I'm trying to get away from the concept of "diet." I think it was Kara who posted that she is struggling with the idea of being on a diet and waiting to "eat normal" again. This made me realize I was doing the same thing much of the time. But really, "normal" eating is what keeps getting me fatter so it isn't something I can ever go back to.

So my tactic now is to "embrace SBD as a lifestyle change," as I'm telling and retelling myself. Well, if that is true, then I shouldn't be getting on the scale every day, right? Dieters get on the scale multiple times in a week, and I don't want to be a dieter (even though I *have* set a 5-lbs-a-month goal for myself).

What do you recommend? Get on the scale once a month to see if I lost 5 lbs.? Throw the scale out and just watch how my clothes fit? Or just keeping weighing myself several times a week for the rest of my life?

L

Liannie, I never had a scale until two months ago. I tend to be obsessive about things and I was afraid I would obsess about the number the scale shows and lose focus on eating healthy being my real goal. In Phase 1 I found it best to weigh once a week if I was eating on plan. After all, if I was following the menu then what else could I do? But now that I've entered the gray area of Phase 2 and all foods seem to affect everyone in different ways, then I've found daily weighing to be beneficial in ensuring that I don't go too far off track before tweaking what I'm eating. I can gain weight at the drop of a hat and it's so much harder to lose it, so I want to stay on top of that. One of my maintanance goals will be to stay within a range of three to five pounds and weekly weighing will help me with that, I believe. I'm sure there will be times like holidays when I will eat off plan and I want to get right back on plan so things don't get out of control.

I think how you use the scale is an individual decision, but this is what is working for me so far.

Kara

I weigh once a week. This way I avoid seeing the normal fluctuations.I used to be obsessed with the scale which drove me crazy and didn't help me to lose any faster.

For me, i weigh my self a lot in the beginning, but i as i get closer to goal (the last time i lost 100 pounds) the less i weigh myself. So maybe check often in the beginning, say, once a week, to make sure you are on track and keeping in line. then once you get comfortable with what you are doing, you can slack off on the weighing and notice more by how clothing fits.