Weighing Daily, What You Need To Know

When people start a weight loss journey, the first question that comes to mind is: how often should I weigh myself? The answer is: it depends. No one method will work for everybody, so it might take some trial and error to figure out what’s best for you. Here’s what you need to know if you want to start weighing daily.

Weighing Daily, What You Need To Know

What’s the Right Way?

Everyone has a conflicting opinion. If you google it right now, you’ll find 15 articles with 15 different answers. There are a few schools of thought, though.

You can weigh:

Sporadically

Monthly

Weekly

Daily

Some people like setting a routine, so weighing sporadically isn’t for them. Other’s find weighing on a set schedule is restrictive and tedious. You might find that weighing daily stresses you out, but monthly doesn’t give you enough feedback.

Fluctuations and Accurate Results

Before picking how often you weigh, it’s important to talk about fluctuations. Fluctuations are small shifts in weight that are caused for a number of reasons. Most of the time they are within half a pound to a pound, but your weight can fluctuate up to 5 or 6 pounds in a day!

Some causes are: how much you eat, if you’re retaining water, where you are in your monthly cycle, how much you’ve exercised, or even if you’ve gone to the bathroom or not. The list goes on and on.

It can be discouraging to step on the scale and see a huge difference in the wrong direction, so it’s important to weigh at the same time of day. Most people (myself included) prefer to weigh in first thing in the morning, after going to the bathroom, and only in my birthday suit.

This method ensures the most accurate numbers. Some clothing is heavier than others (think of how heavy your jeans are), so fully nude (or just undies) is best. Going to the bathroom before you weigh in means your bladder is empty and you’re your lightest.

It’s also a good idea to invest in one scale to always use, as each scale can be calibrated differently. This can cause slight shifts and less accurate numbers. I use the FitTrack scale. It’s a little pricey, but I enjoy the Bluetooth syncing and the interface of the app.

How Often?

Okay, we’ve covered how to weigh in and fluctuations, so how often should you step on the scale? I said it before, but I like weighing daily.

If you only track your weight once a month, you might be retaining water on that one day. Same deal with weekly tracking. If your weight can fluctuate 5 to 6 pounds in a day, you never know what that one particular day holds for you.

Weighing daily gives you a good look at where you are every day. During my weight loss journey, I’ve found that weighing daily helps me be accountable and keeps me in check. If I’m updated each morning where I am now, I know how strict I have to be throughout the day.

When I go up a bit, I can run down my mental list of what I can do better on. Did I drink enough water? Maybe it was that cookie I ate? I also know if I stick to my good habits throughout the day, I can reverse that small gain.

The Downfalls of Daily Weighing

Stepping on the scale daily does have a few downfalls. The biggest one for me is the variability of each day. I go up some, drop down some, then I’m back up. It’s discouraging when you’ve done everything “right”, but you gain half a pound anyways!

It can also be stressful to know you have to face the numbers after a big night of eating. Every day is not going to be perfect, but nobody likes to see a gain.

Even if you just maintain your weight, it can be a bummer because you tried so hard and now you’ve got nothing to show for it. It’s nerve wracking!

A Solution

It doesn’t have to be frustrating, though. You just have to relax and stay calm.

Each day is a microscopic look at the big picture of your journey. The best way to get the full effect is to look at the trend line of your weight loss. What’s a trend line? For this example, a trend line is a line you put on a graph that shows the general direction of where the numbers are going.

When you put a trend line on a graph you can see an overall pattern. If you go up in weight for two days, down for 3 days, up one day, down two days, etc.; at the end of the cycle you’ll be down. It might not look like you’re losing weight, but over the whole week you’ve lost 1 pound.

Outside of daily fluctuations, there’s going to be days you gain. There will probably even be weeks you gain. That’s okay! It’s a process. Watching the trend line can remind you of where you started, and let you get back on track to where you want to go.

Happy Scale screen shot of my weights in September

If you look at my graph here, it shows my weight for the month of September. The dots represent the daily weight entries, and the line is the trend line of all of them. There are definitely some big spikes on there, but big drops as well. The trend line balances these spikes and drops to show the overall loss.

How to Find a Trend Line

There are a few ways to go about finding your trend line when you’re tracking daily. A lot of apps will calculate it for you when you input your weight. I use Happy Scale on IoS, but you’re just looking for an app that averages out the daily weights for you.

