Do you ever manipulate the scale?

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  • I didn't know you could manipulate the scale. Since mine is being mean I'm going to try it just for laughs!
  • My scale can jump around a little in the morning - I usually get on a few times and settle on the number it settles on - if I get it a couple of times in a row, it counts. I like weighing everyday, though. Once a week was too tough on me if I happened to be retaining water or something that day. I keep a daily weight graph and a weekly graph. The daily goes up and down a bit, and the weekly tends to go straight down. But if a weigh in day says I've gained or maintained, it's a lot easier to look at the weight for that last few days and see if it's a fluke weight or water retention or something - If that happens and I'm not weighing everyday, it's too easy to get depressed about it.
  • This is too funny, but totally real!

    I swear if I move the scale to different places in the bathroom, it weighs differently. I also weigh twice. I almost never get a different reading when I do. I bet it's like PP said, there is something in the design of the scale. That is very interesting.

    I am very focused on keeping my feet at even weight distribution and that I am standing straight up and not leaning. Who knows if that matters at all. It is funny the things we do when we weigh!!

    If I see a new weight, I take it ASAP! The reason is that it makes me want to do everything I can to "keep" it. However, I don't take it if it's a weight.8. Once it gets to .6, it's fair game.
  • Quote: This is too funny, but totally real!

    I swear if I move the scale to different places in the bathroom, it weighs differently. I also weigh twice. I almost never get a different reading when I do. I bet it's like PP said, there is something in the design of the scale. That is very interesting.

    I am very focused on keeping my feet at even weight distribution and that I am standing straight up and not leaning. Who knows if that matters at all. It is funny the things we do when we weigh!!

    If I see a new weight, I take it ASAP! The reason is that it makes me want to do everything I can to "keep" it. However, I don't take it if it's a weight.8. Once it gets to .6, it's fair game.
    I step very gingerly onto the scale. LOL! And as for the .8 stuff, I take every little ounce I get! But as you can see by my ticker, I take the decimals to heart. I haven't lost a whole pound until I've lost a whole pound as in point zero.
  • When I was in the throes of my eating disorder, I would weigh myself sometimes ten times a day. I lived and died by the number on the scale. For awhile, my obsession was so bad that if I went to the doctor and had to get weighed, I would ask to weigh backwards (so I couldn't see the number) and for the nurse to not tell me my weight.

    It took a really, really long time, but I'm finally at the point where I get on the scale once a week - that's it. My suggestion is to put your scales away for awhile and concentrate on just eating healthy and using non-scale victories.
  • Quote: When I was in the throes of my eating disorder, I would weigh myself sometimes ten times a day. I lived and died by the number on the scale. For awhile, my obsession was so bad that if I went to the doctor and had to get weighed, I would ask to weigh backwards (so I couldn't see the number) and for the nurse to not tell me my weight.

    It took a really, really long time, but I'm finally at the point where I get on the scale once a week - that's it. My suggestion is to put your scales away for awhile and concentrate on just eating healthy and using non-scale victories.
    That is very good advice and will help many others like you. I'm sure this will help someone out there make goal healthfully.

    But for me, I actually obsess less when weighing daily. I'm going to obsess anyway, and this way I only obsess once a day about getting on the scale, then I get on it, then the obsession is over. It doesn't last all day and all night.

    And a little update...the scale read yesterday's low number again today!! Yeah! I've been stalled out this month, so I'm really happy to see this number. I lost 17 pounds the first month, 11 the second month and with only 10 days left I have only lost 4.2 pounds this third month. I know it's supposed to slow down, but geesh.
  • I downloaded a widget to my igoogle page called the google 15. It takes a running average of your daily weight and plots a graph so you can see how your weight fluctuates, but also see the downward trend. It's pretty cool! It's free too!
  • It all comes out in the wash if you ask me lol If you go with the lower then the next week it might be a little less for a loss. It's all the same really!
  • i totally understand thats what happens with my scale, the only way to know you exact weight are the doctors scales or at the scales at the gym
  • Out of curiosity, I weighed myself multiple times today, throughout the course of the day. So far, my weight has varied by about 7 lbs, include a 4 lb shift when I didn't do anything but some basic housework, walking around the house, etc. - didn't eat or drink or pee and it still went up that much.

    So I'm thinking that scales are VERY overrated! lol!
  • Not only do I weigh about daily and try to balance perfectly for the lowest weight, if I have a really great week I usually "save a pound". If I lose five pounds this week then often I only lose one pound next week and only losing one pound depresses me. So I save a pound - then on the low week I count a pound from the high week. Is that completely crazy or what????? But it works for me. Helps me stay positive. And I like having a pound "in the bank." Jeez. Can't believe I just admitted that!!!
  • Possible TMI alert--I've been known to weigh myself before and after using the restroom. (Talk about embarrassing confessions!)
  • Quote: Not only do I weigh about daily and try to balance perfectly for the lowest weight, if I have a really great week I usually "save a pound". If I lose five pounds this week then often I only lose one pound next week and only losing one pound depresses me. So I save a pound - then on the low week I count a pound from the high week. Is that completely crazy or what????? But it works for me. Helps me stay positive. And I like having a pound "in the bank." Jeez. Can't believe I just admitted that!!!
    jaja Do not worry you are not the only one...I do that .
    I like to see a lose every week even if it small like
    0.6
  • Quote: Possible TMI alert--I've been known to weigh myself before and after using the restroom. (Talk about embarrassing confessions!)
    Yea, sort of related, I used to do this when I was going to Weight Watchers in the evenings, I would hit the rest rooms before the weigh in, every little .2 helps, LOL!~

    Now, I am weighing myself at home. I do weigh daily, for now, anyway, because I need to see that I am getting results.

    This initial shedding of water-bloat-excessfood-whatever is happening daily and seeing the number go down keeps me motivated to stay on plan.

    But I don't get on the scale more than once per day and I don't try to manipulate. I weigh in the morning first thing, same time every day with about the same amount of clothing on. This scale I have now is a digital Taylor scale and the number I get is very stable. Sometimes the first step-on is a false reading but when that happens it shows an error code after the number fades away. So in that case of course I weigh again. But if I wiggle jiggle or weigh three times in a row, I still get the same weight. So I just do it once on and off.

    Multiple weigh-ins during the day could lead to obssessive behaviors, cheating or disappointments in my case also, so I just don't do it.

    One morning weigh-in and that's it for me.