Anyone else NOT weigh themselves?

lunapetu0311
lunapetu0311 Posts: 96
in Getting Started
Hello! I am at Day 1 on MFP and I am "scale phobic". I know, that sounds so immature and silly but I cannot stand to get on a scale. I don't want to know what my weight is - I know I have gained some weight and it's too painful to think about what the number could be. For years, I've just gaged my weight gain or loss by how my clothes fit. If they start to get tight, I know I need to eat better and exercise more....when my pants loosen then I know I'm doing good! :laugh:

Right now, I just can't get on the scale. Anyone else NOT weigh themselves? Maybe go more by how they feel or fit into their clothes? Or do I REALLY REALLY need to muster up some courage and get on that scale?

Thanks! :)

Replies

  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
    I don't own a scale, so I weigh myself at the doc's every three months, or if I happen to be at my mother's house. I'm more concentrated on how my blood sugars & blood pressure are improving, and how my clothes are fitting, than a number on a scale.
  • Tbdoingthis
    Tbdoingthis Posts: 5
    For me,, I use to be the same..but my motivation came from getting on the scale... When I did I almost died... Almost 300 ponds.. Oh boy! I haven't looked back.. Haven't seen those numbers no where even close...
  • Tbdoingthis
    Tbdoingthis Posts: 5
    I agree. I don't have one in my home because I would want to get on everyday.. One day at a time...
  • jmartis21
    jmartis21 Posts: 39 Member
    I usually don't weigh myself. I do however measure regularly and go by how my clothes fit. I do try to weigh myself once a month, but I know that the number on the scale doesn't always tell the whole story. For example, I've started weight training and when I weigh myself I've actually gained. But when I measure myself I've lost inches and gained muscle. I say aim for small successes at a time whether it's being able to fit into something you haven't been able to for a while but also what has motivated me the most were my physical gains. Before I couldn't do a military push-up to save my life. Now I can and that's a success!! Good luck in your journey!!
  • loriemn
    loriemn Posts: 292 Member
    I have one,,use it once every couple weeks maybe..I dont like to watch the scale because it is evil! I am lifting along with cardio so it goes up and down A LOT! I go by how I feel and how my clothes fit,,and when I can fit into the next size jeans down!
  • loubidy
    loubidy Posts: 440 Member
    If you've only just started I would get weighed, even if its by someone else they don't have to tell you how much, just so when you start losing you'll know how much you've lost.
  • Brianna716
    Brianna716 Posts: 303 Member
    If you're afraid of the scale but would like to see numbers, take measurements.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    i do not even own a scale
  • Sarah4fitness
    Sarah4fitness Posts: 437 Member
    Nothing wrong with using clothes and progress photos to keep track of how things are going. The scale can be a useful tool, but it's just a tool. You can garden and grow flowers without a specific trowel, you know.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    No need to see those dreaded numbers!

    http://www.quantumscale.com/
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    I weighed myself on day 1. Did not weigh again for a year. Lost 65 lbs. It can be done if you're not a person who quits things.

    I weigh myself now, but that's a different thing than weighing when you have a lot to lose and don't want to be discouraged by losing at a slower pace than you'd like. At the same time, you will miss out on actually seeing the number go down. It's a trade-off, but I'd do it the same way if I had it to do over again.

    The one thing I would do differently, in terms of measuring progress, is take progress pics. I never did that until I had already lost over 100 lbs, and I wish I done it the whole time.
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    Me. I care more about how I look and feel than a number. When I do it just makes me crazy.
  • mboromom
    mboromom Posts: 85 Member
    I have a scale but I limit weighing myself to once a month...sometimes I cheat and do twice but anything more would definitely make me crazy!
  • christydlong
    christydlong Posts: 9 Member
    I do not weigh myself but once a month and usually on the same day of the month. I do understand what you mean about being a "scale phobic". I think if I got on the scale and it didn't say what I wanted then I would be discouraged but then at the same time if it said I had lost weight then I'd be tempted to cheat on my diet.
  • Spaceechik
    Spaceechik Posts: 14 Member
    I have a scale, a cheap one from IKEA, which cost me all of $5...LOL! It's reasonably accurate, compared to my doctor's scale, but I don't even step on it more than twice a month, if that. I just don't remember it's there. I do need to have a scale, as a sudden weight change can mean my kidneys are playing hooky. ;)

    It's not a bad idea to have a scale, just don't use it more than 2x a month or less. It's a guideline, not a nanny. Or a demon...
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    NEVER weigh myself, don't own a scale. I go by my clothes and how they feel. I used to weigh myself then got to obsessed to a unhealthy point. No more scales for me except a food scale. LOL
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    How have you set your calorie goals if you didn't enter a weight? I don't think embarking on any restrictive calorie diet is a good idea unless you can accurately calculate your BMR and TDEE to start with, particularly if you have set it to 1200 per day and/or are wanting to eat back your exercise calories.

