I'm thinking about ignoring scale. Thoughts?
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I don't ignore the scale completely, but just to show you, my weight has not changed the past two months, but I dropped another pant size. I say weigh yourself to begin with as well as take measurements and a before pic. I think you will be sorry once you start losing and you'll wonder what you were to begin with. If you don't want to know the numbers have your husband write them down and seal them. You'll eventually want to look at them.2
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amandaiams wrote: »Thank you, everyone! I guess I'm being pretty silly avoiding the scale. It is a tool, after all, and a guide. I appreciate everyone's insight!
It's not silly. You want to avoid obsessing over it. Remember that your weight fluctuates daily, so if you decide to weigh-in, choose the same day and time, once a week. Preferably in the morning on an empty stomach and after a trip to the bathroom. If you feel the need to weigh more than once a week, come here and we will stop you
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You don't NEED to weigh yourself but I found it was a great way see my progress and not just by my clothes getting looser.
I made the mistake of waiting 4 months before I stepped on the scales at the beginning of my weight loss journey. I knew I had lost weight but to this day I still don't actually know how heavy I was in the beginning...
Now in maintenance I step on the scales frequently, knowing that I'll be stepping on them most days keeps me focused.
It was staying away from the scales for all those years that kept me in denial about my weight gain.0 -
amandaiams wrote: »Long story short, I'm finally sick and tired of being sick and tired. My husband and I are planning a vacation about 2 years from now, and I want to go ahead and start focusing on transforming myself from a whale (teehee) to my pre-marriage weight and body. I'm also scared of becoming diabetic, so this is what motivates me. However, I haven't weighed myself in a month or so (last I stepped on the scale, I was around. If I am to guess, I'm prolly 225-230). Last time I lost weight I OBSESSED over the scale. This time around, I'm considering ignoring the scale completely and just going by how I feel and how my clothes feel.
Has anyone taken this approach? If so, did it help? hurt? I'm curious if I'm making the right decision in that department.
thanks in advance!
Tried it a few years back and it worked for me! (No idea what start weight or goal weight was, I just fit back into my old jeans and yayy!!). I enjoyed it, but found it harder to see progress. I use to use my moms scales before, weighted once a month and found it great for keeping track and it wasn't my scales so I couldn't jump on it once and day and get angry at it. I weigh myself too much now and every half lb gain I'm like AAARRRRGGGGHHHH and every loss I'm like EEEEEEEKKKKK. Could you have a scale put somewhere for monthly weigh ins?0 -
amandaiams wrote: »Long story short, I'm finally sick and tired of being sick and tired. My husband and I are planning a vacation about 2 years from now, and I want to go ahead and start focusing on transforming myself from a whale (teehee) to my pre-marriage weight and body. I'm also scared of becoming diabetic, so this is what motivates me. However, I haven't weighed myself in a month or so (last I stepped on the scale, I was around. If I am to guess, I'm prolly 225-230). Last time I lost weight I OBSESSED over the scale. This time around, I'm considering ignoring the scale completely and just going by how I feel and how my clothes feel.
Has anyone taken this approach? If so, did it help? hurt? I'm curious if I'm making the right decision in that department.
thanks in advance!
Tried it a few years back and it worked for me! (No idea what start weight or goal weight was, I just fit back into my old jeans and yayy!!). I enjoyed it, but found it harder to see progress. I use to use my moms scales before, weighted once a month and found it great for keeping track and it wasn't my scales so I couldn't jump on it once and day and get angry at it. I weigh myself too much now and every half lb gain I'm like AAARRRRGGGGHHHH and every loss I'm like EEEEEEEKKKKK. Could you have a scale put somewhere for monthly weigh ins?
I actually brought my scale to work, and it's in a bathroom I don't use often anymore. So, I'll use it ONCE0 -
meant to say once a month!0
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a scale is as honest opinion as you can get without condemnation . it is simply a measuring tool. you measure your food intake or if you measure your weight.....it is a tool. for me, i use it. personal choice
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Your goal is to hit a target weight. You cannot track what you don't measure, so you will have to weigh in otherwise you're ignoring the most meaningful feedback data.
As many others have stated the scale only provide one metric - weight. Make a list of the measurements that matter to you - Body Measurements, Athletic Performance, etc. and don't rely on weight alone. While fat gain/loss is dependent upon CICO there are a host of factors contributing to weight. Water intake, salt intake, glycogen store/loss, and so on...
Sounds like you have an unhealthy perception of failure. Every failure is an opportunity for growth and development.
This time form your plan to hit your goal and set a day to weigh yourself (Monday morning), follow your routine for diet and exercise and if you hit your weekly goal - celebrate! If not, look closely at your log and find out what went wrong. Ask for advice on MFP from those who have been successful, but take ego out of the conversation.
We were happily together till the bolded part
So not only do you advocate a once weekly weigh; but you advocate doing so on Monday mornings when many people eat out on Friday or Saturday and have extra water weight to show for it for a couple of days afterwards.
Your most accurate weight in strategy involves daily measurements and a trending weight application to plot a line through the noise and show you your actual overall weight level change over time.
Everything else runs the risk of catching you on an artificial low or artificial high and heightens the fear of the scale when a whole week or a whole month goes "down the drain" because of a single erroneous or a-typical measurement.
In any case, once weekly measurements are probably best taken on a Thursday or Friday morning.