The Hacker’s Diet Online is a great option if you don’t want an app. The book linked on that page is also a great resource for a no nonsense look at diets. They also explain how you can chart your weights in excel or on paper, if that’s more your speed.

Is Weighing Daily Right For You?

Still though, weighing daily isn’t for everyone. Mentally it can be a lot to take on. If you’re the type of person that’s going to obsess over every small number or gain, you’ll probably want to avoid daily weighing.

A lot of people struggle with all or nothing thinking (I definitely do in some areas), and that can be a recipe for disaster when it’s mixed with a scale. Stepping on the scale and seeing a gain could lead you to just giving up on your diet, because “I might as well eat what I want if I’m going to gain”.

Seeing a plateau for a few days could cause you to think, “It’s not working so why am I even doing this”. When you make the decision to track your weight every day, you’ve got to get rid of the idea that each number matters.

You can’t give up just because it might appear it’s not working. The daily number is a very tiny part of the big picture. Definitely be honest with yourself, and watch yourself along the way.

There’s no right or wrong way to document your weight loss journey. You have to do what works for you, and that might not include daily weighing.

As a closing note I just want to give you one piece of advice: Never say you “only” lost x amount of weight. “Only” only applies to gaining, not losing or maintaining.

Weighing Daily, What You Need To Know

Friday Inspiration

Wrapping up on Friday is a good time to reflect back on your week. Here’s some quotes to add some inspiration your next week.

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. – C.S. Lewis

Sometimes we regret not starting sooner, but you just need to remember you have more time to make better choices.

Fall in love with taking care of your body.

You have to start loving yourself. Your body is worthy of love no matter where you are in your journey.

Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today. – Will Rogers

It’s easy to beat yourself up over a bad day (or a few bad days). Have grace with yourself and move forward today.

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. – Paulo Coelho

Fear of failure is my biggest struggle in life. Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and ignore your fears.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. – Mark Twain

Take that first step, then another, and another. You won’t get anywhere from sitting back and waiting for your life to change.

Sometimes people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them. – Joubert Botha

You don’t owe anyone anything. You might encounter naysayers on your journey, but just ignore them and you’ll get to where you need to be.

Respect your body. It’s the only one you get.

We have to take care of what we have. Respecting yourself will help you to achieve your goals.

Sunday Inspirational Quotes

Inspirational quotes are a great way to start off the week. Here’s 7 of my favorite quotes to keep in mind when things get tough.

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me. – Carol Burnett

Often we just want others to take over and change things for us. Lasting change will come from within!

Fit is not a destination. It is a way of life.

You’ll often hear that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. The truth is that there’s no finish line, we’re in it for life.

Be the one who decided to go for it.

Sometimes you have to just trust the process and go for it! Getting started is the hardest part.

I’m working on myself, for myself, by myself.

Work for what you want, and the results will follow. You’re doing this for you, no one else.

When you feel like quitting, think about why you started.

There will be tough times where you want to give up. That’s why it’s important to figure out your “why” and remind yourself of it when you struggle.

Success is loving life and daring to live it. – Maya Angelou

Success can be defined in many different ways. What does success mean to you?

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. – Arthur Ashe

If you haven’t started yet, it’s time to just make that leap of faith. You can gather the tools you need as you go.

Hopefully these inspirational quotes will motivate you throughout your week. Check back next Sunday for more quotes.

My Weight Loss Journey: Losing 60 lbs in 6 months!

February 2020-August 2020 Weight Loss

Trigger warning: mentions of miscarriage, depression, binge eating, and of course weight loss.

Who Am I?

My name is Tessa, I’m 29 years old, I live in Arkansas with my husband and two children. There are a lot of words that describe me (mother, wife, daughter, kind, creative, unique), but today I want to focus on the big one:

STUBBORN

During my weight loss journey people have praised me for my dedication and determination.

I always laugh and say, “Really it’s just stubbornness.”

And it’s true! When I was little everyone knew I’d argue anyone on anything, and one time I sat in a hot car until I nearly passed out because my mom wouldn’t take us for ice cream (how my parents survived raising me I’ll never know). As an adult I have learned how to channel that stubbornness to get what I want, and namely to achieve my goals.

My History With Weight

Growing up I was always stick skinny, but right around 5th grade I started gaining weight. Everyone said I’d go through puberty, grow tall, and the weight would stretch out. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

When I was 18 I started a diet that basically operated like Keto, but you reached ketosis through medications (not a great idea). It was through a doctor, but right after stopping I gained the weight back.

