Why do you hate the scale?

Well, sometimes it doesn't reflect all of your hard work and dedication! You can be working out and eating right for weeks and that scale won't budge! Ugghh

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

Don't hate the player, hate the game...

Loved your post. My relationship with the scale has evolved during this whole process. When I first started losing weight, I loved the scale. It showed me progress. It kept me on track. I rarely slipped up or went up on the scale, mostly progressed steadily down with some very lengthy plateaus... all was well.

Now I hate the scale because I have learned that, for me, I just can't be a number. Monitoring your weight is a great metric for tracking progress and making sure you're maintaining your hard-earned success... but... in my second year of maintenance I have learned that weight is only one piece of the puzzle. I dropped two pant sizes when I started yoga and never lost a pound. I was obsessing over the number instead of recognizing and appreciating that I went from a size 6/8 to a 2/4... kind of a big thing to miss!

Plus, I would let the number on the scale dictate my day. I would look in the mirror, think I looked great, step on the scale, see a number I wasn't expecting (water weight, too much sodium, you name it) and suddenly, I would hate myself and not want to leave the house. (Well, not QUITE that dramatic, but close.)

Today, for me, the scale is taking a backseat. I bought a fancy scale that tracks body fat% and muscle mass and I'm using those as my numbers! I weigh in a few days a week to make sure I'm still on track but tend to use the way my clothes fit and the way I feel as my guide.

I find I hate the scale a lot less if I just weigh in once a week instead of every day.

Nope, I still hate it...I only weigh in once per month. However, I also get measurements and bodyfat % at the same time. There may be very little difference in weight, but significant improvement in the other areas. The scale is a dirty liar that does its best to make me feel like a failure.

Well, sometimes it doesn't reflect all of your hard work and dedication! You can be working out and eating right for weeks and that scale won't budge! Ugghh

exactly! I worked my @ss off in Sept and only lost 7 lbs the whole month. The first half of the month was fine and that's when I dropped the 7 lbs but the the 2nd half of the month... nothing. Not a single pound. But I take my measurements at the end of every month and when I did, I had lost 19 inches in one month. My hard work paid off but the scale was just being stingy. But you can't just close your eyes or throw out your scale. No need to go to that extreme. Personally, its accountability tool. I got fat in the first place because I can easily get lazy and fall back into old habits. I use my workouts, my scale, accountability to my support system, my measuring tape, and mfp all as tools in my superwoman tool kit to get this big job done. So far its working great even if it isn't as fast as I would like.

I agree with both of these.

I joined a biggest loser competition last year and won. Because the week that I got on that scale and saw that it didn't move, I flipped out. Like, heh. Yeah. I took it to the extreme. And the next week, when I had lost more than I thought I had, that feeling was amazing.

Now, I did learn that taking things to the extreme was bad. I ended up in a horrible place of self hate, making myself suffer for something that yes, I did to myself but nothing that I was so horrible that with hard work and dedication, cannot change. I used to be a slave to the scale instead of looking at it as the inspiration tool to get up and keep moving.

I love the scale. Hate it when it tells me that things haven't moved but... it's not lying to me. The weight hasn't moved. Muscle also weighs and I forget that from time to time... especially how prone to the plateau I am ( thank God I just broke that! LOL! )

If we learn to get encouraged by things instead of letting them irritate us, we'll be a lot happier in the battle to continue to fight until we're healthy and satisfied.

I hate the scale because I've adopted an obsession with weighing in everyday. I've found that I'm not going to weigh myself besides once a month.