NEWBIE to these adorable site and extremely happy to have found you. It is inspiring to read everyone's entries with the same hopes,fears and goals that I have.
The Scale - Well - I know I am way over weight because I have gone up 2 dresses sizes in the past 4 years. Once my clothes are fitting looser then I will weight in. Let me get this started. Sounds silly but I already feel so bad about putting on this extra weight. I am embarrassed for letting myself go and not taking care of myself. I am curious if anyone else is struggling like I am with the 'scale phobia'?
My story - Judging by photographs of myself, I have been struggling with my weight since the late 70's. In my 4th grade photo I look like I am at least 30 pounds over weight. Slimmed down on a Low-Carb diet in 5th grade and pudged back out in High School. A boy broke my heart my first year in College and I lost 70 pounds. In my early 20's I started dating seriously and put on weight. I got engaged and lost 40 pounds. After being married a few years we started having kids and I put on 60 pounds. I think you get the picture. Five years ago I was a younger mom of two who was maintaining my weight with daily exercise. I was extremely active and it was exciting to get on the scale. What happen? Today I can't get on the scale for fear of what it will say. CRAZY - How could I have let myself get like this?
STOP the insanity - I am going to work on this day by day. It took me a few years to put the weight on and form the lazy habits. I know I can get back in shape. I am happy to be here and I hope to met people just like me so we can win this battle together. God Bless!

Welcome! You have the right attitude to be successful.....the weight didn't come in a couple weeks, and it'll take more than a couple weeks for it to go away. Knowing that, and not looking around for a quick weight loss fix are just a couple of the building blocks for changing your life. Best of luck to you!

Welcome! Get on that scale...that way, when the pounds start dropping off, you'll know where you started and how far you've come!

Fear of the scale - uh yeah you could say so. I didn't go on the scale for over 10 years, yup 10 YEARS!!! But when I finally decided that I wanted to lose the weight for real this time I stepped on that scale, at the doctors office, I almosted fainted my heart was palpatating so hard. But I did it and i was horrified, but that was 30 pounds ago. I'm glad I did, so that I can say how much weight I really have lost. When you're as heavy as I am you can't see the weight loss, so the scale is all I have. But this past week I lost 9 pounds, yup 9 pounds. I started going to a nutritionist about 3 weeks ago and now I can't wait to go on the scale. My next visit is on October 17 and hopefully, no definitely I will see more pounds drop off. Get on the scale, you will be so happy when you see the pounds fall off you!!!

Well, I'm going to buck the tide here and say if you don't want to get on the scale, then don't. I haven't known what my weight is for probably 6-7 years. There are other ways to gauge whether you're making progress with your weight loss plan, like taking your measurements periodically. In some ways, it's more motivating to use measurements than it is to use the scale. I'm sure that my weight has plateaued since I started my weight loss plan, but I have always lost inches, every time I have measured.

Having said that, I do let them weigh me at my gym, I just don't let them tell me what my weight is. Someday, when I reach my goal size, I'll ask them for my before/after weights and post them

Welcome to 3FC!

Take a deep breath and step on the scale now! Take a few pictures of yourself and post them on the fridge (I wish I had done this 5 months ago). This is a good starting point for your journey and an excellent way to gauge your progress as the months tick by. At first it may seem like its never going to happen but believe me, it does. I only weighed myself every couple of weeks at first, now a bit more often to make sure I haven't gained. Have faith in yourself and you can do this!!!

Funny you should mention this... I have "scale fear," too - but my problem is exactly opposite.

I'm a compulsive weigher. I weigh myself in the morning, when I come home from work, and before I go to bed. That's insane!!! Your body weight can fluctuate as much as five pounds in 24 hours, depending on how much water you're retaining, etc. And even though I KNOW this, when I get on the scale and see the numbers jump to a higher number than I'm expecting to see, I get freaked out and discouraged and wonder if my reduced calorie intake and four days a week in the gym is really worth it...

...and we all know it IS worth it...

So, on my drive into work, I began thinking about it... and I'm going to try only weighing myself once a week. I'm going to do it the same time on the same day every week, but I am only going to do it ONCE a week and I am not going to let the scale rule me. Or at least I am going to try.

Want to try with me?

Yup, after fearing the scale for over a decade, now I can't get myself off of it. And it fluctuates sooo much over the course of a day. I don't think I'm ready to go on the scale just once a week, but I'm shooting for every fifth day. Today's my second day not on the scale, 3 more days to go till I weigh myself. The wait had better be worth it!!

When I started this weight loss journey, I was shocked to see what my Dr.'s scales showed. I am now glad that I knew my starting weight. Each lb. off gave me encouragement and helped keep me on course. The only way that I wouldn't get a starting weight is if I felt that it would be so discouraging that I would want to give up. But, measurements are also a great way to track progress. Do whatever you decide would be best for you.

Getting on the scale was the only thing that pushed me over the edge to get serious. It is about just getting real. Good luck, you can do it.

I'm another "daily weigher". I find that getting on the scale every morning keeps me honest with myself and that, for me, the morning weigh-in is very consistent (as others have mentioned, the weight goes up and down during the day, but come sunrise, I generally find I weigh my "real" weight).

I find that if I weigh in every day, I can throttle my intake (a little more, a little less) and avoid an upward spiral of sneaky poundage. It makes it easier to resist the extra cookie if I know I have to be accountable to the thing the next morning

YES! I was definitely afraid of the scale for YEARS. I didn't want to know. Reality was too painful. that is when I gained the most weight, when I sank into that oblivion.....looking at myself in mirrors ONLY from the neck up, wearing stretchy clothes and refusing to weigh.

When I was forced to weigh at my doctor's office I was HORRIFIED.
OMG, how did this happen?!??!

After I cried I became very determined to change. It helped motivate me.

I can understand if it would have the opposite effect. Instead of motivating it may make someone feel hopeless and depressed.
If you feel that it may happen to you, can you ask someone to weigh you and not look? Then they could weigh you weekly, monthly, whatever. Instead of telling you your weight they could tell you how much you lost.

That way, you will know how far you've come once you hit goal, plus the losses will help encourage and inspire you!