How often do you weigh--and what does it all mean?

I'm interested in seeing how often people weigh themselves and whether there is any obvious correlation to the frequency and the relative success of each person's weight loss/maintenance efforts. I mean if 30 people say they weigh every day and they have all reached their "goal" and are maintaning or are very quickly moving that direction and 30 people say they only weigh weekly and they are struggling to lose the last 20, 30 or 40 pounds or are gaining, wouldn't it make you wonder? Granted, how far out from surgery you are will make a difference given the nature of the pounds flying off early out no matter how often you get on the scale, but I think it will be interesting to see how the scale fits in each person's life and how it affects them emotionally as well.

I used to only weigh after my periods, once a month. There was a short time I weighed weekly, but wasn't a fan of that. Then I had my uterine ablation and now don't have periods anymore so I'm kind of off that routine. I really try to only weigh when I'm feeling light if that makes sense. Guess I'm still a bit scale-phobic and to an extent still allow that stupid machine to dictate to me how I'm going to eat or exercise in a given day/week/month--hate that I haven't fixed that mental game yet. Having said that, recently the scale jumped up 5 pounds with no real change in my eating or exercise. I really have to chalk it up to being lady stuff, despite my not being sure when that is now because of said ablation. I will weigh again in a week or so to see if the 5 pounds has decided to go away again, which hopefully it will or I'll not be so inclined to blame lady things! 

So do tell--how often do you weigh, do you think the frequency (or lack thereof) with which you weigh has impacted your success, and how does the scale affect you emotionally?

Thanks my friends!!

Denise

My goal weight is 140 and I maintain at 140. I weigh everyday. If I'm up more than 2 pounds, I cut back to 1300 calories a day until they're back off (usually a week). I'm a bit obsessed. I worry 5 pounds will quickly turn back into 200 if I'm not diligent. September will be 3 years since my RNY.

Laura

I don't weigh on any set schedule.  I just weigh when I feel like it.  It probably averages out to about once every ten days or so.

I don't think the frequency of weighing really affected my weight loss either way.  If it did, I guess it was a positive effect because I am below goal and have been for about a year now.

The scale used to stress me out.  Then I figured out that it's normal for our weight to go up and down a little bit.  If the scale said 123 yesterday and says 125 today, that does not mean I should not have eaten those two french fries last night.  It probably means I am retaining a bit of water or that I need to poop.  Now, if I notice the scale creeping up a little every time I weigh, I'll look more closely at my diet and exercise and see what changes I need to make.  But I'm not gonna worry about a pound or two either way.

I weigh myself MAYBE 1 time a week??? For me, this surgery was NEVER about a number...NEVER about "Losing weight" instead it was about BEING HEALTHY.

Yes, I have made goal. I am 47 and compete in ladies bodybuilding, I have no lose skin (and no plastics either) I pump weights with the best of them...

What MATTERS is following the RULES of your surgery. Eating your 70+ grams of protein a DAY, drinking your 64+oz of water a day...MOVING and exercising 3 times a week, eating UNDER 1100 cals a day. Taking your VITES daily.

That is what matters...How do you FEEL? How do you LOOK? What can you DO??? No one, absoltely NO ONE can "See" a number on a scale. (Except you!!!!!!!!) But people will notice if you are thinner or more healthy.

If NUMBERS on a scale or a clothing size is the ONLY reason you are doing this surgery (or the most important reason) you will FAIL...Yes, I will be bold in saying that. You will FAIL because you will ONLY measure your "sucess" in a number and not what you can DO and how you FEEL.

If you are "anxious" about your weight or depressed now...Surgery will NOT fix that, not ever, ever, ever. I have seen people who are 6  YEARS out and past "goal" and freaking out over a pound or two gain! Please! What a waste and how sad that they cannot REALIZE the sucess they had!

They did NOT get their mental act together BEFORE the surgery. This (WLS) is only 10% part of the solution to lose weight. The rest.... 90% is ALL MENTAL. Honest to goodness. It is the journey- NOT the destination.

Warmly,
Jackie

I weigh myself once a week since RNY on 03/22/2010. I have never experienced a stall and I follow all the rules diligently except I have never engaged in a formal exercise program due to Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

I will be 4 years out next month and weigh myself once per wee****asionally twice a week if I am keeping an eye on it for some reason.  I am maintaining at 5 pounds above my goal weight without much exercise (bad knees) and without having to be extremely strict about what i eat (but I do have to eat less since I don;t exercise). 

I have a 5-pound gain boundary, which allows for normal fluctuations and some water weight gain.  If I am at the 5 pound threshold two weigh-ins in a row, I increase my protein about 15g per day, try to increase my fluids, and drop as many carbs as possible (although I get some of my protein from dairy and will NOT eliminate that) for a couple of weeks until I drop those extra pounds.  I have had to do that twice since I reached my goal weight at 20 months out (down 185 pounds) -- which then, within a month or two, had bounced up the 5 pounds.  My goal weight was 145, my lowest weight was 142.5, but my body seems to be happy right under 150, which is technically just barely out of the "normal" BMI into "overweight", but since my body fat % is 25% (which is right in the middle of the "healthy" range for a woman my age (48)) and I have muscular thighs and still have DDD boobs, the BMI Nazis can kiss my butt.

Lora

Lora...... BMI Nazis!!!!  I love it!  

I weigh everyday!! I am a 10 weeks out and with pre diet have lost 59lbs. I am a rule follower and I guess my obsession to weigh everday is jst so I can see how this new way of living is affecting my body. I am not trying to reach a certain weight I am jst excited to see results:)

Denise,

I usually weigh every day, skip a day here and there.   My eating gets a little out of control sometimes, so I like to keep a pretty stric****ch on things.  I'm up 3 lbs from my goal weight and 8 lbs from my lowest weight, but I'm OK with that as I didn't look good at my lowest weight.  If I should go up another pound or two, then I'll cut back to try to get back down to goal weight.   I'm happy at this size so I don't want to grow out of it!

I must admit the scale DOES affect me emotionally, always has.  When I was in the losing stage, I was dancing for joy when the scale went down.  Any time the scale has gone up, I get really upset. 

I'm not sure if my frequency of weighing affected my weight loss success.  I do know that it will affect my maintenance because I still deal with emotional eating or "defiant" eating  ("I'll eat THAT because I FEEL like it"), so I have to keep an eye on that scale.

I weigh once a week on the same scale at a walk in clinic.