Mental Health and Checking the Scales

DupreeTheTRex
DupreeTheTRex Posts: 105 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been gaining/losing weight in and off for the last 11 years of my life. For the longest time, I went to extremes to lose weight fast only to put it back on just as fast. For the last 16 weeks I have been taking things much slower than I normally would. This includes how often I was checking the scale. When I was trying to lose weight in the past, I would check multiple times daily especially before and after a workout.

I felt like if I didn’t see a change in numbers I wasn’t working hard enough and I would push myself even harder. It really did a number on my mental health. This time around I have been checking once ever 2 to 4 weeks and I feel much happier. Right now I’m challenging myself to go 8 weeks without checking the scale. I was wondering if anyone else has shared the same sort of experience and what you think about the mental game of losing weight.

Replies

  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 443 Member
    I have a love/hate relationship with the scales. I used to weigh weekly, then went daily. In some ways that's easier because you can see how crazy the fluctuations are, I mean last week I lost 0.6kg overnight and then regained most of it over the next few days - that process works in reverse a lot too. It's made me see that when I was weighing myself every week I could have easily caught myself on a day with a major fluctuation, and then spent the whole week worrying what I was doing wrong. 7 day trend is what I go on now and I try not to think about the daily figures.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,289 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I would argue that weighing more times per day than once in the morning on an empty stomach is not very useful, as you are then weighing your meals as well.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMNPP2ZR1U

    Some exceptions, though. For example, I'll sometimes weigh myself before/after outdoor exercise on a hot day, as a check on hydration strategy - casual curiosity, I admit, rather than pursuit of technical perfection.

    OP, it sounds like you're figuring out what works best *for you*, which is perfect. Individualization, personalization of the process in many ways, makes a useful contribution to weight loss success - not just weighing frequency, but lots of other things. Question "received wisdom", see what works for you.
  • petrbulko
    petrbulko Posts: 2 Member
    Hello ! :)

    I know it's very easy to say, but it's inportant to realise, either gaining or losing the weight ( if you want to do it properly and healthy) is a long process.

    In my opinion you lost the weight quickly by going to the extreme ( lowering your calories rapidly ). Your body was shocked and reacted. When you started eating as you used to, body was shocked again and weight went back up, because difference between calories was huge.
    Example : you are at 2800 kcal - not gaining, or losing any weight either - your b.metabolism is set around 2800 kcal... if you suddenly go down to 2000kcal, your body will respond by getting rid of the weight... your b.metabolism will get set at 2000kcal and after certain time you'll stop losing the weight again. The problem is, there isn't any more possibility to lower the calories without you feeling grumpy, tired, without energy, etc... so you go back to " normal, in this example 2800kcal and because it's nearly 30% increase (or drop) the body gets shocked again ( it's used to 2000 kcal at the moment) and stores some energy into the fat, because what if you got an idea to don't give it enough food again... And body does everything to survive...
    So well done, take it easy this time, slowly, but surely.

    Regarding the weight - I hear it from many people. The weight is a great indicator, however, use mirror :wink: Bodyweight is very tricky... You might weight the same, but be losing the fat and gaining muscles. Many people don't realise it and it could lead them to the depressions, or towards to feelings they are not trying hard enough, etc... Also, human body contains quite lots of water :)) so by drinking 1l of water ( and scale showing 1kg extra) does not mean you gained 1kg of fat :blush: in many cases bw drops by 2kg, depending on the day ( how much we drink, eat, etc).

    I would recommend to find somebody, who understand how human body works, explains it prooerly, motivates you, keep ,ou happy and helps you find an enjoyable diet you can easily stick to ( still include your favourite meals, etc). Therefore you'll enjoy it and won't be starving, or craving for more sweets, etc, as some of it could already be included in your diet.

    Hopefully it was a bit helpful :))
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    DupreeTheTRex wrote: »
    I have been gaining/losing weight in and off for the last 11 years of my life. For the longest time, I went to extremes to lose weight fast only to put it back on just as fast. For the last 16 weeks I have been taking things much slower than I normally would. This includes how often I was checking the scale. When I was trying to lose weight in the past, I would check multiple times daily especially before and after a workout.

