I have a MAJOR issue with wanting to get on the scale EVERY day (sometimes twice). Of course, this completely discourages me when I don't see a change or an increase!!!
Also, how long did it take you to find out what worked best for you for weight loss?
I know it's not generally recommended, but I get on the scale every morning. If I don't, I lose my motivation quickly and stop eating healthily. I figured this out recently, when I noticed that during every period of my life when I have had a digital scale, I have lost weight consistently - but take away the scale and the next time I weigh myself I've gained quite a substantial amount of weight.
It's always scary, though. In the morning I always feel very bulky, and am sure that I have gained weight from the day before. But it seems as though I nearly always lose a small amount of weight. If it were the other way around, I could see the constant scale-watching being discouraging.
When I'm doing my best of staying on plan its because I weigh myself everyday. I lost almost 9lbs in two weeks...then life got in the way and I didn't weigh in at all the next week and I ended up gaining 2lbs (thought...might have been TOM) but my point is that I found that for me weighing in everyday keeps me focused
I fluctuate. I TRY to only weigh once a week, but that doesn't always work. So....usually I weigh every day but don't "count" it except once a week. I will change it on MFP or something but if I end up moving it back up, I am ok with that too. Its that one day a week that I try to count only not the rest of the week. I find that if I don't see the immediate results of my day before, (bad if I went over or good if I was well under) I tend to let the scale be. In maintenance I plan to try hard to only weigh once every 2 weeks or once a month, but I am a ways from goal so I have time to work on it.
I can completely relate with this! I am always tempted to weigh myself each day, however i try to only weigh myself once a week, on monday mornings. I record my weight on a calendar above my scale. If other days i am really tempted to weigh myself, i try to convince myself to go for a walk or do something active at that exact moment to burn some calories and make me more excited about what i might see when i look on the next monday. If i absolutely must know, i just don't record it.
I know how you feel but I find that I get discouraged very quickly if I see even 1/10th of an ouce increase, so I only weight myself on Saturday morning (totally nude and as soon as I get out of bed) - its been working for me!
I'm the complete opposite of most LOL (as you can see in my signature). I have decided to abandon the scale completely and only get on it in 100 day increments. This is the longest I've stayed on plan too (I'm in Week 12) because I feel totally free and not a prisoner to the scale. I'm the type that gets discouraged from seeing no movement or very little movement, even though I understand why these fluctuations happen. Putting the scale away has REALLy helped to me focus on the lifestyle change itself.....eating healthy, exercising, feeling good, etc. Also, I want to lose half my body weight so I'd rather not see the pounds tick away in 0.2 increments...that feels like it will take FOREVER!!....and that feeling of forever also makes me de-motivated. I've completely engaged myself in "living healthy", which is the ultimate long term goal anyways....scale or no scale.
Last edited by angieand2girls; 09-17-2012 at 12:57 PM.
I weigh every day, except when I've had a binge day then normally I won't weigh that next morning because I know it's mostly water weight and it unmotivates me to see a high number that isn't even real.
Of course, if you decide to weigh everyday you have to come with terms that weight flunctuates by the minute. You can't take that weight serious and it doesn't mean you're going to see that number at the end of the week.
I guess to me it's just nice to see how what I eat and do affects my weight loss/gain.
Last edited by watchoutforthatcar; 09-17-2012 at 01:05 PM.
generally I am a once every 2 weeks weigher unless it says something surprising good or bad.Then I leave it a day or 2 and recheck. Works for me at the moment...may change to less often further down the line.
I'm glad to know that I'm not the only person that seems to be addicted to the scale. I seem to have amazing will power not to get on it when I know that I'm not doing what I should be doing but let me start working on it and I'm jumping on it every day!! LOL
angieand2girls: I think that is an amazing plan to only weigh every 100 days. I'm just not sure that I have that much will power not to see where I'm at. I think the most that I could possibly do is maybe once a month (which would be a major accomplishment for me).
I am currently not using the scale at all! I've been on so many diet plans since the age of 12 and the scale really does represent failure and disappointment for me. I've chosen to use the good old tape measurement as my method of measuring my weight loss. I also notice changes in my clothes and in how I get less and less tired in doing the same workouts. It's been working for me. As soon as I get a job, I will probably but a scale. I'm calorie-counting so it is important that I know where my weight is to determine my calories, but I am going to hide that sucker in the deepest part of my closet.
I've been doing so well on this new plan for me. I started May 20th and I've been focused and dedicated. I am actually seeing myself as an athlete, not as a fat loser who has sucked at losing weight for the past 10 years. Eliminating things that remind me of all those times I tried and fail has really helped for me.
I get on the scale first thing in the morning and just before I go to bed. If I don't, even when I am totally on plan I am typically AFRAID to weigh myself once a week. When I start avoiding the scale, I give myself permission to go off-plan more.
It does take a little - something - to remain calm in the face of phantom weight gains (from water weight, TOM, or whatever) and/or to keep smiling when it doesn't go down. But I am getting the rhythm of it, and I consider it a victory when I stay the same. Being the same(ish) four days in a row means that first time I saw X number was not a fluke. I find that sometimes I stay the same for a whole week, and then seek weight loss of a pound a day for a few days. Sometimes I lose slowly and incrementally. I know the difference between my evening weight and morning weight. I count the morning weight, but 'remember' the evening weight. However, I do NOT record them all. I would find typing them out to be depressing.
Actually, I have two scales, one on which I weigh 2 lbs more (generally) than the other. And sometimes I weigh myself on both. I am a bit obsessed with this stuff right now.
Weighing myself every day keeps me on track, BUT - again, you have to be aware of and okay with the ordinary fluctuations of your body. One time when I saw a sudden woosh UPWARD I comforted myself with the thought that: 1) I had been entirely on plan; 2) TOM was due; 3) I would see some BIG losses soon. A week later I had WOOSHED down by six pounds or more. It was due to the long-term choices I made, not the short-term ones, and if you are going to weigh daily you need to tattoo those thoughts into the back of your mind!
I do avoid my scale's stupid HOW MUCH OF YOUR BODY IS FAT calculations, ugh. That makes me mad. Stupid scale: I do NOT want to know.
angieand2girls: I think that is an amazing plan to only weigh every 100 days. I'm just not sure that I have that much will power not to see where I'm at.
Your clothes will tell you where you're at when they start to get baggy and too big. The mirror will tell you where you're at when you get up in the morning and see a slimmer face and body. Your muscles will tell you where you're at when those workouts become easier to do. Your mind will tell you where you're at when you've realized that you have regained complete control over you and your health. These things speak! To me, they speak MUCH louder than some number on the scale.
I have managed to stay away from the scale for two days!!! I'm going to try my best not to worry about the number.
angieand2girls: I've been trying to think about those exact same things even before I saw your message. I agree 100% that there are more ways to be able to tell that you are making progress without the scale. Also, I reminded myself that I didn't get on it while I was not doing what I was supposed to be doing so it's not much different. I could tell I wasn't doing good, so I should be able to tell when I am doing good.
Avoiding the Scale???
