When I was doing weight watchers I would live and die by the scale...up 1/4 of a pound, I would think "I am so bad at this dieting thing, I am going home to pig out I will never be thin"..or I lost 3 pounds " Woo Hoo let's celebrate at a restaurant and I can eat anything I just lost 3 pounds!" ENOUGH!!! I am not weighing my self anymore! I am following a low carb diet and exercising and yesterday I threw out my scale. It was so freeing, I did a happy dance...Cha Cha Cha.....I will weigh myself at the doctors next time I am there and that would be sufficient. I will track my progress by my clothing and how I feel. And I feel great! Gave up caffeine, sugar and refined carbs, I have tons of energy and am sleeping really well! So no more plateaus, no more standiing in line to weigh in, no more depressed days because the scale won't move in the right direction! Woo Hoo! Come dance with me....cha cha cha!
Cold turkey! WTG...I'm taking things more gradually...my scale has been off-limits in my roommate's closet since last week, and I don't get it back till tomorrow. It's not even that accurate anyway, and I don't need that! Esp. not next to my toilet where I'm tempted to step on and see how much I lost just by peeing. (Sorry that was probably an overshare.) But I'll do the happy dance with you, bc after a week of breaking the addiction, I don't even care that much about getting it back!
Oh the poor little scale...it gets blamed SO much for our inabilities to stick to a plan. I will never give mine up though I did have to show it who's the BOSS...ME! I am the one who is in control of my weight. The scale can not make me binge anymore than my fork, lawnmower, or my shovel can. It's just a tool.
Oh the poor little scale...it gets blamed SO much for our inabilities to stick to a plan. I will never give mine up though I did have to show it who's the BOSS...ME! I am the one who is in control of my weight. The scale can not make me binge anymore than my fork, lawnmower, or my shovel can. It's just a tool.
Good luck to you on your scaleless journey.
I am pleased that you overcame your scale and it's ability to undermine your plan, but I don't have that power. It was too overwhelming for me! I wish I had your strength! Thanks for your thoughts on the scale being a tool, but for me it is so much more! I wish I could not give it any power, but I can't...thus the happy dance around the garbage can when I ditched it!
Just out of curiosity, are you scale obsessed when you are not following a plan? When I was an active heavy eater/binger I never weighed myself. I probably went 2 years without weighing myself at one point in my life... My scale addiction only would surface when I would try to lose weight. What about you? I often wonder if all scale addicts were like me and can give them up when they want too, (while gaining/not trying).
Just out of curiosity, are you scale obsessed when you are not following a plan? When I was an active heavy eater/binger I never weighed myself. I probably went 2 years without weighing myself at one point in my life... My scale addiction only would surface when I would try to lose weight. What about you? I often wonder if all scale addicts were like me and can give them up when they want too, (while gaining/not trying).
Yep, I'm a scale addict ONLY when I am trying to lose weight. I am doing good this time around. I limit myself to twice a week...hoping that soon I will stop my mid week weigh in & only jump on to get my official weekly weigh in.
Part of what is so crucial to weight loss is figuring out what works for you. Clearly, weighing every day was NOT working for you, so on taking care of it. Be sure to pay attention to your clothes sizes and other measurements to track your progress.
Your reaction to weigh-in describes my behaviour EXACTLY. So I'm doing something totally geeky now where I'm tracking my energy balance, and for every 3500 calories in the hole, I subtract a pound on my calendar. Once I theoretically have lost 50 pounds I'm going to weigh in. My calendar says I'm down 19 lbs and I am down a clothing size.
My obsession isn't with weighing in, but how my pants fit. Every day I wear the same size pair of pants as part of my work uniform and I start obsessing on how tightly it fits or how loose I think it's getting. And of course when I put on those pants and they feel the same I get irritated and wonder what's the use in all of this and end up pigging out.
I have a real issue with the number on my scale. If I see it gets to a certain low point, I start eating. So honestly I am giving up the scale for a while. Its a mental thing with me and the fact that I get nervous/anxious when I get near 200. It is a mental plateau and I'm trying to break it.
Nellie,
I am with you! I was at a mental plateau for about a month. I am past the actual plateau and I am going to put my scales up tonight..... I will not allow a tool to tell me how much I should eat. It is not a healthy way to live-- so I refuse to.
Yes, that scale is a booger. I have a 6wk old baby and hated watching that number go up and up during my pregnancy. So...I quit weighing in and quit caring and now I'm really in trouble!
Good job doing what works!! We are all different and have a different language.