Focus on the scale vs. don't focus on the scale - which one is it?

alondrakayy

I'll start by saying that taking weekly/monthly measurements doesn't work for me because I don't trust it (myself). I always feel like when I'm 'losing' inches what is really happening is that maybe I'm simply squeezing more than I did before.

I take weekly pictures and compare them month to month but honestly I've never had a drastic change type of before/after.

I see here and on fitness FB groups where women show their before/after pics with amazing changes and will either say 'I weigh exactly the same in these two pictures! Don't listen to the scale!' or they'll say 'I weighed so and so before and have lost whatever amount pounds!'.

It's confusing me. Do I rely on the scale or do I not rely on the scale??

janejellyroll

The scale is great at telling you what it measures -- your body weight. What it won't tell you is what *kind* of weight you're gaining or losing (that is, is it fat or muscle).

So if your goal is to reduce your body weight, the scale is a useful tool. If your goal is to do a recomp, you'll have to use additional indicators.

Knowing your goal will help you decide what tools you want to use.

errollmaclean

It looks like you answered your own question. Do whatever works for you!

Some weigh all the time, because it lets them see how the scale varies and fluctuates, so they learn not to get freaked out by it. The important thing is to watch the trend and mainly the weekly numbers.

Others stress when the scale does anything, so it's easier for them to not think about it.

I like the weigh often approach, because it lets me see what's going on and learn my body.

SezxyStef

I use a scale to weigh myself yes...but I don't use it to tell me anything other than that number.

It's not used to determine my mood etc and I think that is what they are trying to do...is to get people to not tie their self esteem to that one number.

For example I often say this...weight yourself, look at your clothing size, measurements, BF%, health numbers such as blood pressure, what you see in the mirror, how fast you run, how much you lift....do all of this or some of these to help you determine how you are doing...not just one.

I am a weight lifter so if I get on the scale and it weighs me at 147...where as other woman my height/age who don't lift or haven't lifted as long as me and they are at 135...I don't care...it is because I am solid and since I wear a size 4-6 and I can run an 8 min mile outside and I feel great...the 147 is just a number.

richardgavel

Agree. The scale is a good enough indicator of progress during a loss. And maybe good enough, period. Once I got close to goal weight, I worried more about fat vs muscle and use the BF capability on my scale more for trend tracking (I know the actual number isn't useful).

inertiastrength

As you get closer to your goal your weight wont matter as much as your bf% but for MOST people losing weight who are obese or very overweight you aren't gaining muscle at a rate significant enough to negate fat loss on the scale. You lose fat a lot faster than you gain muscle so if you're obese you SHOULD see the scale go down regardless. So both.

rsclause

Scale is data and data is good but focus on the trend not the day. I have and Aria WiFi scale so my two year trend is easy to pull up and nothing to write down.

LauraInTheWater

I weigh myself daily. It works! Let's me know how my habits from the previous days affect my weight today.

SezxyStef

LauraInTheWater wrote: »

I weigh myself daily. It works! Let's me know how my habits from the previous days affect my weight today.

so basically if you eat lots of salty foods you go up in weight...I don't need a scale to tell me that.

not sure why daily weighing unless looking at trends is a thing.

GottaBurnEmAll

I'm usually a daily weigher for a reason - because I avoided the scale for years in denial.

I'm not currently weighing right now because I'm working on some habit-based things and want to concentrate on those without the scale affecting me, because I realized it was causing me issues in that regard.

I will start to weigh daily again once my habits are where I want them to be.

I'm saying all that to say that I use the scale as a tool to keep myself in check based on past behavior. That's me.

Others may use it differently. The role it plays for you might change over time and is up to you to decide.

As has been noted, it is data, and it's a tool. It's very useful, and like all tools, can be implemented at your discretion.

amusedmonkey

Focus on the scale, but take what it says short term with a grain of salt - what happens long terms is what matters. People who lose fat without losing weight are already lean. It does not apply if you have a good amount to lose. You could also focus on fueling your body correctly so that most of your loss comes from fat. It doesn't have to be one way or the other.

toxikon

Whatever works best for you.

I like weighing in daily. I weigh in at the exact same time each morning, unclothed, and having just went to the bathroom. I keep my scale in the same spot on an even, hard floor. And I weigh myself about 3x just to make sure the number comes up the same each time.

Then I plug the number into my Libra app - even if my weight hasn't changed or has gone up. I like Libra because it creates a trend-line over time, smoothing out the little fluctuations. And it compares your trend line to your goal so you can see how you're doing.

ceiswyn

SezxyStef wrote: »

not sure why daily weighing unless looking at trends is a thing.

Looking at trends is a thing.

Daily weighing has also helped me figure out the exact timing, duration and extent of my pre-period weight gain; as opposed to back when I was doing weekly weighing and got disheartened when I apparently didn't lose weight for three weeks.

(In fact, based on closer examination of similar fluctuations since, I'd actually lost 7 pounds over those weeks but a week and a half's water retention hid that fact. During the first week I lost weight in the first half but regained it as water before weigh-in, during the second my weight loss was exactly balanced by my water retention, and the third weigh-in was right at the end of my cycle and I lost the lot over the subsequent two days. It was a git!)

