How do you stay off the scale?? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

Kim_Star060404 · 10-10-2006, 08:11 AM

I know I'm obsessed! I get up every morning and go weigh myself! Any tips on how to only check once a week? DH was hiding the scale for a while, but he wasn't very good at it, so I'd just wait until after he left for work and weigh myself then! I want to know what I'm doing for a week, not day to day!! Any tips??

Thanks, Kim

Ruthxxx · 10-10-2006, 08:22 AM

Kim, I've been weighing every single morning for at least 30 years! Sure weight does fluctuate but I average the week's results. Otherwise a once a week weigh-in could hit a day when you were retaining water and that's darned discouraging.

IMHO you are not addicted to the scale unless you are weighing more than once a day. First thing in the AM, after potty but before coffee, is my time.

RMT · 10-10-2006, 08:29 AM

I have to agree with Ruth - I need to start weighing myself every am again - I really think that it helps keep you OP.

weezle · 10-10-2006, 08:29 AM

Kim, I'm like Ruth. I weigh-in every morning. It's my way of keeping myself on track. If I gain a little one day, then I know I ate too many peppered pecans the night before, or didn't get enough veggies, or could have had a few more glasses of water. I hold myself accountable by getting on the scale. If I don't get on the scale every day, I tend to gain more than if I weigh myself every day.

beckaboo72 · 10-10-2006, 09:13 AM

I don't think you are obsessed at all!! I get on everyday like some of the other posters have said. I know what times of the month I gain and it doesn't get me down b/c I know it is because I am ovulating or AF is on her way. It keeps me honest during the day knowing that I am going to have to get on the scale in the morning. As long as you aren't doing it ten times a day I don't see the problem. BTW, dh has tried to hide the scale from me too!!

GL

beach bum · 10-10-2006, 10:01 AM

Hi Kim

I'm us Ruth also. I weigh

: in every day and do the same as Ruth averaging it out.
But remember don't get discouraged when the number go up.

I use to W-I at WW meeting,once a week and I saw ladies actually crying

when getting on the scale,saying I was so good

how could this happen to me,and other sayingI was so bad

,and gee!! I lost weight".So I decided that Ruths way was the best.

Hugs

BB

beachgal · 10-10-2006, 11:25 AM

Kim, I agree with Ruth and the others...a once-a-day weigh-in is not a problem unless you feel it is. If weighing in is of extreme importance to you...if you attach major emotions to what you weigh, or if you find that you'll give up things that matter to you in order to get to the scale and weigh, then it's becoming an addiction and you're right to worry about it.

I weigh once a day in the morning, but I know that if it's high or low, there are reasons for it other than what I've eaten and how much I've exercised...including how much I slept, what I drank, how much time I spent in the bathroom, where I am in my cycle, etc. I don't let it dictate what I'm doing that day (usually...though we all have those days when it's just too much for us, right?

). When I go on vacation, I don't weigh unless a scale is available (haven't had that happen much...) and I don't lose any sleep over it or over what I'll weigh when I get home. Some mornings I forget to weigh and I don't stress over that, either. That tells me it's not an addiction. Only you know if it's a problem for you.

If you find that it really is an addiction, get rid of your scale. Then spend some time thinking about why you're so addicted to it. What can you do to find healthier ways to deal with the emotions that drive you to weigh? Why are you fixated on those numbers? Learning more about why weighing is a very innaccurate measure of where you are might help. So many things influence your weight on the scale that it doesn't really tell you too much about what's actually happening to you (hence BB's experiences at WW...weight up when you don't expect it or down when you know you didn't earn it...etc.). Better measures are:

how your clothes fit, especially in tight-fitting places, like your waist and hips, bust and arms
fat percentage, measured preferably in several places with calipers by a well-trained professional (check at your gym...or your doctor's office)
measuring your body with a tape measure (still not perfectly accurate unless you get a tatoo of where you're putting that tape measure each time... but it gives you a more accurate picture than the scale and tells you if you're building muscles! )
stamina and strength in exercise (are you able to run an extra tenth of a mile before you 'hit the wall' or can you lift a heavier set of weights now?)
ability to participate in daily activities (can you climb the stairs without getting winded? Do your thighs no longer chafe in a skirt? Are you able to go for walks without your hips and back hurting? Can you play with your kids without pain or fatigue?)

There are more ways, but think about these and see if any of them work for you, okay? Let's learn to use the scale as a tool to help us lose instead of a taskmaster that praises or belittles us, okay?

meme1983 · 10-10-2006, 12:14 PM

I also weigh myself every morning at the same time, and also wear the same thing every time i weigh. I also write what I weigh down on a calendar. I find it encouraging when I lose and it holds me accountable when I don't. If I don't lose but I feel I was very good the day before, I cut myself some slack. I also have picked out a pair of pants to keep trying on. Because sometimes you could be gaining muscle and losing fat. And muscle weighs more than fat. I also have a digital scale that reads to the tenth of a pound. Sometimes seeing I lost "point something" of a pound keeps me encouraged.

kaity · 10-10-2006, 03:05 PM

Hmmmm...I guess I'm the odd one out. I find it incredibly discouraging to weigh myself more than once a week. Your weight fluctuates so much every day that I feel like the weekly weight is more significant. I only weight myself on Mondays and I keep to it by sleeping in a little every other day (that way I don't have time to weigh myself). But if you feel like you need to weigh yourself every day, do it. Whatever keeps you motivated.

susanb1960 · 10-10-2006, 05:18 PM

I weigh once per morning. This is relatively new. I know about fluctuations etc...and I take that into consideration. It helps me accountability wise...to know I have to look at the HUGE number in the AM... It helps when I want to eat something not OP etc... The last few weeks have been slow though and it does get frustrating but I'm not giving up!

Just my 2 cents!

rebel · 10-10-2006, 05:59 PM

I don't have scales at home. I work in a medical office, and walk by the scales several times a day but only weigh myself once a week. When I went to the gym twice a week, that was the scale that counted since I weighed naked there but kept my clothes on at work

Kim_Star060404 · 10-12-2006, 08:25 AM

Thanks everyone!! I'm going out of town for 3 1/2 days and I doubt there'll be a scale anywhere. I'll see how that goes and W-I as scheduled on Monday. Depending on the results, I'll decide whether once a day or once a week is better for me!

beachgal · 10-12-2006, 12:59 PM

One thing that some of our chicks have mentioned is that if they weigh once a week they find a way to do it that doesn't involve owning a scale. They weigh in at WW, at the gym, at a friend's house, etc. That way they aren't tempted.

Good luck, Kim!

alinnell · 10-12-2006, 01:23 PM

Here's a link to a news article on MSNBC which states that daily weighing is the key to weight loss. I know that if I didn't weigh daily, my weight would creep up. If I weighed weekly, by the time I caught it, I would be so depressed I'd give up!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15234322/

lilybelle · 10-12-2006, 01:34 PM

Up until the last 15 lbs. of my wt. loss journey, I only weighed once a week. With maintenance, I started weighing daily and the fluctuations were driving me nuts. So, now I'm going by how my smaller clothes fit, how I feel, my energy level and such. I am fighting myself to just weigh every Tuesday morning and cut back if needed.