I've found my place here, knowing that I would be much happier and comfortable losing these last 13 pounds (6 down, 7 to go...hopefully still! ).
It still seems these final pounds are interminable. I am determined though not to go backward which has always been my pattern. Lose a few, mess up and just keep eating. So here I am after a couple of not so good days. Not totally awful. Overall I made good choices, but just at more than I should have. So I didn't weigh today and am afraid what I'll see tomorrow. Should I weigh myself anyway to motivate or be totally on plan tomorrow and then weigh myself the following day?
well, it depends.
Sometimes I weigh myself in situation like that, sometimes I don´t. Depends on my mood. If I am depressed anyways and know i can handle holding the diet I don´t weigh myself, because in this moment I tell myself: I can be stronger and wont give up (because of the gain) if I tell myself I will keep to the diet and in a few days I weigh and nooothing ever happened....
If I am too lazy and want to keep eating stupid foods I weigh myself - for the good shock of it ;-)
I weigh every morning. It is really frustrating sometimes, but in the past, I've always associated not really knowing my weight with not really being in control with my diet. It's then become harder and harder to weigh myself over time, because I've been scared of what I'll see.
Last night, I ate an enormous homemade burger. It was actually huge, we were such gluttons to eat such a big meal, but it was totally delicious and worth it. However, I've made sensible food choices all week, and had not eaten very much in the day yesterday, so I still came in at under 2000 calories. This morning I got straight on the scales and my weight hadn't moved. Obviously, I may still see a slight gain later in the week, but I just think facing up to choices is a healthy way to be. I'm accountable and happy to accept fluctuations on the scale - making bad food choices for a day or two is not going to make me put on a pound of fat - and it's fat loss I want, not general weight loss.
To me, getting on the scales each day is like saying "okay, I may not have made the best choices with my diet, but I want to know how they have affected my weight so I can learn more about how my body works and I can stay on track".
I've been on a plateau for two weeks now (think I need to step up with the exercise!) - it's been discouraging having eaten at a calorie deficit every single day and not seen a pound go on the scales, but at the same time, I feel quite empowered to know that I've kept eating healthily and kept weighing despite not seeing results. It's made my willpower feel stronger, and it's made me feel more in control - as though I'm eating well just for the sake of it because it's good for my health, not just to be slim.
With weighing, I think it's just a case of working out what works best for you. I've struggled with the idea of daily weighing because I've felt totally demotivated by it in the past when it's not shown the results of my effort - but it's kept me in control. I've also just started taking measurements of my body for the first time, so I can check on those every month or so and see other differences, if the scale isn't showing results.
I weigh daily - it keeps me on track, & has also helped me to be aware of my body's little fluctuations so that I don't freak out when something like going up 3 pounds after eating popcorn happens - I know it happens every time, & it is just bloating that will go away!
That said, in your specific situation - I think it just depends on you. Will seeing the # on the scale motivate you to get back on track, or will it cause you to think, "Well, I've screwed up now, may as well keep eating?"
Remember - the number on the scale is just a number - it is not who YOU are, & should not affect your self-esteem!
I weigh daily, too. It has been very educational for me to see how what I eat or don't eat contributes to small fluctuations--or how random the fluctuations are, for that matter.
I would recommend picking a weigh-in pattern and sticking to it, whether it's weekly or daily. If you have been weighing yourself weekly, don't give yourself a "punishing" weigh in just because you had a bad day or two! :-) But if you've been weighing yourself daily, then be brave and face the scale. You can stick with it no matter what the scale says!
I also weigh every day. I tried doing once a week but just didn't have the willpower not to check in every day. I do not allow myself to weigh more than once a day though. One thing I've only started to do recently is keep track of my weight daily. Previously I would only keep track when I lost weight and if I was a pound heavier the next day I would ignore it and keep the lower weight in my mind. However, I think it will be good to see the normal changes, especially once I reach my goal and need to maintain.
Previously I would only keep track when I lost weight and if I was a pound heavier the next day I would ignore it and keep the lower weight in my mind.
I used to do this too! I think it was because of my reluctance to think I'd put on the weight if the scales were up a pound one morning. Now that I've just accepted that as a normal fluctuation that could be down to many factors (e.g. water retention - I know it's not a pound of fat!), I am happy to record my weight every day, whether it's going up or down. I agree with you in that it's helpful to learn to accept and understand these fluctuations!
I weigh every day. I find it too hard to see a trend in a reasonable time frame if I'm only weighing weekly. This is only becoming more and more true as my weight loss is slower and slower (and eventually becomes maintenance).
OTOH, I really like the more relaxed attitude I've been able to develop with food, and weighing weekly has a certain appeal to me too. Maybe eventually.
I weigh every day atm. Until recently I wasn't able to weigh myself at weekends as I stay at my bf's house and his scales had no batteries. I found I tended to cheat a LOT at weekends and then spend the rest of the week trying to get off what I'd put on.
So he put some batteries in and now I can weigh myself there too - it does help I find.
But I am finding these last few pounds a struggle too. It comes off so S-L-O-W-L-Y and one bad day can put me back two weeks!!
I weigh once a week...although it isn't really working out that well. I think I'm going to switch back to daily weigh-ins. I am freaking out right now over my 2 lb weight gain while staying on plan last week! I think a daily weigh in might work best and would get me more in tune with my daily fluctuations also. Who knows...tomorrow I could be down 3 lbs?
I do best if I weigh daily but only "count" the low weights if I am on plan. I record every day, but my ticker doesnt change
If I have been off plan for awhile then I weigh 3 consecutive days and take the lowest weight.
For me daily weighing takes the fluctuation OUT of the equation. Do I know if that 144 last monday was really a 3 lb gain or just weird fluctuation. answer...weird fluctuation that I resolved by weighing again the next day. Is my current weight real or fluctuation. Real. 3 days it has been fairly consistant.
Like most people who've replied, I also weigh every day.
I weigh in the morning before I eat or drink anything and record this as my daily weight. I've done this since I decided to get serious about losing weight and I've found it's really helped me stay on track.
In the beginning, I would really freak out over an increase but as I've tracked my weight I've come to see these small increases as "normal" instead of a failure. It's really interesting to me to see how small changes in what I eat/drink one day can have an effect on my weight the next day.
Last edited by avamarie1987; 04-01-2009 at 07:58 PM.
To Weigh or not To Weigh?/How often do you weigh?
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