How to challenge yourself without the scale?

PunkyDucky

Hi everyone!

So i've decided to stay away from the scale for a bit and focus on working out and eating as WELL as i can. You know, make it more of a lifestyle not a temporary fad diet.
However there are moment where i want to challenge myself and usually i'd use the scale (example: i want to get down 5 pounds by the end of this month, etc.)

But how do i so without using the scale? Would i say i want to lose 5 inches all over by the end of the month or still use the scale within the month??

What did you do to challenge yourself without relying on the scale to get weight down?

PunkyDucky

bump

GuybrushThreepw00d

I trained (and fundraised) for a 10k race.
I went from not being able to sustain a constant pace for 2 minutes to being able to run a 5k in 26minutes without stopping... Then went onto run my 10k race.

Having a goal that was completely not about weight was a good thing for me. During the time between signing up for the race and doing it, i had lost about 50lbs.

cwolfman13

For me, those kinds of challenges are mostly fitness related...I've never in my life challenged myself to lose X Lbs in a certain amount of time...seems to me like that could easily lead to crashing diets and what not. Pretty much all of my challenges are fitness related.

Currently challenging myself to run the Bataan Memorial Death March 1/2 marathon in the spring...you can either do the 1/2 or full but I don't have time to get in the volume safely in 20 weeks to do the full...it's a bucket list thing and far more grueling than a traditional marathon in that is takes place on White Sands Missile Range...middle of nowhere in the desert. My goal is to complete in 3 hours (I'm not a super fast runner). A couple months after that I have a century ride (100 miles on the bike) in the mountains here...no time goal, just complete without dropping out...it's a lot of up and only a little down.

astronomicals

i dont get it... just eat your allotment and everything will fall into place... if your basing your consumption off weight fluctuations then you have an ummmmmm... problem...... if you eat some carbs and weigh three pounds more tomorrow and seeing it on the scale makes you eat like a bird.. thats not healthy.... thats not a challenge, thats a disability


i look in the mirror and ask "is this the look im going for?"

PunkyDucky

Um, I don't get what you're talking about either. I was asking for challenges and the replies i got were helpful in what i was looking for. I will try the fitness goal rather than weight loss goal. I'm starting to get into lifting so i'll think of a way to challenge myself with weights.

Thank you!

mreeves261

Um, I don't get what you're talking about either. I was asking for challenges and the replies i got were helpful in what i was looking for. I will try the fitness goal rather than weight loss goal. I'm starting to get into lifting so i'll think of a way to challenge myself with weights.

Thank you!

Weight goals are simple. Like this. Currently I max squat 95#. By the end of the month I would ideally like to squat 105. I'd settle for 100 though.

sljzena

I have an assortment of jeans, that are better than any scale... lol... I pile them up in order of largest to smallest... If I've been wearing the largest size, I will try to put on the next size down... even if it's uncomfortable... I might only wear those jeans for a few hours... Then, I'll retry them a few days later. It's so fun when you put on those tighter jeans, and realize... "hey, these are now my loose jeans".... I always have the motivation to try to get back to the bottom of the pile... lol...

Alehmer

Definitely athletic goals. The only reason I ever go near a scale is because I am in a weight-class sport and staying in a lighter division makes a real difference. If you keep getting stronger, faster, tougher while eating reasonably the weight will take care of itself. Also, since you don't get to the 'end' of athletic goals you don't have to deal with the roller-coaster ride of hitting a a goal weight, losing focus, and gaining it back.

Absolutely recommend finding yourself a sport. If you are working for a hobby or something you really like to do, you are FAR more likely to stick with it and push yourself long term. Doesn't matter if it's running or yoga or boxing, anything where you enjoy the activity and need to keep yourself fit is health gold.

I have many friends in Jiu Jitsu and Judo who have lost 30,40,50+ pounds just practicing and working to keep fit for sport with no specific focus on losing weight at all.

amandammmq

You might want to consider making action goals rather than result goals, at least for a little while.

For instance: I will go to the gym 4x/week for one month. I will avoid processed food and sugar for one week. I will go to bed by 10 pm every week night for one month. I will drink 8 glasses of water every day for two weeks. I will cut out caffeine for the month of November.

etc, etc.

By focusing on the action rather than the result, you are making positive life changes and creating new habits, rather than being a slave to the result.

For myself, I have focused on the first one for the past several months: I have gone to the gym 4 times a week since August 1. I have NOT been logging my food, although another goal I've been working on is cooking healthy meals at home.

I do not weigh myself any more than every week or two. Losing a certain amount of weight was not a goal I set, although I did hope I'd lose some weight, of course. I did weigh myself August 1, and I also took measurements (neck, arm, bust, under bust, natural waist, hip, thigh) and took photos (front, side, back, upper back while making a muscle, LOL).

After three months, I weighed in, took my measurements, and took new photos. I was pleased. I lost 7 pounds in 3 months, but lost a LOT of inches, and the pictures told the story... I LOOK a whole lot better than I did August 1.

Plus, now I have a new and healthy habit... I go to the gym regularly, and I'm getting stronger. I couldn't be happier, to be honest.

I wish you well and hope you achieve your goals, whatever goals you choose!

ShibaEars

Like others have said, fitness goals are the way to go. I've told myself a few times "I'm going to lose x amount of pounds". I have never once completed that kind of goal. It's just not a something I actually feel motivated to work towards, for some reason. Telling yourself you will lose x amount of inches is hard, because you have zero control over where your body is going to lose them.

One thing I work on is improving my mile run time. When I first started a couple years ago, it took me around 10 minutes to do a mile. So I would run one mile every so often and try to beat my last time. My fastest time was a few months ago, at 7:39. That gives me real numbers to look at and see my progress.

If you weight lift, you can work on doing x amount of reps at a higher weight.

EHisCDN

I'm starting to get into setting goals. My challenges for this month are:
-go to fitness class 2-3 times a week
-30 day plank challenge
-get my sleep schedule fixed

I don't have weight goals. I don't have a GW or an UGW or anything like that. Nor do I set goals like "I want to lose ____ pounds by ______". I've never seen the point. If I keep doing what I'm doing it will eventually come off.

jennybennypenny

All of what everyone else said! Any time I've said I want to lose ___ lbs, I fail. It's been a lot easier to set certain non-scale goals for myself.

The current ones are:
-go to the gym 4-5 mornings per week
-do an unassisted pull-up or chin-up by the end of the year

Ones I've completed:
-running a half marathon
-giving up diet soda
-learning to eat within a healthy calorie range fairly consistently (~1700-1800 currently)

And the really great thing about it is that I'm seeing results on the scale, but that's not the overall point. I don't stress about how much I weigh, or when I'm going to lose those lbs, because I know that I'm doing the right thing and the fat will come off and I will fit into smaller clothes eventually, if I want to.

Edited: I did NOT give up caffeine, haha. I gave up diet soda.

Smallc10

I set a goal weight lifting that I will be lifting more in 3 weeks. I have running goals (following the C25K challenge) where I want to complete each week. I also have a long term goal of completing my first pull-up unassisted. These all work for me! Find something you like and start setting small attainable goals and then start increasing them as you get better and better.

KaterinaTerese

I just stepped away from my scale last month, and wow, isn't it liberating?? I can tell I'm progressing (s-l-o-w-l-y) because of what I see in the mirror. I've also been using motivators like setting a new goal for the weight I lift and meeting my caloric needs for X-number of days in a row.

I also have a cute dress which fits (but not the way I want it to) hanging in my closet. I'm going to try it on again the Sunday before Thanksgiving and see how I'm doing!!