To weigh or not to weigh after an overly indulgent week?

[Anonymous]

Pretend you’ve spent 8 weeks eating right and getting to the gym, and you’ve lost a modest but pleasing amount of weight for the first time in years.

Then you have a vacation or something—little exercise and lots of extra food and drink.

Do you hop on the scale to check the damage before returning to good habits, or do you wait two weeks or so to shield yourself from the number?

[Anonymous]

I weigh myself as a reminder of what “damage” overindulging does to my goals.

[Anonymous]

Just do it. Often it’s not as bad as you’re imagining.

[Anonymous]

Eating an excess of 500 calories a day for a week straight is literally a pound. It's nothing.

If overindulging is something you think about or deal with often, that's an eating disorder, not a vacation.

[Anonymous]

I understand this question completely and my vote is to weigh.

Others are right that there is no way you gained more than a pound or so in body fat. Weighing and seeing the fluctuations will help you really understand what happens to your body and you'll see how quickly that number changes.

I way every single morning. Sometimes it is up by a bit, and some times inexplicably down. But the trend line always remains down over time. This helps with perspective.

[Anonymous]

How long does it take for the weight gain to show up after overindulging?

[Anonymous]

WW will tell you that knowing is better than no knowing. It's just information.

[Anonymous]

I weigh every morning, good or bad. It's not a punishment, just a reminder that each day is a new day. I often find that new weight disappears quickly -- sometimes in a day -- if I get back on track right away. But I don't like to hide from the scale. That would just encourage me to stay off the wagon a bit longer.

[Anonymous]

I weigh myself everyday. I've lost weight and kept it off this way.

[Anonymous]

Weigh. You are just taking in data, don’t use it to make some moral judgement about your eating.

[Anonymous]

Weigh yourself. Confront the damage and correct it immediately.

[Anonymous]

No way. Get back on track.

[Anonymous]

I weighed. It was up a pound and a quarter.

In the past, that would have sent me on another tear of overreaction and overeating, but the new me is ready to steady the ship, get back to the gym and to better eating habits.

Thanks to all for your perspectives.

[Anonymous]

I would do it. It's a good feeling as the water weight comes off and the number drops back down during the week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I weighed. It was up a pound and a quarter.

In the past, that would have sent me on another tear of overreaction and overeating, but the new me is ready to steady the ship, get back to the gym and to better eating habits.

Thanks to all for your perspectives.

Maybe, MAYBE, .25 of that is actual fat. The rest is probably water from all the carbs and salt. You hold 3g of water for every 1g of carbs you’re storing, so water weight accounts for most of the increase after a couple indulgent days. Will probably be back to normal in 3-4 days.