Staying healthy, calls for tracking your progress but relying solely on the scale is a bad rap.
Weighing yourself can be tricky. What kind of scale should you get it? Should you weigh yourself if you’re trying to build muscle? Do the rules change if you’re just trying to lose weight?
Weigh yourself
- 1x week
- First thing in the mornings
- Same way every time (e.g., after pooping, with or without clothes)
- With a tracker
- Only if it doesn’t trigger anxiety or disordered eating
- Weigh yourself once a week
- If you’re tracking progress, you might be tempted to hop on the scale daily — but don’t.
Weighing yourself at the same time on a weekly basis will give you a more accurate picture.
Weigh yourself in the morning
Weighing yourself in the morning is most effective because you’ve had adequate time to digest and process food (your ‘overnight fast’). It won’t be affected by what you’ve eaten or haven’t quite processed yet. Also, if you’re really committed to weight loss, weighing yourself at home to make sure your scale is calibrated correctly and giving you an accurate reading — which is something you can’t do at the gym.
Be consistent when you weigh yourself. Weigh yourself at the same time. If you go to the bathroom before you jump on the scale, go before you do it again next time. Weighing yourself without clothes? Keep it that way or try wearing the same clothes week to week.
Invest in a smart scale, which connects to an app on your phone. Not only will the scale and app automatically track your weight loss progress, but smart scales also measure things other than weight, like body fat percentage and muscle mass, which can give you a better overview of your health.
Sometimes the best measurement is progress, including discovering that the scale isn’t for you.
Use the number on the scale as one way to gauge your health — not the only way
It’s important to remember that while the scale is a helpful way to gauge your progress, it’s by no means the only way. Part of weighing yourself the right way is recognizing that the number on the scale doesn’t always tell the whole story.
Use other ways to check your weight besides the scale, including your energy levels… how tight your clothes are fitting, [and] tracking food and exercise.
By learning and relying on other signs, you may ultimately be able to ditch the scale — especially after it runs out of batteries.