What to Know About Weighing Yourself
Take control of your bathroom scale! Follow these simple tips to avoid sabotaging your next weigh-in.
When Is the Best Time to Weigh Yourself?
The best time to weigh yourself is at a time you’re able to be consistent. You might decide to weigh yourself once a week on:
Monday morning before showering
Friday evening after changing out of your work clothes
Sunday night before bed
Etc.
The time you choose doesn’t matter as much as your ability to be consistent with that time. That way you can minimize the chance of weight fluctuations due to factors such as the time of day.
If you weigh yourself Monday morning and weigh yourself again Thursday evening, you might notice a 1-5 pound difference in weight simply due to the fact that you had an empty stomach on Monday and a full stomach on Thursday after eating.
How Often Should You Weigh Yourself?
Research from the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) found that adults who lost 30 pounds (or more) and kept it off for at least one year weighed themselves at least once a week.
That being said, from my experience as a Health Coach and working with others, it’s important to find what works for you. Depending on your relationship with the scale, weighing yourself or weighing yourself too often can actually interfere with your ability to lose weight.
Ask yourself:
How much is beneficial?
How much is too much?
Find what works for you, and remember there are many other important and meaningful ways to measure progress as well.
Weigh-In Rules
Keep factors consistent during your weigh-ins. Weigh yourself:
Around the same time of day
On the same scale
On the same hard flooring surface
Wearing the same or similar clothing
With your weight evenly distributed on both feet
Etc.
For instance, weigh yourself Thursday mornings before showering, before eating or drinking anything, and wearing your bathroom robe.
Keeping weigh-in factors constant will help minimize the chance of weight fluctuations due to factors you have control over.
Why Your Weight Fluctuates
Your weight will fluctuate throughout the day and week, and it can fluctuate for reasons that have nothing to do with losing or gaining body fat. You might notice a different weight reading on different scales, on different flooring surfaces, and in different spots on the same floor. Your weight can also fluctuate after you eat, drink, go to the bathroom, and exercise.
Other factors that can cause weight fluctuations include:
Salt or sodium intake
Water retention
Dehydration
Hormones
Bloating
Constipation
Carbohydrate restriction or consumption
Sweating
Certain medications
Etc.
Just because the number on your bathroom scale is up or down since the last time you weighed yourself doesn’t mean you’ve lost or gained fat, especially if it’s an overnight change.
It’s important to stay focused on the big picture and observe trends over time.
Your Weight Is Just a Number
The number you see on the scale is just a number. It’s a number that doesn’t mean or say anything about you as a person. For instance:
It doesn’t mean you were “good” or “bad” or had a “good” or “bad” week.
It doesn’t take away any of the positive things you did during the week.
It doesn’t mean you do or don’t have willpower, discipline, motivation, or anything else you might be telling yourself.
You are the same amazing person before weighing yourself as you are after weighing yourself… regardless of the number you see. Every positive quality and attribute you possess is still intact. The scale can’t take those things away from you… unless you let it.
Weight Is Only One Measure of Progress
The number on the scale is one indicator of progress or success. When it comes to achieving health, fitness, wellness, or weight loss goals, success is about so much more than changes in your weight. It’s about:
Making positive behavioral changes
Enjoying positive physical and physiological changes
Experiencing mental and emotional changes
Etc.
Progress and success might come in the form of:
Feeling better
Sleeping better
Getting stronger
Being in a better mood
Having better focus and concentration
Feeling more relaxed
Taking time for yourself
Setting a healthy example
Improving a health condition
Experiencing a better quality of life
Feeling less out of breath walking up stairs
Etc.
Success is about many, many things that we often forget about. These are things that can’t be measured by your bathroom scale. Your scale never tells the whole story.
Reasons to Stop Weighing Yourself
Weighing yourself too often or getting caught up in the number on the scale can lead to unhealthy behavior. If you find yourself making drastic changes to see your weight drop, consider ditching your scale.
Many people make unsustainable (and therefore temporary) changes just to see the number on the scale go down. Temporary changes will only give you temporary results and will likely cause more stress than it’s worth.
If you have a hard time looking at the number on the scale objectively, this is another reason to consider discontinuing your weigh-ins… at least temporarily. This is especially true if weighing yourself negatively affects your:
Behavior
Mood
Motivation
Stress level
Thoughts
Etc.
Here’s a common example from my work with clients:
When a client lost 1 pound, they were disappointed because they were expecting to lose 2 pounds.
When a client lost 2 pounds (which they were expecting), they were disappointed because they thought “I could’ve lost 3 pounds if only I (did or didn’t do that one thing)…”
When they didn’t lose any weight, they stopped exercising because they thought, “What’s the point? I put in all that work and my weight didn’t budge!”
Take Control Back From the Scale
Think about what you might be letting the number on the scale say about you as a person, and any control or power you are allowing it to have over your:
Thoughts
Emotions
Behavior
Etc.
Then think about how you might be able to take back some of that control. This could mean:
Taking a break from weigh-ins
Weighing yourself less often
Getting rid of your scale
Reminding yourself that your value or worth isn’t tied to a number
You (and you alone) are in control of your thoughts and feelings... not your scale. Start taking control back one small step at a time, in a way that works for you.
Source: Butryn, M.L., Phelan, S., Hill, J.O., & Wing, R.R. Consistent Self-monitoring of Weight; A Key Component of Successful Weight Loss Maintenance. Obesity 2007; Vol 15, No12.