I have been debating whether I should weigh myself and get an update on my progress. I have goals and should have progress reports on those goals to measure their success—or lack thereof.
My workouts have been very consistently better for the start of the year. I work out at least 40 minutes each day and some days twice. On two occasions this year, I had three workouts with a minimum of 30 minutes (before, at lunch, and after work). This past week, most workouts were over an hour for at least 6 days a week this year. Today, I did 90 minutes of hard elliptical, lifted upper body weights routine, and felt fine. I do not feel much lighter but stronger, so I do not want to weigh myself yet.
So, how often should I weigh myself? It depends on who answers the question. Many respected experts on weight loss do not recommend daily weighing, but researchers at the University of Minnesota studied 1,800 dieting people and found that the people who weighed themselves daily lost more weight over a two-year period than the people who only weighed themselves once a week. So maybe it is a mistake not to weigh myself.
I have monitored my diet in detail using three different programs (FitDay, Spark People, and Livestrong's Daily Plate). I have had a calorie deficit of about 900-1,500 calories daily (including the workouts). Should I be down 4-5 pounds? I use the three programs as each has its benefit for monitoring calories, nutrition, etc... All three are always different, but they are close enough. But, the biggest reason for not weighing is that it can lead to an unhealthy obsession with the scale. I have been there before and want to avoid that obsession.
I have found that my weight can also fluctuate during the day, so if I get on the scale in the morning one day and then in the afternoon the next day, I may see a "false" weight gain. Either way, I am going to wait to see if I have lost weight. Then, I will probably be upset that it is less than I thought.
I will never win this battle, so I need to live with it. I hope those who attempted the Winter Carnival 1/2 today succeeded. It was not ideal weather.
Life has been busy, and my next post will probably be after I finally step on the scale unless I break everything in the house?
3 comments:
My belief is diet before exercise as the most important part of weight control. Had I not been on weight watchers I am sure I would never have been able to start running and have lost the 40-50 I did. We weighed weekly.
I weigh myself everyday. It is a physical action that I take that helps remind me of my goals. I always weigh after I get up in the morning and go to the bathroom. Don't be afraid! It sounds like you are doing everything right, so I'm sure the scale will be your friend.
I think that the frequency of weighing is a mental matter. If weighing every day causes one to obsess, it's a bad idea. If weighing weekly causes one to wonder what caused every little increase or decrease, then it can be a problem, too. I weigh myself once a month, on the same day of the week each time, first thing in the morning - but I'm not trying to lose much.
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