Weighing yourself sometimes isn’t the most enjoyable of activities — especially if you’re struggling to lose weight.

But even so, it’s important to know whether your time and effort is paying off. That’s why weighing yourself is an essential aspect of any weight-loss plan and an important part of monitoring your overall health.

It doesn’t, however, need to be part of your daily routine.

That’s according to Helene Aulisio, an exercise physiologist at YMCA of Coastal Carolina and an expert in helping clients tone up, get healthy and drop pounds.

Indeed, as Aulisio notes, while it may seem intuitive to weight yourself daily, she recommends her clients check themselves only on a periodic basis rather than every day.

“When we start to eat better and engage in regular exercise, a healthy weight is the product,” she says. “I recommend clients weight themselves daily if required by a physician. If not, I suggest weighing themselves every two to three weeks to make sure they are moving in the right direction.”

There is good reason behind Aulisio’s recommendation — most notably her belief that body weight isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to health. It’s important, yes. But it’s not everything.

When weighing yourself, early mornings are the most accurate time of day, Aulisio says, because that’s the time that generally offers the best baseline for comparison purposes.

Still, while body weight is indeed something that needs to be monitored and managed, it shouldn’t be the singular focus of a holistic healthy living plan. If you’re looking to become healthier, she says focus less on what the scale says and more on how you feel.

“What you see on the scale does not dictate the hard work you have done, the progress you have made or the person you are,” she says. “I encourage others to go by how they feel and how they fit in their clothing. Do you feel that it was easier to run errands without getting fatigued? Do your jeans feel looser? Do you have more energy?

“Do not become stuck on a value. Instead, become motivated by how you feel and empowered by what you are able to accomplish because of the changes you have made with your health.”