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I Weigh Myself Daily. Should I?
It depends.
The morbidity and mortality associated with being overweight have been known to the medical profession since the Hippocrates of Kos more than 2500 years ago. This physician is considered the “father of medicine” and is the first who believed that diseases are caused naturally and not by the gods.
Hippocrates believed an excellent diet had medicinal qualities. Also, he used lifestyle changes (including physical activity) to manage diseases such as diabetes. Ont the subject of obesity, he joined his fellow citizens in ancient Greece in considering the excess weight to result from a lazy lifestyle. Here are his musings about about being overweight:
“Dieting which causes excessive loss of weight, as well as the feeding-up of an emaciated person, is beset with difficulties.”
The physician also advised his patients to pursue an active lifestyle and exercise, asserting “Walking is man’s best medicine.”
Some suggest that you should weigh yourself daily if you want to maintain or lose weight. But is this recommendation appropriate? It depends on your goals:
- Consider weighing yourself every day if you are trying to lose weight.
- Consider weighing yourself less often if you are maintaining your current weight.
