I have been thinking about this for a while. The scale is an incredibly valuable tool, and I think I absolutely needed it during some weight loss periods.

But I honestly think it's a detriment to me right now. Sometimes, I feel as though if I "score" a number, I can back off and celebrate before getting back on plan. If the scale doesn't cooperate, I slip into the "Is it worth it?" mode. And worst of all, I get so fixated on the number that I start to "wish away" days, because I know time has to pass before I see any real progress on the scale.

I need to break away from it for now. I need to embrace the new lifestyle as a permanent thing, and I think walking away from the scale will help with that. I need to celebrate feeling healthier. I need to celebrate being in control of my food. I need to celebrate becoming more fit and active. Because feeling like I'm torturing myself in sacrifice to the scale will not lead to a lifetime commitment to eat right and exercise sustainably.

So, I will commit to two scale-free months. Until January 11, 2013, I will not step on the scale. Hopefully, making a public pledge will help me remember why I am doing it.

i am totally with u here...with the scale showing a new number everyday, not necessarily a lower one, my motivation and inspiration just run amok and i do not like it. I am thinking too of hvng no scale days..but not sure abt 2 months. Lemme see, how many i can pledge...

I cannot do two months, because I have to weigh in with WW. BUT. I am doing scale free weeks.

I get up in the middle of the night sometimes and weigh myself! So now i make my husband hide the scale. Sure, I can weigh myself at the gym, but that one is never accurate, as it is usually at the end of the day, and I am fully clothed.

Good for you making such a long commitment to being "scale free"

Like the others, I totally understand. I'm addicted to weighing myself (sometimes multiple times a day) and the little fluctuations drive me crazy.

I might take a leaf out of your book and commit to a month without the scale too. Good idea, and good luck

THIS^^^^, big time! I'm just so scared that if I stop seeing that number, I will gain. It's kinda like when I was unemployed, and had no income coming in. The creditors were calling me, but I dodged their calls. I had an 'out of sight, out of mind' mentality in that if I didn't talk to them, didn't acknowledge that my late fees and interest rates were adding up, it would all just magically go away. But I found a job, started making money again, and then finally had the guts to check the balances on those cards- and I was totally unprepared for the numbers I saw. I get like that with my weight too. I know I'm gaining, but I rationalize in my head the a pound here or there won't make a difference. Then I finally garner up the courage to step on the scale, and have to pick my jaw up off the floor. The number is more than I ever imagined I'd weigh. I feel like for now, the scale is helping to keep me accountable. But then, I just recently got back at this. I am very much hoping to be where you are LaurieDawn in a month or two- willing to walk away from the scale, knowing I don't have to worry because it's become a lifestyle.

Good for you, Laurie! I've only been on 3FC for a month, but in that time I have noticed that there are a LOT of people here who suffer to an unreasonable degree just because their "number" goes up a little bit. It takes courage to decide you've had enough of that, and to commit to not weighing yourself for a while.

Did you know that everyone has a 2-liter range in which the amount of water in your body fluctuates? If you go over the top end of that range, your kidneys excrete the excess. If you drop under the bottom end of that range, you get thirsty and drink. 2 liters of water weigh 4 pounds. So any one time you step on the scale, you gotta assume the number is somewhere within that 4-pound range.

That's why it makes no sense to get stressed about a 1-pound, 2-pound, even 4-pound weight gain. For all you know, your body might happen to be at the upper end of its normal range of water content—especially if it's your time of the month! So that's why tracking a trend in your weight, like on a graph you keep in a notebook or on the fridge, is so much more meaningful than thinking about a single number.

My own preference is to weigh myself once a month. My lucky number is 22, so I always weigh myself on the 22nd. On that day I put a new point on my graph. The rest of the month, the scale is packed away in a closet: out of sight, out of mind. I try not to have anything out of the ordinary scheduled for that day, so if I have an emotional reaction to my "number," I'll have time and space in which to feel those emotions and let them slowly pass.

Maybe try it for a while and see how it goes? Judge things by measurements and how your clothes fit for a while, perhaps.

