Scale Debate

PoundsOfJules

I've recently moved and have found the bathroom scale that would work for me is not crazy expensive but more than I'd like to pay right now. Before moving I would weigh myself everyday to get the trend...sometime is helps but most of the time my weight is up and down regardless. When I didn't have a bathroom scale before I did gain A LOT of weight but I also wasn't aware of some of my eating habits and was in a different place with life.

Anyways... Does anyone have luck losing weight without a scale or is it something I should invest in?

amtyrell

I am back at mfp because i stoppeed l
Weighing myself and logging daily and my weight went back up. I know i need to log and to log i need my weight. Daily perhaps not. So if you say go to a gym and weigh at the gym that woild probably be fine. But a scale is under 25 at Amazon and i would invest in one.

usmcmp

This is entirely personal. Some people don't need a scale and others need to weigh daily. There was one study that showed people who weighed daily naturally adjusted their eating based on the results. I prefer to see the payoff for my efforts, others throw in the towel when the scale shows an increase.

If a scale helps you find an inexpensive one. You don't need something super fancy. I got mine at Walmart for $20.

size102b

If I don’t weigh I gain
Scales aren’t a liner but they do help most people stay on track

Lost 86lbs weighing 3-4 times weekly

jlhalley7835

I weigh daily, but I have a smart scale that tracks a lot of different metrics. It also syncs it to mfp through my Apple health app. Before I had a smart scale, I had a regular scale and seeing the number move down on a weekly basis kept me motivated

DancingMoosie

I didn't have a good scale at home when I first started, but there was a digital scale at work. So, if there is one available to you, you wouldn't necessarily have to buy your own right away. I do find it a very useful tool for weight management. I (finally) got my own digital scale for only $20. You don't have to get the most expensive one.

apullum

What do you mean by "the bathroom scale that would work for me"? For weight management, you don't need anything more than a basic bathroom scale, preferably digital since those are generally easier to read. Amazon has them for under $10.

It's also worth pointing out that most of us who've been here for a while find a food scale more helpful than a bathroom scale, if you really can buy only one. A food scale will help you ensure that you're in a deficit by weighing all your food. If you're consistently in a deficit, then your weight will go down; a bathroom scale just shows you that result. Amazon also has food scales for under $10.

tl;dr, if you only have $10, get a food scale; if you have $20, get both.

NovusDies

You don't lose weight by committee. I would bet you do not want to follow my system and I would probably not do well following yours. This may or may not include weighing habits. Some people absolutely cannot own a scale, for others it is optional, and still others struggle without it.

I am a numbers person. I have a very detailed spreadsheet that tracks my progress both in scale results and how it compares to my eating. I rely heavily on it for accountability and peace-of-mind. Both my food scale and my bathroom scale are very important pieces of equipment. This only means I need to weight regularly. It doesn't mean anything for the next person trying to lose weight unless they share my particular need for data.

liftingbro

I started weighing in once a month because when I first started losing weight I only lost like 3lbs in the first month. It was discouraging because I was eating 1800 calories, working out 5 days a week for 1.5 hours, lifting a lot too. I expected more.

It took me a while to realize my composition was changing, you could see it in the mirror and clothes were loose. My BF% did go down by 5% during that time so I knew I was making progress that my weight wasn't showing fully.