(Rant) Coworker thinks scales are evil
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you actually have no idea if she's ever struggled with her weight.
I weigh myself a few times a year at the Dr office, and have been in maintenance for 5 years, through two pregnancies. I have seen people become obsessed with the number on the scale and lose sight of what is healthy. she could have battled a similar disorder, led to an eating disorder, etc.....you don't know her struggles anymore than you claim she doesn't know yours.
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Yeah, I totally hate anything that gives me data points on which to base my future actions. Besides scales, I also hate my car's fuel gauge, my 401k quarterly statements, and the indicator that tells me which floor my elevator is on.0
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Jennloella wrote: »you actually have no idea if she's ever struggled with her weight.
I weigh myself a few times a year at the Dr office, and have been in maintenance for 5 years, through two pregnancies. I have seen people become obsessed with the number on the scale and lose sight of what is healthy. she could have battled a similar disorder, led to an eating disorder, etc.....you don't know her struggles anymore than you claim she doesn't know yours.
Actually we've discussed it pretty extensively. I know why she claims to have issues with the scale, and that's not what bothers me. What bothers me is the asinine suggestion that everyone is as vulnerable as she is, and her scoff that I "couldn't understand".0 -
I do think depending on the person scales can be detrimental to weight loss. My wife as an example will literally weigh herself every day. Sometimes more than once. She does not understand (or refuses to believe) that weight fluctuates by day. So when she's down one day and then up again the next she freaks out and basically gives up.
I on the other hand prefer once a week and can use it as a gauge for my weight loss without freaking out or losing hope...most of the time.0 -
Lourdesong wrote: »My mom does not believe in the scale at all, I always ask to weigh her the days that I do but Nop she refuses to do it, she says "oh I don't need a scale, I have my clothes and they talk to me!
I just wish I listened to my clothes talk to me too before
Clothes are such a terrible guide, and the more overweight you are, all the worse of guide is clothing. Some of my plus size clothes could easily accommodate a 30 lb change in weight.
This. I lost 75 pounds and my 2x shirts still fit because my chest is large. They are looser for sure,but not as much as you would think.
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My mom does not believe in the scale at all, I always ask to weigh her the days that I do but Nop she refuses to do it, she says "oh I don't need a scale, I have my clothes and they talk to me!
I just wish I listened to my clothes talk to me too before
My clothes are talking to me. They are saying "get on the scales; there's a reason we are so tight." Just a little humor!!0 -
jessiefrancine wrote: »Yeah, I totally hate anything that gives me data points on which to base my future actions. Besides scales, I also hate my car's fuel gauge, my 401k quarterly statements, and the indicator that tells me which floor my elevator is on.
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Offices are the best places to find weird people. The number of strange conversations I've had around here are mind-boggling. Currently we are having the Great Ice Cream Debate of 2015 (whether or not you can pilfer someone's ice cream bar from the freezer if they didn't put their name on it), PoopFest2015 (people complaining about the smell when someone does #2 in the staff washroom, followed by complaining about the smell of the air freshener), just to name two. Office workers are weirdos. You'll be much less annoyed by people's stupidity if you chalk it up to entertainment
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SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage wrote: »Offices are the best places to find weird people. The number of strange conversations I've had around here are mind-boggling. Currently we are having the Great Ice Cream Debate of 2015 (whether or not you can pilfer someone's ice cream bar from the freezer if they didn't put their name on it), PoopFest2015 (people complaining about the smell when someone does #2 in the staff washroom, followed by complaining about the smell of the air freshener), just to name two. Office workers are weirdos. You'll be much less annoyed by people's stupidity if you chalk it up to entertainment
If it helps the Great Ice Cream Debate of 2015 at all, the consensus here is that if something gets left in the fridge for more than 24 hours without clear labeling, it's fair game
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Ironically, this is exactly how the heated argument got started...OneHundredToLose wrote: »SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage wrote: »Offices are the best places to find weird people. The number of strange conversations I've had around here are mind-boggling. Currently we are having the Great Ice Cream Debate of 2015 (whether or not you can pilfer someone's ice cream bar from the freezer if they didn't put their name on it), PoopFest2015 (people complaining about the smell when someone does #2 in the staff washroom, followed by complaining about the smell of the air freshener), just to name two. Office workers are weirdos. You'll be much less annoyed by people's stupidity if you chalk it up to entertainment
If it helps the Great Ice Cream Debate of 2015 at all, the consensus here is that if something gets left in the fridge for more than 24 hours without clear labeling, it's fair game
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Scales do not cause eating disorders or psychological disorders, but some people who are prone to those things do have a very unhealthy relationship with scales. Constantly weighing yourself and obsessing over every pound, ignoring the fact that water weight causes routine fluctuations, obsessing over being a very specific number and freaking out if they are 0.1 pounds higher...these are all unhealthy behavior and people prone to these types of things should either not weigh or only weigh weekly or monthly.
