Currently I am doing very well with my diet. I am almost 3 weeks in and I have already lost 9.5 pounds (I am sure some of it was water weight). I have been weighing myself EVERY SINGLE DAY, and I can't seem to stop doing that. I was just wondering how many times is it save to weigh each week? Once? or every other day or what?
Also, I am going to a nutritionist at the moment and she put me on phentermine which I just started taking yesterday. I am wondering if I should really take it. I have lost weight on it before (about 40 pounds) but I stopped taking it and gained some back like 2 years ago. I just needs some views on the phentermine.
My goal is to lose 100 pounds, I have 90.1 pounds to go so I really need some support :/
Starting Weight: 269.9
Current Weight: 260.4
Goal Weight: 169.9
I started about a month ago and have lost approx. 20 pounds (some of that was water weight, I'm sure). I've also been weighing myself every day...
But please don't do that. Take it from me: weighing yourself every day, especially in the early stages of weight loss, is not a good idea. Tiny fluctuations in water weight, which will see you gain up to four pounds over the course of a few days, will be very demotivating, and you might find yourself getting disheartened.
Don't get me wrong: Weigh yourself regularly, like once a week, to keep yourself accountable. But don't weigh yourself every day. I had to learn this the hard way. Your weight will fluctuate and go up and down from day to day, and sometimes it's hard to accept this as normal. It's much more encouraging to see the week's loss on one designated day a week.
You can do this and you're already doing so well. But take it from me, daily weighing is a bad idea in the early stages of weight loss, when you are particularly vulnerable. It's best left for later when you're more equipped to handle the fluctuations with less emotion and disappointment.
As for phentermine, try and avoid it. I'm a qualified nurse, not a doctor, but I would not advise you to take something so similar to amphetamines. It can cause all sorts of problems with your sleeping pattern, heart-rate and blood pressure, etc. Perhaps see how you go without it and leave it as a last resort. Your body's best left without unnecessary drugs and chemicals. I'm sure you will be just fine on your own.
I don't think there's anything wrong with weighing daily as long as it's not making you crazy and you understand that there will be daily fluctuations that do not necessarily reflect how on-plan you've been. For the record for most of my journey I was a weekly/biweekly weigher, it's only after I got to onederland I think that I was able to take the scales daily fluctuations with a pinch of salt. Before that I used to let the numbers depress me or ruin my day. It depends on how well you can deal!
I've never taken any diet/weight loss pills so I can't really speak as to whether you should or shouldn't. I don't know why your nutritionist gave them to tou but I do know it is possible to lose a chunk of weight without them.
Last edited by toastedsmoke; 04-13-2012 at 11:47 AM.
Congrats on your loss so far! I didn't get on a scale for 3 or 4 months in the beginning. I was 250 and the next time I got on the scale I was 210. It depends on your personality. If you think seeing normal fluctuations in weight will throw you off, then I would advise against doing it every day. You don't have to go as extreme as I did and not touch the scale obviously, but just do what you think will be best for your own motivation. Keep up the good work!
There's nothing at all wrong with weighing daily, but you do have to change your perspective. If you're hoping to see a loss every day, or hoping to never see a gain, then weighing daily is going to be very upsetting.
I'm losing much slower than I ever have before (but I've also stuck with it for the longest time ever in my life too). I weigh twice daily (sometimes more often) but my primary goal is "not gaining."
Oh sure, I love to see a loss, but my primary focus is on "not gaining," that way I get to celebrate almost every time on the scale (or at least get to celebrate more often than be disappointed).
It doesn't matter how often you weigh, it matters what you tell youself when you see the number, and what it inspires you to do. If you don't see a loss, do you say "Yeah, I didn't gain," and feel great so you stay on plan - or do you say, "Oh No! At this rate, I'll never reach my goal weight, I'm going to be fat forever, so I might as well get to eat what I want," and then binge.
Weighing & Other Support for me please...
