Why you shouldn’t weigh yourself everyday

Why you shouldn’t weigh yourself everyday and how scales create stress

There are women, lots of them, who weigh themselves daily. Everyone knows, even the ones on the scales, that body weight is influenced by fluid retention, which is influenced by hormones, sports activities and general health. A weekly or fortnightly check will show the weight loss results as a much more reliable indication; daily checks don’t say anything. And every grown-up, rational woman knows that.

So why that daily check?

Being confronted with the numbers on the scale on a daily basis creates a lot of stress. It is the moment of glory or defeat. If the ‘score’ is realistic or not, is irrelevant. When I was in my days of ‘madness’, my obsession with weight, I would go on the scale to set the mood.  My days were coloured by the morning weight outcomes. If I had lost, I was over the moon and felt positive, strong and in control. If I was heavier than the day before, I would check at least 3 more times, but I would also feel very down, angry and a failure.

One study found that daily weighing supported weightloss, as long as the results were positive. But what happened when the results were negative? The impact on emotions were leading to lack of confidence and less motivation to stick to the diet.

A recent study showed how women prepare themselves for the confrontation with the scales. The following actions were executed, to ensure that the results were as low as possible (and therefore as good as it can get):

• Blow dry hair
• Go to toilet
• Go for run first
• Take off ALL jewelry (including wedding ring)
• Hold your breath
• Set the scales to just under zero (isn’t that cheating?)

The stress of dieting

The study also found that quite a few of us lie about our weight loss, because we are either ashamed at not being able to lose weight or worried to be branded as weak.

Nearly half of the women mentioned stress as the main reason for failing a diet and half of those found dieting more stressful than moving house. It was also mentioned that dieting was more stressful than childbirth and even divorce. This might all sound over the top, but it shows that there is a very strong, negative, hidden energy in dieting, body image and weight loss. It reflects much more than just that.

The madness is that only a few of us look a bit deeper than the diet stories. Most of us keep on going back to another diet, only to go through the same process of stress, difficult emotions and disappointment.

You might be developing an eating disorder. Check out the 7 signs here.

If you want to break that cycle, of jo-jo dieting and the emotional strain and obsession that goes with it, I can help you. As an ex-bulimia sufferer, I know from personal experience how food can overtake life and can make you deeply unhappy. I am offering a FREE Coaching Session where we can explore what you can do to break your diet cycle, so grab your slot and let’s create a loving relationship with food and your body.

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