I lost 8.5 pounds the first week on induction. Then it took another 10/11 days before I lost some more weight - 2.5 pounds. After that I decided it was to frustrating to watch my weight go up and down by a pound so I figured I would weigh myself weekly instead. So I weighed in today and of course have lost nothing. Now I'm wondering if I should have kept track daily, I might have pushed myself harder during the week if I'd known I wasn't losing.

I am very good with tracking what I eat, I have a postage scale that keeps tabs on the ounces. I track in fitday and try to keep my carbs to about 20 per day. Sometimes I go over but not that much. The calories are usually under 1500, averaging about 1300 most days. So I think my diet is fine, i.e. I'm not cheating etc and I don't want to eat less. The only improvement might be in increasing my exercise. I've been trying to get at least 40 minutes in - 5 days a week.

My question is this: how many of you weigh daily or weigh weekly? Do you find it's easier on you mentally to do it once a week or do you find it more motivating to weigh everyday? What I mean is if I thought I was going to drop a pound I might be motivated to do an extra-long workout that day in the hopes that the pound would stay lost instead of creeping back on the scale the next day.

Does this work for anyone or is it a case of pointless futility? It's pretty frustrating watching the scale go up and down but then it's also discouraging seeing it not budge after a whole week - thinking you're going to lose and then you don't. I really don't know which is worse.

Any input muchly appreciated

what is your % of fat? your calories seem kind of low actually, for me when i am about 10x my weight in calories and 70-80% fat i lose better.. but everyone is different, i sometimes weigh daily, it depends on my mood hehehe well good luck to you =)

barbara

When I first started this WOL, I was guilty of weighing every morning. But I discovered that this is a long term commitment to myself and my good health. So, I weigh once per week now and document the loss. I no longer feel the intense need to constantly know exactly how much I weigh. I guess I have moved beyond that.

Good Luck to you!

At the beginning, I was careful to weigh myself once a week, because I knew otherwise I'd get obsessed about how much I weighed every day. I know that the daily fluxuations aren't all that meaningful -- it is the trend that counts, not the daily (or even weekly) ups and downs, since those can be nothing more than water retention and (not to be too indelicate about it) how recently you've had a bowel movement. (Have you ever weighed yourself before and after, when you've had a very full bladder or had a very large BM? -- it's amazing to me how much I can hold!) For that matter, even just a few hours can make a big difference; just out of curiosity, I've weighed myself when I woke up at 6:00 to use the bathroom, then again when I get up for the day at around 8:00, and seen as much as a full pound difference.

The way I look at it, the more often you get on the scale, the more likely you are to have some gains in there. The less often -- provided you follow a proper eating plan, etc -- the more likely you are to see the scale go down at least a little each time you get on. Some people only weigh in once a month or so, pretty much guaranteeing that they'll have a loss of some amount every time they get on the scale. Some almost never weigh themselves -- they keep track of inches instead, which may actually be a better indicator.

Most importantly, you need to track success by how you feel and how you are eating, and trust those things more than the scale.

Having said all that. . .

Right now I'm weighing myself every morning. I started doing that when someone posted a 10 pound challenge -- how long it would take each of us to lose 10 pounds -- but I'm kind of having fun with it, as long as I don't obsess about those days when the scale shows an increase. Right now, I'm curious to see if I can detect any particular pattern -- like a slight gain after a certain amount of loss, or anything like that. (I'd be curious about the trend WRT to my TOM -- but being past menopause, that is no longer an issue!) Since I am NOT finding weighing once a day discouraging, I'm going to continue that for now. If I start to find it discouraging -- or start relying too much of the scale to measure success rather than knowing how I feel and paying attention to what I eat -- then I'll stop.

I weigh daily, but I "count" it only on Mondays. I want to observe weight trends, so I do it every day. I think that's healthier than my previous method of going years without checking it, because I knew it would be bad news.

I weigh because I want to measure, and I never want to forget what I'm measuring. Others' mileage may vary.