I weigh once a week officially, but sometimes weigh at other points during the week out of curiosity...but I don't have any issue with it. Some weigh daily with no problems. Others can't handle that.
If you like scales, use them as a tool to track. If you don't, there is no need to use a scale. I knew I needed to lose weight before I even bought a scale. This is usually obvious based on appearance and how you feel. So to weigh or not to weigh is up to the individual, and both approaches work.
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OneHundredToLose wrote: »Jennloella wrote: »you actually have no idea if she's ever struggled with her weight.
I weigh myself a few times a year at the Dr office, and have been in maintenance for 5 years, through two pregnancies. I have seen people become obsessed with the number on the scale and lose sight of what is healthy. she could have battled a similar disorder, led to an eating disorder, etc.....you don't know her struggles anymore than you claim she doesn't know yours.
Actually we've discussed it pretty extensively. I know why she claims to have issues with the scale, and that's not what bothers me. What bothers me is the asinine suggestion that everyone is as vulnerable as she is, and her scoff that I "couldn't understand".
Do you suspect, as I do, that you "couldn't understand" really means that just that she is unable or reluctant to explain herself properly? I do agree that is a put down of sorts and would annoy me too.
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Sounds like you can't admit anything about your struggle to this coworker.0
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goldthistime wrote: »OneHundredToLose wrote: »Jennloella wrote: »you actually have no idea if she's ever struggled with her weight.
I weigh myself a few times a year at the Dr office, and have been in maintenance for 5 years, through two pregnancies. I have seen people become obsessed with the number on the scale and lose sight of what is healthy. she could have battled a similar disorder, led to an eating disorder, etc.....you don't know her struggles anymore than you claim she doesn't know yours.
Actually we've discussed it pretty extensively. I know why she claims to have issues with the scale, and that's not what bothers me. What bothers me is the asinine suggestion that everyone is as vulnerable as she is, and her scoff that I "couldn't understand".
Do you suspect, as I do, that you "couldn't understand" really means that just that she is unable or reluctant to explain herself properly? I do agree that is a put down of sorts and would annoy me too.
Yeah, it came off as her being frustrated and not wanting to talk about it anymore. Which I understand, but it still felt unnecessarily crass.0 -
jessiefrancine wrote: »Yeah, I totally hate anything that gives me data points on which to base my future actions. Besides scales, I also hate my car's fuel gauge, my 401k quarterly statements, and the indicator that tells me which floor my elevator is on.
These examples are not really relevant. You can't see how much fuel is in your car without a fuel gauge. You can easily see if you need to lose weight just by looking in a mirror. I don't base my future actions on the number on the scale. I am satisfied or dissatisfied based on what I see in the mirror.
I do weigh, but it was more just to measure progress because I am a numbers geek and like data. It is also used by me as a first line of defense in case weight is creeping up so that I don't undo any of the good I have done. But it is not NECESSARY. A fuel gauge is.0 -
abetterluke wrote: »I do think depending on the person scales can be detrimental to weight loss. My wife as an example will literally weigh herself every day. Sometimes more than once. She does not understand (or refuses to believe) that weight fluctuates by day. So when she's down one day and then up again the next she freaks out and basically gives up.
I on the other hand prefer once a week and can use it as a gauge for my weight loss without freaking out or losing hope...most of the time.
