Posted by Steve in weight loss tips | 35 Comments
When Is The Best Time To Weigh Yourself
I have always been a big supporter of the “Once a Week” rule for weighing yourself. But over the last couple of months I have somewhat changed my opinion on that.
I used to think that weighing yourself anymore than that was borderline obsessive. Now I weight myself everyday. Weekdays, weekends or holidays it doesn’t matter, I weigh myself.
The reason I made the change was that I was getting discouraged at not seeing any progress on the scale, even though I was eating properly (most of the time) and exercising regularly.
Consistency is key
It’s important to make sure that you weigh yourself at roughly the same time and place everyday. I do it right after I wake up, in my bathroom. You can do this whenever and where ever you like at home, work or the gym. I’ve found that early in the morning is when I am at my lightest though.
If my weight is a little higher than the previous day, I know I’ve got some work to do. Either tighten up the diet or increase the intensity or length of the workout that day. By weighing myself daily I can make the adjustments sooner in order to keep me on the right track.
Write It Down
I keep track of not only my weight but my body fat% and BMI as well. This is all calculated on my digital scale. Although there is some debate on the accuracy of this type of scale. I think that it’s more important that they are consistent than they are accurate. (i.e if I’m off by 2 percent I’m always off by 2 percent).
I track all of this on a spreadsheet and create my own charts. It’s really interesting to see the charts go down on the weekdays and rise on the weekends. It gives me something to look back at and see the progress I’ve made (or lack there of at times) as I work towards hitting my ideal weight.
How often do you weigh yourself if at all?
If you like this post please feel free to Stumble, Digg etc… using the bookmark this tool below
First thing every morning!
[Reply]
Andrew, are you not doing it too often? I do so once in a week and that is efficient enough to check all the performance so far. Weighing too much always indulge me in big worries.
[Reply]
can i do that
[Reply]
Wow… thats weighing yourself often… I have to say though, when I had scales in my bathroom, I stepped on them every day too. Its quite interesting I think – as long as you’re aware that it could possibly become obsessive! You know, if you go up a bit, don’t get obsessed by that fact and panic to get it back down! If I had scales where I’m living I’d probably weigh myself almost every day too – but right now I have no idea of my weight – and I’m not bothered by that heh…:)
[Reply]
I don’t wiegh myself so often i am a bit overweight and so at times get freeked if even a pound increases, but i try doing it in a week to keep a check of it
[Reply]
@ Mckenna,Tom and Andrew
I thought that I would get obsessed about it as well, but I’ve built it into my routine so it’s now just a part of my day.
I understand that your weight fluctuates during the day and the week but if you do it at the same time and place everyday it really cuts down on the variables (food, exercise and bathroom stuff.
Keeping track is the best part because over time you can see the gradual decline of your weight, rather than what looks like a sudden jump up and down as you do when you weight in weekly.
Mckenna no scale, really?
[Reply]
Seldom to weigh. But when I feel my body heavy, I usually increase my exercise plans by doing more home and office activities. About diet, I am not having a large portion of meal at once, but having small portion at our dining time, but 3 up to 5 times to have meal in a day.
[Reply]
i dont get it- if you weigh every day, or if you weigh once a week, you are still going to come in at the same weight if you didnt weigh those days in between. your weight fluctuates about 5 pounds a day…i would think weighing every day would be discouraging.
[Reply]
The biggest benefit from weighing yourself everyday is that it keeps you in check. You know what your weight is and can react sooner if you notice a few days of consecutive gains.
It’s true that your body weight fluctuates throughout the day. That’s why it important to be consistent in when, where and how you weigh yourself.
For Example:
Say that your weighing yourself weekly and on Monday you show that for the previous week you’ve lost 3 lbs.
That’s great news and maybe this week you start to ease up a bit with your food intake and don’t push yourself as hard with your exercise. You say hey don’t worry about it, I lost 3 pounds last week I’ll be fine.
Come Monday you step on the scale and it shows a 2 pound gain. How discouraging is that?
My point is that if you were aware that you were steadily gaining during the week you might have been able to use it as motivation to tighten up the diet and put in a bit more effort during your workouts.
I understand that in many cases it’s not as cut and dry as this but I’ve gone through the cycle many times. I know a lot of other people that have experienced the same thing as well.
If you have already reached you goal and are just trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, maybe weighing yourself daily isn’t that big a deal.