I, too, weigh daily. I track it on Fitday, that way I can see trends, and look for where I had good losses and bad gains and see what I ate and try to repeat it (or avoid where the case may be). I found that I personally have to stay away from the LC Ice creams because they cause such grief -- a six pound gain in a week. Since quitting the ice cream, I have lose 8.4 pounds. I wouldn't have known where and when to look had I only been weighing-in every month, or week for that matter. I just like to know where I stand.

I'd suggest stay off the scale. Weighing weekly is plenty and will help avoid daily bounce frustration.

It's also true that no matter how consistent you are with the way you eat, your body will let go of weight when it's ready. Had a whoosh yet? I know I can maintain the same weight for 2-3 weeks, no change in menus and then one day I'm 3-5 pounds lighter, virtually overnight. Other weeks I lose 1-2 pounds and that can go on for several weeks. As long as the trend is down, I'm happy and it's not a race.

Good luck!

I think it is whatever works for you. I weigh every morning and each night (I can almost always tell what my morning weight will be because I go down 2.5 to 3 lbs overnight). Looking at the scale each day doesn't stress or bother me, I like to track the small changes. Lots of people suggest just once a week to take away some of the fluctuations that happen. I think it depends on your mind set and how you react to the scale. Good luck and have fun lc.

Marie

I weight every morning when I first get up...then again before I get dressed (after my morning coffee I weigh less for some reason)

I also find myself weighing no matter what time of the day it is if I happen to be in the bathroom naked

I got to over 350 pounds while avoiding the scaled and I vowed I will never make that mistake again! Unless I am traveling, I weigh every day. The small fluctuations don't bother me, but if I see an upward fluctuation of three pounds or more it usually indicates that I am doing something wrong -- probably some hidden carbs or calories I was not aware of.

Different things work for different people, so I don't think there is one right answer to this question. Some people are really bothered if they get on the scale and it is up a pound or two from the previous day. If that is true of you, then weighing less frequently is probably better.

Totally agree. I need to weigh a lot to help me stay atop it. I don't take it badly if I weigh more on a particular day, and I don't celebrate a 3 pound loss in a single day. I realize that at 276 pounds, fluctuations of that amount are meaningless. Only the trend is meaningful. However, I do like to observe where it's going on a daily basis. It helps me to focus.

Good information here! The hubby and I both weighed, took measurements, and pictures, and were trying to decide whether to do that weekly or monthly. I am afraid if I did it daily, I would get caught up in the numbers. I see a lot of you are doing Atkins.....do you do the Ketostix daily also? We thought about doing those daily and weighing weekly but will probably adjust what works over time. My big goal will be going down a clothes size !

I find that weighing myself once a week and recording that weight really works for me. It keeps me accountable and helps me look at trends. I weigh every Monday come hell or high water and record that weight here and on fitday. It is better for me not to weigh every day because I fret about it no matter how hard I try to talk myself out of being that way. I am really much calmer and less obsessive if I keep it to once a week. Although, I often break down and weigh myself during the week, I am working on eliminating that habit.

I do agree with some of the other posters about regular weigh ins being important to us TDCers. When I didn't want to know how much I weighed I just never weighed myself. It made it easier to ignore. Now I weigh myself once a week and post my weight whether it is up, down, or the same. Facing it is important . Orchid

I weigh every day I am at work and it just about killed me to be home for 2 weeks. If I lose this job, I will have to buy a very accurate scale because I would get annoyed with one that weighed differently every time you get on it.

I agree with the others who stay off the scale when they know they are gaining - that behaviour is not one bit of help in the long run!

Hi,

I weigh every day in the morning. It doesn't bother me to see a little fluctuation, as what I compare is just a glance up above on the chart that I keep, to a couple of weeks prior. I usually am able to look back a couple of weeks and go, "hey, that is great" and then I go get on my exercise bike. What I mean is that I am comparing the weights week to week, not day to day.

I do keep weighing myself daily, to make sure that I don't rapidly rise in weight for an unknown reason, but it's just a check. Something I do to make it easier to catch a mistake. marty