Recently, I have nearly completed a very successful self-directed diet program. After trying other ways to lose weight, I decided to give some of my ideas a try. This article is the first in a series of tips that have worked for me even though they violate conventional wisdom.

I decided to ignore all the extraneous advice and do it my way.

Stepping on the scale each day was my first idea. It is well known I was going against the advice of alleged experts who assert you should engage in weekly weighing sessions at the most. What is the rationale for this? Many think that frequent weighings show little incremental progress which could result in discouragement on the part of the dieter.

If I check my weight just once every week, the problem with that is, I am not able to enjoy my successes (or my failures) soon enough.

Fast Feedback is the Key

Experience has shown that if I engage in daily weighing the immediate feedback is critical in allowing me to assess whether the previous day’s behavior was helpful or counterproductive.

The first thing I purchased when I started the diet was a high quality scale similar to those you’d see in a Doctor’s office. I spent about $150 on this scale, but I feel confident with the results from it since it doesn’t give different readings every day. I think that having such a reliable scale and weighting myself right after getting out of bed, before eating breakfast each day, is a key to getting useful feedback.

This feedback shows me the effects that eating a fast food burger with fries at lunch can have on my weight. It shows that I truly will lose weight if I stay on the diet and I can generally see actual results every couple of days.

A week is just too long for me to be able to know what I am doing right and wrong. Weighing each day lets me see the results quite quickly.

There can be difficulty with stepping on the scale each day. This is most evident when I know I have been “bad” the day before. This negative feeling, however, does serve a purpose. It reinforces my resolve to improve my eating habits that day so the next session will be more positive.

Give this Idea a Try if You are Having Trouble Dieting.