> Weigh yourself when you start, then come back after three months.
Dissenting voice here:
As somewhat of a numbers junkie, weighing myself every day is absolutely crucial. I know the numbers fluctuate (if you weigh yourself every day, you can't help but learn that), but they can give you a much-needed reality check. More importantly, I got myself addicted to taking data, and the most precise scale I had available was at the gym ... so I went to the gym.
You'll definitely be able to see yourself trending downwards.
That's fine, but I would argue that even for this purpose the number is kind of useless. It's only vaguely a proxy for appearance or ability, so why not measure what you're trying to do more directly?
Interested in appearance? Go for waist/thigh/wherever measurements (as 'aaronblohowiak' suggested).
Interested in fitness? Measure that. If you're running you can record how far you went or how fast you did it. If you're lifting weights the options for measurement are pretty obvious.
An oft-used quote from the engineering world is "what gets measured gets improved." A corollary to that should be "measurement encourages improvement when the improvements are obvious." It's hard to look at a number on a scale and say "what can I do to make this better." It's easy to look at a daily calorie count or your post-run/post-lift numbers and know what needs to be done.
All of that said, "more effective" is relative to what you actually do. If a daily weigh-in is what works for you, that's awesome keep it up.
I think it's bad general advice because results come slowly and when they do your appearance may not reflect the number changes in the way you'd expect. Most people are terrible at estimating weight, much less how a weight change will be reflected in appearance.
I started out pretty fat; I think my weight was changing faster. Probably as the cube of my waistline. :p Also, my girlfriend at the time (a nurse) informed me that a lot of weight loss in the beginning is visceral fat, and won't necessarily manifest as shrinking dimensions, but will make you healthier.
Comments
> Weigh yourself when you start, then come back after three months.
Dissenting voice here:
As somewhat of a numbers junkie, weighing myself every day is absolutely crucial. I know the numbers fluctuate (if you weigh yourself every day, you can't help but learn that), but they can give you a much-needed reality check. More importantly, I got myself addicted to taking data, and the most precise scale I had available was at the gym ... so I went to the gym.
You'll definitely be able to see yourself trending downwards.
That's fine, but I would argue that even for this purpose the number is kind of useless. It's only vaguely a proxy for appearance or ability, so why not measure what you're trying to do more directly?
Interested in appearance? Go for waist/thigh/wherever measurements (as 'aaronblohowiak' suggested).
Interested in fitness? Measure that. If you're running you can record how far you went or how fast you did it. If you're lifting weights the options for measurement are pretty obvious.
An oft-used quote from the engineering world is "what gets measured gets improved." A corollary to that should be "measurement encourages improvement when the improvements are obvious." It's hard to look at a number on a scale and say "what can I do to make this better." It's easy to look at a daily calorie count or your post-run/post-lift numbers and know what needs to be done.
All of that said, "more effective" is relative to what you actually do. If a daily weigh-in is what works for you, that's awesome keep it up.
I think it's bad general advice because results come slowly and when they do your appearance may not reflect the number changes in the way you'd expect. Most people are terrible at estimating weight, much less how a weight change will be reflected in appearance.
Isn't the circumference of the waistline a better measure?
I started out pretty fat; I think my weight was changing faster. Probably as the cube of my waistline. :p Also, my girlfriend at the time (a nurse) informed me that a lot of weight loss in the beginning is visceral fat, and won't necessarily manifest as shrinking dimensions, but will make you healthier.