Up until almost a month ago, I had never owned a scale in my life. I rarely knew my exact weight, only ballpark figures. My weight was always some magical surprise number that would pop up during doctor’s visit or when I mustered up the courage to weigh myself during a trip to my local gym. This probably explains why 10 and 15 pounds could “sneak up on me” so easily without me noticing. As long as I could fit comfortably into a size 10 or 12 jean, all was well in the world. I was so far detached from the magic number that defined my weight.
Finally fed up with living this way, I went out, purchased a scale. I committed to weighing myself first thing every morning. I wasn’t sure what this would do, but I knew that it would have to foster some type of improvement. This actually turned out to be one of the best decisions I’d ever made. Since taking on the task of weighing myself daily I’ve dropped 11 pounds. Knowing that I had to face that number no matter how high or low made me somewhat accountable to myself and helped me to make better diet and nutrition choices. The best part about it is that I’m not on diet, just fostering better lifestyle habits.
Many are on the fence regarding daily weigh-ins. Some find it to be an act of compulsion, while others encourage it for various reasons. Here’s what some of the experts are saying:
Jennifer A. Linde, PhD shared with WebMD that daily weigh-ins are believed to “serve the same function” as calorie counting and exercising. In a 2005 study conducted at the University of Minnesota in which she studied the “self-weighing practices” of 3,000+ people over the course of two years, Linde found that the subjects who weighed themselves daily lost twice as much as much weight as those who weighed themselves weekly. Men’s Health also reported that, a study conducted on “3,500 individuals from the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) who’ve maintained 60 or more pounds of weight loss for at least a year, researchers found that 44 percent weighed themselves daily.”
I recommend the Android app Libra for weight tracking. It calculates a trend value, based upon your past seven days of weigh-ins, and uses this to draw a smooth trend line of your weight. Easier to make sense of. It also shows a prognosis based upon the past seven days, showing you where you’re heading and at which rate.