This is part 2 of my series Should you weigh yourself daily or weekly? Part 1 is here.

Weekly habits are more likely to disappear than daily habits

Weighing yourself weekly can very easily slip into weighing yourself never. Suppose Rachel is trying to lose weight. She plans to regularly weigh herself, every Sunday.

Then Monday comes, and she remembers that she missed her weekly weigh-in yesterday. She thinks, “Oops, didn’t do it yesterday, I’ll weigh myself next Sunday”. But then a few events come up during the week, like heavy restaurant meals, a birthday, etc. She knows that her weight will be up. She’s a little worried about it. And that leads Rachel to avoid weighing herself next Sunday.

It’s a slippery slope. And avoiding the scale leads to anxiety about stepping on it—an anxiety that wouldn’t exist if you stepped on the scale every single day.

This is how many people gain weight. It’s not because they’re weighing themselves every day, and saying “Darn, I gained half a pound”. No, they stop weighing entirely, because it’s uncomfortable. This can last for years, and cause massive weight gain.

Daily weigh-ins provide daily feedback—feedback you need to make healthier choices

When you weigh in weekly, it’s seen as a “moment of truth”. But that’s the last thing your weight should be.

It’s not a moment of truth. It’s a number that can help you check how you ate and drank over the last few days. You might decide, based on the number, if you need to re-evaluate your food habits. Maybe you splurged yesterday on a special meal, and your weight shows this. You may choose to eat more lightly today.

If you’re weighing daily, the number on the scale will remind you of what went well, and what didn’t. You’ll think—hey, I had a huge lunch yesterday, I’m definitely bringing a light lunch today. The number will help you.

What if you’re weighing in just once a week? You’ve probably eaten 21 meals, and lots of snacks. Are you going to remember them all? No. And since you won’t remember them, there’s no way you’ll be able to figure which habits you need to adjust, or which choices you could improve.

And improving your habits and choices is the key to managing your weight.