Fiona - you're exactly right about the fluctuations. It makes me crazy. Both ways. I didn't know all the reasons for all the fluctuations, though. Super interesting to learn all of that stuff.

This is harder for me than I expected. My life is slightly nomadic right now, so it would be challenging to weigh in the right way anyway--same time, same scale, etc. But I really want to see "results." And the scale is the quickest way to see them. I am really working hard to untrain my mind. I have a great day with food and exercise. I want to see evidence of my "goodness." I know in the past I get a "whoosh" after menstruation. I want to see that whoosh. I know from past weigh-many-times-a-day situations when I can expect to lose at least a few ounces, and I so want to see it. And it convinces me more than ever that I need to break my scale habit. Because I know what I am doing will always work consistently. I am not trying to cut 100 calories a day to achieve a 10-pound weight loss. If I was, I think I would need the scale or other reliable measuring tool. But I know my cals are low enough for my weight to consistently lose if I stay on plan.

For now, I am trying to focus on the good parts of the process. I do not feel disgustingly full. I do not feel like I have absolutely no control over food. Exercise makes me feel in touch with my body and reduces stress. And I feel good about supporting my health. When I am on plan, I get sick much less often. I can definitely do this.

Wow! I totally need to do this, but the idea scares me ... I need some kind of validation to keep going, and though I take my measurements every two weeks I don't know if it will be enough. But now I'm a little worried about how much the idea scares me ... like maybe I'm a scale addict! But I know that other times I have fallen 'off the wagon' it was because I gave up daily weigh ins. So I know that what you guys are doing would be good for me, but oh gosh it's a terrifying prospect.

You guys are giving me so much to think about. Good luck! I may join you later.

It is terrifying for me too. That is why I can only do a week at a time!

Of course the first two days are agonizing every week. LOL. But then I "forget" and it is all good. Seeing the bigger number at the end of the week, is much more satisfying to me than stressing over the small fluctuations daily!

I forgot to remind my husband to take it this week, he caught me on it this morning. And he came into the bathroom, smiled and slipped it out of the bathroom. LOL

I totally love your husband! How great is that?

I totally love my husband too.

He is honestly so super supportive with everything. He is on his own weight loss journey, but really, he is amazing. Just little things like this make me very happy and lucky to be on life's journey with him

It is eye-opening to me how obsessed with the scale I have been for so long when I am actively working on losing weight. I keep thinking to myself - When I get to 220, I will prove that I am actually going to be successful with this effort. Or - When I get to 215, I should start treating myself to some clothes that I actually feel good about.

So, I am pledging to myself that I am entitled to feel good about the way I dress regardless of my size. When I was in school, money was really tight. It continues to be tight, but not so tight I can't treat myself to a couple of thrift store finds. I can't believe how many times I've told myself that I didn't deserve to wear clothes that fit comfortably. That tight, unflattering clothes that used to fit (or were even loose) when I was on plan were my just desserts for gaining too much weight.

Also, hooray for the anonymity of the internet and 3FC. Cuz sometimes, it's really hard for me to admit the things I tell myself. (I almost used the term self-abuse, but that is used too commonly as a euphemism for something entirely different. ;-) )

Quote:
Originally Posted by kaplods View Post
Seeing weight loss, diet and exercise as ways to pamper my wonderful self, rather than as a way to punish my horrible, worthless self has been much more successful.


I am quoting this from another thread because this is how I need to think about it. I need to stop thinking of the scale or the lower sizes as the "real" rewards and the exercise and calorie restriction as the sacrifices I make for those rewards.

I love when I am in touch with my body, and exercise really does it for me. I love when I am in control of my food, and being calorie-aware helps me resist the temptation to eat and eat and eat until I feel like I want to vomit. I NEVER enjoy that feeling. This journey - this is the reward. The weight loss - it is a phenomenal bonus reward.

Maybe. That's the mindset that I think will move me closer to goal right now at least.

Love kaplod's quote- so true! I think I need that mindset more so right now since I'm so close to goal. I will be joining you in the no-scale commitment! It's more discouraging than helpful lately (but of course that's my fault! heh.)