Thinking about taking a scale break. Anyone done it before?
I have been having a **** of a time passing through the 220's. I haven't been under them since high school and I'm freaking myself out. It's been up and down for the last 7 weeks now. I think its because I see my scale get so low and it freaks me out and riles up the binge monster inside. I do have clothes that are too tight that I have been using for progress pictures and im thinking about still tracking everything I eat in myfitnesspal and still working out 4 times a week but not getting on the scale for awhile. Probably until I can fit into my progress picture outfits.
Has anyone done this before, how did it work for you?
How often should I be trying my clothes back on? Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly?
I go through periods where I completely ignore the scale. In fact, when I first started losing, I took a start weight, and put my scale away. When I stepped back on 5 months later, I was surprised to see I had lost 70 pounds. That is still probably the best day of my weight loss journey to date.
As for your clothes, try as often as you want. Whatever it takes to keep you modivated. Good luck
I only started my "new" diet a little over a month ago but I decided from the onset (after doctor's approval due to health issues) that I would only weigh once a month. I had never ever done that in any diet before but felt that my own scales were sabotaging me.
It seems like when I weighed weekly, I would use a good loss as a reason to celebrate or if I hadn't lost what I expected, I used the scale reading as a reason to have a pity party. In both cases, I used food as the reward thus undermining my whole effort.
This time I waited one month and discovered that my dieting was much less stressful than usual. When I weighed, I discovered I had lost 19 pounds...woo hoo! I was so shocked (and happy) that I stayed on plan in spite of myself.
I know it might not work for everyone (when does one plan really fit all?) but perhaps it will help you break through your stall. Good luck!
I have to admit to taking a lot of scale breaks. I get bogged down in the fluctuations, get frusterated and stop weighing altogether. After I time, I weigh again then take another break. Much better for me overall. Weighing everyday just makes me nuts.
For my sanity...I haven't weighed since July 2011. I weighed and it almost sent me into a depression I realized, I couldn't stay focused with the amount of weight I had to lose while watching the scale. So, I put it up and I'm not sure when I'll weigh again.
I track sizes. I'll be updating my ticker today to show I'm down to a 14W. (Although I tried on a regular size 16 and XL and they fit GREAT!!!! I'm only going to claim a 14W for now.)
I've thought about it but I find that I really enjoy having the data to track over the actual number that I weigh. I'm a nerd, what can I say? Having that graph is too much fun.
There's nothing wrong with a scale break, you just need to be sure you won't be disappointed if you step on it again and you haven't lost as much you thought you have.
There's nothing wrong with a scale break, you just need to be sure you won't be disappointed if you step on it again and you haven't lost as much you thought you have.
I agree. It is very important to not get your hopes up or have unrealistic expectations when you step on that scale for the first time in a long time. Honestly, it is a personal choice. I would say try it out and see how you do. If weighing all the time promotes eating unhealthy then maybe you'll do better not weighing. Or not weighing as often. Maybe 2x a month?
For me, when I don't weigh myself everyday I get lax. I fall off the wagon. I have a "see no evil" mentality. If I don't see the weight gain then it's not happening. LOL So, yeah, I have gone back to an every other day schedule. But I also have the opposite problem. If I see a loss I get motivated and stay on plan that day.
When I take a break from the scale, I gain - and the longer I stay away from the scale, the more I gain, so I weigh twice daily.
I like weighing before bed, because my morning weight, after I pee is always lower (so I get to see a loss every day, even if it's not a "real" one).
For most of my life, I believed that weighing daily would sabotage my weight loss efforts, because I'd get frustrated by the fluctuations. I've found that if you expect them, they don't frustrate you. You can only be frustrated by having expectations you're not able to meet.
I know a lot of people do better with weighing weekly or monthly, or not at all, so I think it's just one of those things you have to experiment with - just be prepared to get any result. You may find you do better, worse, or the same - so experiment but be prepared for any outcome, and then deal with whatever outcome you get.
Just remember that even if you find that a break from the scale wasn't helpful (you don't lose, or even gain), it still will be a successful experiment (if only to show you what doesn't work).
Kirsten I finally found someone else like me! The scale and I just don't get along, so I've never weighed myself with any regularity.
For those of you who haven't heard my story before, I have no real idea exactly how much I weigh. I haven't seen an exact number on the scale in years. Tonight at the gym I took a little baby step to get an idea of what weight range I'm in. I got on the scale at night in clothes and shoes with a full bladder and verified that I'm less than 150lbs. I'm reasonably certain I'm more than 125lbs but less than 150lbs.
I've been at this with some level of serious since November and instead of taking my weight, I take measurements. I've seen at least an inch and a half come off my waist, so I know something's going right. I also engage in daily naked staring/poking (surely other people do this too) and occasionally try on different items of clothing.
One of these days, hopefully soon, I'm going to hop...er, step lightly while exhaling on a scale and see one twenty-something. That day is not today, but it's going to happen.
Last edited by January Snow; 01-04-2012 at 01:05 AM.
Reason: typos
I personally find that having a scale drives me crazy so I no longer have one. A few years ago I got so frustrated I threw a seventy something dollar scale in the trash!
Now I only weigh myself when I go the doctor, or sometimes when I go the gym but I find that doing different scales just frustrates me with different results so I try to just try to stick to one scale.
For awhile, I did blind weigh ins, where I put my back to the scale but now I find I want to know my progress or lack of LOL.
Good luck! Don't let the scale get you upset! It's just not worth it.
I took a break from the scale for 3 weeks and ended up staying at the exact same weight. It really made me mad because I thought I was going to see a big loss. I like to weigh myself a couple times a week because then if I don't see a loss then I know I need to do more.
I'm like Kaplods on this one. Last time I took a scale break I went from 250 to 333+. Ugh. Never again.
When I was in the losing stage, I weighed every Friday morning. I almost always had a loss each week because I didn't cheat. I didn't cheat because I wanted to lose weight. The scale was simply a tool that gave me a progress number. It was exciting, because I knew there would be a loss...because I stayed on plan 99% of the time.
Now, I weigh daily. I'm in maintaince and I need the accountability. Of course everyone is totally different, but if I avoid the scale after a feasting weekend or holiday, I might as well be on the fast track back to obesity. I now know that scale does not have internal powers. It doesn't make me do anything I don't already plan to do.
When I take a break from the scale, I gain - and the longer I stay away from the scale, the more I gain, so I weigh twice daily.
Oooohhh someone else like me! I have to weigh myself constantly so that I can see how my body is responding to what I've put in my mouth that day. If I don't, I get weight creep that will eventually get ridiculously out of hand.
To the OP, like every one said, you gotta find out what works for you. But I do think you have to use some method of tracking your progress. Maybe it's trying on clothes or using measurements. Or maybe you do both of those and keep a food journal too so that you can make sure you stay on your plan.
But like everyone else has said, you gotta be prepared for whatever you get once you do weigh yourself again. I might suggest you give yourself a short trial run...say two weeks. Journal to make sure you're staying on track. Then after about two weeks or so, weigh yourself and see how it goes. If you can emotionally handle the results then give it another go for a longer period of time.
Thinking about taking a scale break. Anyone done it before?
) that I stayed on plan in spite of myself.
I realized, I couldn't stay focused with the amount of weight I had to lose while watching the scale. So, I put it up and I'm not sure when I'll weigh again.
so I try to just try to stick to one scale. 
