Basically, I think I'm going to stop weighing myself. Like, forever. I'm tired of being weight obsessed when I used to do just fine focusing on the mirror and my clothes. I need to get back to that!
I'm a little scared of how this might turn out, but I honestly think that it's going to be good for me. As long as I don't stop doing what I'm doing in terms of diet and workouts I won't gain weight, so what am I afraid of?
Hi Joss! I hope this decission helps you to reach your fat loss, building muscles, performance or any goals you have right now. I made that decission a while ago when I realised no matter what the scale said I was not going to be happy because what makes me happy is what I see in the mirror. I also love when my performance in the gym improves and when I realise that I had developed a healthy relationship with my food mainly in social occasions when I think about the people and not the food that surrounds me.
I think using the scale as a tool is good in general but when you are a featherweight who is been eating healthy for a while, knows what foods sit well with you, what exercises are good for yourself and you let the scale dictates your mental state that day is time to stop and focus in just eating right and exercise as you always do and get back to weighing if you feel like it whenever you are in a healthy mindset again. At the end of the day, the important thing is to be consistent with your eating-exercise plan.
I think I have reached a point where I feel healthy, think healthy, I'm not looking forward to have a splurge or a day eating non stop, I think about enjoying activities outdoors, going to concerts and travelling and my state of mind is not reflected by a number on the scale but about being in control of my behaviour. It's taken my a while to reach that state of mind. For me, one of my major helps is a FB group I have recommended countless times before https://www.facebook.com/groups/fiercefitfearless/ It's about women who are featherweights, IF and weight lift mainly, though not everybody does IF, it's a feather or lifts. The mentality in the group is not to focus on the scale, but focus on using fuel as a means to nourish your body, to create the body composition you want, to concentrate in your performance when lifting as it is the way to reshape your body. Just a simple mental switch in the way you see things and for me I feel even happier with myself.
In any case good luck with your decission and hey the scale will always be there, you can go back to weight again when you feel mentally ready again.
I can totally relate to being a "slave of the scale". To me it can become an obssession and really ruin my mood. If you're focusing on more tangible things like how you look and how your clothes feel, I beleive it can become a much more positive experience! Numbers on the scale can vary depending on the time of the month, water retention, whether you worked out that day...you know all that! But we still let it get to us. The way you look and feel about your body in the miror will always, in my opinion, be a better way to judge your progress! If you've done it succesfully in the past I'm sure you can do it again!
I find the more I obsess about weight loss and the numbers on the scale the more impatient I get about losing it and the more I'm likely to get off track because I get discouraged fast.
Whatever you chose I'm sure the lbs will go off as long as you stick to the diet and exercise!
I said something similar in the Daily WI, but you lose nothing giving it a try. That was probably something huge to decide and I wish you all the best in this new thing. We support you no matter what!
That sounds like a good idea. You obviously don't have any reason to worry about your health at your size and fitness level - and it seems like every time you've weighed yourself lately it just dampens the mood unnecessarily!
I think I'm going to do something similarly (at least for a few months). I just did a weight loss challenge with the gym. I lost less than I hoped I would (10.25 pounds in 8 weeks), dropped less body fat than I thought I would 1.5% and it put me in a mood. Enough so that I ate carbs for a few days even though I knew I was eating the wrong foods and eating over my calorie limit.
I know what to do. I know what works, so I'm going to forget the scale for awhile and just do what I need to do. I'll check in on myself like the beginning of June or something (but during the part of my cycle where I'll see good things, not bad things). I don't NEED the scale to know how I'm doing - and neither do most of us, I agree.
I think I support your choice here. Scales can be useful as a rough guide to fat loss or gain, but since they are measuring your entire body weight they can;t hardly be used as the only measure of your success.
Like, they can be a real de-motivator if you weight in heavier than last time after doing a lot of good eating and exercising...and it might just all be muscle, or all the extra water you're drinking, etc.
Like when I first started dieting, drinking enough water and exercising, about two weeks in, I jumped on the scales only to find I'd gained two kilos...but I was about two holes further along on my belt, so I knew it had to be muscle, as I was visibly losing weight...but still, that **** is frustrating and demotivating.
I think I support your choice here. Scales can be useful as a rough guide to fat loss or gain, but since they are measuring your entire body weight they can;t hardly be used as the only measure of your success.
Like, they can be a real de-motivator if you weight in heavier than last time after doing a lot of good eating and exercising...and it might just all be muscle, or all the extra water you're drinking, etc.
Like when I first started dieting, drinking enough water and exercising, about two weeks in, I jumped on the scales only to find I'd gained two kilos...but I was about two holes further along on my belt, so I knew it had to be muscle, as I was visibly losing weight...but still, that **** is frustrating and demotivating.
Thank you so much for all the thoughts everyone! I feel like I'm making the right choice at least for now, and stepping away from the scale is freeing me up to try some other things I have been wanting to do for a while.
I decided that I'm going to start doing Leangains tomorrow. I am so tired of eating these tiny little meals spread out from 5AM to 5PM and never feeling satisfied. I can't seem to navigate social situations and working "treats" into my diet can be such a challenge. Starting tomorrow I'll be doing my training fasted and then doing my 'feeding window' from 10AM to 6PM to start. I may adjust it later down the line but this seems to be the way to go for now.
WOAH. That's a huge change! I'm interested to see how it goes - just days ago you were posting about how awesome it is to have six meals a day!
LOL, you're right! It is, HOWEVER, I never feel satisfied! I also realized that I'm getting up at 0400 just to eat before I workout and there is so much support showing IF can be effective that I'm going to try it. I also am sick of saying no to dinner and lunches with friends because it doesn't fit.
Basically, I realized that a lot of the things I am doing I do because I'm 'supposed to' and I don't want to do them anymore because they aren't working for me in reality. We'll see how it goes!
I think I've made an important decision
