Wie oft sollte ich mich wiegen?

Some people love them, others would love to punish them for their outrageous comments and ban them from their own four walls for all eternity. No, we're not talking about the mother-in-law by marriage, but the Libra. Unlike your mother-in-law, you can't escape your scales, and that's a good thing if you're keen to monitor your fat loss progress. How often do you weigh yourself? Weekly, daily or rather irregularly when it suits you? Contrary to what you might think, the timing and frequency of weighing yourself is not completely arbitrary, but can have a big impact on your fat loss success. This article will tell you everything you need to know about weighing yourself.

I am currently in the process of losing weight. How often should I weigh myself?

People who want to lose weight generally have two different behaviors when it comes to weighing themselves, which can be used to classify them into two groups. While some nervously step on the scales every day or even more often to check their weight, others prefer to do so only sporadically at intervals of several weeks, spending the time waiting for the result holding their breath and peering through their fingers in front of their face. So it seems that weight control is really just a matter of personal preference. Modern sports science, however, has proven in studies that weighing yourself can have a positive influence on weight loss. So it's high time we took a closer look, because you basically have two options.

Option 1 - The occasional weighing
Body weight is nowhere near as constant as you might think. On the contrary, it depends on a variety of factors. These include not only comparatively obvious variables such as the previous day's food, hydration or salt intake, but also influencing factors that you probably don't expect. Stress and your sleeping habits also have a not insignificant influence on your body weight. So it's no wonder that your weight moves up and down from day to day like a ship in heavy seas. This realization can be particularly frustrating for people who feel like they are on trial every time they step on the scales. Is it really better to weigh yourself weekly?

As a study from a US psychology magazine shows, this is at least the preferred method used in most fat loss programs and training groups. There is a reason for this, as the motivation to beat the scales every week effectively helps many people to get a grip on bad eating habits and indiscipline. However, this variant is not the last word in wisdom, as the implied competitive nature leads to a no matter what the cost mentality, which also tends to lead to extreme hunger phases that are anything but healthy and can easily turn into the opposite. In addition, the large distance means that any weight gain goes unnoticed. Of course, many people have used this method successfully. However, there are an even greater number of people who have given up their plans, not least because of stagnation on the digital display of the bathroom scales. And that is what we want to avoid at this point.

Option 2 - Almost daily weighing
If you only step on the scales often enough each day, you will realize that your weight is anything but static, but is actually subject to strong fluctuations throughout the day. However, this does not mean that you should weigh yourself several times a day. Once, immediately after getting up in the morning, is completely sufficient in this respect. To make this clearer, we want to use mathematics at this point. Just like individual strong fluctuations in mathematical functions, individual extreme values also distort the overall picture when weighing. The more values you include in the observation frame, the better fluctuations are smoothed out, giving you a much more precise picture of your progress and making it easier to monitor. But does weighing yourself more frequently actually do more than sporadic weighing? If a study published in the PLOS One journal is to be believed, it does.

For example, the scientists involved found that there is a direct correlation between long-term weight development and the frequency of weighing. Specifically, people who weighed themselves at least every 2-6 days lost weight significantly faster than those who only stepped on the scales once every one to three weeks. Even though daily weighing can be demotivating due to minimal progress and possible setbacks, a study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior shows that people who check their weight frequently tend to develop a better body image and gain more control over their eating behavior. Both are of course of considerable benefit for weight loss.

The judgment

As we have seen, both options have their advantages and disadvantages, which inevitably leads to the question of which behavior is right for you personally. First of all, of course, we should not ignore the findings of science when making this decision and should be aware of the positive effects of frequent weighing. However, in order to avoid frustration and extreme reactions in this context, such as drastic calorie restrictions, you should approach the whole thing with the right mindset. Accordingly, we do not recommend either of the two possible options, but prefer a mixture of the two to make your life as easy and your weight loss as effective and stress-free as possible. Accordingly, we advise you to enter the lion's den twice a week and step on the scales. However, you should remember that weight is by no means the only factor that says something about your progress in terms of fat loss, so it is imperative that you also measure your abdominal, hip, arm and thigh circumference in order to be able to view the development of your body decoupled from your weight, which significantly reduces the potential frustration caused by weight fluctuations. It would also be ideal if you had your body fat percentage measured every two to three weeks or did this yourself with the help of a caliper. But remember, once you have found a routine that works best for you, progress will come naturally with a little hard work and discipline.