    I guess I never understood doing this. I only check my weight first thing in the AM after my "business" is done and before I've eaten. I'll never weigh less during the day then I will at that moment. Weighing after working out would more than likely show an INCREASE in weight temporarily due to fluid retention, etc.
    DupreeTheTRex wrote: »
    I felt like if I didn’t see a change in numbers I wasn’t working hard enough and I would push myself even harder. It really did a number on my mental health. This time around I have been checking once ever 2 to 4 weeks and I feel much happier. Right now I’m challenging myself to go 8 weeks without checking the scale. I was wondering if anyone else has shared the same sort of experience and what you think about the mental game of losing weight.

    It's 100% a mental thing. It's mind over matter. You are willing your body to do something uncomfortable/out of the norm. You are eating less then your body requires to maintain itself. If you exercise you are pushing your body when it might not want to. You are making choices all day long about what to do and what not to do.

    Losing weight is ALL MENTAL!

    Someone on here posted this once and I loved the quote: Your weight is just your body's relationship with gravity at one point in time. It's a constantly fluctuating figure. Don't put too much stock in it one way or the other. I like to weigh myself daily most of the time because it gives me more data points to manage my trends. If it were weekly or bi-weekly or monthly I wouldn't have enough data to know what my true trends are. Do I miss weigh-in days? Sure! I think I weighed 5 out of 7 days last week. But thats enough for me to see where I'm headed.

    I'd find a schedule and stick to it. Less often than multiple times per day but more often than monthly? Maybe weekly? Just a thought...

    Good luck!
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member
    edited December 2020
    briscogun wrote: »
    I only check my weight first thing in the AM after my "business" is done and before I've eaten. I'll never weigh less during the day then I will at that moment. Weighing after working out would more than likely show an INCREASE in weight temporarily due to fluid retention, etc.

    Actually, I find that if I weigh first thing, and then exercise, then weigh again I have often dropped between 0.5kg and 1kg from the first weigh-in. That's important for me to know because I some days I do weigh after exercise because I don't have access to my scales beforehand.

    I completely agree that a lot of this is mental and that it's really important to understand that the number is just a snapshot. And I confess that I still find that myself sometimes playing games with myself trying to work when to weigh-in to hit the lowest weight of that particular day. However, I think of these weigh-ins as defining a range. At present my pre-exercise and post-exercise weigh-ins are coming in between around 75.6kg (today's - a new low) and 76.3kg. I'd like those values to be ranging around 75kg instead of around 76kg, and that is what I shall call maintenance.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,289 Member
    briscogun wrote: »
    DupreeTheTRex wrote: »
    I have been gaining/losing weight in and off for the last 11 years of my life. For the longest time, I went to extremes to lose weight fast only to put it back on just as fast. For the last 16 weeks I have been taking things much slower than I normally would. This includes how often I was checking the scale. When I was trying to lose weight in the past, I would check multiple times daily especially before and after a workout.

    I guess I never understood doing this. I only check my weight first thing in the AM after my "business" is done and before I've eaten. I'll never weigh less during the day then I will at that moment. Weighing after working out would more than likely show an INCREASE in weight temporarily due to fluid retention, etc.


    Varies by individual human, though, probably . . . and I'd never have known had I not weighed occasionally at other times. I usually hit my lowest weight in late afternoon/early evening, based on a occasional weigh-ins around that time. Thinking of this thread, I stepped on the scale after this evening's workout, and was at 124.6 pounds (vs. 125.4 this morning). Usually, evening dinner is my bulkiest meal, and I sweat lots even in mild workouts, so it's not surprising, really, but for me it's fun to know.

    If I experience water-weight gain from a workout, it doesn't usually show up immediately after the workout, but after I've fully rehydrated, and maybe eaten. (For clarity: From random post-workout weigh-ins, I *know* it's not immediate. But I don't do extra weigh-ins often enough to know exactly when it kicks in . . . just that it's clearly *later*. For me. Probably an individual thing.)

