This time of year, I get a lot of panicky calls from my patients who are trying to lose weight. They usually go something like this: “Dawn, I’ve been following the eating plan you gave me all day and my scale hasn’t budged. What am I doing wrong?” I reassure them that the only mistake you can make is weighing yourself too much!

We know from the National Weight Control Registry, a study of 5,000 men and women who have dropped 30 pounds or more and kept it off for a year or more, that 75 percent of successful dieters hop on the scale at least once a week. I weigh myself weekly -- around the same time of day, in the same type of clothes, using the same scale -- for the most accurate reading.

The reason I don’t do it more often: To lose 1 pound, you’ve got to knock off 3,500 calories. That’s not going to happen in a day. In addition, everyone has daily weight fluctuations of up to several pounds -- usually fleeting -- for many different reasons. For example, fluid retention from eating a lot of salt can cause perceptible gains, while sweating out fluids during your workout can cause noticeable losses. If you track these irrelevant fluctuations, you’re setting yourself up for false hope or disappointment.

While I prefer the once-a-week scale check, some of my patients tell me they’re more apt to stay on track with a daily weigh-in. They use it as a concrete reminder of their new healthy eating and exercise habits. I’m totally fine with that. But weighing yourself more than once a day (like many of my newbie patients do!) is obsessive and unhealthy. In fact, if you ever find yourself getting emotional about what the scale reads, you should back away from it for a while. Getting upset usually isn’t motivational; it will probably sabotage your diet.

Keep this in mind as well: Your weight is only one measure of success. If you’ve been eating more vegetables and whole grains, for instance, your scale may not register a difference right away. But chances are your blood pressure, cholesterol numbers and energy levels have improved. And that means you’re definitely on the right track.

Dawn Jackson Blatner is a registered dietitian in Chicago and a national media spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. She has also written The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life. Her website is DawnJacksonBlatner.com.

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