to weigh or not to weigh?

[love777]

Ok so i have always been one to weigh myself every morning.
I have read this helps some keep on track. And that is how I have felt.
If i lose i get motivated
If I stay the same I know what I ate won't me lose or gain
If I gain then I try to find out what made me gain so i can not eat it again.

I want to keep doing thiz but i am afraid that since I am trying to be really strict that i may get discouraged if I don't see the scale moving . What is your thoughts on weighing each day?

[Peytonn]

Re: to weigh or not to weigh?

I've done it both ways.. but now I weigh every day... I'd get too anxious sometimes waiting for the 'weigh day'... and then if it was 4 days until weigh day... I'd think.. hmmm.. i can eat more today and do better tomorrow....

so now.. I'm TRYING to hold myself accountable every day.... but you have to factor in the weight stuff associated with TOM/water/salt/etc.. and not let that discourage you .. (if you drink a gallon of water and go weigh immediately... you WILL weigh 7+ pounds more.. but it's not real 'weight'... ).. that kind of thing....

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: to weigh or not to weigh?

Right--I use the scale as an accountability tool, but it can be a two-edged sword. I just try to remember that these are the eating habits I want to have forever, so if the scale doesn't move, I am still enjoying much milder mood swings, no depression, no belly aches from eating food that is hurting my system, etc. Eventually I will lose as much as my body wants to, so I don't worry too much. However, if I begin gaining, I'll know that perhaps I need to adjust what I'm eating.

[not2late]

Re: to weigh or not to weigh?

Ok so i have always been one to weigh myself every morning.
I have read this helps some keep on track. And that is how I have felt.
If i lose i get motivated
If I stay the same I know what I ate won't me lose or gain
If I gain then I try to find out what made me gain so i can not eat it again.

I want to keep doing thiz but i am afraid that since I am trying to be really strict that i may get discouraged if I don't see the scale moving . What is your thoughts on weighing each day?

I think it really depends on the person. Some people get motivated when the see the scale move down. Some people get depressed if the scale doesn't move or goes up a pound or two.

I'm not sure if you can base your loss or non-loss solely on what food you ate. For example, if you eat the exact same menu on Day 1, and you lose a pound, and eat it again on Day 2, but don't lose anything, I don't know how you will be able to interpret that result.

[CalicoPrairie]

Re: to weigh or not to weigh?

Right Megs---i was speaking more in terms of when I change rungs, looking at what happens on a weekly basis. I was totally thinking your same thoughts when I posted my comment, but just left it alone. lol

[liv]

Re: to weigh or not to weigh?

It sure would be a mistake that to think that if you see a gain on the scale that it necessarily had something to do with what you ate. If that was the case I would have probably have eliminated all food groups by now. We gain weight with salt, with hormones with star alignment. well maybe not the stars, I suspect the moon may have soemthing to do with it though. Point is that there are a lot of factors to a tiny gain on the scale - food is just one possible solution. If you are going to weigh every day you have to have to know that your body fluctuate a lot and not draw the wrong conclusion.

[T.M.]

Re: to weigh or not to weigh?

One good thing about weighing every day is that over time you will come to completely understand how much your weight varies from day to day and what change is a trend and what change is not a trend.

If my weight jumps or drops a pound from yesterday and I have changed nothing in the way I behave or eat, that data rolls off me like water off a duck's back. If it goes in the same direction the next day (it never has), then I start investigating.

In short, one day's data means nothing (unless it's say 5 lbs!). Two days is more meaningful, etc. But, again, it's nice to understand one's own short-term weight variability.

IMO, there is no such thing as too much data (or knowledge).

[sandislim]

Re: to weigh or not to weigh?

I joined an online coaching system about 6 weeks ago (before I started Atkins). To stay on track I have to weigh myself every day - I really struggle with what the scale says - so far I haven't lost any weight since the water loss on induction.

However I have lost inches! I also read somewhere that water weight can fluctuate between 4lbs each day - which means if you're losing only 1-2lbs of fat a week that might not be visible for some time on the scale.

So now I weigh myself every day and use ketostix to make sure I'm on track.

Since I haven't been losing and I have no choice but to weigh myself every day I've had to really grow up a bit and not get so emotional and let the scale number dictate my feelings for the day.