Can anyone argue why this isn't a good idea?
beth0277
Posts: 217 Member
Asking for someone to argue on MFP is kind of an oxymoron but here goes-
I've tried to lose weight so many times. I'm an emotional eater and I'm working on that and being more mindful of how I feel when I eat and that sort of thing. I have never had a scale obsession. When I'm trying to lose weight, I typically weigh myself every few days or maybe once a week. It never fails that one of the following two things happens: Either I have a good loss and I think "Hey, this is great, I should take today off since I'm doing so good - it won't hurt" or I don't lose (or lose less than I would like) and think "What's the point, I'm going to just eat bad today". So either way I end up binging and it takes a week or so to get back on track.
So right now I'm really focused on being healthier, not being a specific weight. If we look at the numbers, I need to lose 50-ish pounds. My plan is to eat what makes me feel good, most of the time, and stay under 1500 calories a day (My TDEE around 2000), work out a few times a week (I have a chest HRM and typically burn around 600 calories/workout). And forget about the rest. I plan to not weigh myself until I have 365 days logged in MFP. I am at 20 days right now. I just think this helps me focus on feeling better and taking care of myself rather than what the scale says or how fast it is moving.
So does anyone have an argument as to why this is a bad idea?
I've tried to lose weight so many times. I'm an emotional eater and I'm working on that and being more mindful of how I feel when I eat and that sort of thing. I have never had a scale obsession. When I'm trying to lose weight, I typically weigh myself every few days or maybe once a week. It never fails that one of the following two things happens: Either I have a good loss and I think "Hey, this is great, I should take today off since I'm doing so good - it won't hurt" or I don't lose (or lose less than I would like) and think "What's the point, I'm going to just eat bad today". So either way I end up binging and it takes a week or so to get back on track.
So right now I'm really focused on being healthier, not being a specific weight. If we look at the numbers, I need to lose 50-ish pounds. My plan is to eat what makes me feel good, most of the time, and stay under 1500 calories a day (My TDEE around 2000), work out a few times a week (I have a chest HRM and typically burn around 600 calories/workout). And forget about the rest. I plan to not weigh myself until I have 365 days logged in MFP. I am at 20 days right now. I just think this helps me focus on feeling better and taking care of myself rather than what the scale says or how fast it is moving.
So does anyone have an argument as to why this is a bad idea?
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Replies
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A year without weighing is a long time. But, there are other ways to tell you're progressing without weighing yourself. How you feel, how your clothes fit, how you look, etc... If you think it will help, then go for it. However, you may want to weigh 4X a year or something like that? The way I see it backfiring is that at day 100 or 200 you might feel like you are okay to know your weight. Of course, you can always change your plan then.0
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It's a fine idea
Your other option could be logging into a trend app like libra or happy scale or a site like trendweight.com ...holding firm for a couple of months and getting to learn the natural fluctuations of water weight which is what you've been overreacting to in the last
Weight goes up and down by about 5lbs due to water weight and weight loss is simply not linear...but over time it trends downwards if you stick at it0 -
How are you burning 600 calories? Doing what for how long?0
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A year without weighing is a long time. But, there are other ways to tell you're progressing without weighing yourself. How you feel, how your clothes fit, how you look, etc... If you think it will help, then go for it. However, you may want to weigh 4X a year or something like that? The way I see it backfiring is that at day 100 or 200 you might feel like you are okay to know your weight. Of course, you can always change your plan then.
I plan to pay attention to how my clothes are fitting and how I feel. If I go 6 months and I'm not seeing progress, then I will reevaluate things, but I'm not really planning to do anything that *shouldn't* work. If I follow my plan and I'm not losing weight, then something else is probably to blame and seeing the number on the scale won't change that.0 -
TDEE is 2000 including the 600 exercise calories? That seems low if you have 50 to lose.
You may need to tweak the calorie input if you're really burning that much in exercise so you don't burn out, but I don't disagree with the concept. Too many people use the scale as the ONLY metric, when in reality, it's but one of many metrics you can use.0 -
How are you burning 600 calories? Doing what for how long?
Right now I do about 55 minutes of cardio, with a mix of HIIT. Typically arc trainer and elliptical. I have a polar watch so I'm confident in the calorie burned reading. I know it will go down as I lose weight or get more in shape, but it's where I am today.0 -
I think it's always a good idea to shake up behavior patterns, particularly if they're detrimental to your goals. So stay away from the scale for a while.
