Many people who are watching their weight develop a certain obsession with the scale. Some dieters weigh themselves at least once a day, but many weigh themselves several times a day. Most people who do the latter report a strange phenomenon - their weight actually fluctuates greatly depending on what the clock on the wall says! Some people report that their weight can change as much as five pounds on any given day! So what is the best time of day to weigh yourself, and should you even be weighing yourself this often?
Let's deal with the primary question first: What time of day is best to weigh yourself? The answer is not as simple as you might think. However, in general, you will weigh much less in the morning just after you get up. That's because you have not been eating or drinking anything during the previous eight hours, or so, because you have been sleeping. By the end of the day, in the evenings just before bed, you may have eaten three meals, and noshed a snack or two in between. Your body most likely has not eliminated the day's food yet - so common sense says you will weigh more - and that's usually the case. Obviously then, it seems it would be much better to weigh yourself in the morning because that should always be a lower number, which is a good thing, right? Yes, it is a good thing, but look at the bigger picture. Your ultimate goal is to weigh less in general, overall and long term. Thus, the few pounds that you fluctuate during the course of the day should be a secondary concern. It's your final, comprehensive target-weight goal that is the most important number, and you should be at or below that number at any time of the day, morning, noon or night.
This brings us to the question of how much you should be weighing yourself in the first place. Many medical and weight loss experts counsel against too much attention to the scale - weighing yourself once a day is probably okay, but if you start weighing yourself several times a day, that can lead to undue psychological stress. Remember, the important number is your ultimate target weight. If you are working diligently on your weight loss program, eating healthy and getting daily exercise, you will reach your target weight eventually. That means there is no need to check your weight every day, and definitely not several times a day. Checking your weight too often can lead to discouragement. Also, if you wait a few days between weigh-ins, you should get a much happier payoff - you'll see more weight loss if you maintain your regimen - and so the weight you lose will demonstrate your overall progress better.
Andy Carter is a contributor/writer for Simple-Flat-Stomach-Exercises.com. For more great information like this, learn about how to get a flat stomach [http://www.simple-flat-stomach-exercises.com/] and the very best cardio exercises [http://www.simple-flat-stomach-exercises.com/cardio-exercises.asp].
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