What Is The Best Day Of The Week to Weigh Yourself?

When you're trying to lose weight, one of best weapons is the scale. Research has consistently shown that people who weight themselves regularly are generally the most successful at dropping the pounds.

The thinking: monitoring your weight regularly will help you spot if you're falling off the weight loss train so you can hop back on, or for that matter, seeing a drop in numbers which should help you stay extra motivated with diet and exercise.

So how often should you be stepping on the scale? Those who weigh daily and pick up on trends in pounds gained or lost tend to do the best. Those who weight less frequently -- less often than once a week or longer -- tend to be the least successful.

Is there any trick to doing a weight check? Not really. You simply need to be consistent. Same time of day, same clothes (or lack of), and same scale.

Now here's the interesting part of some new research: Is there a best day of the week to weigh yourself?

According to a new study, the answer is yes.

Researchers followed 40 people for a year and weighed them a grand total of 2,900 times over the course of a year.

The most accurate day of the week for what your weight is tends to be WEDNESDAY.

Makes sense, especially when you consider we tend to eat and drink more on weekends. Most are physically less active on weekends (watching sports).

Picking that day smack in the middle of the week also provides a good average of where you are if you're retaining water or somewhere in your menstrual cycle that might influence weight.

Bottom line: every day is a good day to hope on the scale if you're doing it every day.

But if you have to pick one day… or looking for seven day average of what that you are tipping the scales at—Wednesday is your day.

Remember, a solid goal is two pounds a week. Try to lose more through some funky diet and odds are you'll be disappointed months down the line.

And don't forget to keep a journal or write on a calendar what your numbers are. And make note of how much looser your clothes are fitting.

Good luck!

WEDNESDAY!

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Dr. Dave Hnida is CBS4's Medical Editor. He blogs about the latest studies and trends in the health world. Read his latest blog entries, check out his bio or follow him on Twitter @drdavehnida.