should I get a scale?

mitsi94

The scale haters have come out. Weigh, measure, take pictures, there is no reason not to do all 3.

If your going to use a scale I recommend a beam scale, the kind doctors offices use. Yes it will cost you a little more but it should be accurate and consistent. Even the better digital scales will fluctuate. Don't believe me, weigh yourself twice on a digital one. A properly calibrated beam scale is very accurate and at least is consistent. Yes your weight is going to fluctuate but at least this way you'll know that it's not the scale.

I weigh every day it doesn't bother me to fluctuate. If your the kind of person who is going to freak out over being up 3 lbs overnight then maybe daily weigh in's aren't for you. For me it's just another data point and the frequent weighing helps me to understand how what I eat affects my weight.

I totally agree with this. I weigh myself almost every day. I don't freak out over a few pounds up or down on a daily basis, as we all know water retention, etc can affect you. If the scale goes down to a new low weight I haven't seen before, I count it as a loss. If it goes up/down a couple pounds from day to day, I don't worry about it. If it were to go up like 5 pounds and stay there for like a week, then I would count it as a gain and do something about it.

I use the scale as a tool to learn how my body reacts to my activities, food I eat, water I drink, etc. Before I started really focusing on trying to lose weight, I never knew, much less cared, how what I ate affected my weight. Because I wasn't aware of it! Now I can see what eating out might do to me, or that thanksgiving dinner, or a night of drinking with my friends. Knowing this information has helped me make choices in what I want to eat or drink because now I know how it will affect me. I am learning how my body reacts, which is something I wasn't in tune with before, and it is very powerful information.

I know this view of the scale is probably opposite of most people's, but just wanted to share why it works for me.

WABeachWalker

I think that a scale may be very useful for helping you keep track of your pounds lost. That and a tape measure have been my best methods of staying honest with myself.

kathyms13

i think its time i signed off for the night, all this fuss over a cheap set of scales.