I must STOP!

PeachyKeene
PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
in Motivation and Support
Weighing in everyday... It puts me in a bad mood when the scales don't read what I want or expect. But, I am afraid that if I don't weigh, I may do worse. I feel I must see the numbers to keep me conscious of my goals.

I am not a pleasant person to be around if the scale shows an increase. :(

Do you weigh daily?
Have you ever weighed daily and stopped? Why?
What do you think about my scale addiction?
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Replies

  • 1shauna1
    1shauna1 Posts: 993 Member
    I have in the past, but I agree, the fluctuations can drive you nuts. That's why I stopped. I am currently weighing about once a week. All I could say is, if you're going to do it daily, do it the same time every day (morning is best).
  • laurynashley1
    laurynashley1 Posts: 32
    I've been weighing myself daily for the past two weeks. Because I just rebooted my routine and wanted to keep a close eye for the first couple of weeks. Out of habit I still want to weight myself everyday but I will cut it down to two or three times a week. And then eventually once a week when I'm comfortable in my routine.

    You've said yourself that weighing yourself everyday can be damaging. Those numbers don't necessarily reflect your true weight. I was down to 206.5 and then two days later at 209 but when I did my official weigh in I was back to 206.5.

    I would try putting the scale "away" and only taking it out on weigh-in days. Try Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to start. Then just Monday and Friday. And then just one of those days. Once you get used to a routine of eating healthy and excercise, you'll be able to feel the difference without seeing the numbers on the scale.
  • SarahJayRigdon
    SarahJayRigdon Posts: 113 Member
    I weigh daily and I know I shouldent, But I only let the number bother me (or thrill me) on my weekly weigh in day. I step on the scale every morning as a reminder of what I'm doing. It's the little start to the day that reminds me to make good choices. And if I did mess up and eat something stupid( like a whole box of samoas) I have the scale as my daily reminder to start fresh. And it's nice to have the scale tell me that my little slip ups don't cause me to gain 5lbs like I imagine they do. :)
  • emmabeckemeyer1
    emmabeckemeyer1 Posts: 298 Member
    I do the same thing but I do my best to not get in a bad mood when the scale shows a gain. It usually motivates me more to eat better and think about what I did wrong the day before (ate to much chocolate,a lot of salt resulting in gain (I need a lot of salt for my health condition)). I also tend to weigh a pound more the morning after weight lifting.
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
    Weight flucuations were frustrating for me, so I got rid of my scale. We have a scale at work (where you sit), its in a different building, so its not easy for me to weigh in on a regular basis. I try not to do it more than every 2 weeks, sometimes as long as a month.

    Edited to add: I think once I reached my goal weight I will treat myself to a scale to help with maintenance.
  • sbjmorgan
    sbjmorgan Posts: 158 Member
    I did for the first week and then I thought, pfft. It's just weighing extra water. I weigh twice a week now, and that's only when I feel like I'm not sore from workouts and have drunk all the water I need to during the previous day.
  • Kelly_Runs_NC
    Kelly_Runs_NC Posts: 474 Member
    I have in the past also. Two things I tell/told myself:

    1.
  • Flossie1981
    Flossie1981 Posts: 160 Member
    I weigh myself every morning before my shower. When I stop weighing myself daily I lose track of my eating as I seem to then not weigh myself at all. I am very much an all or nothing person. Sometimes I even weigh myself twice a day! I only tend to take a lose or gain for the week as an overall thing, not think I have failed if I weigh a pound more today than I did yesterday. I look at the overall trend.

    i am not even sure if that makes sense or if I am justifying my strange behaviour!!
  • Kelly_Runs_NC
    Kelly_Runs_NC Posts: 474 Member
    It didn't go on overnight and it won't come off overnight and then I put the scale away b/c I was literally obsessed.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Yes, I weight daily and I have for most of my life starting in my teen years. The only time I wasn't weighing daily is when I was getting up to my highest weight and I wanted to be in total denial about how fat I was getting. So I get where you're coming from with wanting to keep yourself in check but I REALLY don't get the dramatic reaction.

