Scale Stress Syndrome

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Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    bump
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,941 Member
    bump
  • hunnykinsgirl20
    hunnykinsgirl20 Posts: 7 Member
    I used to freak out about it, like this morning I weight one pound more that last week, and I kept with my caloric deficit and my weight training and cardio, when I got on the scale after 8 hours of sleeps, I wasn't shock to see that I was 1 pound heavier, because the night before I was busy doing the day, I ended up hitting my workout after 8pm, that made me eat my post workout meal late. I went to bed 2 hours later. I woke up with last night meal in my belly. I went to the gym this morning came back home weight myself again, I was 2 lbs lighter. You can't trust the scale too much.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Bump.
  • FrankShabangu
    FrankShabangu Posts: 12 Member
    Bump
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Just bumping useful posts. Nothing to see here.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,941 Member
    Had a client the week before weigh in and was 1.5lbs heavier than the previous week. This week's weigh in 2.5lbs less. So the average was still 1lbs a week. Ate and exercised the same both weeks. Needless to say she's happier this week.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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  • Zella_11
    Zella_11 Posts: 161 Member
    Very useful post!

    *bump*
  • reinventingjessica11
    reinventingjessica11 Posts: 33 Member
    Needed this post! I'm a recovering scale addict who has suddenly found her way back to daily weighing. I'm trying hard to keep all of this in mind when I see the daily fluctuations.
  • Lillyloooo
    Lillyloooo Posts: 174 Member
    Love this x
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I'm just bumping posts. Nothing to see here.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    MarioBumpGIF.gif&size=400x1000
  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
    Some people can't handle the scale. They "freak out".

    Just stop weighing!!! You didn't weigh yourself multiple times a day when you were getting fat, so you've proved you can do it.

    Take serial pictures of yourself wearing the same outfit, standing in the same position and see the real changes. That number on the scale is a single point in time, not a reflection of your reality. Like when you pause a TV show the person almost always has some weird expression on their face that you just happened to have caught them in for that instant. That's not what they really look like.

  • MaybeLed
    MaybeLed Posts: 250 Member
    I've been more or less the same for about 9 days now, it's discouraging but I know I'm still doing everything right so just have to wait for the scale to catch up! :anguished:
  • wrharvill
    wrharvill Posts: 60 Member
    I missed this post the first time around... thanks for *bumping* it up!
  • eandasher
    eandasher Posts: 25 Member
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  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    edited July 2016
    Caitwn wrote: »
    This is exactly why I like to weigh myself daily. It was upsetting at first, but I felt I really needed to get past the place where the number on the scale had an emotional charge, and reach a place where the number on the scale is just a data point that is also informed by things like how I feel and how my clothes fit (among others).

    That doesn't mean I'm not happy when I see sustained weight loss, but for me seeing a steady downward trend has become far more important than seeing what a given day's weight is.

    I think weighing regularly is important as long as you remember that you are going to bounce around a bit. One of the largest things I found is how certain foods affect my weight which helped make intelligent choices. I would usually look at 2 days prior when weighing myself and see what i consumed. This would show me trends of certain types of foods and how they affected my body. Again, this isn't for everyone but it has helped me. I am a techy though and love number crunching.

    Food choices affect my weight also. I can stall with one trip to a Chinese restaurant. Plus when I go on a trip I always seem to come back 3 pounds heavier and loose them 3 days later. I think traveling causes me a bit of stress. Plus restaurants seem to put a lot of salt in their foods. I'm sensitive to temporary sodium bloat.
  • YaGirlMaddi
    YaGirlMaddi Posts: 88 Member
    I hate the scale. That's why I focus on body fat measurements and the size of my clothes
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Lets keep this bumped..

    This to me is the single number 1 subject that gets discussed in the forums every single day. Such as "Why did I gain 3 pounds from yesterday or the weekend", or "Why am I exercising more, eating at a deficit and now gaining weight"?

    I still hate seeing the daily fluctuations, I no longer freak out, but nonetheless, it is a real part of your weight, it not just fat and muscle, organs and other tissue that make up your body!!

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Just a little bump.
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
    I can't take my scale seriously. I have to get on it 4-5 times just to make sure I get an "accurate" number. It will literally sometimes give me 3 different numbers everytime I get on. And I never even change it's position.

    It's a conspiracy!!!!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,941 Member
    edited August 2016
    I can't take my scale seriously. I have to get on it 4-5 times just to make sure I get an "accurate" number. It will literally sometimes give me 3 different numbers everytime I get on. And I never even change it's position.

    It's a conspiracy!!!!
    I do it twice and take the bigger number. If there's a big gap between numbers, I weigh a 3rd and then just average it out.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited August 2016
    "ninerbuff wrote: »
    I do it twice and take the bigger number. If there's a big gap between numbers, I weigh a 3rd and then just average it out

    I do something similar.

    I know my weight doesn't vary THAT much from day to day and, if I get a reading 1# or more up or down from the previous day, it's probably due to retained water or bowel weight. So, I just log 50% of the difference.

    This doesn't affect the trendline and helps make the chart look much less erratic.



  • Bxqtie116
    Bxqtie116 Posts: 552 Member
    Great advice. Bump.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    bump
  • skyhowl
    skyhowl Posts: 206 Member
    this post speaks to me. just posted a discussion about that today.
    will read member's posts. hopefully it will keep me focused
  • mwopm3
    mwopm3 Posts: 21 Member
    I just started MFP 3 weeks ago and was afraid to step on scale. Someone here sent me this thread and it helped so much! I did the dirty deed and discovered I was 5 pounds heavier than I hoped in my mind. But it has turned into a motivator. I love the emphasis on long term trends, and how your clothes feel and Heath overall. It's hard to keep it in perspective sometimes but right now I have more motivation than I've had in a couple of years so I'm enjoying this moment!
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Should be bumped everyday. This topic comes up many times every day! :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,941 Member
    bump