Hi all,
We get asked some version of this question A LOT.
“How often should I weigh myself?”
“Should I weigh myself at all or just go by how I feel?”
“I weigh myself every morning - is that too much?”
And countless people seem to have a very definite opinion on it one way or another, especially on social media, and anyone who does or thinks the opposite is just plain “wrong”!
As with most things we find this isn't black and white, it depends on the individual.
Very often we also see the opposite of weighing every day: measurement dodging! Going too long between jumping on the scales or measuring progress in another way. (You know who you are, and I included myself in this group at times!).
“Let's do it next time”
“I had a big meal last night”
This is the equivalent of not opening the bank statement (I've done that too!) - we're avoiding reality - we probably know we're not going to like what the scales say.
The benefits of weighing yourself regularly can be:
Increasing your awareness of your weight which can help decision making throughout the day
Gaining valuable intel on what causes your weight to fluctuate
De-sensitising you to these fluctuations so your mindset is not unduly affected by a measurement not being where you wanting it to be
Reality check
The main downside to weighing every day is that some people can have a tendency to develop an obsession with their weight so it can fuel neurotic behaviour. This can lead to feelings of guilt and attaching too much importance to each and every measurement, rather than thinking about the big picture. Given a ”bad” measurement, this can lead to skipping meals, self sabotage and other unhealthy responses.
For client's in this situation, we will select other methods of assessing progress (some are qualitative, some are quantitative) to take the focus away from just the weight on the scales.
The bottom line is, there's no right or wrong answer to how often you should weigh yourself.
However, if we're trying to lose weight, improve our health and get fit, we all need accountability of some sort.
Determining the best way of getting this provides a huge boost to your chances of success.
Thanks,
Darren
