Why do I care about that number so much?

vanmep

I have lost weight. I know that I am faster, stronger, have more endurance, more energy. I have had to punch extra holes in my belt and my clothes feel very different. But when I weigh myself if that number hasn't changed or has gone up, I get so discouraged I feel like giving up. I have to talk myself through it. I don't understand why that number has so much emotional impact.

SueInAz

A number on the scale is simply a measurement of progress, the same as body fat %, the measurement of body parts in inches, the number of pounds one can bench press or squat, how far or fast one can run, etc. I believe that any one of these measurements should not be the end-all-and-be-all of a person's efforts to become more healthy and fit but neither should any of them be discounted.

Society places a lot of emphasis on that scale number and it IS one of the easiest and most obvious ways for a person to measure "progress". The number gets smaller, progress is being made, QED. There are TV shows built around people trying to make that number go as low as possible in the fastest amount of time and I think they've done at least as much to distort people's perceptions of what weight loss should be about as the diet industry has.

Weight loss is not linear and that is a simple and immutable fact. Water retention can make our weight fluctuate and some days that number is going to go up. It happens more often as you get closer to a healthy weight and fat loss is necessarily much slower.

If the number on the scale is such a big deal to you perhaps it's time to put the scale away except for a monthly weigh in. If you can't be trusted not to step on it more often then give it to a friend or family member to keep for you, donate it to charity or literally throw it away.

Fursian

The number means so much, until it doesn't. Once we've reached goal or get close, we'll see things better. Nobody, not even ourselves, can tell us until then.

Not quite the same, but attached to the same rope... while I was a smoker, not even those shocking images on cigarette packages and the thought of throat cancer put me off...but once you've quit (gotten fit), you're vision and what you 'see' is drastically different from how you used to view things.

I've been smoke free for 2 years, 8 months.

joans1976

I don't know why it matters so much. Maybe because we are learning so much as we go through our journey on here and we haven't learned (or in some cases, taught maybe) that it shouldn't be about a number. That it should be how you feel, what you can do that you couldn't before, clothes feeling looser, digestion and health improving.

I am going to offer advice now so if you don't want it, stop reading. It's nothing earth shattering. Measure yourself. Put those numbers (and eventually changes) where you can see them, just like you would with pounds or kilos lost. I wish I had measured myself from Day 1 and not Day 40. I measure myself once a month and it is always a positive experience. Also....

About 8 weeks into this (I'm at a little under 6 months now) I was really, really, really obsessing about the number on the scale. I was weighing myself upwards of 5 times a day. I actually dreamt about actual digital readings on a scale once. A few days later I came across someone recommending the Happy Scale app (there's also 2 others-one is called Libra and I don't know what the other is called-Happy Scale is free) for tracking weight trends and averages. My obsessed mind thought "yes! Now I can REALLY break this down." So, I started using Happy Scale. I swear, within 3 days, I was no longer obsessing or weighing 5 times a day. I weigh myself in the morning, once. Some days I even forget to enter it. It gives you predictions, your rate of loss and what I like the most, graphs so I can see a downward trend even if my weight fluctuates up a bit. I don't know why it worked to stop the obsessive behavior but it did.
This may not work for you but I hope it gives you some hope. I am so sorry about the lengthy post!
I wish you all the best!

joans1976

@SueInAz you are spot on. Way better advice than mine.
@Fursian congrats on the quitting, I've been smoke free for 5 years. Also so true about not even knowing ourselves until we know.

Fursian

@joans1976 Thanks, same to you! 5 years is great!