But a year is a long time. You may want to reassess after a quarter.
I'm also not sure I'd keep the same calorie limit for a year.
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Whatever works for you.
You have to trust the math though... if you know you're logging accurately, and that you're consistently under, you'll know that any weight gained is water weight. And you'll know that there's no such thing as 'taking a day off' when it comes to weight loss, because your metabolism doesn't take days off, and you'll realize that you can wipe off a few days of deficit by 'taking a day off'. But there's nothing wrong with eating a bit more once in a while either.
So basically - as long as you're logging everything as accurately as possible, weighing yourself or not is not such a huge deal, IMO... your diary will be enough.
The bottom line is that you have to be accurate. If you're not, and don't weigh yourself, you won't have any data to assess if what you're doing is working (other than clothes fitting, but clothes get loose over time too).0 -
It's a fine idea
Your other option could be logging into a trend app like libra or happy scale or a site like trendweight.com ...holding firm for a couple of months and getting to learn the natural fluctuations of water weight which is what you've been overreacting to in the last
Weight goes up and down by about 5lbs due to water weight and weight loss is simply not linear...but over time it trends downwards if you stick at it
Excellent reminder! Thank you.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »TDEE is 2000 including the 600 exercise calories? That seems low if you have 50 to lose.
You may need to tweak the calorie input if you're really burning that much in exercise so you don't burn out, but I don't disagree with the concept. Too many people use the scale as the ONLY metric, when in reality, it's but one of many metrics you can use.
No, TDEE is around 2000 on a no-workout day. I don't typically eat any exercise calories back.0 -
vivmom2014 wrote: »I think it's always a good idea to shake up behavior patterns, particularly if they're detrimental to your goals. So stay away from the scale for a while.
But a year is a long time. You may want to reassess after a quarter.
I'm also not sure I'd keep the same calorie limit for a year.
Do you mean you would eat less as you lose? I don't want to eat less than 1500. I've tried that in the past, based on MFP's recommendation of 1200/day, and I crash and burn. I don't EVER want to eat less than 1500, preferably a little more when I'm maintaining so if that means it takes me longer to lose, I'm okay with that.0 -
vivmom2014 wrote: »I think it's always a good idea to shake up behavior patterns, particularly if they're detrimental to your goals. So stay away from the scale for a while.
But a year is a long time. You may want to reassess after a quarter.
I'm also not sure I'd keep the same calorie limit for a year.
Do you mean you would eat less as you lose? I don't want to eat less than 1500. I've tried that in the past, based on MFP's recommendation of 1200/day, and I crash and burn. I don't EVER want to eat less than 1500, preferably a little more when I'm maintaining so if that means it takes me longer to lose, I'm okay with that.
No, I would eat more. I added more calories gradually until I reached goal.
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Whatever works for you.
You have to trust the math though... if you know you're logging accurately, and that you're consistently under, you'll know that any weight gained is water weight. And you'll know that there's no such thing as 'taking a day off' when it comes to weight loss, because your metabolism doesn't take days off, and you'll realize that you can wipe off a few days of deficit by 'taking a day off'. But there's nothing wrong with eating a bit more once in a while either.
So basically - as long as you're logging everything as accurately as possible, weighing yourself or not is not such a huge deal, IMO... your diary will be enough.
The bottom line is that you have to be accurate. If you're not, and don't weigh yourself, you won't have any data to assess if what you're doing is working (other than clothes fitting, but clothes get loose over time too).
I'm pretty thorough with my tracking. I have a digital scale and use it for just about every thing I eat. I don't eat anything that I don't track.
I understand that I will lose (or not) the same amount whether I weigh or not, but it seems to always cause me to "fall off the wagon".
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Your TDEE will go down as you lose a decent amount of weight and your weight loss will stall. This is called a plateau. Over the course of a year, to break through the plateau, you'll need to drop your intake or workout more. I wouldn't be surprised if you'll need to drop your calories to ~1200 when you're trying to lose those last 10 lbs or so. How will you know to adjust your intake or workout routine without weighing yourself? I lost ~50 lbs in 6 months and what would happen is I'd lose ~2lbs/week at a certain intake and then it would start to stall for a few weeks in a row. That's when I knew it was time to drop calories or work out more. I started my journey eating ~2,000 calories a day and by the time I reached my goal, I was eating ~1,500 calories a day.0
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Sounds like an awesome plan. I lost my first 30lbs without getting on a scale. I didn't even know my starting weight was ( I just picked something that I assumed I weighed). I just knew that I was losing clothes sizes...0
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juggernaut1974 wrote: »TDEE is 2000 including the 600 exercise calories? That seems low if you have 50 to lose.
