[Arctic Mama]

My ticker is honest! I forgot to update it this morning but I did indeed start out at 215-ish, though today I am 215.6. I don't find any benefit in tricking myself by not honestly displaying my current weight or hiding it, that just leads to me not honestly confront my problems with food. Blatant honesty with my weight, good or bad, is most of what is propelling me to improve my habits for life. No more ignoring a number just because I don't like it!

[findingfawn]

Mine is updated on Wednesdays, good or bad it gets updated.

[L R K]

I also update my ticker to represent new lows, however with that being said it is always within 2lbs of my actual weight.

[catherinef]

I update with every new low, and I suppose, if I gained because I was slacking, and kept it on for any substantial amount of time, I would update it to reflect the higher weight. That hasn't happened so far, though, and I don't see the need to note every single fluctuation, when, after 2+ years at this, I know my pattern pretty well, and when I'm retaining water for hormonal reasons, or overindulgence in sodium, and when my weight's just bouncing around across a two or three pound range prior to stabilizing near the lowest weight, and then whooshing off a couple of pounds. That has happened SO consistently during this process that I feel confident in my ability to judge.

I plan on ditching the ticker when I'm satisfied I'm really in maintenance, and not just peeling off a few more pounds.

[toobig]

I only change mine for new low weights. If I were to get way off plan and put on a few pounds I would move it up.

[therex]

mine is probably off by around 5 lbs, but was my biggest low last month and it kind of helps with motivation. I try not to be too serious about keeping it accurate, because my weight is constantly fluctuating.

[eclipse]

Mine was accurate as of yesterday. I'm up a bit today. I don't adjust upward because I'm never up long enough for it matter. If I stuck around up for awhile, I probably would.

[ChrissyBean]

Mine is honest, but like others, if I go up a half lb. (or down 1/2 lb, for that matter) I don't change it.

[TooManyDimples]

I only weigh once a week on Friday's so I change it every Friday. I haven't had to add instead of subtract yet, but I'll probably be honest if I do have a gain. =)

[t0rn]

Mondays are my weigh-ins, and whatever happens to be on the scale that day is what is put in my ticker. Though it's just my short term goal of 30 pounds, it's still showing how much I've lost or gained so far. Up or down, it's going to be updated every Monday.

[kaplods]

It really is a loaded question, because people sometimes tend to feel strongly that their way is the "clearly best way," (for everyone, not just for themselves).

"How often should I weigh myself," threads get the same kind of debates. Monthly weighers, against Weekly weighers against daily weighers, and while most people acknowledge that it really is a personal choice, there are also some who will argue that their way is the only way, and why the other way doesn't work (for anyone).

Even in calorie counting threads, people can become accusatory and judgemental about the "right way" to calorie count. Some people feel that unless you're using a food scale and weighing to the nearest gram, and calculating every calorie to the nearest whole calorie, you're not doing it right. If you're rounding to the nearest 5 or 10, you're "doing it wrong." If you don't count the lettuce leaf on your sandwich, you're doing it wrong.

I count calories using an exchange plan, which means that every "exchange" has approximately the same calories, but it's only an approximation. Each choice within an exchange group can vary by as much as 25 calories.

I can't tell you how many people have told me (online and in person) that I'm "not really" counting calories, because my 1800 calorie exchange plan, could "actually" be 1600 or 2000 calories - so I'm "not being honest" with myself. Or, at the very least I shouldn't call myself a calorie counter.

Bull poop. If I'm not losing, it's not because I'm estimating my calories instead of counting each calorie to the second decimal point. It's not because my ticker is off by a couple of pounds. It's usually because I'm not following my plan, not because my plan isn't strict enough.

I think one of the reasons weight loss studies are still finding "no best" diet, is because they're still trying to find "the single best" diet (for everyone), and I don't think one exists, mainly because people are fat for different reasons.

It's a bit like trying to find a universal headache cure, regardless of whether the headaches are being caused by migraines, flu, meningitis, head injury, brain tumor, allergies....

[calluna]

Yes, indeed, Kaplods - I'm not a "my way or the highway" kind of person, but I see that tone in threads on a pretty regular basis.

I think perhaps a better title for the thread would be "How do you use your ticker?" - the question people are really answering and might argue about.

I do find it fascinating how different people use the ticker and what it means to them.

[Enduring Infinity]

I update my ticker pretty randomly, but I weigh myself everyday. Typically, I try to remember to update it when my weight changes (either up or down) more than two pounds.

[toastedsmoke]

Mine is pretty honest. I update it once a week on Saturdays (currently official weigh in day) whether the weight is up or down, and whether or not I've seen a lower weight at some random weigh in during the week. My ticker is always accurate for my last Saturday's weigh in.

[KatMarie]

I change mine with every 5 pounds lost. I have one more pound to lose till I can change it.