To Step on the Scale or Not

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beckywilkeherbst
beckywilkeherbst Posts: 140 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I reached my goal awhile back...then I backslide quite a bit....then I started over, and fell, and started over, and got back up .... so I have told myself that I will not weigh myself again until I get back into my "little jeans". The jeans I fit into and my lowest weight. Here I sit wanting to start again and contemplating updating my weight to show how far I backslid. I am worried though, worried if I know how heavy I am now I will be defeated and angry and go into yet another binge. At the same time, the other side of me says to see progress maybe I need to see the numbers come down and in order to see the numbers come down I have to get on the scale....Thoughts please?

Replies

  • needles85365
    needles85365 Posts: 491 Member
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    don't step on the scale if it (you) is going to make you give up before you start. Change your mind to getting healthier, making wiser choices. Dieting will make you fail as you have already proved.
  • choface
    choface Posts: 107 Member
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    Don't binge, but I really think if you don't keep yourself accountable you are gonna half do it. Step on so you know how many calories to eat, what you burn during exercise. Ect.
  • notreallytrillian
    notreallytrillian Posts: 77 Member
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    I can totally understand your train of thought. However, if you don't know your current weight then it is very difficult to determine your BMR and know how much you need to eat to lose weight. In the end, do what is right for you. Maybe make a pro's and con's list?
  • jobro6
    jobro6 Posts: 11
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    Oh look! You are human! Yeah!! Get on the scale, update your number(s)...head up, move forward. Track your food, track your calories, track your exercise and you will get right back to where you want to be. If you don't do it today, you will look back at today in 5 days, 2 weeks, or 3 months and wish you got back on track TODAY!! You can do it!
  • baja572
    baja572 Posts: 94
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    Sooner or later you will need to overcome the urge to binge... or this yoyo will never end.. It's not easy. be determine to lose weight not the battle. best of luck!!
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
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    A winner is someone who gets up one time more than they fall down. It doesn't matter how many times you've back slid. You're back. So you're getting up one time more than you fell down! Good for you! You have much to be proud of. It would be so easy to just say to heck with it and give up. But you haven't.

    You have to do what's best for you. Perhaps rather than immediately weigh, you might want to wait a couple weeks of eating right. For me, I've gotta know the number. Good bad or otherwise. But that's just me. I know the number isn't going to cause me to binge. I want to watch the progress pound by pound, and if the scale isn't moving, rather than an excuse to give up, it's a reminder that perhaps I need to step up my game. On those weeks (I weigh in once a week) I look back at my diary and try to figure out where I might have gone wrong. If it all looks okay, then I assume it's water weight or whatver, and just hope the next week improves.

    But the scale is just a number. It doesn't say who you are. Or how you've tried. So if the smaller pants are more important than a random number, then hold out for the smaller pants.
  • RotterdamNL
    RotterdamNL Posts: 509 Member
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    Dont step on the scale as weight is bs, i dont own a scale i use my measure tape :)
  • beckywilkeherbst
    beckywilkeherbst Posts: 140 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I think part of it is just in my mind, not wanting to know how bad I screwed up all the hard work I put in. Like I said though, there is the other part of me that felt so rewarded every week when I was loosing and saw the numbers getting lower and lower on the scale.
  • BlairCottier
    BlairCottier Posts: 171 Member
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    I know how hard it is, I struggled with this myself at the beginning of my journey. If you need encouragement, or just need to know that you are not alone, read my blog, "confessions of a binge eater". There are many comments on it as well that may help you with your decision. No one can give you advice that you are not ready to receive. Do what is best for you, not what anyone else thinks. If you will be defeated before getting started, than you are not ready. Personally, I don't go by the scale. I made a promise to myself to lead a healthy lifestyle, and by doing that and committing to that, the weight will come off. I needed to get away from the negative self talk and the feeling of defeat. It sounds like you are similar. Good luck with your journey and I hope whatever decision you make, you will keep getting back up after you fall :flowerforyou:
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
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    I'll be honest, I can't help you much with the decision because I honestly just cannot identify with it. For me when I "backslide", the scale becomes motivation. I've not had a situation where bad results on the scale made me want to act in counter-productive ways. I guess I'm lucky that I'm not wired that way.

    But regardless, what I can tell you is this. You are a much stronger person than you give yourself credit for. Look at the successes you've had and the hard work it took to get there. You can do it again and this time you've got the experience of your backslide to not only help motivate you but to help you make changes so you can prevent it this time. Success is a series of overcoming failures and challenges. This is just another challenge along the way for you. Remember too that this is a journey without a finish line. I know we all have this tendency to think of our goal weight as the end of the race, the top of the mountain, whatnot. In reality it is only the beginning of the challenge and the hard work starts when we get there. But again, give yourself credit, you're strong enough to meet those challenges.

    And finally the last thing that I can tell you is that we all here at MFP will be here for you and will support you all the way, so go kick some *kitten*!!

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