Scale obsession issues....

So, I'm new here, and need some perspective... I weigh myself 4 or 5 times a day, and I'm thinking lately maybe that's not healthy. I think about it all the time, and it bothers me when it fluctuates throughout the day.


Anyone want to weigh in?
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Replies

  • Heyyleigh
    Heyyleigh Posts: 268 Member
    Yes thats obessive and misleading to u. I weigh first thing in the morning after getting up and going to the bathroom. You're weight will fluctuate all during the day, so you're going to be unhappy about that as well. :)
  • 30Purple
    30Purple Posts: 252 Member
    Too much! Just do it once in the mornings. I just got a new scale, so I've weighed the past 3 days in a row... but I am going to stop that. Of course, I'll only record my weigh-in once a week from this point forward. :)
  • GypsysBloodRose26
    GypsysBloodRose26 Posts: 341 Member
    I weigh myself twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. But I do this to see and to track what macros I eat affect my weight and body. I expect fluctuation and could care less about it though. As long as the number on day 7 is lower than it was on day 1, then I'm good.

    But if you are feeling an obsession with it and can't handle the normal fluctations, I would put your scale away and leave it alone for a month. Get used to using MFP for a while before you start scale obsessing.
  • Jessamin
    Jessamin Posts: 338 Member
    I used to do this too. It is a pretty depressing way of living. I have my brother or man-friend or mother, depending on where I'm staying, hide the scale until Sunday morning, where I weigh myself ONCE and then it is hidden again.
  • jenlarz
    jenlarz Posts: 813 Member
    I have done that before, especially when I first committed to using and sticking to MFP. I don't do it so much now that my loss has slowed-technically halted-for the last month or so. But it's not worth the stress! I'm much better off when I don't weigh anymore than 1/day-sometimes I don't even do that now.
  • KrazyAsianNic
    KrazyAsianNic Posts: 1,227 Member
    definitely a scale obsession. I use to want to weigh myself every day and it drove me crazy with the constant fluctuations. Sometimes I feel that once a week is too much, but I stick with that.
  • RunnerInVT
    RunnerInVT Posts: 226 Member
    I do too. I have a notebook i write in in the bathroom. I weigh myself in the am...after a run...after the after run shower...after work....before bed. I get mad. I get relieved. I get anxious. I even wake up to pee in the night to see if the scale moves. I have to force myself to not stand on that scale sometimes! Then I can't stop thinking about it. I am a small woman and don't know why it has such a hold on me.
  • Try to limit to weighing yourself once in the morning. That's what I do. If I waited an entire week to weigh myself I'd go nuts. I want to see what my weight is doing all week just so I don't disappoint myself with a tiny loss or something at the end without knowing it fluctuated. Massive paranoia XD
  • vabchloser
    vabchloser Posts: 223 Member
    I had the same problem. I gave my scale to a co-worker and told him not to give it back for me for two weeks. After the initial shock, I was okay. I was actually relieved because I knew I was on task and I HAD to be losing. I got it back now though...and I weigh once a day and it's frustrating again!!!
  • Jkc9059
    Jkc9059 Posts: 151 Member
    Get rid of the scale!! I put mine away for 1 month as I had the same addiction! I actually struggled for the first week or two but It really made me focus on other things and my mood is much better and I feeel better when not looking at fluctuations on the scale.
  • shirleygirl910
    shirleygirl910 Posts: 503 Member
    Only use the scale once a week. Take your measurements once a month and guage your success by all of these numbers combined. If you stress out you will not stick to it. This is suppose to be a life time change for health.
  • Nina2503
    Nina2503 Posts: 172 Member
    Only use the scale once a week. Take your measurements once a month and guage your success by all of these numbers combined. If you stress out you will not stick to it. This is suppose to be a life time change for health.