There is nothing wrong with weighing oneself every day as long as it is understood that weight is going to bounce around. I'll often weigh myself twice each day when I run; once before and once after. I need to understand how much water I lost during the run so I know how much to drink to replace it. (In the summer heat, a 6 mile run can mean a 2 to 3 pound water loss on top of the 10 ounces I've had to drink during the run.) That doesn't make me obsessed and it certainly doesn't freak me out.0 -
MoiAussi93 wrote: »jessiefrancine wrote: »Yeah, I totally hate anything that gives me data points on which to base my future actions. Besides scales, I also hate my car's fuel gauge, my 401k quarterly statements, and the indicator that tells me which floor my elevator is on.
These examples are not really relevant. You can't see how much fuel is in your car without a fuel gauge. You can easily see if you need to lose weight just by looking in a mirror. I don't base my future actions on the number on the scale. I am satisfied or dissatisfied based on what I see in the mirror.
I do weigh, but it was more just to measure progress because I am a numbers geek and like data. It is also used by me as a first line of defense in case weight is creeping up so that I don't undo any of the good I have done. But it is not NECESSARY. A fuel gauge is.
Actually it is relevant.... I know that if I filled my 12 gallon tank yesterday, and that I get roughly 20 miles per gallon that I will need gas by the time I have driven about 240 miles - whether I look at the gas gauge or not. Same for 401k - I dont need to know the exact balance to know about how much i have contributed and that what I invested it in gets roughly a few percent a year - I can guess pretty close based on my knowledge of what I put into it. Same for the elevator - I can listen to the dings as it moves between floors, or timing (5 seconds=1 floor) or the sound as you pass the bulkheads.
All of those are similar to eyeballing your body in the mirror, they may give you a rough idea if you are up or down, but they are very imprecise. That is where gauges and scales and statements etc come into play. You know if your clothes are tighter so you probably gained weight, but there is a huge difference between gaining 5 pounds and 20, and the "tightness" of your clothes is not going to give you much clue how close you are to either. Especially if you wear yoga pants. Those things never feel tight , whether i gain 5 or 30+ pounds, darn things still "fit" just fine.
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LOL! Most people don't track their mileage from the time they filled their tank that closely. You would have to write down or remember EXACTLY what the mileage was when you filled it and be constantly doing the math in your head. Not to mention getting different gas mileage in traffic vs wide open highway driving and under various other terrains and conditions.MoiAussi93 wrote: »jessiefrancine wrote: »Yeah, I totally hate anything that gives me data points on which to base my future actions. Besides scales, I also hate my car's fuel gauge, my 401k quarterly statements, and the indicator that tells me which floor my elevator is on.
These examples are not really relevant. You can't see how much fuel is in your car without a fuel gauge. You can easily see if you need to lose weight just by looking in a mirror. I don't base my future actions on the number on the scale. I am satisfied or dissatisfied based on what I see in the mirror.
I do weigh, but it was more just to measure progress because I am a numbers geek and like data. It is also used by me as a first line of defense in case weight is creeping up so that I don't undo any of the good I have done. But it is not NECESSARY. A fuel gauge is.
Actually it is relevant.... I know that if I filled my 12 gallon tank yesterday, and that I get roughly 20 miles per gallon that I will need gas by the time I have driven about 240 miles - whether I look at the gas gauge or not. Same for 401k - I dont need to know the exact balance to know about how much i have contributed and that what I invested it in gets roughly a few percent a year - I can guess pretty close based on my knowledge of what I put into it. Same for the elevator - I can listen to the dings as it moves between floors, or timing (5 seconds=1 floor) or the sound as you pass the bulkheads.
All of those are similar to eyeballing your body in the mirror, they may give you a rough idea if you are up or down, but they are very imprecise. That is where gauges and scales and statements etc come into play. You know if your clothes are tighter so you probably gained weight, but there is a huge difference between gaining 5 pounds and 20, and the "tightness" of your clothes is not going to give you much clue how close you are to either. Especially if you wear yoga pants. Those things never feel tight , whether i gain 5 or 30+ pounds, darn things still "fit" just fine.
Besides, you don't need to know exactly what you weigh if you are happy with your weight. If you aren't, lose more. If you think you're too thin, gain some. The number is really irrelevant and it is really ridiculous to arbitrarily pick a number and say you want to be exactly that. Especially since the number can look very different if you gain or lose muscle.
