Perhaps we all should.
I've become focused on numbers....to the point of obsession. And I'm getting into a "weight zone" now that's going to be harder and harder to get below. My body has always been happy at 180s, I'm not fat but there's definitely jiggle.
I however, have become so much stronger. I can do real push ups for the first time in my life. And I'm a demon on a spin machine. Instead of high fiving myself, I still get upset and let my day be ruined by a stupid number I truly can only control up to a point.
I may soon be no longer aiming for lame scale goals, but more for strength goals. And that scale....it's days are numbered.
I feel you, with water weight, muscle gain, plateau's, etc..it makes me wanna hide my scale and never step on it again. Scales aren't everyone's cup of tea. You may like using your own emotions and opinions about your body as a guide better than a machine. I think of it as a tool and use sparingly.
As I said before, you and I have very similar stats, with me being just a hair taller. I spent most of my life happily at 150lbs. (Ok mostly happy. In HS I swore I was fat.) My body has also decided it likes 180lbs, and I most decidedly do NOT. I still regularly weigh but I'm considering cutting down myself. It's too frustrating when you're eating right, exercising and the "!$#*" scale doesn't reflect that.
I definitely get thrown off by the scale, too. I do it even though I KNOW that it only measures day to day fluctuations in water weight.
If I can keep my head, I try to remember that dealing with the scale is like dealing with a stubborn dog. If you're consistent, stick to your guns, and can out-wait the stubbornness, you'll totally win (I do this all the time with my dogs and it works). The same thing works with the scale - stick with your plan, don't let it get in your head, and eventually the number WILL drop.
...if you can remember that in the heat of the moment. THAT is the tricky part.
Just do it! Hammer away! If you really "need" to weigh yourself try to limit it to once every two weeks or less. That's the only way I was able to loose in the past, weighing myself to often just made the progress slower - like my body's revenge for constantly jumping on the scale or something. It messes with your brain. When I started anew a week ago, I've decided not to weigh myself but use other parameters, like how clothes fit, strength etc. You should be proud of those push ups
The scale is a tool, nothing more, nothing less. The reason we "like" it is because it gives us instant results. However, all it really does is define the relationship between our body and gravity!
That said, being stronger, healthier, and happier, in the long run are more important.
However, it can be a useful tool, if one is patient enough to log daily weight, and interpret the data, it gives you.
I have found due to diligent tracking of food and exercise, I understand, why my weight fluctuates, up to 3-4 pounds, on any given day, with no worries. But, that was a long process.
I'm with you, get rid of it! I'm at my happiest (and skinniest) when I'm not worrying about the scale. It's like whatever that scale says messes with my mind. If I gain a pound I feel like a failure. If I lose a pound I feel pressure to keep losing. If it stays the same I'm not making any progress. Who needs this kind of negative thinking first thing in the morning, naked none the less?
I started this journey to reverse some chronic health issues, not initially to lose to a certain weight. While I DO step on the scale every day as one way to measure what I've been doing, my primary focus is my health and how I feel. My clothes are getting looser, I put my IBS-D in remission, I can walk faster, and my joints no longer ache every day.
I'm truly thinking of taking a hammer to my scale