Yes, yes, yes. I use Happy Scale to track my daily weight and, ironically, it wasn't until I started tracking every day (as opposed to just once per week), that the number had so much influence over my mood. It's now just data collection that helps guide me instead of a measure of how "good" or "bad" I'm doing.
Edit to add: I bet this is the first time you've given yourself two years to reach a goal instead of trying to do a quick fix. I think this is the smartest move ever. There is no quick fix. A two-year time frame takes away the anxiety that often leads people to self-sabotage.1 -
Your goal is to hit a target weight. You cannot track what you don't measure, so you will have to weigh in otherwise you're ignoring the most meaningful feedback data.
As many others have stated the scale only provide one metric - weight. Make a list of the measurements that matter to you - Body Measurements, Athletic Performance, etc. and don't rely on weight alone. While fat gain/loss is dependent upon CICO there are a host of factors contributing to weight. Water intake, salt intake, glycogen store/loss, and so on...
Sounds like you have an unhealthy perception of failure. Every failure is an opportunity for growth and development.
This time form your plan to hit your goal and set a day to weigh yourself (Monday morning), follow your routine for diet and exercise and if you hit your weekly goal - celebrate! If not, look closely at your log and find out what went wrong. Ask for advice on MFP from those who have been successful, but take ego out of the conversation.
We were happily together till the bolded part
So not only do you advocate a once weekly weigh; but you advocate doing so on Monday mornings when many people eat out on Friday or Saturday and have extra water weight to show for it for a couple of days afterwards.
Your most accurate weight in strategy involves daily measurements and a trending weight application to plot a line through the noise and show you your actual overall weight level change over time.
Everything else runs the risk of catching you on an artificial low or artificial high and heightens the fear of the scale when a whole week or a whole month goes "down the drain" because of a single erroneous or a-typical measurement.
In any case, once weekly measurements are probably best taken on a Thursday or Friday morning.
Yes, yes, yes. I use Happy Scale to track my daily weight and, ironically, it wasn't until I started tracking every day (as opposed to just once per week), that the number had so much influence over my mood. It's now just data collection that helps guide me instead of a measure of how "good" or "bad" I'm doing.
Edit to add: I bet this is the first time you've given yourself two years to reach a goal instead of trying to do a quick fix. I think this is the smartest move ever. There is no quick fix. A two-year time frame takes away the anxiety that often leads people to self-sabotage.
You're absolutely right. Generally, I want to achieve my goal tomorrow, but alas this is reality and it's not going to happen.
I understand now what it's going to take-the time, the effort, the blood, sweat and tears. It's going to mean ME time, or at least that is how I'm choosing to look at it. I rarely spend time to myself, so gym time will be my time. As for food, I'll eat what I need to and if my husband is on board, hip-hip-hooray! But I don't count on it, and that's okay. I want to be much kinder to myself this time around.0 -
For me, I didn't touch the scale for about a month. When I stepped on and saw loss I was amazed. Have bee. Weighing in daily now. I still think waiting for my first weigh in was a great idea.0
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I think ignoring the scale for awhile is fine, but I do think checking for a solid starting point (maybe weighing once or twice) before you start your weight loss is beneficial. The scale needs to move. It's a tool that lets you know what you are doing is working. So is the tape measure but that can move very slowly.
I don't check my weight very often, but I know I'm not doing well at staying in a deficit. Once I feel like I am on track again, I definitely think it's important to give it a looksee. Maybe not every day, or even every week. But a couple times per month.1 -
Take your measurements. Weigh yourself now. And then if you think you will obsess about it, do it monthly. But I would definitely weigh yourself and measure yourself now.1
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Be careful of extremes. Last time you lost weight, you obsessed over the scale. Now you want to abandon it completely. Balance is the key. Set a weekly or monthly weigh-in day, and then determine not to step on the scale until that time.1
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I found weighing myself daily to help much more with the scale obsession than not weighing at all. Once I started charting daily fluctuations I acquired a broader look at my weight average instead of a specific number. I tried not weighing myself at all at some point and I just kept wondering if I was doing things right and if my weight was going in the right direction. Not having a clear gauge for progress was more stressful than worrying about the numbers on the scale. I did not last for more than a month with that strategy.1
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I know of many people who do not use the scale. They measure themselves instead or go by how their clothing fits. Good luck to you! I'm back on the wagon (again) as of yesterday!1
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perkymommy wrote: »I know of many people who do not use the scale. They measure themselves instead or go by how their clothing fits. Good luck to you! I'm back on the wagon (again) as of yesterday!
The problem with that strategy is that people who have a lot to lose like me tend to be "lumpy". A tape measure can't be exact because the smallest deviation from a previous measuring site can produce inconsistent results. Photos and how clothes fit are not good measurements either, because heavier people tend to need to lose quite a bit before it shows in pictures or before they go down in size. Took me about 40 lbs to lose my first size and I only knew because I had smaller pants that I kept trying on every now and then. My older clothes still fit well after 40 lbs.1 -
The scale is a tool, nothing more. Your body is going to lose weight if you eat at a deficit. The only other tools you have to judge your progress is your appearance in the mirror and the fit of your clothes. The latter two are subjective so the scale is best in my opinion. Why not set yourself a day of the week to weigh in, then refuse to step on it any other day. Stick to that plan and you'll have your weight to judge your progress but you won't obsess over it as much.1
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