blaine

Curious to know when most people weigh themselves, and how often. I tend to weigh myself after my workout, in the morning because this seems to be the most dramatic effect, albeit probably not the most consistent as I can lose anywhere from 1-6 pounds depending on the intensity (sweat) of my workout. What do other folks do?

bac

I almost never weigh myself. I can generally tell if I'm gaining too much weight by the way my clothes fit me. However, it makes sense to weigh yourself after a hot and hard workout to insure that you are replacing your fluids @ an adequate rate.

If you're interested in tracking your weight loss, make sure that you weigh yourself around the same time every day. Depending on a variety of factors (hydration being one), your weight will vary throughout the day.

ChipRGW

Does not matter when you weigh yourself, as long as you do it consistently, the same time of day each time. In the morning you weigh the least. Right before bed the most. To get your "true" weight I guess you'd need to weigh yourself several times during the day and average it.

jchet

I track my weight and body fat % everyday for my training log. I weigh myself first thing in the morning after using the bathroom. This allows me to stay consistant on weight tracking. I may also weigh myself after the training ride but I do not record this weight.

The problem with weighing yourself post ride is you would not be consistant as there are days you may not ride, and days you may ride harder or softer. Weighing yourself in the morning first thing will be the best bet. Weight increases would be from diet. If you ate something for dinner that caused you to retain water such as pasta you might see a gain in weight.

Because I am anal about this stuff I use an online software program and log what I eat, my weight, and time trained and calories burned each day. So if I see and increase in weight I can look over this program and will see a trend of increased calories. Same with a decrease in weight.

salvaico

I weigh myself in the morning and at night. Occasionally in between too. Mainly I find it interesting watching the differences between day and night. If I was ambition I would record it, but I'm not. Maybe I can get a scale which could hook into my network and record its settings itself :-)

I'd like to measure body fat too, but haven't found anything I wanted to buy yet.

ljbike

I weigh myself twice a day: once after a very large meal, and once after a ver big dump. I'm happy to report that it doesn't make any difference, I've still got the same body.

Tanta, the weight scale people, suggest that the best time is in the evening.

wabbit

I usually weigh myself first thing in the AM. But our scale isn't the greatest, so I'll weigh myself at the gym, which has a doctor's scale. Usually, that's later in the day, so I take that into account. Also I don't tend to weigh myself just before or during my period. I wait until a couple of days after it ends.

cyclezealot

In about 3 months, after I get another 2,500 miles under my belt. Hopefully, with a snugger belt.

IowaParamedic

I step on the scale twice a day. First thing in the morning and right before bed. I can tell how I did for the day. If I worked out enough or ate too much, it shows up. I also keep a log.

Croak

You do realise that any differential any weight during the day will be purely hydration?

I weight myself every Saturday morning before my group ride. To get a good stable measure and also to assess whether I kept hydrated through the ride (weigh yourself after, any negative change means you need more water).

Zin

Every Sunday morning right after I get out of bed.

RonH

Monday morning.

RunYun

Every morning ~5:30 am (Naked). I figure in my birthday suit is the most accurate. I track my weight and a calculated body fat %. I also track my resting heart rate. I plot this on a Excel chart to see my progress over time. It's pretty cool to see if go from 230 lbs December 2002 to 181 lbs November 2003. Here I come 170.

sm266

I weigh when I feel fat or like I've gained. Usually, though, I just go by how my clothes feel.

IowaParamedic

Not necessarily. If I weigh 204 in the morning, and 206 at night, more than likely I will weigh 204 in the morning again. However, if my night weight is 208 - then there is a problem, and I need to watch what I am eating.

I've lost 107 lbs using this system.

F1_Fan

I ensure I'm properly hydrated in the evening then weigh myself in the morning after the AM pee. For me that seems to be the most consistent time of day. In the evening I'm all over the place depending on exercise and eating.

Unfortunately, I hit my minimum weight (i.e., poop) at about 10AM at work (LOL) but I'm not going to take the scale to work. I can't seem to train myself for a morning poop either.

travis200

3x a week usually after work around 4pm

Croak

I understand the method, but it is extremely vague. That's fine for when you are a little heavier, as the lbs are a lot easier to lose but IMO, I would consider looking at a new technique. You may be hampering your hydration levels or undereating, both of which will result in halting lipolysis.

jacob

if you weigh randomly, then you can get some sort of crude average;
if at a certain time, you need a better scale and still come up with vague statistics
the weight thing can be extremely vague, and to digress, diet is important to consider when taking your weight (for example, did you eat fruits/vegetables or otoh dairy or bread) each time

Jacob

DnvrFox

Every Saturday am does it fine for me.

I track changes in weight, not absolute weight, as our scale differs from the one in the gym by about 3 pounds.

And, I can track a direct correlation between my eating habits during the week and my weight on Saturday am.

aerobat

For about six months I weighed myself first thing in the morning, after pee, and last thing at night before bed. I have a Tanita scale, so also took my bodyfat%.

My weight was always lowest in the morning, but body fat was higher, with the reverse at night. As others have mentioned this reflects hydration levels as the Tanita scale is affected by that.

The main thing is not to worry too much about actual weight, but changes, and by recording the results, you can see what the trend is over a period of time, not just a quick snapshot of a given time.

I still use the same system, but not quite as stringently.

blaine

Yeah, I just want to start weighing myself to get some idea as to determine some attainable goals. I just got a new road bike (Look, Ultegra) and am determined to lose weight and at the same time get back in shape. I have ridden Mnt Mitchell, Cycle Md a couple times, Cycle NC, so at one time was in a certain degree of decent shape. I want to get all that back under control again.