From: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/weighing111605/home.html

Study Suggests Daily Self-Weighing Should Be Emphasized In Messages About Weight Control

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (Nov. 16 2005)--University of Minnesota researchers found that people who are either trying to lose weight or avoid gaining weight do better by weighing themselves daily. Study participants who weighed themselves daily or weekly had better weight outcomes than those who weighed themselves less frequently. Daily self-weighing should be emphasized in clinical and public health messages about weight control, according to the new study published in the December issue of Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Previously, clinical and public health recommendations for better controlling body weight did not emphasize weight self-monitoring. In addition, well-known weight-loss programs do not widely recommend participants weigh themselves daily; instead, many programs recommend weekly self-weighing. Public health recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control do not include self-weighing at all.

“Our study showed that higher weighing frequency was associated with greater weight loss or less weight gain after 24 months,” said lead researcher Jennifer Linde, assistant professor in the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health. “If people notice that their weight has increased, they may try to make that small correction rather than try to compensate after gaining a larger amount of weight.”

The research team evaluated self-weighing practices of more than 3,000 people participating in two different groups—those involved in a weight-loss program and those in a weight-gain prevention program. Both groups received the directive to weigh themselves at least once a week.

The first study group consisted of 1,800 obese or overweight adults enrolled in a weight-loss program. Participants all had a body mass index (BMI) of at least 27 and were randomly divided into three groups: a telephone-based weight-loss intervention, a mail-based weight loss intervention, or a usual-care control condition. The researchers weighed them every six months for two years. The average 12-month and 24-month weight losses of 1.3 and 2 BMI units respectively, were in the clinically significant range.

The second group consisted of 1,226 adults enrolled in a weight-gain prevention trial, all with a BMI above 25. They were randomly divided into an educational weight-control intervention, the same educational intervention plus a reward for returning self-monitoring postcards, or a minimal-contact control condition. The researchers weighed the participants at the study's outset and every year for three years. In this group, the researchers found that the control group decreased weighing over time, and both intervention groups increased weighing over time. Even though weight maintenance was the goal for this group, daily weighing also led to weight loss at the 12- and 24-month time points.

Contrary to what they say to weighing daily and your natural ups and downs I find it motivating.

If my weight is down that puts me on a high and gives me the renewed dedication to keep going. If it's not moved for days and days or worse, gone up I know I have to reign things in and get back to basics.

I try not to weigh myself everyday, but it's addicting. I tend to fluctuate about 2lbs from day to day.

Thank goodness I weigh every day! Wake up, grab my coffee that DH leaves on the nightstand for me, stumble to the kitchen, up on the scale, over to the laundry room, get a pen out of the drawer and record the daily weight on the calendar, put pen back in drawer... it's now a ritual. It does keep me motivated - even when it goes up... I don't let the stay the same or up a little days get me down. I do however get really excited when it goes down 1/2 lb or a lb. Good way to wake up.

Kim, that's pretty much my ritual too, right down to the coffee that DH leaves for me! (Awwww....)

For me, weighing daily keeps me mindful. That's all I take from it--it's not validation, humiliation, a kick up or a shove down. It's just information that I need to proceed. And I can totally understand that this information helps make people more successful at watching their weight. You can't watch something if you're not actually watching it, ya know?

I too weigh everyday...just keeps me from getting too much out of hand. Then I average my weight for the week. I have it on a spreadsheet and it always has a downward trend of course.

I weigh every morning too.

I'd seen reference to that study in 3 different magazines I read, so I went looking for it online. I wanted to see how many people actually do this

Yup. I weigh everyday, and like Alexandra, I don't beat myself up too much or get too excited, but it's a direct correlation to the choices I have made, good or bad. I have to be honest with myself and decide on a daily basis if that is okay with me or what I am willing to do to change it.

I weigh daily to keep myself in check!!!

I wasn't weighing everyday because of being told on previous weight loss programs that you should not..............but I agree the even though the daily up and down 1 to 2 lbs can drive you bonkers....it does keep you in line and keeps you from going totally A.W.O.L.....however this morning I couldn't take what it would say after consuming too much chocolate on V day yesterday!

I weigh every day. It keeps me accountable to myself for my daily food and exercise choices. I don't beat myself up about a little fluctuation in my weight either. I have to admit that since I had my lap band surgery I look forward to my morning weigh in. My weight just keeps creeping down the scale. Yahoo!

the very first thing! keeps me accountable in check.

I also weigh ever morning. I used to look at it as a bad addiction, but I think it's all in how you look at it. I too started using it as a motivational tool. Like someone else said earlier, if the scale is down-that motivates me to keep going....If it's up a little, that too motivates me to try even harder. (However, I will not lie and say that I have not let the upward fluctuations disappoint me before). Now I think I would go through withdrawl and start convulsing or something if someone took my scale away:p

I like to weight everyday when i'm losing

I weigh myself almost every morning, I travel with work so I don't weigh myself when I am on the road. I have the scales in my ironing room so I get up everymorning grab the shirt I plan to wear and head off to weigh myself and Iron my shirt.

I only weigh myself on those scales and refuse to step on any other scales. I wonder how everyone else feels about using different scales, Maybe I'm a a little crazy, who knows.