But if you are seriously trying to get down to a certain weight it’s really important to stay focused on that goal. That’s where the daily weigh in’s can help you.
I hope that clears it up a bit and gets my point across, if you managed to read it all
Thanks for the comment
[Reply]
In my personal opinion, it is always best to not way yourself all the time – the same way that I don’t frequently look at the clock when I’m on the treadmill. For me every three days is decent, when you know that what you’re doing has made a difference. Checking your weight too frequently I think can bring more anxiety.
[Reply]
I am a numbers type of guy. Also I get bored sometimes while I am brushing my teeth. Our scale is in the bathroom, so it is really more out of habit that I weigh myself. Great post and I love the blog.
[Reply]
I can understand why you would check your weight everyday to make sure that you are continuing to lose weight and not gaining. If you start to see a difference in your weight or weight gain, then you can prevent your weight from increasing more by changing up your exercise routine or increasing it.
[Reply]
You know one word “awareness”? If we can know about ourselves then there is nothing better. If i can, I shall do it after each hour.
[Reply]
Hi Steve,
and I’ve just started.
Just to let you know I have just create a blog similar to yours and I have passed by the same problems that you had/have, the only difference it’s that I’m way overweight than you
Right now I have 380 lbs, but in my best days I was 210 lbs since I’m 6.2″ I was in very good shape.
It’s very funny because I’ve just wrote a post on my blog about the scale if it’s your enemy or ally but that it’s another story. I believe it’s better to weight myself everyday because I can have a close track of what’s working or not but also it’s important to take your measurements because sometimes you don’t lose weight but you lose inches because muscle is heavier than fat. I will start to check closely your site, it looks very interesting.
[Reply]
Why people don’t do so? That always have machines, time, and of course their bodies. Do we afraid if that? I weigh myself daily without any fear and obviously it is very helping. I think everyday after wakening up, toilet is the best place to do so.
[Reply]
Hi steve: I think it’s interesting that you weigh every day, when most so called ‘experts’ will tell you that’s too often. I think (personally) that women especially should avoid daily weighing. Those fluctuating monthly hormones can add up to 5 pounds of fluid at certain times.
I weigh once weekly.
At any rate, you’ve got some really great info here. Would you consider adding your blog to the Be NAturally Well community?
My readers deserve to find you.
Here’s the link if you would like to be a part of this new community.
http://www.benaturallywell.com/blog/add-your-blog/
Many Blessings, and keep up the inspiring stories!
Shelley
[Reply]
When I was balanced and healthy, I never weighted myself even once in an year but now I am getting older and I have to weigh myself daily because i am diabetic. I am not sure when I would gain or loose weight so my DOC advised me to do so daily and write it on a chart.
[Reply]
Shelly, Thanks for sharing that tip. I shall share it with my wife because she weigh herself daily and working on some diet chart. Perhaps she wouldn’t know that. I hope that she should know that what is that specific time(being as a woman).
[Reply]
When I diet I always weigh myself every morning. I use it as encouragement when I lose weight and I use it for motivation when I gain weight.
The most important thing though is to make sure your clothes fit better, weight is just a number. Even at my most fit, when I was in really good shape, I always weighed “more than I should” because different people carry weight differently.
[Reply]
There is no hard and fast rule to weigh myself. I still can feel that if i have gained or lost the weight. It is pretty easy. Weighing ourselves daily is just like a weight gain phobia and I shall restrain myself to weight once in a week. It helps to diagnose that what is going to happen as a whole.
[Reply]
I weigh myself everyday after taking a bath. It has become a habit of sorts
[Reply]
First thing after going to the toilet I would think would be the most accurate base mark for tracking progression.
Andy
Fitness Uncovered
[Reply]
I agree, while dieting I am waking up, using the rest room, then weighing myself. That’s a good baseline for your natural weight. You have not eaten anything yet, and you have got rid of any left overs.
[Reply]
I agree. Weighing yourself once a day is ok. However, more than once a day will discourage you because your weight generally fluctuates during the day. Especially for women. Sometimes it goes up to 5 pounds even if you didn’t eat anything heavy at all. Seeing those numbers can really get you down
But don’t give up! You’ll get a break one day!
[Reply]
I think there’s a medium between people who say you should weight once a week and those who say everyday.