    There's zero *need* to weigh in often. It would be wrong to do so if it's stressful. But if not stressful, there can be interesting (non-essential) knowledge from it. If it doesn't increase stress levels, there's literally no reason *not* to step on the scale at other times, out of pure curiosity.
  • SModa61
    SModa61 Posts: 3,098 Member
    Comment to the water weight "gain" during exercise. Depends also if you drink fluids while working out. As yet, shame on me, but I do not. So in my case it would be impossible to gain weight while working out as there has to be an addition to the equation for the weight (number) to go up. Any "retention" in my muscles would have to be sucking by that fluid from another part of my body. Hubby is like me and does not drink during workout. We both weigh less after. I know that is not a healthy behavior and, some day, I'm sure it will change.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    One triathlon training program I did had us weigh before and after a training session and use those results plus the amount of water we consumed to figure out sweat rate and likely water needs. I could never remember to do it, so never managed to do the calculation for myself, but would have found it interesting if I had. (Other stuff I've read says that doing the calculation and drinking based on that is unnecessary anyway and in any case of course it's going to vary based on weather, but I still would have found being able to estimate my sweat rate in various conditions interesting.)
  • silverpl2525
    silverpl2525 Posts: 138 Member
    Excellent topic, glad you brought it up. I think I am still in the "slave to the scale" phase of my weight loss and fitness journey. I get mad and sad when I gain weight. I check myself every morning after going to the bathroom. I've learned that I am higher naturally around my period and also if I am constipated, which is a chronic issue of mine since being a toddler. So....I keep trying to check only once a week but that scale is RIGHT THERE staring at me in the bathroom and so easy to hop on. Maybe one day I'll not need to check daily. It would be better for me mentally. However when I see a weight loss, even a tiny bit, I feel accomplished and even more motivated to be healthy. It's frustrating and good at the same time to weigh everyday for me. I'm really happy to see you have the self-reflection to understand it is better for you to ignore the scale for awhile. I wish I was as disciplined as you!
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member
    edited December 2020
    silverpl2525 wrote: »
    Excellent topic, glad you brought it up. I think I am still in the "slave to the scale" phase of my weight loss and fitness journey. I get mad and sad when I gain weight. I check myself every morning after going to the bathroom. I've learned that I am higher naturally around my period and also if I am constipated, which is a chronic issue of mine since being a toddler. So....I keep trying to check only once a week but that scale is RIGHT THERE staring at me in the bathroom and so easy to hop on. Maybe one day I'll not need to check daily. It would be better for me mentally. However when I see a weight loss, even a tiny bit, I feel accomplished and even more motivated to be healthy. It's frustrating and good at the same time to weigh everyday for me. I'm really happy to see you have the self-reflection to understand it is better for you to ignore the scale for awhile. I wish I was as disciplined as you!

    I really sympathse with this and this is exactly why I find it so important to record daily weigh-ins in a way that shows me trends. Before I did that, I found tracking my weight pretty stressful. My weight was up over the last few days, which I also find saddening and frustrating (though understandable given what I was eating at the end of last week), but my monthly average is down from 76.67 kg last month to 76.08 kg this month, so I can see that the trend is still down.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,289 Member
    silverpl2525 wrote: »
    Excellent topic, glad you brought it up. I think I am still in the "slave to the scale" phase of my weight loss and fitness journey. I get mad and sad when I gain weight. I check myself every morning after going to the bathroom. I've learned that I am higher naturally around my period and also if I am constipated, which is a chronic issue of mine since being a toddler. So....I keep trying to check only once a week but that scale is RIGHT THERE staring at me in the bathroom and so easy to hop on. Maybe one day I'll not need to check daily. It would be better for me mentally. However when I see a weight loss, even a tiny bit, I feel accomplished and even more motivated to be healthy. It's frustrating and good at the same time to weigh everyday for me. I'm really happy to see you have the self-reflection to understand it is better for you to ignore the scale for awhile. I wish I was as disciplined as you!

    I agree with @charmmeth. For people, using a weight trending app (or a personal trend spreadsheet) can help with that, changing the focus from daily ups and downs (which realistically are primarily about water weight shifts and random digestive tract contents on their way to being waste), to the direction of the trend.

    It's not a panacea, of course: Even trending apps can be misleading, especially once in maintenance. But the trend is less twitchy than individual weigh-ins.

    If you haven't looked into these, some options are Happy Scale (for Apple devices), Libra (for Android), Trendweight (need a free Fitbit account, don't need a Fitbit device), Weightgrapher, and probably there are others.

