Argh, it's such a mental game! LOL!

I had a weird weigh in this morning.

Yesterday my weight was 204.0.
I got up this morning at 5:30 and weighed in at 204.0. I went back to bed.
Two hours later, I got up, went to the bathroom , and weighed again. I saw 203.6, but it settled at 204.0. So of course I had to get on again. The second time was 202.8!!! So I stepped again very gingerly...202.8.

There's a big difference between 204 and 202.8!!

I decided to go with the small number but didn't feel good about it. Then I put my jeans on and noticed I can pull them off buttoned. So now I feel better.

But it's such a game!!

I haven't been able to do that, it seems to read what it reads. But if I were you, I'd totally go with the lower number, as you did!

I also had that pulling down pants without unbuttoning them thing happen the other day--and these were pants that were SUPER tight a few months ago, I could barely get into them. Now I need a belt. I think they're the ones I'm going to keep for the compaison and reminder.

Yep!! I do the same thing!!

Way to go, getting the jeans off still buttoned!!

So I'm not the only one!?! Yes I manipulate the scale sometimes, feel bad about it but don't dwell because if my official weigh in comes and I'm down no harm no foul and I had an ego boost!

Congrats on the pants!

Congrats on the loss. Sometimes I get different numbers for whatever reason. In that case I keep stepping on the scale until I get the same number twice and then use that number.

If I wake up in the middle of the night to pee I have been known to get on the scale just for kicks. Then I go back to bed, and when I get up for real I weigh again and it's usually lower. So weird, but I'm reading the Atkins diet book right now and it says in there you lose weight in your sleep most effectively, so it makes sense.

As for pants, I spent yesterday yanking my jeans up over and over at work. Oops! But I am not going to complain about that particular problem!

I played mindtricks on myself with my scale for the longest time. Would even weigh several times a day, and take the lowest number. But then I realized my scale was playing tricks on ME... the darn thing was cheap, and was off by at least 10 lbs (in the BAD direction). Now I have a new fancy digital scale, and I force myself to accept its first judgement of the day, no matter what it is.

I guess I'll need to invest in a good, reliable scale. I can't depend on the ones at the Y. They all give me different readings.

Some people look for the same weight 3 days in a row before they count it as official. I think that's people who are closer to goal and/or trying to lose a smaller amount in the first place, but that helped me look at the daily flucuations a little bit differently. If the loss is real, then I'll keep seeing that number or lower, and if I'm higher the next day, I know it was a just a random thing, like I had a little bit more water weight, etc.

So while I do weigh daily, or close to it, at this point, it's more to see the trend rather than accepting each daily weight and feeling like I'm bouncing up and down. My scale also only does half pd increments, which at least for me, is better - I'd drive myself crazy worrying about .2 or .4 all the time!

Yes, I used to get on the scale so often I could have counted it as step aerobics... If I was down, I was happy, if it was even a little higher, I would get upset. I remember once getting on the scale while I was talking on the phone and couldn't figure out how I had gained a pound??

Little talked about fact: Most digital scales are programmed to revert to the last weight if it is within something like a pound of the last weigh in. It's because the scales give weights that can be so variable and they don't want you to think it's unreliable. So they make them appear really consistent when they aren't. Personally I weigh my foot alone to clear out the past weight and then get on.

You're right about the scale being a mental game. I'm still in the weighing compulsively stage (a good day is when I only weigh myself 3-4 times, a bad day I'll weigh myself practically hourly, lol). I use the lowest number as my current weight, although it changes so much the important thing is the downward trend like PeanutsMom704 said. Plus, for me my weight loss isn't 'steady.' I tend to woosh, hover, woosh, hover, ... . Usually when I reach a new 'low' the scale will fluctuate around that number a few days (within 1-2 lbs) then woosh down. Also, while I do weigh myself daily (and consider the lowest number my weight), I have a weekly weigh-in, and that's the 'official number' I use to compare my total loss for the week...as long as those numbers go in the right direction each week I'm happy.

I've recently started weighing daily and was surprised to find I actually obsess LESS. I get on it whenever I feel like it. If I think about it, I weigh myself. This way I can stop thinking about it. The only weight I really accept is the morning weigh in. The other ones simply amuse me. I like getting on the scale with heavy objects in my hand. I'm very easily amused.

Heck, I used to step on the scale with both feet, then step on the scale with my left foot and hold my right foot up, get off and do the right foot. I found when I was doing this the scale was my God. For a long time, I had to have the scale put up out of sight and only get it out once a week and weigh. If I'm eating what I should and not eating what I shouldn't, the scale will go down. I have to step on once, once a week and take it that the number is right. The day to day fluctuation on the scale can cause me to eat everything that's not nailed down.

I always get on the scale at least twice. If I get two different numbers then I get on a couple more times and use whichever number shows up the most times.