Okay...I'm toying with an idea and want to hear how everyone feels. I have, for so long, been motivated by the scale. If it was down an amount I thought was justified, I was happy and motivated to continue. If it was up or not down or not down enough, I was miserable and my attitude made me give up and then take forever to start again. So I'm thinking. What if I don't weigh in? What if I just set my goals and the more days I have under my belt, the more I can be motivated? The weight will come off, eventually right? I look at all of you who have so many days completed in this WOL and it's no wonder you're all losing. I work hard for a few days and when I'm not at goal (duh!!) I get discouraged. I know this time I have to change my head. So, how do you feel about not weighing?

I agree with you completely. My scale drives me mental. I've just finished phase one and 'only' lost 2lbs, but I feel much better and feel like I've lost fat from my belly, regardless of what the scale says. I say measure yourself and use the scale and a secondary measuring tool. An increase on the scale can mean many things (retaining water, gaining muscle, gaining fat etc etc) and only one of them is bad really. A decreasing waist size however, can only mean one (good) thing!

Good luck with whatever you choose!

The only time I get weighed is at the doctor's.

I feel the same as you and found that that number on scale would make or break my day. I was getting obsessive about it and it was ruling my life, so I decided to get rid of that evil piece of metal.
Now, I go by the way my clothes fit, and for me, that's a much more accurate way of knowing how I'm doing. If my clothes are feeling loose and comfortable, I know I am doing well and losing, and if I notice they are getting tight, then it's time for me to cut back.
For me, it works, and keeps me happy.

There's no need to use a scale. I am a daily weigher but know that my weight fluctuates like crazy so just use it for trends. I do think it's important to have some form of accountability though. Whether you measure, use the pants-o-meter or some other method I would find it too easy to be loose with my plan if I didn't have some objective standard. I've avoided the scale and ignored the pants while claiming I was eating better before. That technique landed me in very tight size 22 pants Now I weigh just about every day and I am committed to not buying bigger pants so if they get tight there's no ignoring them.

It sounds like you've answered your own question. You know weighing yourself has the potential to discourage you. I am similar to you where I can get discouraged and want to give up if I don't see the scale move as much as I want it to. Last year, I went to the gym 5 days a week and ate 1200 calories per day and lost 1.5 pounds per week for a month for a total of 6 pounds lost (went from 157 to 151). Well, with just 1.5 pounds per week, the scale didn't change much on a daily basis. So, after about a month, I got discouraged and quit. I gained it all back, and started SB at 162 this year (almost a year later). Had I just stuck with it for a couple more months, I would have reached my goal to be in the low 130s. The scale actually discouraged me. Would I really have cared that the scale was moving slowly 3 months later when I could have stepped on and seen my goal before me on the scale. I didn't want to do the same thing this time. So, I weigh myself every week or so. Seeing a pound or 2 loss every week is more rewarding than a quarter or half pound every few days. So, my advice is to weigh yourself once or twice per month, provided you are confident that you are following a healthy diet and exercise plan. If you know you are eating well and treating your body well, trust that your body will respond. Keep your long term goals in mind and think to yourself that in x months from now, it will not matter if you lost the weight quickly or slowly. You are losing the weight for yourself, not just to see the number go down on the scale. Also, water retention fluctuates and you don't want to get discouraged when you are retaining water, even though you still might be losing fat. Good luck!

Well I admit that I'm one of those that must weigh every day. In fact I weigh myself morning and evening. That being said, I'm also a very patient person and know that weight loss takes time (a lot of time). I've also learned that my weight will go up and down and that doesn't bother me so much. Some day, I may be able to weigh myself less often but right now it helps keep me accountable and on track. If I'm not showing a loss like I think I should, I'll just buckle down harder. You know, I think it's alright either way; you just have to find out what works for you as an individual. Good luck on whatever you decide.

I do weigh myself once a week, but to me measuring my waist tells me much more about my body than the scale does. I'm menopausal so get more fat deposited here (than I used to), so for me it is a very accurate barometer of how I'm eating & not so subject to fluid retention, etc.

I am a daily weigher, but go by the downward trend rule because my weight can fluctuate 2-3lbs up or down depending on many factors.

What really motivates me and helps me remember my efforts is the way my clothes fit. It's very gratifying seeing them fit better or better - falling off!

Thanks, ladies! Words to absorb, for sure! I am not a patient person and I think this time I just have to be. My goal is to change my lifestyle this time and the weight will come off as a result of the days racked up doing just that! I've usually done it backwards...lose weight fast and furious and hope the lifestyle kicks in....NOT...gain back quickly and begin again. I went from 223 to 146 in 2005 (from Feb to Oct) and it was so fast that my mind did not adjust...and it was too strict and I couldn't maintain so I went back to my bingeing/dieting ways...right back up to here! UGH! I'm learning that there is another way. So...SBD, Calorie count and exercise daily (I weight lift 3 days a week heavy and cardio everyday). It's bound to work right? No matter how long it takes me, I'm going to change my eating/exercise habits for good. So, once a month I'll weigh and I'll try not to let that number effect me too much (or is it affect me, I never remember)!

