How do you measure your success?

karirenae · October 2018

Is it fair to say that only checking for weight loss by the way your clothes fit is effective? I just recently decided I would start trying to not eat so MUCH. I am not trying to diet, just not each so much. I know in previous attempts at losing weight I use the scale and its ALWAYS a bummer watching it move back and forth so much. My question is, has anyone successfully lost weight and found it easier, mentally, to throw out the scale and just "forget about it"?

RelCanonical · October 2018

I only weigh once per month (approximately, I usually do it about a week after my period starts for best results, so it can vary slightly) and this helps eliminate a lot of the fluctuation that you can see with daily or even weekly weighing. It does require you to trust the process of logging and know that it works, but it's been effective for me. For me, clothes fit is kind of difficult because certain clothes fit different from others, and I have trouble seeing myself as thinner, so I would blame it on the clothes stretching or shifting rather than weight loss. It took me about 2 months before I was able to feel a noticeable difference in clothes fit (about 10 pounds). Perhaps measurements might work better?

RealWorldStrengthLLC · October 2018

You can do whatever you want - however, the more on point you are with tracking things, the more likely it is you will see change. Sometimes the scale moves, sometimes the quads have more definition, sometimes smaller pants fit.

I track all food, all exercise, I weigh daily, I track weight trends, I take waist/hip/neck/arm/forearm/quad/calve measurements every 2 weeks, every couple weeks I check smaller pants, smaller belts, smaller shirts etc just to see how they fit. For me, this diligence is paying off because I can see almost constant change...these are the methods I recommend.

jryepin93 · October 2018

I don't weight myself super often, but I do take progress pictures every few weeks as a way of checking progress. A lot of the time my scale stays the same, but my pictures look a lot different.

george5911 · October 2018

as soon as I get close, I move the target.

HoneyBadger302 · October 2018

Some of it is figuring out what works for you - each person is different, and what works for me may not work great for you and vice versa. It all boils down to if you are reaching your goals or not.

I like to weigh daily and use a weight trend app - this helps me see, over time, my trends and if I'm heading in the right direction despite random days/weeks. I'm on an Android, so I use Libra, and have been fairly consistent this year with it, and it's great to show my weight loss patterns and overall progress.

As for eating, again, you need to figure out what works for you. I think it's important for everyone to track and weight everything now and then to keep honest and aware, but I know for me, that doesn't work with a lot of my lifestyle very well. So, a form of IF has been working well for me and keeping me on a slow but steady loss. It's also something I see working long term for me as I eventually move into maintenance as it fits with my lifestyle and activities.

Lillymoo01 · October 2018

I am another daily weigher that uses an app to monitor trends. That being said, I understand and expect fluctuations so seeing the scale go up or down regularly is something that interests me, rather than having a negative impact. Progress is monitored by this trend and how my clothes fit. Getting out the tape measure is something I really can't be bothered with though, although others find this more useful than scales.

I have also monitored my progress in terms of fitness rather than just weight loss/maintenance. Because of a stuffed up knee, I am very limited so walking it is. I would monitor my progress with both distance and time. I built my stamina up to be able to walk 12 kms and then kept pushing myself to increase my speed with this. Even when I walk over 12 kms I still look to the first 12 kms as a benchmark. I am now at a point where I can't walk any quicker without running and can't run because of my knee so just have to accept that where I am at is perfectly fine.

I should really join a gym and do some strength training but that scares the living hell out of me and any strength training I do at home I find unenjoyable so don't stick with it.

evangemini4 · October 2018

Patience!

Running2Fit · October 2018

It’s easy to lie to myself without the scale. I weigh myself every morning and track it in an app (Happy Scale) that gives me a moving average - even on days the number goes up sometimes the average stays the same or even goes down so it’s not a discouraging.

I’ve tried the whole - just go by how you feel and how your clothes fit way and it just doesn’t work at all for me. The scale keeps me accountable for my choices and I like that.