    It's just a number, it should have no bearing in how you treat yourself or others in your life. You need to get over this mindset and remember that number goes up and down for everyone for a variety of reasons. You don't gain 3 pounds of fat in a day so if it's up, it's just water. You may not have lost because you ate too much sodium or you worked out hard in the gym.

    Weight loss takes time. If you rush it, you'll set yourself up for disappointment and the very likely possibility of regaining. Take a deep breath, calm down and learn some patience...
  • Angmu7
    Angmu7 Posts: 23 Member
    First, you are not the number on the scale. The scale is a tool to use but does not define who you are or the work you are doing. If you do cannot look at the scale everyday without it changing your mood and mind set don't. Just stop. Remain focused on making better choices and keep going.

    There was a time I really felt connected to the scale when I would step on it would change my whole mood so I would just stop WI except for once a month. I needed that at that time. Slowly I saw I was much more than that number so I went to weekly...when I could live with what I saw with no mood changes I was golden.

    Currently I step on every single day because I like to see how food changes my results and make adjustments. Now when I step on I glance and never think twice about it after stepping off; my mood is not changed. Now if it is my 'official' day to record my scale results (Sunday Morning) I will look back at the week and decide what worked and what didn't.

    But don't give up and that scale is not who you are or what your doing. Better choices as you go along and the scale will catch up.
  • selina_kyle
    selina_kyle Posts: 18 Member
    I desperately need to resist the urge to weigh myself daily but I can't bring myself to get rid of my scale. Maybe I'll box it up or something and then unbox once a week or even once a month if I can go that long.
  • kbeech06
    kbeech06 Posts: 328 Member
    I do, even though I know I shouldn't. I don't let it really get me down though if it doesn't read the way I want it to. My official weigh in day is Friday.
  • celb500
    celb500 Posts: 76
    I weigh myself every morning before work.

    Avoiding the scale means I gain because i cant see how to adjust what im eating

    I used to avoid the scale so bad and never weigh myself or do it once a week but i forced myself for weeks until i became a habit so if im heavier than i want to be i nowknow i need to adjust some things so have a look at my diaries and decide whether i need to exercise more or eat less etc it gives me more control.

    Unfortunately we all get scale depression but doing a great work out makes me happier when i see a gain because i know itll come off.
  • fightininggirl
    fightininggirl Posts: 792 Member
    I was a major weighing addict. they do have a group called no scale challenge kinda of funny they ask you to weigh in.

    I took and hide the scale and focused on losing inches for quite awhile. I now weigh once a week.
  • lazykerry
    lazykerry Posts: 31 Member
    I weigh myself every morning just because I'm afraid not to. I've lost and re-gained weight countless times in recent years and I can always track the start of my weight (re-)gain to the day that I stopped stepping on a scale. It's too easy for me to eat recklessly if I'm not going to hold myself accountable with a weigh-in the next morning.

    The scale usually doesn't move or it moves in the wrong direction. I try not to feel too badly about it and usually put it out of my mind pretty quickly.
  • 78brownie_wechanged
    78brownie_wechanged Posts: 291
    I use to weigh myself twice a day now I weigh myself once or twice a month. The scale can be discouraging at times. I ended up focusing on the inches I'm losing alone. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.
  • nc805397
    nc805397 Posts: 223 Member
    I weigh myself 3-4 times a week. I like it! it keeps me motivated!
  • jfarnden
    jfarnden Posts: 27
    I tend to be every few days but i only log it around once a week. Its really important to remember that the scale fluctuates madly anyway. And not so much for men, but for women you may find you go up or down during "that time" or just before. Also if you weigh in after drinking a whole bottle of water that's going to change it too.
    A lot of people on here have said that measurements (neck, waist, hips) is a much more accurate way to measure and i tend to agree, i wasn't seeing a lot of shift on the scales for a while but overall the measurements were less.
    There's also the old "muscle weighs more than fat" so if you're doing regular workouts and you've gained for the week its not always bad (within reason of course).
    The main thing is whether I've gained or lost i'm making a commitment to trying to eat healthier overall. So don't stress too much over the scales if you're within your healthy eating and exercise goals because it will happen eventually.
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,923 Member
    I know this is a bit extreme, but I weigh in once a month. Weighing everyday won't make it come off any faster...