You may need to tweak the calorie input if you're really burning that much in exercise so you don't burn out, but I don't disagree with the concept. Too many people use the scale as the ONLY metric, when in reality, it's but one of many metrics you can use.
No, TDEE is around 2000 on a no-workout day. I don't typically eat any exercise calories back.
OK - just be careful of terminology then...TDEE ("Total" daily energy expenditure) generally includes exercise caloires. NEAT would be the correct term for non-workout average daily calorie burn.
Anyway, I think (again, assuming 600 is accurate, which I find somewhat suspect) you'll probably find you'll need a bit more than 1500 calories per day. But that's neither here nor there... you can tweak that as you go. I don't have a problem with the "stay off the scale" concept.0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »juggernaut1974 wrote: »TDEE is 2000 including the 600 exercise calories? That seems low if you have 50 to lose.
You may need to tweak the calorie input if you're really burning that much in exercise so you don't burn out, but I don't disagree with the concept. Too many people use the scale as the ONLY metric, when in reality, it's but one of many metrics you can use.
No, TDEE is around 2000 on a no-workout day. I don't typically eat any exercise calories back.
OK - just be careful of terminology then...TDEE ("Total" daily energy expenditure) generally includes exercise caloires. NEAT would be the correct term for non-workout average daily calorie burn.
Anyway, I think (again, assuming 600 is accurate, which I find somewhat suspect) you'll probably find you'll need a bit more than 1500 calories per day. But that's neither here nor there... you can tweak that as you go. I don't have a problem with the "stay off the scale" concept.
Thanks for the help with terms. I'm not master by any stretch of the imagination.
Just curious, why do you find 600 calories burned suspect? I have a polar watch with a chest strap - aren't they pretty accurate? If I phone it in for my 55 minute workout, I burn around 530-550, if I push hard or do intervals, I easily get to 600.0 -
I probably step on a doctors scale 3-5 times a year. Maybe use those weigh ins to track that you're making progress.0
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cthakkar1985 wrote: »Your TDEE will go down as you lose a decent amount of weight and your weight loss will stall. This is called a plateau. Over the course of a year, to break through the plateau, you'll need to drop your intake or workout more. I wouldn't be surprised if you'll need to drop your calories to ~1200 when you're trying to lose those last 10 lbs or so. How will you know to adjust your intake or workout routine without weighing yourself? I lost ~50 lbs in 6 months and what would happen is I'd lose ~2lbs/week at a certain intake and then it would start to stall for a few weeks in a row. That's when I knew it was time to drop calories or work out more. I started my journey eating ~2,000 calories a day and by the time I reached my goal, I was eating ~1,500 calories a day.
I feel like I know my body pretty well considering that I have lost weight before. I think if I'm not happy with my appearance or the changes my body is making, I would consider dropping to maybe 1400 calories or adding a workout. But I want that to be based on how I feel and not because the scale says I should be 10 pounds less, you know? I just want to take pressure off of a number. Which I understand maybe it shouldn't be there, but it is for me.0 -
I would go nuts without the feedback, but it really isn't a bad idea to work on changing your mindset0
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cthakkar1985 wrote: »Your TDEE will go down as you lose a decent amount of weight and your weight loss will stall. This is called a plateau. Over the course of a year, to break through the plateau, you'll need to drop your intake or workout more. I wouldn't be surprised if you'll need to drop your calories to ~1200 when you're trying to lose those last 10 lbs or so. How will you know to adjust your intake or workout routine without weighing yourself? I lost ~50 lbs in 6 months and what would happen is I'd lose ~2lbs/week at a certain intake and then it would start to stall for a few weeks in a row. That's when I knew it was time to drop calories or work out more. I started my journey eating ~2,000 calories a day and by the time I reached my goal, I was eating ~1,500 calories a day.
