to serious heartbreak if I started letting the fact that I gained .2 lbs in 24 hours run my life and/or ruin my day. Just my opinion
. It's not like I'm flying to the moon and NASA needs to know my exact weight down to the milligram so the spaceship will stay on course
.