How Often To Weigh Yourself?

The subject of how often to weigh yourself inspires a great deal of debate among the weight loss and fitness crowd.  Israel over at FatManUnleashed recently wrote a post about the frustration of the weekly “weigh-in.”  It reminded me of a service that was given at our local church on the subject of gluttony.  By gluttony, I’m referring to commercial consumption (i.e. credit cards), eating, or any other of the temptations we’re faced with in everyday life.  The crux of the sermon was that if we don’t keep track of how we’re doing, we can’t know if we’re winning or losing the battle to avoid these things.

My wife and I have discussed the subject of how often you should “weigh-in,” particularly when trying to actively lose weight.  Some people find a great deal of frustration in weighing daily.  That’s understandable, as your weight can fluctuate by 2-5 pounds over the course of a day.  Others find it to be a helpful reminder toward achieving their goals.  There are also those who subscribe to the idea that a longer “weigh-in” period, perhaps weekly or even monthly, is more appropriate.

I find checking my morning weight to be helpful.  It keeps me on track toward achieving my goals and I don’t generally get too frustrated about fluctuations in the range of 1-2 pounds.  The important thing is to keep sight of the trend of your weight.  If those small daily fluctuations frustrate you, then it’s helpful to spread out the timeframe, which will smooth out the trends.

If you don’t have a method of regularly monitoring your weight, I would encourage you to try one.  It may take some time to determine what works best for you, but whatever your chosen path, I would recommend doing it regularly.  It’s like a using roadmap.  If you don’t know where you’re headed, you’ll never get to your destination.

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