The Best Time to Weigh Yourself

The Best Time to Weigh Yourself – Here’s a funny story for you guys: A friend of mine recently took her husband out on a big splurge dinner for his birthday to Cheesecake Factory. Later that night, she noticed one of the first things he did when they got home was go weigh himself.  So it made me think, when is the best time to weigh yourself?

It seemed a bit odd that he’d choose such an odd time to step on the scale, but she didn’t say anything. That is until a week later when they went out with some friends for lunch and he did it again. She asked him and his answer was, “I dunno. When is the best time to weigh myself?”

The Best Time to Weigh YourselfQuick answer – never after you eat, that’s for sure.

When you are following a weight-loss plan, the scale can be your best friend and your worst enemy. Weighing yourself consistently can give you a sense of accomplishment and hold you accountable with your health and fitness goals. If you weighed five pounds less than what you did the previous time, then heck, that’s a huge confidence builder and proves what you are doing is working.

But the scale can also be a tricky device that, when not used properly, can give you false numbers. According to WebMD, it’s natural for your weight to fluctuate a few pounds day to day or week to week.

Normal weight fluctuations may be due to:

  1. Eating starchy or salty foods
  2. The weather
  3. Water retention due to hormonal changes (PMS )

Needless to say, weighing yourself after a meal, or even daily, is not ideal. The trick is to pick a specific day and time and stick to that. More specifically, I say the best time to weigh yourself is once per week and to do it first thing in the morning. That’s when the scale is giving you the most accurate reading. Every trainer, nutrition specialists, health and fitness coach is different, but I have my clients check in with me on Friday morning.

I do that because we meal prep over the weekend so it’s easier to stay on track throughout the week. Not to mention, it allows you to have your splurge meal over the weekend without worrying about it or feel guilty. I used to hate when my trainer had me weigh in on Mondays because I couldn’t enjoy the weekend with friends and family. And if I did, I’d be at my worst weight coming off the weekend.

It wasn’t that I was falling off track, it was that the weigh in strategy was off the mark. So allow for that free meal and enjoy the weekend, but then get back on track starting Sunday.

Whatever you decide, just be smart about it and don’t behold yourself to what the scale says. The important thing is to do something every day that gets you closer to your goal.

That’s when you will see the true fruits of your labor – and it may just be on the scale.