Also, your logic is a bit flawed. You mentioned that "Hey, this is great, I should take today off since I'm doing so good - it won't hurt" What do you think will happen once you start losing weight, your clothes fit better, and you get compliments from people? Won't you still think that you're doing well so why don't I take today off? I really dislike the idea of not stepping on a scale for a whole year.0 -
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makingmark wrote: »I would go nuts without the feedback, but it really isn't a bad idea to work on changing your mindset
I just want the feedback to be how my body feels instead of what the scale says.0 -
As you lose weight, you will no longer continue to burn 600 calories, even doing the exact same work out.How are you burning 600 calories? Doing what for how long?
Right now I do about 55 minutes of cardio, with a mix of HIIT. Typically arc trainer and elliptical. I have a polar watch so I'm confident in the calorie burned reading. I know it will go down as I lose weight or get more in shape, but it's where I am today.
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I should say, make no mistake, if I don't drop a pant size or two in several months, I will reevaluate things! I just don't want what the scale says to derail me.0
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Kudos on focusing on emotional eating and bingeing, which is a mature and level-headed approach. And no quarrel with the "not weighing" thing, if it's psychologically more helpful for you. But a couple of comments or questions on details.
If your TDEE is 2000, and you're eating under 1500 gross, and exercising 600 calories' worth:- That would be around 900 calories net on exercise days. That's pretty low. IF you only have 50 pounds or thereabouts to lose, it may be unhealthily low. While a 500 calorie deficit (2000 TDEE - 1500 from food) should be around a pound a week loss, an 1100 calorie deficit (500 from eating at a deficit, 600 from exercise) is more than 2 pounds a week, which fairly rapid if you're not very obese. (It sounds like you're exercising most days?)
- If you're eating a very low net, and not weighing, you aren't getting feedback that you're losing faster than might best preserve strength & health, until fatigue or other symptoms set in.
- Since your goal is health, I hope/assume you're working (over time; it's a process) to eat plenty of fruits & veg (5-9 servings/day) and to get healthy macros, especially enough protein and healthy fat.
If you meant that you are eating 1500 net (i.e., eating back exercise calories, or a fair portion of them), most of the above concerns may not apply.
If you haven't done it - maybe you have and it's where you're aiming? - it might be interesting to estimate your maintenance calories at an approximate healthy goal weight, and eat at that level (net calories), since you seem not to have an extremely large amount to lose. That would be likely to get you losing more at the start, losing slowly later, and give you the maximum opportunity for learning how to maintain in a healthy way permanently.0 -
Kudos on focusing on emotional eating and bingeing, which is a mature and level-headed approach. And no quarrel with the "not weighing" thing, if it's psychologically more helpful for you. But a couple of comments or questions on details.
If your TDEE is 2000, and you're eating under 1500 gross, and exercising 600 calories' worth:- That would be around 900 calories net on exercise days. That's pretty low. IF you only have 50 pounds or thereabouts to lose, it may be unhealthily low. While a 500 calorie deficit (2000 TDEE - 1500 from food) should be around a pound a week loss, an 1100 calorie deficit (500 from eating at a deficit, 600 from exercise) is more than 2 pounds a week, which fairly rapid if you're not very obese. (It sounds like you're exercising most days?)
- If you're eating a very low net, and not weighing, you aren't getting feedback that you're losing faster than might best preserve strength & health, until fatigue or other symptoms set in.
- Since your goal is health, I hope/assume you're working (over time; it's a process) to eat plenty of fruits & veg (5-9 servings/day) and to get healthy macros, especially enough protein and healthy fat.
If you meant that you are eating 1500 net (i.e., eating back exercise calories, or a fair portion of them), most of the above concerns may not apply.
If you haven't done it - maybe you have and it's where you're aiming? - it might be interesting to estimate your maintenance calories at an approximate healthy goal weight, and eat at that level (net calories), since you seem not to have an extremely large amount to lose. That would be likely to get you losing more at the start, losing slowly later, and give you the maximum opportunity for learning how to maintain in a healthy way permanently.
