When Dieting, How Often Should You Weigh Yourself?

Congratulations! You have made a commitment to lose weight and get healthy. You have started eating better, and exercising regularly. You want to accurately track your progress, but when dieting, how often should you weigh yourself?

There are varying opinions on this matter. Some major weight loss plans, centers, and experts believe that you should never weigh yourself every day. These professionals recommend weighing yourself no more than once per week, and ideally, once every month. The reason behind this schedule is based on the fact that body weight varies from day to day, and individuals that weigh themselves each day may become discouraged with fluctuating numbers. This may lead dieters to give up their weight loss plan if they see higher numbers than the day before. These experts state that a monthly weigh in is the most accurate reflection of your true weight and weight loss progress.

However, another group of experts, dietary physicians, conducted a study of overweight and/or obese adults who were trying to lose weight, as well as overweight adults who were trying to maintain their current weight to avoid further weight gain. The study tracked these individuals for more than two years, and found that those who weighed themselves on a regular basis, prevented more weight gain than those who only weighed themselves once per month. The conclusion from this study seems to suggest that some types of people benefit more from having to face their numbers each day.

To help decide if your personality type would benefit more from daily or monthly weigh ins, consider these things: Do you need to have constant control? Do you need to have constant feedback? Do you need numbers to keep yourself motivated? If you answered yes to these three questions, daily weigh-ins might be right for you.

However often you choose to weigh yourself, you should keep the following things in mind: always weigh yourself first thing in the morning; if you do decide to weigh yourself each day, weight can vary each day so do not worry if you weigh more today than you did yesterday; women's weight can change around the time of menstruation each month; and do not fear "plateaus", consistency is not always a bad thing.

In addition to tracking numbers, track how you feel. Do you feel healthy, strong, and energetic? Do your clothes feel tight or loose? Your own health assessments can be the most valuable tool when monitoring weight loss progress.

Katie_Weston

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