    Even before I got one of these, I was noting my daily weights on graph paper, very old school: Date on the horizontal X axis, scale weight on the vertical Y axis. There was no automatic trend line, but even that made the trend much more obvious.
  • Fitforevermore
    Fitforevermore Posts: 399 Member
    I totally agree, scale messes with my head so I track food and exercise closely and I know what my tdee is so I rationalise and figure in my head what my max/Mon loss/gain should be each week. And at the start of my recent push I weighed in after 45 days, by that time whatever is lost was big so it felt good. At the moment becaus win Def in a healthy weight range I can weigh in each week without it negatively affecting me.
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 631 Member
    Congratulations on embracing a strategy that works for you. Health and fitness are a journey; not a destination.
    You have to make sustainable life long lifestyle choices to reach your goals and then maintain.
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
    When I first started tracking my calories i went 8 weeks without weighing. it was great for my mental health!! I just focused on calories and trusted the process. It was so nice
  • saramelie77
    saramelie77 Posts: 50 Member
    I've had a disordered relationship with the scale and food in general all my life, losing weight, gaining weight, losing weight, gaining weight.... So, yeah, I relate. The number on the scale is an indicator of my success or failure as a human being.... Ridiculous! So I'm done with it. DONE!! I've asked a friend to store it for me until I decide if I'm getting rid of it for good. I want to focus my energy on my nutrition and exercise and have faith that by following simple CICO I'll get to a healthy weight without it being define by an elusive number on the scale but by how I feel in general.
  • DupreeTheTRex
    DupreeTheTRex Posts: 105 Member

    JessBbody wrote: »
    Good for you for taking things slow this time. Most of the wisdom I've found on this site and other sources of information point to slow weight loss being the key to lasting success.

    As for the scale, I had the same questions when I first came here and started eating a lower calorie diet. You will find threads in debate forum that ask if weighing yourself every day is good or bad. My stance was that for me personally, weighing in once a week was ideal because I didn't want to deal with daily fluctuations. Seeing that number go up and down every day would have messed with my head and made me anxious & disappointed if I hadn't made progress.

    However, there are tons of people who say that daily and even twice / thrice daily weigh ins are crucial to their success. They talk about seeing their trends which lets them know how their diet & exercise is affecting their progress. Many of these people are undisturbed by the fluctuations and look to them for guidance on how and what to eat.

    I've been lucky enough to see the numbers go down week after week, but if I know they aren't going to, such as the weigh in day after Thanksgiving, I'll just wait another week. To me, there's nothing shameful about the scale messing with you mentally. Some people are "tougher" than that but I don't want my weight controlling my life to the point that I'm killing myself with exercise and eating carrots for dessert because in the morning I weighed 139 lbs and in the afternoon I weighed 140.

    I stress, this is my experience & thought process and I'm not trying to impose this on anyone else.

    Whatever works for you is what's best for you.

    Couldn’t agree more - it’s important to recognize we are all individuals with different needs.
  • DupreeTheTRex
    DupreeTheTRex Posts: 105 Member
    silverpl2525 wrote: »
    Excellent topic, glad you brought it up. I think I am still in the "slave to the scale" phase of my weight loss and fitness journey. I get mad and sad when I gain weight. I check myself every morning after going to the bathroom. I've learned that I am higher naturally around my period and also if I am constipated, which is a chronic issue of mine since being a toddler. So....I keep trying to check only once a week but that scale is RIGHT THERE staring at me in the bathroom and so easy to hop on. Maybe one day I'll not need to check daily. It would be better for me mentally. However when I see a weight loss, even a tiny bit, I feel accomplished and even more motivated to be healthy. It's frustrating and good at the same time to weigh everyday for me. I'm really happy to see you have the self-reflection to understand it is better for you to ignore the scale for awhile. I wish I was as disciplined as you!

    I’d hardly consider myself disciplined, I easily cave under pressure. But for me my old methods weren’t working so I opted to try something new. As an update I still haven’t checked the scale but I went from fitting into 36 inch waist to 32s so I’m sure I’ve made progress. I personally can’t wait for my next weigh in because I want to see how much progress I’ve made :)

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