A Fitness Trainer Says Do This 7 Days a Week to Lose Weight

© POPSUGAR Photography / Sheila Gim

BY Jenny Sugar ,  PopSugar

The idea of stepping on the scale is a little controversial. Some experts, including Harley Pasternak, will tell you not to have a scale and not to weigh yourself. Psychotherapist Dr. Kathryn Smerling agrees, pointing out that fixating on the numbers on the scale can turn into an unhealthy obsession and make you forget about the importance of focusing on "feeling good in body and spirit."

"If you have gained a pound, then very often that will lead to emotional depression," Dr. Smerling said. "If you have lost a pound, it can lead to elation and a feeling that you can reward yourself. Being on the scale tends to have a yo-yo effect on our emotions and our weight."

At any given time, all your weight is is how heavy you are. - On any given day that’s all it is. - Your weight over time can tell you a lot though. - Like have you been in a calorie deficit? - Your weight any given morning doesn’t tell you much though. And treating it as such holds no benefit - at least none that I can think of. - What could taking it seriously possibly do in terms of harm though? - Well, for one, it could drive you fuckin crazy. - Because it’s gonna go up after days you were great and if you take it too seriously, you’re gonna think that actually matters. - And at this point, I’ll tell you, the fix to this is not to avoid the scale, it’s to get on more often. - Why? - Because you want accuracy, the more data the better. - Because if all you do is get on once a week, and your weight can fluctuate anywhere from 1-5 pounds — maybe even more sometimes! — irregardless of fat loss or gain, it means you could be losing fat and hop on the scale 3-4 weeks down the road and weigh more that day compared to the day you started. - All that happened is all those days off you stayed off, you missed a bunch of days the number was lower. - Your average was going down, but you didn’t have the information necessary to see that. - So that’s why getting on more often makes sense. And it probably helps regulate behaviours too. - So if you wanna know what your weight actually is and where it’s going, you should get on the scale more, not less. - Unless you can’t help but let it drive you nuts. In that case, consider a break. But if you can get it on daily while realizing what it says each morning isn’t a big deal, the more you get on the better information you will have. - Got scale problems? Drop me a comment and tell me about it. . .

A post shared by Chad Hargrove (@chadhargrove1) on Aug 7, 2018 at 5:12pm PDT

 But if weight loss is your goal, the numbers on the scale can be a valuable piece of information and way to monitor progress. If you've recently made a change to your diet or your activity level, weighing yourself can be a good indication of whether what you're doing is working.

If you choose to use the scale as a tool, NASM- and NSCA-certified personal trainer and nutrition coach Chad Hargrove isn't a fan of once-a-week weigh-ins but rather weekly averages. "You should get on the scale more, not less," he said. If you weigh yourself every morning, you can calculate the seven-day average to more accurately illustrate true progress over time.

What's great about weighing yourself daily is that it gives you more of the big picture. As shown in the graphic, if you only weighed yourself on Fridays, you wouldn't see that you are in fact losing weight faster than you thought.

Still not convinced? A small study run by Cornell University found that men and women who weighed themselves daily and tracked the results not only lost weight, but after two years, the average weight regained was close to zero pounds.

Be mindful that you will see fluctuations every day. It's totally normal based on whether or not you've had a bowel movement, how much you ate or drank the day before, how much you exercised, whether or not you're retaining water, etc. Knowing you're taking the average of those seven days can put your mind at ease about those daily fluctuations.

On a personal note, I've been using this method for a few months, and it's been so helpful in monitoring my progress. Of course, we're not saying that weighing yourself daily (or at all!) is absolutely necessary to reach your goal. But if you see progress, it can inspire you to keep going. Do what works for you!