I had previously lost almost 70 lbs, but gained it all back when i went back to school. I am once again going to attempt to take the weight off. I have been trying to talk myself into stepping on the scale for the past two weeks, but can't bring myself to do it. I feel like I am bigger than I have ever been and am terrified to see that number. Anyone else ever had a problem getting on the scale after such a long time? I know I just need to do it, but I'm not sure how to handle the way I'm going to feel about myself afterwards.

You will weigh the same before you find out, as you did after. no need to feel any differently. Don't let the numbers control your sense of self worth.

If anything, let it motivate you to change.

p.s I lost 70 lbs and then gained 100.

I know the feeling!

Listen to Lottie, she is correct. The moment after you step on the scale, you will weight the exact same as the moment before you step on. The only difference is that you will know the number. I felt the same way you do back in January and I finally decided to be honest with myself, face the truth, and then move forward. I did my best to not have any preconcieved notions about how much I did or did not weigh, but prepared myself for bad news (and it was pretty bad). But I needed to know, so that I could honestly face the truth and get started on my journey.

Your weight does not have any correlation to your self-worth; keep that in mind. You are weighing just so that you have a starting point, so that after a week of staying on plan you will be able to weigh again and see that your hard work and dedication ARE paying off. Sometimes it's hard to tell at first because we don't always notice right away in clothing sizes or measurements. So remember--your scale is just a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. The number that it gives you is just data, just information; it does not have anything to do with your worth as a person.

Be brave. You can do this. Knowledge is power.

Yeah, I'm petrified every time I get on a set of scales but just tell yourself that is the last time I will see that number again. U can do this!!

You do not have to let the scale or a number define you. Your weight is what it is, whether or not you know it. The scale is a tool, nothing more, and nothing less. It can't tell you whether you're kind, smart, or funny, it can only tell you what you weigh. Even if you are bigger than you've ever been, it doesn't mean anything except that your weight is what it is (which it is whether you see it or not). You already know what you look like in the mirror, so the number means nothing and is useless except as a baseline or placeholder for you to be able to gauge your progress by.

I'd suggest you write a list of all the great things about yourself that will not change, regardless of the scale. Then, after you weigh yourself, read the list again.

You do have a choice in how you view the scale. You don't have to feel bad about any number. If you can learn to view it as a tool with no more emotional attachment than you would for other tools, a curling iron, a brush, a can opener, then you can use the scale and not feel used by it.

A lot of people will tell you not to weigh daily, to avoid being upset by the scale. I suggest the opposite, that you consider weighing daily, and learning not to be upset by the scale. To do that successfully though, you've got to be able to look at fluctuations as a normal event, not a sign of failure. You've got to take the meaning out of the fluctations, and see the scale much like a toothbrush.

I weigh daily, and record the weight, but to see my progress I have to keep in mind the big-picture. What I weighed when I started, what I weighed last week.... I don't allow myself to say anything to myself that I would be hurt or offended if said to me by someone else. I ask myself "what would I say to my best friend, in this situation."

So give yourself "best friend" advice. Get on the scale (give yourself the encouragement you would give your best friend) and then give yourself the advice you would give your friend. Would it be "hey lardbutt, you're an idiot," or would you say "You were very brave, Good job. Now that you know where you're at, and where you want to be, it can only get better from here. I have faith in you, and I know you can do it!

Colleen (Kaplods) is absolutely right on! Please step on the scale. It is what is its. AND in order to measure your success, it is REALLY helpful to know your starting point.

I WISH I had stepped on at the beginning of this journey. I WISH I had taken pictures so that I could see exactly how far I have come.

Trust me - do it, and as some point, you will be very glad you did!

I second that. I beat up my scale today. Literally stomped the crap out of it this morning I was pretty upset, not actually with the number it was giving me but with the inconsistency (I dream of owning a reliable beam scale). Thankfully, it is still working well

I absolutely, 100% agree with the great wisdom that's been offered here. My thought is that if you are concerned about feeling awful after stepping on the scale, then would it help to do it after you have done something positive for yourself regarding your weight? - ex. gone for a walk, joined the gym and had a workout, been eating on plan (whatever that means to you) for a few days, etc. This is just personal to me, but I know that with this approach I might feel relieved and the weight would possibly not sting as much.

Good luck!

scales are like children--brutally honest. But if you really want to know if those pants make your butt look big you ask your child, NOT your husband. A scale is an information device. It is not arbitrary. If you put 10 lbs on a good scale it will say 10 lbs. +/- .5

That being said--what you really are afraid of is a sense of failure. You can not fail unless you stop trying.

use the scale to get your bearings and then keep going in the positive direction for weight loss.

Ohh I do second the picture idea. Every month, I try to make a video diary that has moving shots of myself, as well as stationary photos. I love being able to see the progress.

I also think measurements might be cool to have. I have a vague notion of where I started and measured myself recently, and the loss in inches that has come as I've lost the weight to this point, has been staggering in a wonderful way! It feels really good to be able to track all of these changes. I really appreciate having that now, even though I wasn't as keen on doing it at my higher weight.

You know that you're ready to work on it, and that you will NOT be happy with the number. Find a time when you're alone, and take the plunge.

Weighing myself daily, and then charting the numbers on a graph really helped me see that although my weight varied up and down, the overall line kept going down. It helped me get over the worry about daily variations.

Me, too. Rather than being upset at every little fluctutation, I've come to realize that they're normal and I can see that the trend is downward, so the little blips here and there no longer bother me. A few weeks ago, I felt like I'd been stuck for WEEKS at the same weight, but when I looked at my data and my graph, I could see that it had really only been around 8 days. My mind was playing tricks on me! So yeah, I'm a daily weigher. It doesn't work for everyone, but it sure works for me.

So I took the plunge and stepped on the scale this morning. I feel pretty crappy because the number is higher than it's ever been. I guess there is no denying that fact anymore. After reading all of the wonderful advice I'm starting to feel a bit better though. Thank you.

at the start of this summer it took me a lot of courage to get on the scale and see 170, i have NEVER been that fat before, but i took solace in the fact that i could change it and that i would NEVER see that number again, not even the next day. and i didnt. and i havent. stick to your plan, start today, and that high weight will be just an unpleasant memory. good luck.

Good for you! You are very brave and I know how hard it was for you to do that! But now you are dealing with your situation from a position of power, and months down the road when you are still losing weight, you will KNOW what your starting point was. I wish that I had also taken pictures, because now I can't see a difference when I look in the mirror even though I know there must be one. If I had pictures to compare, then I would be able to put them side by side. But alas, I wasn't able to do that back then--it was all I could do to make myself step on the scale!

Congratulations! You are facing the problem head-on, and that is a great first step!