Have You Skipped the Scale?

vortex15

Hi,
I have had success before and mfp and always get discouraged when I start to think about what the scale is saying. I have restarted a plan and I do not want the scale to play a role. Is there anyone out there that has not weighed themselves for a long period of time while tracking? How did it work out for you? I was thinking of waiting 3 months to weigh in.

CourtneyLomonaco

I had ankle surgery over the summer and had to wear a heavy boot. I did not weigh for 6 weeks, and I found that MFP really helped me stay on track. I was actually down a pound once the boot came off. If you have the determination, go for it!

Francl27

I didn't have a scale when I started but I had a starting weight at the doctor (which is what decided me to start losing, ugh). My second weigh in was another doctor appointment 2 months after, then I got a scale.

FitnessTim

I try to weigh myself everyday, log the number and just forget about it. What a person weighs on a given day is meaningless. It's progress over time that matters most.

Think about getting a scale that automatically uploads your weight to the cloud. I have a Fitbit Aria that I use. Sometimes I don't even see the number when I'm weighing myself in the morning.

The number on the scale is not the problem. It's the negative self talk a person engages in that is the problem. When you think negatively about the number, try writing down what you are thinking and then try re-framing the situation in a more realistic and positive way.

For example:

"Ugh! I've gained a pound! It's hopeless. No matter what I do I can't lose weight!"

more realistically:

"The scale says I'm a pound heavier today. That's a normal fluctuation in my weight. If I stick to the plan I will see that number go down over time."

I've been do this for over 20 years and I've seen the scale do crazy things. One day up 1 pound, the next day down 2 pounds. Or worse, seeing the scale stick at one weight for a whole week despite trying to lose weight. It's an unreliable metric.

MelaniaTrump

Everything I read says that you are more successful when you weigh yourself daily.

lemonlionheart

I haven't weighed myself since the start of the year. I've been doing this a long time, I've lost weight before, and I know that if I maintain my calorie deficit with accurate tracking the weight will come off. Instead of setting goals and rewards around weight lost, I set them around my ability to stay within my calories and hit my exercise goals for the week.

CooCooPuff

CourtneyLomonaco wrote: »

I had ankle surgery over the summer and had to wear a heavy boot. I did not weigh for 6 weeks, and I found that MFP really helped me stay on track. I was actually down a pound once the boot came off. If you have the determination, go for it!

I tried stepping on the scale with the boot once just because I was home all day and bored. XD

Before the boot, when I was in a wheelchair and inpatient rehab, the facility had a large scale with a ramp for patients and would weigh everyone once a week.

I'm weighing myself daily at the moment because the graph is neat.

vortex15

FitnessTim wrote: »

I try to weigh myself everyday, log the number and just forget about it. What a person weighs on a given day is meaningless. It's progress over time that matters most.

Think about getting a scale that automatically uploads your weight to the cloud. I have a Fitbit Aria that I use. Sometimes I don't even see the number when I'm weighing myself in the morning.

The number on the scale is not the problem. It's the negative self talk a person engages in that is the problem. When you think negatively about the number, try writing down what you are thinking and then try re-framing the situation in a more realistic and positive way.

For example:

"Ugh! I've gained a pound! It's hopeless. No matter what I do I can't lose weight!"

more realistically:

"The scale says I'm a pound heavier today. That's a normal fluctuation in my weight. If I stick to the plan I will see that number go down over time."

I've been do this for over 20 years and I've seen the scale do crazy things. One day up 1 pound, the next day down 2 pounds. Or worse, seeing the scale stick at one weight for a whole week despite trying to lose weight. It's an unreliable metric.

Yes, this is exactly what I go through with the crazy things the scale shows. I have the fitbit charge HR this time around and love all of the data. I am a data person. Not weighing is really hard because of this. I appreciate the encouragement to avoid negative thoughts and not think about the number. Thanks so much.

vortex15

lemonlionheart wrote: »

I haven't weighed myself since the start of the year. I've been doing this a long time, I've lost weight before, and I know that if I maintain my calorie deficit with accurate tracking the weight will come off. Instead of setting goals and rewards around weight lost, I set them around my ability to stay within my calories and hit my exercise goals for the week.

This is how I am feeling too. I have a fitbit charge HR this time around and really love seeing the exercise component. I guess I will not be weighing until I am sure I really want to.

nordlead2005

scales are useful tools and should be treated as such. Just recognize what they are good at, and what they are not good at (good at telling you your current weight, not good at telling you if you lost fat, water, or muscle or any other information really).

If you just eat a certain calorie amount with no scale as a feedback then you do not know if you are accomplishing what you intended. You may have wanted to lose 1lb/week, but instead you are losing 0.75lb/week (or even 0lb/week if your logging is way off). With a scale, trend app (trendweight, libra, excel), and some time, you would know if you are meeting the goals that you set for yourself or not. If you are not, you now have the knowledge to adjust your plan or adjust your expectations.

