How often should you weigh yourself? If I only had a dollar for every time someone asked me this in my Coaching practice! 

Most people know not to weigh themselves every single day because on any given day your weight can be off by a couple to several pounds in either direction based on the amount and type of food and drink you consumed (or the lack of it), the type and amount of exercise, biological processes and more.  

But knowing this, what is the right answer for how often to weigh in? The truth is it depends quite a bit on how far along you are in your weight loss journey. It also depends on your personality.

The traditional answer is usually that you should weigh yourself weekly, but for many people that's simply too often. This is why, much to their surprise (and delight) I recommend bi-weekly weigh-ins for many of my weight loss coaching clients for a number of reasons.

Why Bi-Weekly Weigh Ins?

1. You Want to See a Bigger Weight Loss Number

After the initial drop in weight from simply doing the right things in terms of diet and exercise for a couple of weeks or so, it's not normal (or healthy) for most people to see big numbers down each week on the scale.

Many people don't like to see small weight loss numbers show up on the scale and get discouraged if they do. We're wired to get more excited if we see five pounds are gone in one shot, rather than a two pound loss one week and a three pound loss the next even though it's exactly the same!

2.  You Have Less Weight to Lose and Feel It's Happening at a Snail's Pace

I've had clients who had as few as 10 or 15 pounds to lose who felt it should be gone overnight, and got frustrated when it wasn't.  So to stay motivated, they needed to see more movement at once. The same is true if you are getting close to your weight loss goal--the weight just doesn't come off as fast in the home stretch which is why some give up on those "last five pounds."  But by giving your body more time to let go of the weight between measurements, you're more likely to see what you want on the scale.

3.  You Have Trouble Being Consistent Enough Over the Short-Term

One of my clients who is still early in the process of working with me on changing many of her behaviors ebbs and flows with her food and exercise sometimes due to her hectic lifestyle, eating out a lot and social events--as many of us experience--but overall she does the right things most of the time and the trend is good.  But if we weighed her weekly, chances are she would see no weight loss or a pound up or down one week, and then a good weight loss the second.  I know she would get discouraged and have trouble accepting the "off week" results, which would then impact the following week's results, so we do bi-weekly weigh ins.

In time, I expect she'll be able to be more consistent week-to-week as we work to change more and more of her habits, but Rome wasn't built in a day, and there's no point in her losing motivation until this occurs.

Weight loss success, in my opinion, is all about dealing as closely as possible to a person's reality and who they uniquely are, and then work with them over time to alter what that reality should be over time. 

4.  You Feel Too Much Pressure When You Weigh In Weekly

I've found that especially for those who are stress eaters and emotional eaters, weighing yourself weekly can be just too much pressure.  These are both personality types who turn to food as a coping mechanism for daily life, so adding weekly weigh in pressure usually makes it that much harder to break those destructive eating habits.  Take the focus off the scale, and put it on making small changes that are healthier ways to deal with stess eating and emotional eating, and it works like a charm.

The Weigh In Takeaway

No doubt some of you reading this might be thinking "but I need the accountability of weighing myself weekly." And if you do and find this works for you, go ahead by all means.  But if you relate well to one of the four scenarios I gave that makes the case for a bi-weekly weigh in, then give it a try and you're likely to be very pleased with the results.

Just don't forget that a successful weight loss journey isn't tracked just by the number you see on the scale. It's seen in the changes in your measurements, how your clothes fit you, the ease of effort in doing everyday things that left you huffing and puffing before, progress in exercise and being active and how much more confident, happy and empowered you feel!

Please speak with your healthcare professional about your specific needs and to determine if Wellness Coaching is appropriate for you and before implementing any suggestions on this Your Healthy Life Made Easy Blog.  Individual results may vary and cannot be guaranteed.  Melanie Jordan is not liable for any loss or injury associated with information published on this blog as it is provided solely for your education and entertainment.

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