Could weighing-in help you lose weight?

A new study found that weight loss is related to how often individuals weighed themselves. So how often should you weigh in?

Researchers analysed 2 838 weight measurements (up to a years’ worth of weigh-ins) from 40 overweight individuals who indicated that weight loss was a personal goal or concern. The researchers found that weight loss was related to how often individuals weighed themselves.

“The more often you weigh yourself the more weight you lose,” says the lead author, Elina Helander, from Tempere Univeristy of Technology in Finland. According to their findings, the average time that participants could go between weigh-ins without gaining weight was 5,8 days or about a weekly weigh-in.

The skinniest day of the week

Previous studies by the research team found that you should weigh yourself at least once a week if you wish to lose weight, and weighing yourself every day may help you stay on track.

However, another study by the same research team found that your weight naturally fluctuates throughout the week with most people weighing the least on Wednesday.

How to make this work for your diet

“The bottom line is: If you want to lose weight, it’s best to weigh yourself every day. But if you weigh yourself only once a week, do it on Wednesday, because that will give you the most accurate reading,” advises Brian Wansink, PhD, Director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab and author of Slim by Design: Mind Eating Solutions for Everyday Lifeadvises.