In Love and Gaining Weight

I yoyoed for a few years, then I met my husband. They say you gain “love pounds” when you start a new relationship, and that was definitely true for us. He (being a guy) was able to drop that weight pretty quick, I on the other hand didn’t.

Look at those babies!

We got married on 11/12/13, and I said I was going to lose weight for the wedding (I didn’t), then lose weight to prepare for getting pregnant (again no weight lost).

Wedded Bliss… For A While

In the summer of 2014, we found out I was pregnant. We were both over the moon excited. Unfortunately, it ended in a missed miscarriage at 11 weeks. That loss led me into a deep depression. I was already suffering from Bipolar disorder before getting pregnant, and losing our baby just snapped something in me.

After the miscarriage I gained weight like crazy due to comfort eating. During this time I would even binge until I was so full, I would throw up. It was definitely a bad time in my life.

This Weight Has Gotta Give

Things changed in March of 2015. I was 304.6lbs, and I was exhausted. It was the heaviest weight in my life (at that point). I decided I was going to change this. Over the next year and a half, I lost 80lbs largely through Weight Watchers and playing tennis.

Weight loss for the first go around.

I was happy and full of energy. I felt great, I was meeting my goals, everything was perfect. We were still missing one thing though…

Baby On Board

In March of 2017 I fell pregnant with my son, who was born in December of 2017. During my pregnancy I gained 90lbs. Yup. Right back to where I started and then some.

My weight at the end of my son’s pregnancy.

After my son’s pregnancy I had a really hard time postpartum. Due to my Bipolar disorder, I got hit pretty hard with postpartum depression. It even got bad enough that I ended up in an inpatient behavioral health hospital. With their help and the tools I learned, I was able to pull myself together and I gained a new view on life.

Over 2018 I managed to not lose any of the weight I had gained in my pregnancy. Luckily though, I didn’t gain any extra either.

Another On The Way

My weight at the end of my daughter’s pregnancy.

In 2019 I got pregnant with my daughter, who was born January of 2020. I only gained 15lbs throughout the pregnancy, and 6 weeks postpartum it was already gone.

Here We Are

In February of 2020 I decided I was done being this heavy again. My weight was at 309.3lbs. I lost the weight once; I knew with enough perseverance I could do it again.

And as of August 2020, I have lost 60lbs. That’s 60lbs in 6 months! I’m not at my goal yet, but I know I’ll stick it out and get there soon. I don’t have a definite goal weight, but I’m wanting to lose about 40-60 more pounds. I’ll know when I get there. No one knows your number on the scale besides you and your doctor, so it doesn’t matter to me where I land.

So How Did I Do It?

Sorry to break it to you, but there’s no magic pill. No crazy secret. No quick fix. Can you guess how I did it?

STUBBORNNESS

No matter what method you settle on to lose weight or get fit, the most important part of all of it is determination. You have to make up your mind that you’re done with the way you’re living, and that you’ll do your best to change it.

If that’s the only thing you take away from my posts, then I’ll be happy having imparted that wisdom.

How Can You?

There are a bajillion and one methods for getting fit. Everyone will tell you that their method is the best, but really there’s no “one size fits all” routine.

What works for Jill might not work for Kathy.

So, what worked for me might not work for you. Lucky for you, I’ve tried a wide range of options during my weight loss journeys that I can give advice on, so I know at least one of them will help you out.  The main methods I’ve had success with are:

  • Calorie Counting
  • Intermittent Fasting
  • Exercise
  • Healthy Sleep
  • Water, Water, Water
  • Keeping myself centered

I’ll have posts on all of these topics in the future, as well as posts about recipes, meal planning, and general well-being. Your mental well-being is just as important as the physical side of things.

February 2020-August 2020 Weight Loss

You Can Do This

 Even though there isn’t a quick fix or easy route, I believe that you too can get to where you want to be. Whether that’s weight loss, getting fitter, or just achieving a better mental space. You have that same stubbornness within you, I know it. You’ve just got to harness it into dedication and perseverance. You’ve got this, and I’ll be here all along the way. I believe that you can achieve any goals you want to achieve.

I do need to say that I’m not a professional in any of these areas. Always consult with you doctor before beginning any type of diet or exercise program. I’m just sharing what I’ve found works for me.