Eyeballing works perfectly for that. Again, nothing wrong with weighing. I do it every week. But it is no where near as vital as a gas gauge. Please be serious.0 -
MoiAussi93 wrote: »
LOL! Most people don't track their mileage from the time they filled their tank that closely. You would have to write down or remember EXACTLY what the mileage was when you filled it and be constantly doing the math in your head. Not to mention getting different gas mileage in traffic vs wide open highway driving and under various other terrains and conditions.MoiAussi93 wrote: »jessiefrancine wrote: »Yeah, I totally hate anything that gives me data points on which to base my future actions. Besides scales, I also hate my car's fuel gauge, my 401k quarterly statements, and the indicator that tells me which floor my elevator is on.
These examples are not really relevant. You can't see how much fuel is in your car without a fuel gauge. You can easily see if you need to lose weight just by looking in a mirror. I don't base my future actions on the number on the scale. I am satisfied or dissatisfied based on what I see in the mirror.
I do weigh, but it was more just to measure progress because I am a numbers geek and like data. It is also used by me as a first line of defense in case weight is creeping up so that I don't undo any of the good I have done. But it is not NECESSARY. A fuel gauge is.
Actually it is relevant.... I know that if I filled my 12 gallon tank yesterday, and that I get roughly 20 miles per gallon that I will need gas by the time I have driven about 240 miles - whether I look at the gas gauge or not. Same for 401k - I dont need to know the exact balance to know about how much i have contributed and that what I invested it in gets roughly a few percent a year - I can guess pretty close based on my knowledge of what I put into it. Same for the elevator - I can listen to the dings as it moves between floors, or timing (5 seconds=1 floor) or the sound as you pass the bulkheads.
All of those are similar to eyeballing your body in the mirror, they may give you a rough idea if you are up or down, but they are very imprecise. That is where gauges and scales and statements etc come into play. You know if your clothes are tighter so you probably gained weight, but there is a huge difference between gaining 5 pounds and 20, and the "tightness" of your clothes is not going to give you much clue how close you are to either. Especially if you wear yoga pants. Those things never feel tight , whether i gain 5 or 30+ pounds, darn things still "fit" just fine.
Besides, you don't need to know exactly what you weigh if you are happy with your weight. If you aren't, lose more. If you think you're too thin, gain some. The number is really irrelevant and it is really ridiculous to arbitrarily pick a number and say you want to be exactly that. Especially since the number can look very different if you gain or lose muscle.
Eyeballing works perfectly for that. Again, nothing wrong with weighing. I do it every week. But it is no where near as vital as a gas gauge. Please be serious.
I was serious. I drove a car forever with a broken gas gauge, so its just habit for me now. I dont write anything down and I always have a decent idea where I stand without looking at the gauge.
And I love numbers and guages. I weigh daily. I dont understand the argument against using a scale. Was just making a point that her example actually was relevant. And eyeballing "weight" in mirror is not accurate at all. "gain some" should mean absolutely nothing to someone without a scale. "Gain some" what? Pounds... pounds are only relevant to a scale. "Fill out more by eating more" or something would be more appropriate. And again, someone can stay the exact same weight and recomp muscle to fat or vice versa and look totally different, so "gain some" or "lose some" is not an appropriate way to state that if you are not talking about pounds on a scale. "Change my body shape by exercise" - I dont know. I just know saying the word "gain" or "lose" when talking about pounds means a scale is useful to measure that. Inches means a tape measure if useful to measure that.
Not everyone is the same kind of weird
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MoiAussi93 wrote: »
LOL! Most people don't track their mileage from the time they filled their tank that closely. You would have to write down or remember EXACTLY what the mileage was when you filled it and be constantly doing the math in your head. Not to mention getting different gas mileage in traffic vs wide open highway driving and under various other terrains and conditions.MoiAussi93 wrote: »jessiefrancine wrote: »Yeah, I totally hate anything that gives me data points on which to base my future actions. Besides scales, I also hate my car's fuel gauge, my 401k quarterly statements, and the indicator that tells me which floor my elevator is on.
These examples are not really relevant. You can't see how much fuel is in your car without a fuel gauge. You can easily see if you need to lose weight just by looking in a mirror. I don't base my future actions on the number on the scale. I am satisfied or dissatisfied based on what I see in the mirror.
