Scales and weighing?

wizbeth1218

Hello fellow lifestyle-changers. Can you help me with a quandry?

I am 2.5 weeks in to my new lifestyle with a goal of losing 142 pounds. (Oh wow... there's a sobering sentence!) ha!

Anyway, I don't own a scale, and I am not sure if I want to buy one.

Why not to buy one: I will be at the doctor's office each month, so I can weigh-in there and be pleased with the (hopefully) big changes I will see on the scale there. I am a little bit (ok, a lot) of an obsessive-compulsive and I am concerned I will weigh myself way too often (as in, multiple times daily) and become numbers-obsessed.

Why to buy one: I want my MFP ticker to move! I want more validation than just the change in how my pants fit. Mostly, I want my ticker to move!

So, feel free to throw in your $0.02.

Thanks!
Elizabeth

dc729

I understand totally!!! I have derailed my progress with previous diets by multiple weigh-ins in a week (or a day) and not seeing immediate results....then throwing in the towel! I'd totally go with the doctor's scale monthly. It's a better scale and will have more accurate results. If you want to see progress in between, you can do measurements!

juliebeesd

Welcome, and so great to see you here! It's good you wrote out that sentence, because you are going to come back in a year's time and see how much progress you have made!

I say no scale, bigger payoff. That ticker will move, and you will feel great! IMO, you definitely don't want the temptation of weighing yourself everyday. Your weight fluctuates, we all have bad days, etc. and there's no reason to step on that scale and feel bad about yourself if you didn't lose (or even gained).

I think it's better to stick to your goal, and work toward that weigh in, because even if you've had a couple bad days here and there, you know the scale is still going to go down at your monthly doctor's visit.

Good luck!!

Frozen300

To be honest, I need the scale just for the comfort that I'm not slipping back or not applying myself enough. I know you need to lose a considerable amount of weight, but I think it's the first 6 months is where your confidence will be shaken the most. Maybe make it a bi-weekly thing at your doctor's office or something of the sort, until you are ready for the bathroom scale.

babeinthemoon

I know the feeling. Perhaps you can stop into the doctor's office to just use the scale every other week? Then you dont have to wait for the whole month to pass?

imwithgizmo

I weigh in once a week. I'm not tempted to do it any more frequently, as you say you might be. Is there perhaps a close friend who can keep your scale for you at their place? Then you could go over once a week and weigh yourself. They don't even have to know the results!

wizbeth1218

Thanks so much for all the encouragement and great ideas. I appreciate the validation and the suggestions for alternatives. I'm still not sure what I'll do - though I guess not making a decision either way is in fact deciding, isn't it?
Thanks again. It's especially nice to be transparent and have someone say Oh, me too! Nice to not be alone.

MyPaperBleedsInk

Gosh, I can see both sides.
I'm a little obsessive now that I own a scale. Sometimes I can hold off on weighing myself every day.... other times I can't.

But I do like your whole waiting for the doctor visit.... Just because then you wont have to go through the annoyances and worries if your weight fluctuates one day..... you just get to see total progress once a month. Because getting on the scale every day or every few days and seeing no change or maybe a slight increase is definitely... stress inducing at times.

derekj222

Do it! I've wanted to challenge myself to not weighing in but on a monthly basis because I try to do it too much. I used to do it 3 times a week, then twice, now once...maybe once month I will only do it once a month