No, you are right. I am eating 1500 gross, even on workout days. I tend to do a little something every day, but the cardio days are usually 3 days a week. I don't feel fatigued at all with it and have been doing it, on and off, for a while. The way I've kind of worked it out in my head is that if I burn 600 3x a week and maybe 150 3 other days, that is 2250, that is getting me right at around 1200/day net "average".0 -
juggernaut1974 wrote: »juggernaut1974 wrote: »
Just curious, why do you find 600 calories burned suspect? I have a polar watch with a chest strap - aren't they pretty accurate? If I phone it in for my 55 minute workout, I burn around 530-550, if I push hard or do intervals, I easily get to 600.
600 calories for a 55 minute hard workout is realistic. Recently I've read that the exercise isn't the important part of weight loss, the calorie intake is. With an exercise routine such as you describe, I suspect you hunger after your workout and easily consume too many calories. Other than that, your plan does look reasonable. Log your food, be mindful of your calorie budget, and succeed.0 -
Asking for someone to argue on MFP is kind of an oxymoron but here goes-
I've tried to lose weight so many times. I'm an emotional eater and I'm working on that and being more mindful of how I feel when I eat and that sort of thing. I have never had a scale obsession. When I'm trying to lose weight, I typically weigh myself every few days or maybe once a week. It never fails that one of the following two things happens: Either I have a good loss and I think "Hey, this is great, I should take today off since I'm doing so good - it won't hurt" or I don't lose (or lose less than I would like) and think "What's the point, I'm going to just eat bad today". So either way I end up binging and it takes a week or so to get back on track.
So right now I'm really focused on being healthier, not being a specific weight. If we look at the numbers, I need to lose 50-ish pounds. My plan is to eat what makes me feel good, most of the time, and stay under 1500 calories a day (My TDEE around 2000), work out a few times a week (I have a chest HRM and typically burn around 600 calories/workout). And forget about the rest. I plan to not weigh myself until I have 365 days logged in MFP. I am at 20 days right now. I just think this helps me focus on feeling better and taking care of myself rather than what the scale says or how fast it is moving.
So does anyone have an argument as to why this is a bad idea?
I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad idea, however, I think a better idea would be to learn to recognize and control your Sabotaging Thoughts, which I'd bet are not just limited to weigh-ins.
This book on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for overeating was available in my library system.
The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person
Can thinking and eating like a thin person be learned, similar to learning to drive or use a computer? Beck (Cognitive Therapy for Challenging Problems) contends so, based on decades of work with patients who have lost pounds and maintained weight through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Beck's six-week program adapts CBT, a therapeutic system developed by Beck's father, Aaron, in the 1960s, to specific challenges faced by yo-yo dieters, including negative thinking, bargaining, emotional eating, bingeing, and eating out. Beck counsels readers day-by-day, introducing new elements (creating advantage response cards, choosing a diet, enlisting a diet coach, making a weight-loss graph) progressively and offering tools to help readers stay focused (writing exercises, to-do lists, ways to counter negative thoughts). There are no eating plans, calorie counts, recipes or exercises; according to Beck, any healthy diet will work if readers learn to think differently about eating and food. Beck's book is like an extended therapy session with a diet coach. (Apr.)
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kshama2001 wrote: »Asking for someone to argue on MFP is kind of an oxymoron but here goes-
I've tried to lose weight so many times. I'm an emotional eater and I'm working on that and being more mindful of how I feel when I eat and that sort of thing. I have never had a scale obsession. When I'm trying to lose weight, I typically weigh myself every few days or maybe once a week. It never fails that one of the following two things happens: Either I have a good loss and I think "Hey, this is great, I should take today off since I'm doing so good - it won't hurt" or I don't lose (or lose less than I would like) and think "What's the point, I'm going to just eat bad today". So either way I end up binging and it takes a week or so to get back on track.
So right now I'm really focused on being healthier, not being a specific weight. If we look at the numbers, I need to lose 50-ish pounds. My plan is to eat what makes me feel good, most of the time, and stay under 1500 calories a day (My TDEE around 2000), work out a few times a week (I have a chest HRM and typically burn around 600 calories/workout). And forget about the rest. I plan to not weigh myself until I have 365 days logged in MFP. I am at 20 days right now. I just think this helps me focus on feeling better and taking care of myself rather than what the scale says or how fast it is moving.
So does anyone have an argument as to why this is a bad idea?
I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad idea, however, I think a better idea would be to learn to recognize and control your Sabotaging Thoughts, which I'd bet are not just limited to weigh-ins.
^ I agree with this.
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That worked when I was pregnant! 
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