    Eta: fair enough if you don't want to judge your success by a number, in fact I think that's a really sensible way to go about it, but to start with you need a baseline if you want to use the calorie goals sensibly.
  • VladaLucia
    VladaLucia Posts: 4 Member
    I don't weigh myself because I travel all the time and I can't bring a scale with me. I go completely by measurements, though. But at the moment I am developing a fear of measuring myself because I don't want to know how bad it is. I'm afraid I will just give up on everything. I usually pretty much know my weight from how I feel, how certain jeans fit, etc. but I wish I could know exactly.
    The best thing for me at least, when I know I've gained weight, is to measure/weigh myself, and then only re-measure/weigh myself after I've had at least a few weeks of really good eating whether it be eating little or eating clean, and then I will also notice the difference on the way I look, but it's nice be able to know "I lost x cm in x weeks by eating x calories".
  • lunapetu0311
    lunapetu0311 Posts: 96
    Oh wonderful!! I am so happy to hear all of your response -- and happy I am not the only one not wanting to use the scale! I do like the idea of taking measurements....at least for now. Maybe once I know I've lost some weight, I can brave it and step on there!

    arrseegee -- good point. I put in an estimate of my weight - I know what my weight is give or take 5-7 lbs but you are right...I would get a more accurate results if I knew for certain.

    Thanks to all who replied - you made my day :)
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    Oh wonderful!! I am so happy to hear all of your response -- and happy I am not the only one not wanting to use the scale! I do like the idea of taking measurements....at least for now. Maybe once I know I've lost some weight, I can brave it and step on there!

    arrseegee -- good point. I put in an estimate of my weight - I know what my weight is give or take 5-7 lbs but you are right...I would get a more accurate results if I knew for certain.

    Thanks to all who replied - you made my day :)

    Sounds good, I just had a horrible image of you adding an extra 50lb to your calculations 'just to be on the safe side'! Good luck.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    You just described exactly what I do. I was 50 yo before I ever owned a scale. I really wish I had not bought it. I've recently gone back to what has always worked for me, which is using the mirror and my jeans to determine when I've gained or lost weight.
  • jfauci
    jfauci Posts: 531 Member
    Jut the opposite here - I'm scale obsessed. I think either extreme is not healthy.
  • lifetime6404
    lifetime6404 Posts: 1
    no i dont get on the scale..i dont know how much i weigh, i had to make up a weight to put in to join this program. i have an eating disorder and when i get on the scale it just makes me obsess over the numbers.. it becomes a numbers game to me instead of a health game. when its about numbers for me its about how low can i get this number, how few calories can i eat.. the best advice anyone ever gave me is to just stop getting on the scale..we are MORE than a number!!!
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
    Only twice in the past 10+ years (to figure out my calorie counts on here). I also don't know my measurements or body fat percentage, etc. I gauge my progress by strength gains in the gym and how I look in a mirror/pictures.
  • heatherloveslifting
    heatherloveslifting Posts: 1,428 Member
    I think motivation is hard to maintain long term without some way to measure progress. Measuring tape and the way clothes fit...those can be "interpreted". Scale data is cold. (and for me, necessary).
  • LoriannGagnon1
    LoriannGagnon1 Posts: 5
    I am just the opposite I weigh myself twice a day and if i dont see a weight loss I get upset. So my husband hide the scale and now its been about a week and today I am going crazy not being able to weigh myself. :(
  • jaexo
    jaexo Posts: 2 Member
    As a fellow scale phobic, I haven't been weighing myself either. I did the first week, however got discouraged when the number didn't go down as much as I had hoped. Now I am just focusing on how I am feeling and how my clothes are fitting. I will occasionally try on a pair of shorts that I would like to fit back into to see how they fit!
  • LoriannGagnon1
    LoriannGagnon1 Posts: 5
    I am feeling better and someone told me I am looking better but as weight goes I have not weigh myself. I will do it once a week and be happy with any loss.

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