Chieflrg

Do you care about the number or how you look?

sardelsa

I use the scale to track trends to know if I am losing/gaining and if I am in too high a deficit/surplus. But I don't base my value and how I feel about myself on my scale weight. For example, I think I look better now 12lbs heavier than I did when I was lighter, all to do with how my body composition changed. I use a number of different methods to track progress.. so the scale, measurements, photos, how my clothes fit and the mirror.

SezxyStef

ceiswyn wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

not sure why daily weighing unless looking at trends is a thing.

Looking at trends is a thing.

Daily weighing has also helped me figure out the exact timing, duration and extent of my pre-period weight gain; as opposed to back when I was doing weekly weighing and got disheartened when I apparently didn't lose weight for three weeks.

(In fact, based on closer examination of similar fluctuations since, I'd actually lost 7 pounds over those weeks but a week and a half's water retention hid that fact. During the first week I lost weight in the first half but regained it as water before weigh-in, during the second my weight loss was exactly balanced by my water retention, and the third weigh-in was right at the end of my cycle and I lost the lot over the subsequent two days. It was a git!)

I know trends is a thing...needed a coma in there sorry. I don't understand daily weight unless looking for trends to later use when not weighing daily.

I don't need a scale to tell me I gain after a salty day or before/during my cycle that is what it is....hence why I don't weigh daily.

to be frank I barely weigh at all now unless I look in the mirror and see adifference...or my clothing is ill fitting.

For example last weekend I looked in the mirror and noticed my skin was more wrinkly on my belly...figured yah something is dif...got on the scale..down 5lbs from the last time...

alondrakayy

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Focus on the scale, but take what it says short term with a grain of salt - what happens long terms is what matters. People who lose fat without losing weight are already lean. It does not apply if you have a good amount to lose. You could also focus on fueling your body correctly so that most of your loss comes from fat. It doesn't have to be one way or the other.

I really like this. It makes sense and you're right! A lot of the 'I weight the same' posts are from people who are already pretty lean or don't have much to lose. Not sure why I never noticed that.


Someone else asked what I care about more (looks or number on scale) - it was really both. I always thought you couldn't have one without the other.

janejellyroll

alondrakayy wrote: »

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Focus on the scale, but take what it says short term with a grain of salt - what happens long terms is what matters. People who lose fat without losing weight are already lean. It does not apply if you have a good amount to lose. You could also focus on fueling your body correctly so that most of your loss comes from fat. It doesn't have to be one way or the other.

I really like this. It makes sense and you're right! A lot of the 'I weight the same' posts are from people who are already pretty lean or don't have much to lose. Not sure why I never noticed that.


Someone else asked what I care about more (looks or number on scale) - it was really both. I always thought you couldn't have one without the other.

If you, like I was when I started with MFP, are overweight, you can't have one without the other. You've got to lose some weight to get the look that you probably want.

When you're at your goal weight or close to it and you just want a firmer body, then it's possible to have physical changes without seeing a lot of changes on the scale.

It's two different things.

cs2thecox

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Focus on the scale, but take what it says short term with a grain of salt - what happens long terms is what matters. People who lose fat without losing weight are already lean. It does not apply if you have a good amount to lose. You could also focus on fueling your body correctly so that most of your loss comes from fat. It doesn't have to be one way or the other.

Absolutely.

Predominantly scale until you're in a healthy weight range, then predominantly not scale until you get to how you want to look.

I found that being happy with how I look has finally stopped me caring about the number on the scales, and I was a scales obsessive for years (sports-related targets - deeply unhealthy!). I'm now an "I weigh more"er!

everher

alondrakayy wrote: »

amusedmonkey wrote: »

Focus on the scale, but take what it says short term with a grain of salt - what happens long terms is what matters. People who lose fat without losing weight are already lean. It does not apply if you have a good amount to lose. You could also focus on fueling your body correctly so that most of your loss comes from fat. It doesn't have to be one way or the other.

I really like this. It makes sense and you're right! A lot of the 'I weight the same' posts are from people who are already pretty lean or don't have much to lose. Not sure why I never noticed that.


Someone else asked what I care about more (looks or number on scale) - it was really both. I always thought you couldn't have one without the other.

What the people are doing that weight the same, but look 'leaner' or more muscular is called recomping. There is a thread about it somewhere that I'm too lazy to look up and link to, but it's when you lose fat and build more muscle but you remain the same weight. Alternatively, they may be bulking and cutting back down to the same weight.

Regardless, if you are overweight you want to focus on losing weight before considering any of those options.

I don't think you have to 'focus' on the scale when losing weight, but I do think it's an accurate way of telling if you're losing weight. I'd also worry more about the overall trend over a period of say six weeks or so more so than about one single weigh in.

fromaquasar1

I weigh myself daily. I use an app called 'Happy Scale' that smooths out my weight trends. So I can do this without making myself crazy, and I use my weight changes on a monthly basis to decide if I need get a bigger deficit, stay as a I am or if I can eat a little more.

I also measure with a measuring tape, take pics and take my body fat %, and I use the "zipper test" - how well do my clothes fit - and track how much heavier my weights are getting! I measure in all these ways cause at least one of them is always improving so I stay motivated.

My thought is that none of them really are a perfect measure - but collectively they give me a good sense of if I'm progressing and that's what is most important.