    I agree with this! ^^^^^^^
  • Thanks guys!! I think I'm gonna give it to a friend of mine to hold onto for a while...
  • dmgbrown
    dmgbrown Posts: 14 Member
    yep, i used to be the same way. now i dont even own a scale and just weigh in monday morning at work.
  • allnaday
    allnaday Posts: 54 Member
    i do it too........short of throwing them out the window......i don't know how to help;.......i'm obsessed.
  • quill16
    quill16 Posts: 373 Member
    I used to weigh several times a day, with clothes , without, morning , night, etc. Most of this was out of curiosity. I now weigh in the morning once a day and it keeps me honest. If I weigh less often, I tend to "let it go" and eat too much. Currently I am trying to maintain and I don't like to gain more than 5-7 lbs and want to get it off right away if I do.
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
    I don't see any problem with weighing yourself throughout the day and recognizing the fluctuations if you can continue life as usual with an emphasis on health and fitness. However if you find the scale to be overwhelming or even a distraction that's another issue and probably not a great idea to be doing. Good luck!
  • 4-5 times a day is definitely obsessive, and the fluctuations are normal throughout the day.
    Even every day is kind of abnormal, but what I do is weigh myself in the morning (if I forget in the morning, then later in the day when I remember I wait until my stomach growls and then weigh myself) and then at the end of the week I calculate my weekly average. I find that this has worked the best for me, because instead of focusing on day to day, I focus on the week. This helps me thing about the long term choices as far as eating/exercise go as well.

    Hope this helps :)
  • I weigh myself all the time. It's not in an obsessive way but I am just fascinated by how much it changes over the day. I'm not that bothered by the scales though. I think measurements and they way you feel in your clothes is a better indicator of your weight loss anyway. Over the day the amount of food, water, urine, poos, are going to change your weight within a 2kg range so it's never going to be accurate!
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
    Awww...weight can fluctuate so much..you are setting yourself up for getting upset.. put it somewhere in which it takes effort to get it down to use!!!

    I haven't weighed in over a month...it was ruining my days...I'm on a total scale break for at least another month if I can handle it!

    Measurements...clothing fit...its all better indications anyways...
  • amylovescupcakes
    amylovescupcakes Posts: 146 Member
    I need to weigh about once every week, because I get ridiculously obsessive.
  • SoViLicious
    SoViLicious Posts: 2,633 Member
    I got so bad that my husband took the scale and put it in the trunk of his car and took it to work. He returns it home on my weigh in days. Since then I have been measuring tape crazy.
  • I weigh myself about 2 times per day, but I don't let what the scale reads get to my head. I know that I normally weigh 3 pounds less in the morning than I do at night, and I weigh more when I eat breads/pastas and also have too much sodium (including sweets which have sodium)... I also noticed recently that my scale has been acting up. I will weigh one weight, step off and weigh about 4 pounds more, then weigh again 2 lbs less than what I weighed the first time. I figured out where to place the scale so it doesn't fluctuate like that. Scales can go off balance on a "bumpy" floor... Anyways, it is good to only check once a week, or however often you weigh in (every 2 weeks, etc.) You just have to make sure that you don't get upset because so many things can contribute to weight gain in only a few hours. Remember that is only temporary, though, especially if it lasts only a day or even a few days. As long as you learn how to eat right for YOUR body, exercise, and take care of yourself when you are sick or tired, then you will see a vast improvement in your weight over time. Measurements are a GREAT way to keep track of your success, more so than the scale. Measurements help show you where you are toning, and you can actually weigh more but lose a bunch of inches... :)
  • RubySinclair
    RubySinclair Posts: 90 Member
    I'm totally obsessed. Usually around 4 times a day.

    I have kind of a follow-up question...... which weight do you all use as your "official" weight? I feel like I'm cheating if I use the morning weight cause I KNOW I will weigh more at the end of the day. I feel like I have to wait til I NEVER see a number before I can record it.
    As I read this, it sounds COMPLETELY nuts, :ohwell: but I'm willing to bet I'm not alone! That's one thing I love about MFP so far... I can always find someone else who shares even my wierdest ideas and thoughts on this process! :happy:
  • Rabbit914
    Rabbit914 Posts: 246 Member
    your "official" weight should be about the consistency not so much the time of day. So if your weigh in day is every Friday 8am wearing nothing than your next official weigh in should be next Friday at 8 am wearing nothing. So if you want to use the night as your official because you feel morning is cheating than do that, but be consistant each week.

