Adult who lost 30 pounds or more and are able to keep the weight off for more than one year do so by regularly monitoring their weight on a scale.* I can see how the idea of constantly monitoring your weight might prevent weight gain. By becoming aware of when you have a problem, you can quickly nip it at the bud. For example, I would not keep using my debit card and checkbook without monitor the balance in my bank account. Should I treat my body any differently than my money?

1. Establish a regular schedule for checking your weight. Do not become obsessive!
Like your car, you should establish a regular check-in schedule for your weight. Once a week, preferably at the same time and day, hop on the scale or try on your favorite skinny pants. Hopping on the scale once a day is okay too, but anything more is not. Moderation is important. You do not want to create an additional problem with your relationship with food and your weight by obsessively hopping on the scale every few hours. Your weight is not going to change that much within a few hours because you had an extra cookie!

2. One or two pounds weight difference is nothing to worry about.
Many things can cause a one or two pounds weight difference — retaining too much water, your hormones, and even whether or not you went to the can before you weigh in. Then what is the point of regularly tracking your weight? The point is to see if you have a trend going on. If you are consistently one or two pounds heavier than the previous week, then maybe it is time to worry whether you have a problem after seeing this trend for a month. If you up one week and down one week, that there really is nothing to worry about because all it all balance out (except when you are trying to loose weight, then you would want to see a negative trend).

I am very guilty of not monitoring my weight regularly. I have not hopped on a scale for years since the last time I lost weight. Funny how I have net worth statements of my money from the end of each year from 2004 to 2007, but I cannot recall how much I weight at the end of each year during that time period. But I know it was heavier each passing year. I just chose to ignore it. If you find that you are starting to slowly gain weight again, it is easier to correct the problem within a month when your weight gain is in the single digits, than to wait years when the weight gain is in the double or triple digits. I kept telling myself I was imagining it, but if I had monitor my weight just a little bit more vigilantly, I would not be struggle now to loose weight in the double digits.

*National Weight Control Registry.