    Edit: Grammatical
  • morningmud
    morningmud Posts: 477 Member
    I only weight monthly, the weekend after TOM. That's the frequency I was told at a gym once and have just kinda stuck with that schedule.
  • jakidb
    jakidb Posts: 1,010 Member
    Do you weigh daily? Yes I do ...every now and then I don't but I do 99% of the time

    Have you ever weighed daily and stopped? Not intentionally Why? NA

    What do you think about my scale addiction? Nothing wrong with it except that it makes you upset so you may want to change your habit. If I see the scale has went up, sure, I'm disappointed BUT for me it helps me to take a look at what I may have done to cause the increase (i.e. what foods did I eat that i hadn't been or the amount of it I ate, etc.)
  • Routerninja
    Routerninja Posts: 201
    I used to, but I was making myself insane. I would be up 2, down 3, up 4, it always equated to a net loss, but the stress was killing me,. I am taking a 2 week vacation from weighing, and just focusing on my diet and after the 2 weeks are up, I will only weigh once a week.
  • BreeBears
    BreeBears Posts: 6
    Our scale sits on the floor in the hall between my bedroom/bathroom and kitchen/livingroom... I weigh myself every time I walk by it LOL Which equals up to like a gazillion times a day. I'm just starting out though so I know my muscle/fat is re-proportioning, I'm retaining water... and it's too soon to see any results whether they were going to be drastic or slow in coming.

    The numbers haven't change (past normal daily fluctuation) but that same number still looks amazing because I FEEL so much healthier already. As long as I keep those positive thoughts in my head... the scale is not my enemy. That's not to say in a few months if it [the scale] doesn't change it's tune that I won't take a bat to it =0)

    From what I've read... the numbers we should care about is the measurements... right?
  • Kerri_is_so_very
    Kerri_is_so_very Posts: 999 Member
    Weigh yourself at least 5 different times (morning, noon, afternoon, evening etc) in one day and then you will see just exactly how much your body can fluctuate within 24 hours. That should at least make you realize how silly it is to stress over a daily number (unless it is steadily increasing every day). Your monthly cycle will influence it, sodium intake, water intake etc. will all influence it.
  • JKayLaw
    JKayLaw Posts: 11 Member
    I weigh myself every morning when I get up. When I had a day or two that I wasn't doing my best, the scale shows me, and I know I better fix it before my "official" weigh-in day. :) It keeps me on track. However, if it is truly affecting your moods, I would cut down to one day a week. The stress that you are putting on yourself is keeping that weight on... true story. :)
  • CharlieBarleyMom
    CharlieBarleyMom Posts: 727 Member
    It is a double-edged sword. The happiness you feel one day may be taken away sharply the next.
  • babymama81
    babymama81 Posts: 12 Member
    I weigh daily and I know I shouldent, But I only let the number bother me (or thrill me) on my weekly weigh in day. I step on the scale every morning as a reminder of what I'm doing. It's the little start to the day that reminds me to make good choices. And if I did mess up and eat something stupid( like a whole box of samoas) I have the scale as my daily reminder to start fresh. And it's nice to have the scale tell me that my little slip ups don't cause me to gain 5lbs like I imagine they do. :)

    I love this post. A habit doesn't always have to be negative!
  • PeachyKeene
    PeachyKeene Posts: 1,645 Member
    Thanks everyone!! Everyone made great points. This is definitely something I am gonna have to give some serious thought. It is not fair to my family for to be so moody. Yet, I must keep myself in check.

    Thanks again!!!:drinker:
  • amandat_79
    amandat_79 Posts: 221 Member
    I was stepping on my scale daily but because it was a new scale and it weighed heavier than my old scale it just made me disappointed every time I stepped on it. So, I got my fiance to hide it from me and I'm going to wait until February 8th to weigh in again. Hopefully by then my weight will be down enough to look like a loss on my new scale and I can start weighing weekly.

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