    My weigh in day is Friday mornings, but i still weigh myself everyday and keeping in mind the flucuation that will occur. Last Friday the scale didn't move, but as of this morning it's down 1.2 lbs, but I won't record that because it's not Friday. Hopefully Friday moring will say the same thing or maybe even less. Good luck!!
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    So, I'm new here, and need some perspective... I weigh myself 4 or 5 times a day, and I'm thinking lately maybe that's not healthy. I think about it all the time, and it bothers me when it fluctuates throughout the day.


    Anyone want to weigh in?
    Teehee...weigh in...
    So what are your other measures progress?
    How 'bout
    Beautiful skin
    Better measurements
    nice reflection
    improved moods
    better habits
    get rid of bad habits
    energy and pleasure in exercise
    increased strength
    lower bodyfat
    beautiful muscles
    happy husband
    .....you add to the list

    If you had none of the above measures of progress, but you reached your goal weight, would you be happy?
    Nope.
    Think more in terms of getting fit, not just losing weight.

    I think the scale is interesting and how if fluctuates is interesting....but don't get emotionally attached...
    Or else your emotions will go up and go down right along with the scale...silly!
  • I used to be an obsessive scale-checker, hopping on a few times a day. Thing is, my weight can fluctuate 5lbs or more over the course of a day.

    I became a lot happier when I ditched the scale and started using photographs and a measuring tape to gauge my progress. I weigh myself now maybe once a month, if that. The last time I weighed myself was at the doctor's office because I had to.
  • Klein1475
    Klein1475 Posts: 248 Member
    I weigh every morning and every night... B/c I have a daily goal that I try not to gain more than 2 pounds from morning to night... For this to be successful you have to realize and understand that you are going to gain through out the day as you eat.... make sure that you keep reminding yourself that you are checking how you are doing when you weigh and do NOT get mad if you gain more than a couple of pounds when it happens... IT WILL HAPPEN.... But it helps me to stay on track and to avoid night time binging as well b/c I don't want to gain over 2 pounds...

    > If I gain LESS than 2 pounds I am LIGHTER the next morning....
    > If I gain MORE than 2 pounds I will be HEAVIER the next morning...

    I have a scale that tells me -
    *main number,
    *body fat weight,
    *body fat %,
    *water %
    *bone %...

    I hope that you find what works for you... It doesn't matter what anyone else says or thinks... Do what works for you and your body... We are all different and what works for some may not work for others...

    Take care,
  • sabolfitwife
    sabolfitwife Posts: 423 Member
    Some days I go crazy and will jump on the scale more than once, but generally I try to only weigh myself once or twice a week. If I've binged or haven't worked out in a while, then I'll weigh myself more frequently to see what the damage is. I take measurements once a month and I find that is best for me. Even if I only lost a few lbs in a month, I can lose quite a few inches and that is what really counts :-)

    I'm learning to not stress out so much over the number (though I am overjoyed when it goes down) and more about how my body and mind feels.
  • I'm totally obsessed. Usually around 4 times a day.

    I have kind of a follow-up question...... which weight do you all use as your "official" weight? I feel like I'm cheating if I use the morning weight cause I KNOW I will weigh more at the end of the day. I feel like I have to wait til I NEVER see a number before I can record it.
    As I read this, it sounds COMPLETELY nuts, :ohwell: but I'm willing to bet I'm not alone! That's one thing I love about MFP so far... I can always find someone else who shares even my wierdest ideas and thoughts on this process! :happy:

    Totally understand what you mean! I go by the morning weight because it's the easiest to compare to all other 'morning' weights because it's before I have eaten and after I have peed in the morning. Does that make sense?