Is Regular Self-Weighing Necessary or Important?
Regular self-weighing is not really important or necessary, but if you are obsessed about your weight, then once a week is the best.
Should you weigh yourself regularly on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?
As I mentioned in the last piece on logging calories, a focus on weight and weighing implies that you believe your weight is a fundamentally important number in your quest to live long, healthy…a concept that does not hold water if you are otherwise healthy and not morbidly obese [1]. Unfortunately, in our weight and looks obsessed society, external appearances have become the paramount indicators of how healthy you believe you are and are likely to be perceived to be.
If your weight is important to you as a number, then it becomes logical that you weigh yourself on a regular basis. It is only when you know what you weigh and whether that weight is stable or not, will you be able to take measures to keep that weight within a specific range, as many studies have shown [2]. Simply put, those who weigh themselves regularly are better able to manage their weight.
So the answer to the question I posed at the beginning is…no. However, if your self-worth and self-esteem are tied to your weight, then please weigh yourself regularly.