Um i guess you can call me the devils advocate..I hate my scale..but i use it every morning ..same time virtually...While at times i have suffered scale depression and been upset with results, i feel like trying to measure by pant sizes doesnt work for me personally. I find that my pants actually tend to stretch out over time..and so when they feel loose i think "oh great, i lost weight" and then i go to the stor to buy a new pair of pants and they are so tight i cant wear them..or barely fit..So to be fair..i use a scale because even in measuring with a tape measure, i can never seem to measure in the exact same spot..and i too look at the trend of weight loss instead of just one day..cause weight fluctuates.

I've struggled with this issue too. What I have come to is I weigh once a week, on the same day at the same time, before eating or drinking anything. I do need the scale to keep me honest, but I can't weigh more than once a week or I get crazy. I just went through a month of not losing/gaining and it was very difficult, but then the scale moved down. If I don't weigh once a week, I get sloppy. Everyone is different and you should do what works best for you, although it takes a while to find out what that is.

I totally understand all the frustrations that come along with weighing, but I have to do it. If I don't, it's too easy to convince myself I'm doing better than I am. If I see the scale move up or down, I have to face the reality that the way I'm eating is hurting (or sometimes helping) my loss. It all depends on your willpower, I think. If you can stick to the plan without the scale kicking your butt when you mess up, it might be psychologically better to ditch the scale. I'm just not strong enough.

ETA: Oops, I just realized I'm crashing the South Beach thread. Sorry! ;D

That's me exactly. I HAVE to weigh daily. It can be discouraging if it's up a little, but I figure it could be water retention in my muscles if I did weights, or factor in monthly bloat, too much sodium, lack of sleep, etc. I then use that increase as the benchmark for the next day or two and make sure it doesn't continue up. I am so good at lying to myself that if I don't weigh in at least every second day and keep tabs, I let myself get out of control.

It all boils down to your personal comfort zone and what works for you. If weighing in daily is detrimental to your weight loss, don't! If weighing in keeps you motivated and makes you push to get 'just another half a pound' off, do it! We all have different motivators and distractors, so do what feels right, as long as you can still stay on plan and stay honest with yourself.

Whatever works!!!

Amanda

I think that it can kind of do your mind in if you weigh in a lot. People see that .4 pound weight gain and think "but why??? I did everything I was supposed to and I'm GAINING weight!?!?!? I might as well just eat what I want, then!!!" I think we tend to get TOO wrapped up in those numbers and let it control the way we eat afterwards. I mean, it's nothing for my weight to go up and down 3 pounds throughout the night just due to various reasons (eating, drinking, exercising, etc).

Bottom line is you have to do what YOU are comfortable doing. If you can stand not weighing in, do it. You'll see your progress in the way your clothes fit and the way you feel.

I am really appreciating all the input here. And no worries posting on SB Paradise....we're all losing and I thank you for your opinion. I think it comes down to , I know rationally, that my weight fluctuates. That sometimes it comes off in a "whoosh" rather than steady down. I know that what I did for 1 week isn't going to get me to my goal that quickly. But....all that goes out the window when I step on the scale and see it creep slowly...too slowly...down. Maybe it's because of the weight I lost the last time. it came off so fast...and every time that I weighed I saw a huge decline. I know it won't come off that fast again but it doesn't change my head when I'm seeing the same number again and again no matter how hard I work (I know that's not true rationally). I'm sure it's all in my head. I need to eat clean everyday because I'm 232 pounds with the potential to be bigger (I am the smallest in my family). I need to exercise everyday because I'm 232 pounds and with a family history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes and heart disease. NOT because I need to be 125 pounds. Now what I mean? The weight is bound to come off if I'm diligent and stay the course. I'm not sure 1 week is a good snapshot of the effort I put in so it's not a good measurement. 1 month may be. It's going to kill me not to weigh weekly. But I'm going to measure my progress in days on plan and exercise goals. Maybe when I get a handle on things and my habit is to have a healthy lifestyle, I'll be able to weigh more frequently. I do know that when I gained all my weight back that I didn't step on a scale often enough to see what I was doing to myself but I also know I wasn't on program either. So I've set my target weight loss for 2 lbs for week but I know that I won't do that every week but if the scale doesn't say 2 lbs...I'll be pissed! LOL!!! So...let the experiment begin and I will post here as I progress. I haven't had a month op in so long because I get tripped up with scale depression...which is counterproductive, I know!