Remember when we thought it best to avoid hopping on the scale too often (or sometimes altogether) when trying to lose weight, because it isn't a full-picture view of your progress? While that's still true — paying attention to how your clothes fit or taking photos can help you monitor progress even if the number on the scale isn't budging — scientists are now saying it may not be the best idea to stow the scale in the back of your linen closet.
Instead, they want you to step on it. Every. Single. Morning. A new study in the Journal of Obesity found that those who did just that — and recorded the number regularly — forced people to be aware of how their daily eats and exercise affected their weight. It also helped people keep the weight off if they kept up the habit, again for the same reason — it just makes you more cognizant of what you're putting in your body, and how much you're moving it, to keep it in a healthy place.
And while that may not sounds like a big deal, it actually is: research has found that 40 percent of those who diet to lose weight gain it back in one year. So if you're over all the "don't eat this, definitely forget about that," advice that's clogging up your news feed, just try this one five-second trick. As soon as you get out of bed and go to the bathroom (come on, you know you've gotta pee first thing), step on the scale — that's when your body weight is most accurate, experts say. It may just put your mindset in the right place to keep those healthy habits on track.
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