How Many Times a Day Do You Weigh Yourself?
We all want to track our progress as we work to meet our weight-loss goals. But when it comes to weighing yourself, how often is too often? Your weight on the scale can help you determine what kind of progress you are making on your weight loss journey. But it is not the ONLY way to determine your progress, and if you step on your scale too often, it might just drive you crazy. Many patients are obsessed with weighing themselves. We see patients who only weigh themselves when they come to the office every month and others that like to weigh every day.
The Benefits of Weighing Yourself
Stepping on the scale can be helpful when trying to make progress towards your weight-loss goals. Seeing the numbers go down can provide the motivation to keep up with your healthy lifestyle changes. It’s also important to be aware of any sudden increases in weight that could point to an underlying issue or signal a need for an adjustment to your diet and exercise regimen. So, in short, stepping on the scale can be a useful tool for tracking your progress over time.
Be Mindful of Frequency
However, if you weigh yourself too frequently, it can lead to unhealthy behaviors such as obsessive calorie counting or eating disorders. This is why it’s best to limit yourself to one weekly weigh-in. Checking more than that will not help you lose weight; in fact, it can cause psychological distress as your weight inevitably fluctuates throughout the week.
Alternatives to Weighing In
If you don’t like stepping on the scale, there are plenty of alternatives you can use to measure your progress. A simple way is to use a snug pair of pants—if they begin to feel looser, you know you’re shrinking. Alternatively, taking measurements on various parts of your body can be a helpful method for monitoring changes.
Focus On the Right Things
Ultimately, tracking your progress shouldn’t be the main focus of your lifestyle-change journey. Instead, concentrate on what will really make a difference: regular physical activity, low-fat diets, and smaller portion sizes. If you stay consistent with those habits, your weight will naturally reduce, and you’ll be able to achieve all the health benefits of living a healthy life.
We recommend weighing yourself once a week. Checking more than that will not help you lose weight and tends to pull your attention away from where it should be – changing your lifestyle. Most patients who weigh too often do not do well with their weight loss. It is normal for most patients’ weight to fluctuate. What is important is the general TREND, and you can see that definitively over a reasonable period of time.
If you don’t like to step on the scale, using a snug pair of pants to see your progress can work too. If they begin to feel looser, you know you are getting smaller. If it gets harder to zip them up, you know you are not making progress.
Like most weight loss processes, concentrate on what’s really important. Regular real exercise, low-fat diets, and small portions of food – these are the lifestyle changes that result in weight loss. If you concentrate on those things, your weight will go down!
Keep up the hard work and we look forward to seeing you in the office!