For me, I think 2-3 times is better–because I can monitor what’s happening without stepping on the scale everyday. I understand Steve’s point and I see how that can work for many (including me).
However, for some, this is a bad strategy. It comes down to personalities, and some people will just freak out and gain more weight. As a woman, I often find ladies that weight themselves everyday are annoying and often times they make worst decisions (not all women of course).
I also say, ‘don’t knock it till you try it.’ A few months ago, I read an article similar to what Steve is saying, and when I started trying it—I realized I wanted to weight in more often. For me, it’s not an obsessive thing–because it’s just a number that helps me understand if I’m gaining or losing weight. Further than that, the numbers are not that important because as many mentioned—it changes throughout the day. What’s more important is how you feel, how your clothes fit, and so on.
I hope this helps both ends of the argument.
[Reply]
I am a 40 year old male and am on the path to getting healthy and fit again. I am very much a numbers person and am closely tracking my food intake, exercise levels, weight and body fat (using electronic scale) on a daily basis. It works for me to understand how my weight is fluctuating based primarily on the food intake differences to allow me to better adjust my dietary needs. I agree that some people may get discouraged if they monitor their weight too frequently, particularly if they have just gained a pound or two (depending on the circumstances). I feel the bottom line is that you need to understand that your body weight will fluctuate for many reasons, but if you are looking to make positive changes in your life, more information (i.e. regular measurements) can be a very helpful thing.
[Reply]
I do it once a week during the my daily walk and I think this is the best time. I have been doing it since an year and have no problems.
[Reply]
I think weighing myself everday has helped me on my path to being healthier. i have lost 25 lbs in 2 months, I eat right and exercise everday. I Keep my weight loss within 2-3 Lbs a week and anymore or less i need to adjust my schedule.I was 275lbs and now I’m 250
[Reply]
Everyday at the same time. I wake up, I do what I ever I have to do in the bathroom and then I weigh myself.
I’ve lost over 100 pounds and am currently in a maintenance mode. I keep my weight between 182 and 186.
When I was losing the weight I was weighing myself twice a day. Right before bed and first thing in the morning. I have a nicer type scale with a decimal point so I could see that I lost, for example, 2.3 pounds over night.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with checking your weight daily and consistently as long as you are actually engaged in some kind of fitness goal.
If you are overweight, doing nothing about it, not changing your eating habits… then the scale would be a daily downer.
[Reply]
I started my diet 6 weeks ago and have lost 21 lbs in 6 weeks. I just got sensible about what I eat. I weigh in 3 times a day; AM, PM and before bed. I have the most confidence in the morning weight. I don’t obsess about it when my weight goes up and down; I’m just a “numbers” guy. I see results or set backs as a way to monitor what’s going on. I’m sure that as time goes on I will weigh in less often. If I see a spike, it will help me tweak things. Congrats Oden, I started at 243.5 and weighed in this morning at 222.4. You are at my goal weight and my hero. I welcome serious dieters who can offer encouragement and share stories to email me at duckbashers@yahoo.com. Thanks all, and keep it up.
[Reply]
I have a question: Since I started dieting, I have been consuming around 1500 calories a day. Since I was 315 lbs when I started (5′11′) , I lost 38 lbs in 2 months. I have been weighing- in once a week first thing in the morning. sometimes, I’d go down 4lbs, sometimes 3lbs, and this week 1.8 lbs. The only thing that puzzles me is that I have been VERY loyal to my diet. Is there something that I don’t get about weight loss? I personally would lose hope if I weighed-in everyday. The reason for that is that I am determined to dwell on my diet, rain or shine. Is it normal to have very varying weekly weight loss figures?
[Reply]
I used to weigh myself every day. But now I don’t as it fluctuated so much each day. I probably now weigh myself once a week or so just out of interest.
[Reply]
stephen Reply:
April 20th, 2010 at 7:33 am
I am also watching my fludid intake but I have the same kind of problem as Jenny and it drives me nuts. I can do my weight at 5:45 then around 9 and I am 4 lbs. lighter.
[Reply]
This just made me think about when I used to play basketball in college and would weight myself before and after I would play. After 3 hours or so of play I’d drop 6-8 pounds of water.
[Reply]
Steve Reply:
April 28th, 2010 at 12:07 am
I play ball every Wednesday and out of curiousity I weighed myself before and after last week.
I was down 3 pounds, all water but still.
[Reply]