to weigh or not to weigh...

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cara523
cara523 Posts: 116
in Health and Weight Loss
Good day! On my first post last night, I mentioned I am "new to this" therefore I will probably have many questions.
I have been getting many answers by reading the message boards and appreciate all the advice!
First of all, what does NSV mean? and what does it mean when people "bump for later" a recipe or a list of health snacks, etc? But my real question is this...is it important to weigh yourself? I think that is what makes me fail when i diet. I would rather not look at the scale and just lose the weight to where I look and feel good. I know inches will be lost but many people say its important to keep your eye on the scale. I get that it helps motivate you when you see the numbers come down but I really dont think weighing myself is an important part of a diet. Is it? I did weigh myself this morning and honestly? It depressed me that i got to be this weight! So bottom line, how important is weighing yourself on a journey to a healthy you?

Replies

  • farway
    farway Posts: 1,264 Member
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    NSV = Non scale victory, not linked to numbers on the scales, such as someone saying gosh you are slim or getting into smaller size clothes, going down a belt hole

    Bump = adds to your "my topics" for reading later

    Weighing is a very personal thing, I weigh every morning to keep track, others only once a month, others every time they walk past the scales. If it is going to depress you then do not do it, go by waist size or general fitness
  • animemoon5
    animemoon5 Posts: 55 Member
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    When it comes to weighing, the main thing is to do what feels good for you!!! There are some people who advocate against weighing more than once a week, because your body really fluctuates throughout the day, and you may end up getting obsessive and stressing out or really depressed.... Some people find weighing daily encourages them, others avoid the scale like the plague, and they just make healthy improvements and just hope that one morning they will wake up and see their clothes fit better... Some people may weigh once a month, or perhaps weigh once at the start, just to have a beginning marker, and not weigh again for who knows how long...

    I've been told before that I can get obsessive about weighing myself on the scale =x But for me personally it helps, If I'm doing well, I'm encouraged to keep going, if I'm doing poorly, I try harder, and I like seeing and knowing what times during the day I'm more likely to have my weight fluctuate, and just how much change there can be... But this is just me personally....

    Whatever you do, you don't want to put yourself in a position that you get discouraged, and feel down on yourself...
  • aminarand
    aminarand Posts: 7 Member
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    I weigh every morning, again this makes me feel good but also it makes me notice that a kilo here and there is just water and our bodies fluctuate SO much more than I thought..
    So if I am sticking to myfitnesspal correctly and only eating 1500 calories.. then I now trust I will lose weight!!!

    Some days I am nearly 2 kilos heavier one morning and then I weigh myself and I am back down!!
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
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    You have to do whatever works for you. It is a personal choice.
    For me, weighing daily is the way I am keeping control of my progress. Some weigh themselves infrequently.
    Find what works best for you.
    The main things that I have learned during the past 10 months are, portion size, avoid as much processed foods as possible, little or no going out to eat, avoid fried foods that add fat and calories, drink a lot of water, and bottom line calories in calories out. Do not deny yourself little treats if it fits into your daily calorie total.
    Best of luck to you!
  • nexangelus
    nexangelus Posts: 2,080 Member
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    I would say in order to track progress, weighing is important to start off with. But when you start trying to just lower body fat percentage, the scale weight almost becomes meaningless, in that you can weigh heavier and look totally different after eating a certain way and lifting heavy for example. I would recommend once per week only as the scale can become an obsessive tool for some.

    I choose to do all my measurements once per month. I weigh, measure my waist, hips and bust and then do caliper measurements for bodyfat %.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Weighing is a useful way to measure progress, but if you don't like to do it, and feel that it may lead to failure, then there's no reason you have to do it. There are other ways to measure progress such as measuring with a measuring tape, measuring body fat (can be difficult to do accurately), taking progress photos and just going by the way your clothes fit.

    It might be helpful to weigh in the beginning, to make sure you're on the right track. Although weight can be a bit misleading (it can fluctuate for lots of reasons) you will probably see changes on the scale more quickly than anywhere else at first, so it could help you to make sure you're doing the right things. If you find it de-motivating though, there's no obligation to do it.
  • cara523
    cara523 Posts: 116
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    thank you everyone! I appreciate all the feed back!
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
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    I was obsessed with weighing for the first few months. It was so bad that sometimes I weighed more than once a day. No logic there! Then I began to see that losing inches and body fat % points was healthier and most importantly, it was more noticeable. So, with that I quit weighing in October and did not weigh again until the new year. I weigh every 10 weeks now. It's awesome. I keep track of measurements about every 2 weeks and how my clothes are fitting.

    I also started taking a "first of the month" photo and have them to compare. This one is the best I think. I love going back and looking at my before pictures because my mind and the mirror still conspire to tell me I'm still the same size. I've heard it can take up to a year for your brain to catch up with your body.

    Good luck. One bit of advice? Eat well. Figure your BMR and TDEE and find the number of cals you need to be successful without losing too much lean body mass. Lift heavy. Do it now. Don't wait to strength train when you get to goal. Do it now. It will change your body in the most awesome ways!!!

    Here's a link that has helped me SO MUCH and showed me how to do this RIGHT:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • alifer
    alifer Posts: 387 Member
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    I'm the type that finds it helpful to get on the scale daily. However I take measurements monthly. Sometimes it gets discouraging when the scale refuses to budge-- that's when the measurements are really helpful. In my experience those are the times that the measurements are dropping. I would only measure once a month or so as those don't change as quickly. Also take notice when your clothes start fitting looser.
  • fatjavotte
    fatjavotte Posts: 96 Member
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    I weigh myself daily, because getting on the scales first thing in the morning reminds me to take care of myself and eat healthily. However, I know there can be huge variations from one day to the next (up to 4lbs in my case), so I only take into account one weigh-in per week.

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