Weighing yourself throughout the day, scared of numbers...?
I find that as I become closer and closer to my goal weight, Im becoming more and more obsessed with the number on the scale. The number in the morning on the scale affects my entire day and mood. This morning the number was great.
I get on the scale throughout the day which I know I shouldnt but if its high at the end of the day I worry it will be more in the morning than the day before.
I know water weight changes things and Ill weigh more from just eating meals and that this is all mental.
Does anyone else have this problem or do the same thing? What do you find helps calm your nerves and gives you a healthier relationship with your scale?
I know weighing once a week is probably better than daily, but Ive also stuggled with obsessive compulsive disorder and this has become one of my obsessions.
Its just a number, imo. I know its not a measure of my self-worth or the absolute indication of how hard I've worked.
Numbers change. You're weighing how much food you've consumed in the day, how much water you've drank, not your own body weight.
I really think you need to commit to a once-a-day scale...or just take the numbers for what they are.
If your scale is really controlling your whole mood for the day, you need to re-evaluate how you're using the scale. I'd suggest cutting WAY back on the weighing...maybe even once a week. Your self worth isn't determined by that number, which will fluctuate all over the place and just frustrate and discourage you.
I completely agree with you all on this. For my own sanity I would love to have no access to a scale during the week cause for a week I didnt, I lost weight and did awesome on my meals and with my mood. The thing is its a mind game. I know that because my scale says a pound more, I didnt gain a pound in a day, especially considering my calorie intake and food choices.
Im going to just have to commit to weekly weigh ins, probably Wednesday mornings from now on and see if that doesnt help.
i wish i could only weigh myself weekly but i'm with you, i weigh myself at least once a day |: i know there's no point but it just comforts me to see that i'm not going up, yknow? i don't know, i think there's more of a mental side than a 'science' side to losing weight.
Scale obsession has crept up on me in the last week or so. I think it's because I'm finally on a losing streak so I step on every few hours to see how much I've lost since last time. I know that logically I'm being ridiculous, but today was bad.
I'm putting my scale away now until my next weigh in, to teach myself a lesson.
I'm nowhere near your goal weight, but sometimes I do weigh myself a couple of times in the day. Mostly though its out of sheer boredom, and I know that other things are more important than the number on the scale. However, its so tempting to keep looking at it.
I only weigh once a day, first thing in the morning. Otherwise, I'm not really weighing my body, but I'm also weighing my breakfast, my lunch, any water I have drank, etc. I'm not interested in how much that stuff weighs; only interested in that first weight of the morning.
I think it's really important to kind of detach from the scale. It's just a tool that exists to give us data so that we can track a trend, that's all. The daily fluctuations really do mean nothing. It's a shame to be discouraged by an afternoon fluctuation, when really it could just be undigested food or a little water retention from the pickle you had on your sandwich at lunch.
I put my scale away last night. This morning I made a move towards the cupboard and out loud told myself "no" and walked away. It's staying in that cupboard until Sunday.
My first 2 months on Southbeach I didn't weight myself at all. I was SO anxious to go back to my doctor's office and get weighed that it wasn't funny. I wanted to dance when they told me how much I had lost.
I feel like we get too wrapped up in the numbers and tend to let us influence our eating choices. There are times when you can tell that you're losing inches b/c your clothes fit better, but the scale doesn't show it. I have to admit, though, that ever since my doctor's visit I've pretty much started weighing myself everyday. I just have to remind myself not to get upset if it fluctuates throughout the week. So far so good.
I am totally with you on that one, punkrprincessa. I would weigh myself four or five times a day, after meals, after going to the loo, after exercise. It was the first thing I thought about when I got up, when I got home from work, when I got in from the gym. All it led to was me being disappointed and disheartened by gaining a pound during the day or a couple after a meal. I had to break the cycle because it was making me feel like there was no point in what I was doing. So, I made a deal with my other half that I get weighed on a Monday morning. That's it. It's the best time for me because the weekend is where I really focus on the gym and my meals. I have been tempted but I have tried really hard to break the cycle of obsessing. I'm happier, because I see a difference every week and because it's at the same time, like others have said, it takes into account everything and gives a more accurate representation of how I'm doing. The pound/two pounds I was losing was getting lost in numbers that were based on having meals and drinks so I didn't see it. Now I do and it's great!
Good luck with getting it under control punkrprincessa and very many pats on the back and congrats about being so close to where you want to be! xx
And well done dayoneagain for saying 'no'! You're in control of your body and mind, not some mechanical object. YEY! x
I have found near total peace with the scale, but then I'm not close to goal. I don't think what I have to say will help you...but maybe it will help somebody else.
One, I do weigh daily and sometimes multiple times throughout the day. As you stated, your weight changes during the day. I'm able to look at it like a big old science experiment. By giving myself permission to weigh when the whim hits, I obsess about it less. When I deny myself the scale, I end up dreaming about some low number that doesn't exist and I will be disappointed and feel like a failure when I do finally get on the scale. I like to weigh at night because then I don't go to bed dreaming about some unrealistic weight for morning.
Two, I decided when I started this journey that I was going to be on plan for a year no matter what. Once I made that decision, the scale became a tool.
I am in the same boat as you are, I weigh myself morning and evening which is so not the right thing to do, it does makes me upset if I gained a kilo or a few grams, it just hard to accept that you worked so hard and then you still stop at a certain number or it either goes up and ruin your whole day, I did obsesses over one kilo few weeks ago and I stopped eating for few days not so wise to do but just to show you what can a scale do to your sanity
I am now checking my weight every four days or once a week to get a better results.
Just give it a week and trust me you will feel a lot better, keep that scale away from you or hide it somewhere, it will help keep you motivated, you are so close to your goal you should be so proud
Weighing yourself throughout the day, scared of numbers...?
I don't think what I have to say will help you...but maybe it will help somebody else.
not so wise to do but just to show you what can a scale do to your sanity 
