since i was 22 i have been getting to a certain weight that triggered me to diet and i would lose. i don't think i would even consider it "yo-yo dieting" as much as normal winter/summer fluctuations. breaking 150 would be a signal to get it together and then i would lose about 7 -8 lbs. anyway, fast forward to a few years of NOT doing this, and those 7 lbs a year have accumulated. i think i am reaching my breaking point and ready to lose weight. i'm a bit of an old pro at it. i usually can guess my weight, i know how to eat, how to exercise...but i KNOW that i have to weigh myself and i CAN'T bring myself to do it. in the past if i felt i was over 155 i would diet for 2 weeks and THEN get my starting weight. but now i think it might be at least 10 pounds or MORE than that and i need to weigh myself to get a good game plan and track progress...but the thought og seeing 160, 165, or (god forbid but VERY possible) 170+....well i think i might totally lose it. What to do What to DO? BTW, measurements would involve the same problem, because i used to measure myself as obsessively as i used to weigh myself.

just do it Then at least you know what the nature of the beast is so to speak

Better the devil you know than the devil you don't. Once you know how much you weigh, you're one step closer to getting it under control.

Do it! How much better will you feel two weeks on when you will lost some weight already?

I've struggled with this kind of thing before. I always know when I'm gaining weight, but rarely how much. When I finally steel up the courage to hop on a scale... yikes! It's scary. I knew I gained weight, but did I really gain 30lbs in 5 months?

That scary, "yikes!" feeling is often what makes me finally decide to do something. Until I stand on that scale, I can pretend that I've only gained a little, or that those jeans are tighter because they shrunk in the wash. Weighing-in gets me out of denial and into reality. I would strongly encourage you to do so so you know for sure what you're dealing with, and you can adjust your plan accordingly.

Then again... you say measurements would be the same problem, but have you considered judging your weight based on pants or dress sizes? You must be wearing larger clothes now than you were when you were at your ideal weight, so maybe you can aim to lower your pants or dress size rather than the number of pounds?

I’m going to agree with the other ladies…go ahead and weigh. And then you know where you’re starting from…and then maybe don’t weigh for a couple weeks and see how much progress you make? It might make you feel that much more accomplished once you reach your goals.

However, if you think that seeing a certain number will overwhelm you or set you back emotionally…don’t. I know how it feels to get on the scale and see a number so high, I feel like there’s just too far to go and no way I’ll ever fix it.

Do what you think is best. I do think it’s better to have a starting point, but we’re all different.

I'll be the devil's advocate: if you don't want to weigh because you have a history of obsession, you don't have to. Like Kirjava said, you can use clothes size as an indicator of your progress--the number isn't as fine-tuned, but we don't really need numbers. They're a crutch, really--a crutch that bounces all over the place daily. So instead of saying you want to be 135, why not say you want to wear the size (or one bigger) that you did in college?

Or, if the problem is your fear of a big number and you used to cut back for two weeks, why not cut back for four this time? Or weigh after you've lost one dress size? The one convenient thing about having more to lose than you have before is that the first ten pounds will come off comparatively easily

I was the same way at first. I knew I needed to lose weight.. I knew I had gained and my clothes were too tight.. I was just too scared to find out how bad it had gotten.

But I did it and was glad I did. It was a big time wake up call and huge motivation.

Here's what I would do. Step on the scale, but don't look at it. Take a picture of the number with your phone or camera (or have a trusted friend/bf do it) and don't look at it. Then go on plan for a few weeks and weigh yourself at the end of whatever amount of time you like (you said you used to weigh after 2 weeks). Once you have that number, look at your first number. That way you don't have that "OMG" moment the first time you step on the scale, but you can see how well you've been doing for those first however many weeks and feel good about how much weight you've lost.

Ooh, that's a fantastic idea!

Thank you! this is a great idea. Right now I am making my goals by pant size, rather than weight. I hate looking at scale bc I become obsessed, but this seems to be the perfect way to know and yet not know.

I like this idea!