You can do it without a scale, but I prefer to use all the tools available to me. I also know that when I stop weighing myself I stop caring about calories as well. And then eventually over time I will go from a healthy weight to overweight. I may stop logging my food if I'm at my goal weight, but this time I intend to keep weighing myself at least weekly instead of abandoning the scale because I don't want to see what it tells me.

Juliebean_1027

I used to be a scale junkie... but then I started doing high intensity work outs with a trainer, and I was getting super frustrated that the scale wasn't moving, so I stopped. The scale still isn't moving, but I'm down 2 pants sizes, and almost down a 3rd. I'm now more of a measurements junkie instead.

I'd say to skip the scale if you're feeling inclined.

NewTnme

I weigh myself daily just to be nosey but I really go by how my clothes fit. Thats my reassurance. Good luck

ayamagali

I haven't weighed since a year and a half ago at the docs, but I go by clothing fit. When my pants start getting tight, I know to tighten up my eating.

Slashnl

nordlead2005 wrote: »

scales are useful tools and should be treated as such. Just recognize what they are good at, and what they are not good at (good at telling you your current weight, not good at telling you if you lost fat, water, or muscle or any other information really).

If you just eat a certain calorie amount with no scale as a feedback then you do not know if you are accomplishing what you intended. You may have wanted to lose 1lb/week, but instead you are losing 0.75lb/week (or even 0lb/week if your logging is way off). With a scale, trend app (trendweight, libra, excel), and some time, you would know if you are meeting the goals that you set for yourself or not. If you are not, you now have the knowledge to adjust your plan or adjust your expectations.

You can do it without a scale, but I prefer to use all the tools available to me. I also know that when I stop weighing myself I stop caring about calories as well. And then eventually over time I will go from a healthy weight to overweight. I may stop logging my food if I'm at my goal weight, but this time I intend to keep weighing myself at least weekly instead of abandoning the scale because I don't want to see what it tells me.

Me too! I have gone back to weighing every day just to keep up my discipline. I really slack if I avoid the scale. OP, thanks for asking the question! I've been debating on it myself.

stealthq

When I was trying to lose, I weighed every day. Helped to see the fluctuations over time. Hard to get too excited over a super low number when I know it'll pop up again tomorrow - and conversely, hard to get too upset over an unusually high number when experience shows it's going to go down again soon.

I'm sort-of maintaining, sort-of working on dropping 3-5 pounds at the moment. In other words, I'm half-assing it

I'm not bothering with a scale except maybe once a week. Some months I drop a pound, others I maintain.

FatMoojor

I weigh myself every day, for most of the reasons already stated. Though I think I need new scales soon or at least need to change the batteries. The registered an increase in 13lbs from Saturday to Sunday. I'm trying to bulk, but 13lbs in a night would be some going!

Clobern80

JanetYellen wrote: »

Everything I read says that you are more successful when you weigh yourself daily.

I have NEVER heard this. I weigh myself weekly and never touch the scale again. Your weight fluctuates too much with weighing daily due to water, how much food is in your system and various other things.

@vortex15 - I would not recommend doing it the way you want to either, at least not to start. How are you going to know if you are making proper progress without weighing? If you wait 3 months and weigh and you've gained 5 pounds, what are you going to do then? It is better to weigh weekly so you can quickly realize if you need to adjust your caloric intake.

If you are already close to your goal or don't need to lose a lot, then your plan may work because you should be working on losing very small amounts so it isn't as important. But if you want the scale to move, you need to check it often enough that you can make changes without wasting 3 months.

kportwood85

I used to weigh myself weekly, at the beginning. Then, the weight loss slowed down, and I went to monthly. Because I thought I would have big losses and feel encouraged... It ended up being very discouraging, for me, to feel like I was working very hard, then 30 days later see I was down .5 of a pound. Or worse, up. So, at Christmas this past year, I started weighing myself daily. I need the immediate feedback. And, I've lost 7 pounds since then.

TaraTall

The scale can be my arch nemesis. I will weigh myself weekly/bi weekly. I have a tendency to obsess over the numbers in an unhealthy way so I put it out of sight/out of mind. That being said, i think it's critical to track it to some degree.

CalorieCountChocula

The skip the scale thing is mostly for thin people who want to get ripped. They're the ones who will actually see their results in a reasonable period of time. For someone who's heavier like me it's useless. I'm 230 as of this morning and I look literally not different than I did at 240. My face is only slightly less chubby than it was at 250. Maybe it's in my measurements you say? Who cares. I'm wearing the same exact clothes. That's a whopping 20lbs with zero impact. The scale is all I have to prove my effort hasn't been completely worthless, though I'm stalled yet again at the same exact number in spite of doing every single thing right.

Chaagy

I need to weigh myself daily to stay on track. But the trick is trying not to get too obsessed over a few lbs up or down. Any given day, you could have a little more or less weight. Water weight. Food in your gut (to put it politely), a bad eating day, too much sodium... all these things could affect your daily weight.

I try to weigh myself the same time each day (usually in the morning, before I've had anything to eat or drink. I find it's the most stable reading, but I still get fluctuations. I try not to get fussed over it, but I would rather know than not know.