I do weigh, but it was more just to measure progress because I am a numbers geek and like data. It is also used by me as a first line of defense in case weight is creeping up so that I don't undo any of the good I have done. But it is not NECESSARY. A fuel gauge is.
Actually it is relevant.... I know that if I filled my 12 gallon tank yesterday, and that I get roughly 20 miles per gallon that I will need gas by the time I have driven about 240 miles - whether I look at the gas gauge or not. Same for 401k - I dont need to know the exact balance to know about how much i have contributed and that what I invested it in gets roughly a few percent a year - I can guess pretty close based on my knowledge of what I put into it. Same for the elevator - I can listen to the dings as it moves between floors, or timing (5 seconds=1 floor) or the sound as you pass the bulkheads.
All of those are similar to eyeballing your body in the mirror, they may give you a rough idea if you are up or down, but they are very imprecise. That is where gauges and scales and statements etc come into play. You know if your clothes are tighter so you probably gained weight, but there is a huge difference between gaining 5 pounds and 20, and the "tightness" of your clothes is not going to give you much clue how close you are to either. Especially if you wear yoga pants. Those things never feel tight , whether i gain 5 or 30+ pounds, darn things still "fit" just fine.
Besides, you don't need to know exactly what you weigh if you are happy with your weight. If you aren't, lose more. If you think you're too thin, gain some. The number is really irrelevant and it is really ridiculous to arbitrarily pick a number and say you want to be exactly that. Especially since the number can look very different if you gain or lose muscle.
Eyeballing works perfectly for that. Again, nothing wrong with weighing. I do it every week. But it is no where near as vital as a gas gauge. Please be serious.
I was serious. I drove a car forever with a broken gas gauge, so its just habit for me now. I dont write anything down and I always have a decent idea where I stand without looking at the gauge.
And I love numbers and guages. I weigh daily. I dont understand the argument against using a scale. Was just making a point that her example actually was relevant. And eyeballing "weight" in mirror is not accurate at all. "gain some" should mean absolutely nothing to someone without a scale. "Gain some" what? Pounds... pounds are only relevant to a scale. "Fill out more by eating more" or something would be more appropriate. And again, someone can stay the exact same weight and recomp muscle to fat or vice versa and look totally different, so "gain some" or "lose some" is not an appropriate way to state that if you are not talking about pounds on a scale. "Change my body shape by exercise" - I dont know. I just know saying the word "gain" or "lose" when talking about pounds means a scale is useful to measure that. Inches means a tape measure if useful to measure that.
Not everyone is the same kind of weird
Sorry, if I was forced to drive with a broken gas gauge I would fill up much more often than necessary, which is a huge waste of time. Having a rough idea is not good enough when the alternative is being stranded in the middle of nowhere on a dark road with no gas. Perhaps if you drive the exact same route every single day and never deviate or take non-routine trips you know about when you will need to fill up, but I don't want to be forced to do that. I want to be able to take that random trip to go out to dinner or meet a friend for coffee or drive to a movie and not worry that forgetting to add in those miles will get me stranded.
Eyeballing weight in a mirror is perfectly accurate if your goal is to be happy with what you see. The number is irrelevant. If you are obese, there will be no doubt. If you are truly overfat it will show up in love handles or a big belly or pudgy arms or thighs. If you think you weigh about 130 and you are really 140, it doesn't matter if you are happy at that weight. If you think you have 1/5 a tank of gas left and you really have 1/8, you end up stranded. One has no consequences, the other has big consequences. Big difference.
And if you pick 130 as a goal weight because you weighed that when you were 18 and are now 40...the scale might not help you. Even if you weigh 130 you may have much more fat now, so even if your scale says 130 there is no way you look anything like you did at 18. SO in that sense, then scale will "lie" to you and the mirror is much more honest.
Btw, I never argued against using a scale. In fact I twice stated I weigh weekly. However, weighing is not NECESSARY. A gas gauge is for 99.9% of the population. Only in Bizarro MFP World would people claim it is purely an optional accessory.
There is a reason every car is sold with a gas gauge included. It is considered a must have by the vast majority of the population.0
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