The Dreaded Scale

Spicey_74

Anyone else here terrified of the scale. I am. I went through a good portion of my teens scale obsessed. Fought a bought of bulimia. Was ok most of my 20s. Then trying to keep a next ex not worth keeping I fell back into the scale obsession again. Threw out my scale when I divorced him in 2012. Now that I’m trying to seriously loose weight I know I should have one for regular weight checks. But I’m terrified of falling into bad habits. Can anyone else relate? If so what helped you? Thanks again folks.

metaphysicalstudio

Hugs to you. 🫂 I can relate, even about bulimia. Hey, being healthy doesn't have to be a mental health crisis! There are many ways to be well. If the scale puts you out of sorts, honor that. So what if that isn't what other people do! Other people are not you, with your unique experience. You can be well and healthy in a way that maintained mental stability. Look for those ways, and follow what feels good

csplatt

I actually only weigh myself once a month and try to use the mirror and how my clothes are fitting otherwise

Spicey_74

Thank you both so much!

scoutmom1981

When I was getting out of hand with scale obsession I took it to work and left it in a coworkers office. We would pull it out once a week and weigh. It wasn't as great as naked first thing in the morning but it helped me to not be crazy. I am ok now with weighing everyday. I only do it once and I put it in a tracker app. If I get a bit antsy I can look at the app and see the green downward trend.

Nephelys

*sending you some virtual hugs*

Oh yes I relate. I always have cycles of obsession with the scale, which come and go, especially when I'm in a period where I'm really trying to get my body fat down, where I weigh myself every morning and depending on the number, that's going to have a direct impact on my state of mind and morale for the rest of the day. Just seeing that I've put on 200 grams compared to the day before triggers me.

At the moment it's a cycle without weighing myself at all, and I can clearly see that I'm more serene without being obsessed by the numbers on the scale.
If you are afraid of falling in your bad habits, there are other ways of monitoring your weight loss that are also more accurate and less triggering, such as taking your measurements, taking photos, checking how you feel in your clothes etc etc.

That said, if you're like me, the only thing that's going to calm me down and tell me that I've really lost weight is to see the number go down on the scale (which makes no sense, as I've started lifting weights seriously again and I'm sure I've gained a bit of muscle in the process). It's a mental thing.
You really don't need to weigh yourself regularly in the end. But if you still feel you need a little check-up from time to time, why not leave your scale at a family/friend's house and weigh yourself there only once a month, for example?

sollyn23l2

You don't need to weigh yourself. You can use how your clothes fit, or take waist measurements. Or heck, just eat reasonably and don't worry u about whether you fit a particular body type.

PeachHibiscus

Spicey_74 wrote: »

But I’m terrified of falling into bad habits. Can anyone else relate? If so what helped you? Thanks again folks.

Yes, absolutely. I had an eating disorder from about age 27 to 37. My ED eventually progressed to bulimia but it originally started as food restriction and obsessive exercising and a lot of it revolved around the number on the scale. If it was up a bit or even just stayed the same for a few days, I'd cut back a little more on the food and increase the exercise. I remember taking a day off of work one Monday because I was retaining a few pounds of water weight from a restaurant meal over the weekend. I took off so I could go to the gym and work out for the whole day.

I'm almost 50 now and I came back to MFP this past March. I'm no longer worried about the scale but a few weeks into tracking my food, I was packing lunch for work and had the thought that I was adding too many baby carrots. I thought to myself, "what in the everloving $%!# are you thinking?" Because worrying that I was eating too many baby carrots is the kind of thought I would have had when I was 27 and restricting food.

It made me realize that for me there's a very fine line between tracking and measuring my food in a healthy manner and falling back into that old mindset. What helps me now is to be aware of these thoughts and to not allow myself to indulge in the behavior that used to go with them. It's not always easy.

westrich20940

You 100% do not need to weigh yourself on a scale to track your progress. I'd stick to focusing on how your clothes are feeling fit-wise to judge what's happening. If weighing yourself is triggering for you, you have to make a decision about whether it's more harmful than good.

While it is 'good' to have that easy way to track progress...if you have anxiety surrounding it, and you feel like you are becoming preoccupied with it - or it's triggering to see the number not go down (or even go up)....I'd consider that to be the cons outweighing the pros and I wouldn't do it at all. It's a slippery slope and it sounds like you've made some progress getting that stuff out of your head and I'd be worried about reintroducing this source of anxiety.

Edit: I can relate to a point. I wouldn't say I felt super bad about weighing every week...but it didn't really serve me and I'd leave the scale (if my weight either didn't go down or increased, even though I know much of that are other factors that aren't true weight gain/loss) not feeling great. I switched to only weighing myself every month....I knew I was in a slight deficit and 4 weeks def would be enough time to make sure that number was lower than the time before and I felt way better. I then slowly switched to paying attention to how my clothes fit to judge my weight loss/weight consistency. I can tell if I've gained some or am staying the same and it's much better for my emotional/mental health.