To weigh or not to weigh, that is the question. When you are losing weight, how often should you weigh yourself? The answer to this question depends on who listen to or whose book you are reading. I have seen answers that range from once a day to once every 2-3 months.
Here is my two cents worth on the subject. I think that once a day is a bit much. There are things other than what you eat that are going to affect your weight on a daily basis. Personally, I would rather not weigh myself that often. Whether I lost or gained has a big effect on my mood and my ability to stay motivated.
If I lost, I tend think that I have a little more freedom to eat whatever I want than I should and if I gained I tend to beat myself up for not being more disciplined and follow a plan more strictly. So if I lose, I tend to slack off and make poorer decisions and if I gain I tend to be more regimented and maybe a little obsessive. To deal with these emotions on a daily basis can be mental draining.
One well known personal trainer says you should not weigh your self for the first 2 months after starting a weight loss program. He says that most people are dehydrated when they start a weight loss plan. With drinking water being a big part of a weight loss regimen, he says that the water intake will keep them from losing weight early on. This sounds reasonable, but in as many weight loss programs as I participated in, I usually had my biggest weight loss in the first week.
With today's society being so hung up on instant gratification, I think 2 months is a long time to go without knowing how you are progressing, especially at the beginning when you are making lifestyle changes that you have not yet grown accustomed to. The reward in the end, I am sure will be worth it. After 2 months, you will probably be down 20-30 pounds depending on what you have to lose. But this early in your weight loss journey, I think you will need to see some progress earlier than 2 months to stay motivated.
I think once a week is the best time to weigh yourself. It is long enough, to get past the daily fluctuations and it is not so long that you get discouraged while waiting to see some progress. If you have a 3 pound gain in a week, you have a chance to make some adjustment so it does not turn into a 10 pound gain before you know it.
I think how often you way yourself should depend on how you feel about finding the outcome. If you feel more motivated weighing yourself often, than you should weigh yourself often and if you feel yourself become obsessive, than you probably need to weigh yourself less often.
Marjorie Salada is the owner of Weight Loss 3000, a website that contains information on weight loss, exercise, weight loss surgery and living a healthy lifestyle.
