How Often Should You Weigh Yourself?

"How often should I weigh myself?"

I get asked this question all the time, especially by women who want to break free from yo-yo dieting, self-sabotage, and the shame game. Here’s my answer.

For many women, especially those who suffer from being stuck in body jail, weighing themselves regularly can be really triggering.

At least, that’s how I used to feel! The number on the scale used to make me feel happy if I liked what I saw and... it would bring me down to the depths of despair if I saw my weight increase, even if it was just half a pound.

I have based my worthiness and beauty so many times in my life on my body weight!

The scale and our body weight can have so much control over our emotions – it can make or break our whole day (which can actually keep you stuck in a cycle of NOT reaching your weight loss goals).

The truth is, there is no one right answer across the board on how often you should weigh yourself. And frankly, I believe that anytime we use the word “should” we’re approaching whatever it is that we are talking about from a mindset of fear. Whenever we ask what we “should” do we’re really just asking other people to define our life, happiness, and worthiness for us. It’s time we all stop “shoulding” on ourselves!

The question isn’t what we should do, it’s what would feel good to you, individually, personally? And what helps you create a positive momentum toward your sustainable, realistic, healthy goals.

You Could Weigh Yourself...

You could weigh yourself every day, every week, every month, or not at all. The frequency of when you decide to weigh yourself doesn’t matter, because the most important thing is your perspective about the number that you see on the scale and the effect it has on you emotionally.

When setting goals, I encourage you to set them from a mindset of self-love and self-discovery rather than from a mindset of shame. Because let’s be honest, when have you ever been able to easily sustain a goal that you’ve set for yourself from a mindset of “not good enough yet”?

When I learned to let go of my, “When I get there, THEN I’ll be happy,” thoughts and beliefs, it changed everything for me, both in terms of the number I consistently saw on the scale, as well as, how comfortable I felt in my body. I discovered how to be at peace with myself and my body weight now, while I consistently nourished my way toward more.

I’ve worked with a lot of women who tend to restrict and be so hard on themselves and I, too, have experienced this myself, and it did not get us anywhere. It did not help us become happy. You can set these arbitrary goals like hitting a certain body weight on the scale all you want, but I guarantee, when you get to that number that you have been chasing, it won’t make you feel as happy as you think it will – unless you do the inner work first.

You have to TRULY feel good about your body right now and appreciate where you are at the moment to achieve genuine happiness within.

Little Known Tips on Weighing Yourself

There are a lot of factors to take into account if you do choose to weight yourself.

For example:

• AM or PM
• Whether you went to the bathroom before you weighed yourself
• Where you are at in your menstrual cycle
• How much you have sweated
• How much water you drank
• How much sleep you got

… to name a few.

To experiment from a mindset of self-discovery, I weighed myself recently throughout the day and my weight varied from 4 to 6 pounds from the beginning of the day to the end.

To put it simply, the scale is a tool for tracking progress. If you get triggered by it, it won’t be helpful. In the grand scheme of things, what does it really matter what the scale says? What matters is whether or not you are making consistent SUSTAINABLE progress toward your goals.

How Stress Negatively Affects Your Weight

Our emotions can affect our body and its ability to operate optimally. If you’re getting on the scale and you’re getting sad and depressed because you’re not getting the number you want, that’s creating a stress response in your body.

What most people do not know is that if you’re stressed out emotionally, your body doesn’t feel safe. And if it doesn’t feel safe, it hangs on to excess water and fat and puts metabolism and digestion on the backburner because all your body cares about is survival… not your “long and lean” goals. So the more you stress about the scale, the more your body is going to hang onto extra weight!

If you’re triggered by the scale, why not stay off of it for a few months and focus on other types of milestones. I love setting up nourishment based milestones as a way to track with my clients.

For example, setting weekly goals like:

• 3-5 workouts per week that you enjoy
• 1 gallon of water per day (or whatever is applicable for you)
• 2 superfood shakes per day (ask me for my recommendation) 
• 1 salad per day
• Your 3 non-negotiables

This creates positive momentum through consistency and proper nourishment.

Give your body the space to breathe -- aka “room to groove” -- and not be focused on micro managing it, and you will be surprised at the miracle of a machine that it truly can be. Your body is much smarter than you think it is.

Need more help? Apply to work with me. If you loved this, you’ll love my Nourished, Vibrant and Free 16 Week Challenge!