Daily Weigh-in to Lose Weight?
Bathroom scales... are they friend or foe?
I've often wondered if the scales sitting in the corner are a good thing. Like most, I've grown up with them and similar to an annoying sibling, they can be nice and sometimes mean. Over the years, I've developed a healthy relationship, I think. Occasionally, I'll pull them out and give them a tap and step on for curiosity's sake. "Be nice", I tell them.
But thinking about it, I've learnt to reject them because throughout my years I've been told that...
...constantly checking and obsessing over my weight is not healthy or helpful
So are they necessary?
Actually, most weight loss experts do not recommend their clients weigh themselves daily because of past neutralising experiences clients reported. Therefore, it became an industry standard not forcing clients to measure their daily mass. However, what's confusing is, new science shows that bathroom scales might have merit.
So, if you want to lose weight and keep it off, getting on the scales every day could help...
...Although, there are a few caveats to this weight loss technique.
Incidentally, I can see how periodically measuring your weight can help you lose it. For the simple reason that what you focus on the most will ultimately become you over time. So, by using this device to measure and monitor your weight, it can help you reinforce your focus and encourage you to make the decisions that support your goal while keeping your objective in the front of your mind.
On the other hand, I cannot rule out the negative impact of stepping on the scales daily. "It will drive you crazy", they say. And they're right. Women do get discouraged when nothing happens or when the numbers start going the wrong way. You could then start checking the machine to see if it's correct... putting tins of beans on, a bag of sugar, a dumbbell just to make sure. You check it's on solid ground, it's flat, and not on the bath mat because that will affect the reading. The whole experience can bring tears to your eyes. It can completely knock your self-esteem especially when you do not fully understand a few weight loss principles.
In a more serious view, our awareness of mental health is peaking. Thankfully, today being real with yourself and confronting any psychological issues is encouraged. We may not yet have the resources to help everyone that needs it, but I'm sure we'll get there. Anyway, suppressing or allowing problems to take over is not healthy. And with that in mind, weighing yourself daily could potentially be damaging by causing irrational responses.
It goes without saying, a history of eating disorders is likely to get in the way of this weight loss method. Becoming obsessed and slipping into extreme dieting or binging is not a healthy place to be.
As long as you're not psychologically at risk, the action of weighing yourself daily could be part of your lifestyle to help you lose weight and keep it off. Being that new studies, which are regarded higher quality experiment because the wifi tech provides precise data, show...
...those who persist can lose body weight and keep it off
But keep in mind, they remove at risk participants from the experiments and some removed themselves when they found out what was involved. [1, 2, 3] The problem with a daily weigh-in is consistency. For some reason, it may be a day or two of indulgence or the fear of not seeing what you want, whatever it is, your daily weight observations can begin to slip.
However, there is a strong objection to the scales... They don't show the fat loss. As the plan is to actually lose body fat, self-monitoring your weight will not show you how much fat you have lost but rather a combination of everything that makes you. Plus, depending on your lifestyle, you could increase your weight or stay the same while losing fat deposits. I'll explain...
For one common reason, you're probably familiar with the suggestion to weigh yourself at the same time every day. Also, it's often said to weigh yourself after pooping on the throne. And preferably with an empty stomach. It's because the heaviness of a meal varies. You could consume 300g at one meal and double the next. And the weight of your pooh and wee can fluctuate too. Droppings can range from grams to around 1.5 kg and pee-pee from around half a kilogram to 2.6 kg. Plus, the food you eat makes a difference too because some foods produce more waste than others and your body can decide not to breakdown and absorb nutrients, therefore, bigger stools.
Generally speaking, if you stick to weighing yourself at the same time every day then you shouldn't see a major difference from your meals and toilet breaks, but if you change your diet then this could actually have an impact. For example,
should you decide to go on a very low-carb diet, then over the following days you're likely to see weight loss
Due to your body's desire for glucose sugar, your stored glucose will become depleted, plus the water connected to it. Therefore, you'll see a huge impact on the scales in that week even though it won't be the fat loss you're looking for.
As you can see, lifestyle changes can influence results. In the short term, you can lose water weight quickly. And as you persist you can lose muscle and organ mass too. Likewise, it is possible to sustain muscle mass or increase it while shrinking fat deposits through nutrition and exercise. The end result could be that you weight the same or more than you started.
On the whole, scales may not be necessary for your home, just like some people choose to remove full-length mirrors, it depends on your well-being, although we cannot help ourselves when they are around... just a quick peek. Nevertheless, if you chose to use them as informed encouragement and stick it out as part of your lifestyle, then there is strong evidence that you'll be successful. The trick is knowing the advantages and drawbacks, then you'll be in control.