How Often Should You Really Weigh Yourself?

Hey Angels and Alphas,

Imagine the following scenario. You decide it’s time to put in your focus and energy into losing weight. 

Then you decide to start exercising properly and you embark on a healthier eating plan. 

You put in the work for a good week, sweating yourself out in the gym every other day and trying to eat and cook healthier meals.

The time will come to check in on your progress, so you’re going to step on the scale and witness the moment of truth.

And then you see you haven’t lost any weight!

So what do you do now? Do you continue with all the exercises you’ve been doing and new, healthier eating plan? Or do you just throw in the towel and instantly go back to everything you were doing before? Or maybe even start restricting your eating more and more, making weight loss happen faster? 

There are all absolutely reasonable (and normal) reactions that you would have to not seeing the result you want show up on the scale.

But what you should realize in this moment is that weight loss, weight gain, or even weight maintenance, can sometimes be tricky to navigate. Putting things simply, even the scale you have can be extremely tricky to navigate as your weight is going to fluctuate up and down not only throughout the course of the day, but also the weeks and months.

Weight fluctuations are incredibly common because your weight in this current moment is determined by a variety of different factors. 

They include, but are not limited to, how well hydrated you are, how recently you ate something, what time of the day it is, what the climate is, what your exercise routine is… and the list goes on and on. A few extra pounds of weight fluctuation here and there is not going to be the result of fat gain because your body is just doing what it’s supposed to do – regulating physiological functions.

So the question here arises – how often should you weight yourself so you get the most accurate depiction of the progress and results you’re making?

Whether your goal is to maintain, lose, or gain weight, let’s start off by talking about the scale. 

The very first and most important question you need to ask yourself is: 

“If I weigh myself (daily, weekly, periodically) actually help me or harm me? Since there will never be a magic answer for how often you’re going to weigh yourself, figuring out what is motivating and helpful for you as an individual is what’s going to help you make the right decision. 

WEIGHING YOURSELF DAILY

Many people will find that weighing in daily will provide you with a sense of accountability, and it’s helpful for having a great idea of where you’re at with your progress. For many of us, it helps keep management and progress on track. If you’re able to write down your weight daily, you will be able to follow overall trends and not stress about the day-to-day fluctuations. This is the healthy way of weighing yourself daily.

Will you let a 1-pound gain ruin your mood? Or, are you absolutely ecstatic by the sight of losing 1 pound? If the daily weigh-ins affect your mood in a significant way, then you might want to reconsider. The number on the scale should not have direct power over your mood, and the events of day cannot impact your general quality of life. 

WEEKLY WEIGH-INS

Weighing weekly can have its advantages — it allows you to track progress while still having six whole days to not focus on your weight. For the best result possible, pick a day that’s consistent every week, and weigh yourself in the morning. Try to find trends if you can, but don’t get caught up in the minutiae. 

Recognize that it’s probably going to take a few good weeks before you have a good picture of where you’re headed. This can be a great tool to keep yourself accountable without making you ride the whole daily emotional roller coaster that the scale can bring.

WEIGHING YOURSELF OCCASSIONALY

Some people will always opt for the occasional weight check-in. And people may do this at home or just rely on the scale at the doctor’s office or the gym and get an idea of where they’re going. People who opt for the occasional weigh-in often have alternative ways of identifying shifts in their weight, such as the ways their clothes fit or how strong they feel as they’re exercising.