I'm trying to ignore my weight until I get to a point where I know I've lost so much that the number has changed completely. I know that I've lost about 35-45 lbs because my dress size has gone from a 22 to a 16/18. Most of all I'm tracking my weight loss by how I feel and look. I already feel a lot better, losing a modest amount of weight (for my size). I am 23 years old and I have older overweight/obese people in my family, who are suffering from health problems, so most of all I'm doing this for my health.

Anyway, so what I'm asking is, do people here generally track their weight loss by weight or by dress size, or by some other factor? I find it really disappointing to monitor my weight closely because I have quite a bit of muscle and I'm the type of person that is heavier than they look. I was thinking of getting a weight loss ticker but I know it'll drive me crazy.

PS, I'm new here. Hi.

I go by what the scale says... I am 2 pounds away from losing 60 pounds however I have lost a ton of weight in the top of my body but my butt and hips and all of that seems to want to stay with me forever... I have gone from a size 24 to a baggy 20 but still cant fit an 18 comfortably enough to wear in public. If I went by the size of my pants alone I would feel really discouraged...

And since your 23 feel free to join us in the 20-Somethings...were very friendly and chatty...

First off, Hello and Welcome.

Secondly, i measure both, to be perfectly honestly. I do keep track of my weight (as evident by the tickers below) because I'm concerned about my BMI. However, I also judge by how my clothes are fitting, what sizes I can wear, etc.

I think a lot of people take measurements as well....but I've been too nervous to confront myself with those numbers to do so.

I hate to admit that I'm a scale junky, however, I do get an even bigger rush from lose pants or dropping a full size. Like, my scale can go down but if my pants are feeling snug it doesn't feel like a full victory.

I use my scale to track progress, which I admit can be frustrating, but it's also motivating....I almost feel like I'm on a mission to prove my evil scale wrong! But, when my clothes fit better or are super loose, that is an amazing feeling that I can't get over. However, having something fit better requires a significant loss and the scale....even though it seems to go at a snail's pace, it still lets me know before my clothes. Does that make sense? Sorry if it doesn't!

If the scale doesn't make you feel motivated, then I would just go by measurements and how you feel. You know what works best for you.

Irene

I use my scale to track progress, which I admit can be frustrating, but it's also motivating....I almost feel like I'm on a mission to prove my evil scale wrong! But, when my clothes fit better or are super loose, that is an amazing feeling that I can't get over. However, having something fit better requires a significant loss and the scale....even though it seems to go at a snail's pace, it still lets me know before my clothes. Does that make sense? Sorry if it doesn't!

If the scale doesn't make you feel motivated, then I would just go by measurements and how you feel. You know what works best for you.

Irene

i also use the scale, clothes that i already had are a good measure because i know how they fit before, but otherwise stores and sizes run so wacky that you never know if its because you've lost weight or because this stores sizes run big.

until this past week, i've been tracking my weight loss by dress size. i started this year out at a size 24 and around 310 pounds, and am now a size 16. i managed to ignore the scale until this past week because i didn't want to get discouraged, and frankly i was scared to see how much i weighed. since my overall goal is to get healthy, the numbers didn't matter quite so much. however, i finally caved this week and weighed myself. when i saw the number (209) i actually cried tears of joy since i really was expecting 240-260. now i have that extra motivation to keep going and a mini goal to be in onderland by 2010.

so what do i think? for me not tracking the weight loss in the beginning seemed to work because i couldn't get discouraged. now that i've lost so much every pound seems like a major accomplishment and is an extra motivation. i guess you'll have to find what works for you.

I've been tracking both all along, but emphasizing one over the other from time to time. Like, at first, I was so big that the only way I really could see progress was in watching the numbers dial down, and it takes a lot longer to drop a plus size than it does a straight size, so going strictly on dress sizes probably would've been kind of discouraging at that point. As I get closer and closer to goal, however, when the scale stalls out for a week or two, I am often still noticing my clothes getting looser as my body shrinks here and there, so I try to focus on that to keep myself from getting too annoyed with the numbers on the scale. I will often go out and just try on clothes to see where I am, in terms of the next size down fitting.

Oh most definitely the scale.

I needed to see those pounds drop each week. It took a while for my dress size to go down when I was so large. For me, there could be no approximating. After avoiding the scale for close to 15 years I needed to become accountable to myself and own that dreadful number. There is no way on earth I could have relied on just dress size alone. No, I needed to know just how much my very hard work was paying off - and if it wasn't I would have then needed to tweak my plan. The scale is just a tool - a valuable tool IMO that tells us , well, what we weigh. Which is directly related to my health - it's easy, it convenient and it's available and for me to not use it (hindsight mind you - 15 years later) seems irresponsible. I'm sorry, but that's just what I feel is right *for me*.

We've all got to find our own *right* for ourselves.

I used the scale mostly until I got down to the size I wanted to be. Now I go by whether my pants still fit and look good. I can only fit in them in a very small range so it keeps me in line.

I need all of the positive feedback I can get so I weigh, measure and go by clothes sizes as I found that if the scales gets sticky for a couple of days usually an extra button will do up on something or I might be an 1/8 of an inch smaller somewhere. I take everything I possibly can as an indication that I'm doing the right thing and to keep calm and carry on.

I just wanted to add that I don't believe that the scale should be the focus of this journey. I think the focus needs to be on changing those habits. On getting rid of old unhealthy habits and ushering in new healthy ones. Really, really focus on eating well and exercising - and then the weight will take care of itself. Get those good eating behaviors down pat. Push yourself, reach for new heights. Stretch. Strive. Grow. Create and devise a plan you are willing to live with. Find tools, strategies and coping mechanisms for every day and all situations, obstacles and challenges . Make a healthy lifestyle your new way of life. Get it ingrained in oneself, create a new normal - and then of course the weight loss will follow.

I'm a progress junky. I use anything and everything.
I weigh, I measure, I have target clothing hanging on the back of my bedroom door, I have a box of small things under my bed that I try on regularly ....

I find that if I only weigh and the scale is not moving, I get discouraged. So I have other indicators that my plan is working.

As for tickers ... I chose an exercise one because that is the area that I needed to work on. My weight is in my profile and I only change it once a week or so, when it's a good sturdy change.