You wake up Monday morning, hit the snooze button X amount of times, literally roll off your mattress and saunter lethargically into the bathroom. During this chain of events, your barefoot hits the cold top of your scale and you blurrily look down at the number… STOP! Monday morning is not the time, place or headspace that you need to be checking your weight. Tracking your weight is the most common form of measurement for health (don’t really agree with that though), but like I said, it’s common. I prefer to just check out how my jeans fit! Whether you are trying to lose, gain or maintain weight, leave that number alone on Mondays.
Monday is a culmination of weekend activities.
Firstly, you’re lacking your normal routine. During the week, usually there are set times that you have to be at work, take your lunch break, pick up kids, teach a class etc. Weekends are a break from that routine and you’re eating habits know that! You’re also not waking up with the same expectations or constraints that a work week has on you. Your sleeping schedule is either more or less then the weekdays. Celebrations often take place on weekends. You are eating at different times, too much or sometimes less then normal. Our willpower has decreased by the end of the week and you are less likely to make smart, healthy food choices.
Monday sets the tone for your week.
Monday has a reputation for being a downer. Just the word Monday has a negative connotation. Mondays are a day when you are abruptly snapped back to reality and to routine. It’s a disease (case of the Mondays), it’s a description (I’m having a Monday), and an insult (you look like a Monday). Why would you want to layer onto that a number on the scale that will most definitely change your mood? Let Monday be itself and pick any other of the 6 days be your weigh in day.
When should I weigh myself?
This is personal preference.
- In the morning.
- Same day of the week.
- Not more then 1x per week.
You have tons of willpower on a Monday but you also have some jetlag and resentment from the weekend ending. Your weight will fluctuate throughout the day anywhere between 2-4 lbs. on average. I had a client tell me that they weighed themselves 4 times a day because they did NOT want to gain any weight. Well, stuff goes in and stuff comes out…(human stuff… like air and food etc.). I hope your weight fluctuates daily. I don’t want a person to weigh themselves more then 4 times a month, let alone a day! Too extreme, discouraging and unnecessary.
Transitioning from Saturday and Sunday into Monday is emotional. You have goals that you want to reach and motivation to maintain. Jump right into your workouts on Monday. Have an amazing sweat session, press the mental reset button and leave that scale alone!
Play Hard, Get Fit!
*L*