I know I'm crazy, but just indulge me...

So, if anyone on here is familiar with my posts, I'm kind of obsessive compulsive crazy and don't really know how to do anything in moderation. Because of this I only weigh in once a month to keep from getting too obsessed with the scale. In the last month, I have started lifting heavy and have been working out in general a lot. I have also been trying to eat more calories and get up to what most people on this site would consider a healthy amount. Because of all of these changes, I am kind of scared to weigh in. My weigh in day is tomorrow morning and I really don't know what it's going to say. My rational mind tells me that because of all of these changes I might even see a gain on the scale and that that is ok. That I know that I'm in better shape and that my body is definitely losing inches, but I know myself and I know that a gain is going to mess with my head a bit. I was just wondering what I could do today and tomorrow before weigh in to get the best looking number on the scale. I know, I know, anything I do now will just be water weight or not real because it is impossible to lose any real weight in a day. I just want the best chance of not having a horrible weigh in tomorrow. I'm trying to appease my already sometimes fragile state of mind when it comes to this... So, obviously I should try to stay away from the sodium today and not eat a bunch of food late at night... Would working out tomorrow morning cause my weigh in afterwards (I weigh in at work on one of the scales here at the hospital) to be higher or lower? How about working out tonight? I lifted last night and just did cardio this morning. Should I try to get a few more sessions in? I know you are all reading this thinking I am nuts...and I am... I just want the scale to say the lowest number possible tomorrow for my own mental health. I don't need anyone to be mean to me or tell me to "chop off a limb" or anything. Once I weigh in, I am going to continue on my path. I'm just afraid that if the number is really bad I am going to revert to some of my old not so healthy ways and I'm trying to avoid that as much as possible.

Replies

  • AuntieKT
    AuntieKT Posts: 235 Member
    : /
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
    If the scale is worrying you so much (even after a month of not weighing) maybe just don't weigh at all and continue to do what you are doing?
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
    P.S. The *kitten* scale can go take a hike. I'm basically stuck at the same weight bouncing around even after working my *kitten* off. I'm not going to worry about the number because I feel so much better!
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    So don't weigh in.

    How do you feel in the last month? Do you feel a little tighter, a little more defined? If yes, then the last month was a "win".
  • Measure yourself instead... Worry about those numbers not the scale!
  • therayeraye
    therayeraye Posts: 17 Member
    Strong muscles can be weighty :D Focus on how you feel and forget the number. One number can't adequately reflect how your body is proportioned and how you're rocking it. Keep being awesome and your body will show it :)
  • calihoya
    calihoya Posts: 80 Member
    Same here. ^ I saw that instead of trying to physically prepare for the scale, mentally prepare for it. Like you said, you've been doing a lot of hard work that may not translate to a lower number on the scale. I've been doing the same as you (upping cals while exercising more and lifting) and the scale has been all over the place, but now steadily going back down after a few weeks of being +2 pounds from where I had been. I would say, go into your weigh in with an open mind just to see where you stand but let your NSVs count for more than this weigh in.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    So, if anyone on here is familiar with my posts, I'm kind of obsessive compulsive crazy and don't really know how to do anything in moderation.

    For some reason, that first sentence, along with the avatar, made me laugh!

    Seriously, though, just weigh. It is what it is. Once you get that number, try to figure out if it makes sense. What I do is take my calorie log from that time period and get a total number of calories eaten and subtract my total number of calories burned and convert that number to pounds of fat and see if the weight difference is close.

    If it isn't, no biggy. Figure out why and fix it. If it does match, you're awesome!
  • dietstokes
    dietstokes Posts: 216 Member
    I agree. Don't weigh in then. How do your clothes feel? How is your energy level? Do you take measurements? Have they changed at all? Nothing you do tonight will have any impact on your weigh in tomorrow. You've basically already answered your question in your original post.
  • Panna9406
    Panna9406 Posts: 92 Member
    I was and still am "afraid" of the scale... I only measured myself, because I recalculated my TDEE and needed my exact weight. But I think that it's much better to focus on your measurements and if you must weigh yourself, than get over it in the morning.
  • 1shauna1
    1shauna1 Posts: 993 Member
    If your clothes are the same/looser, then you're doing great! I think this first time stepping on will be scary, but don't panic. I'd bet you've even lost a few pounds (muscle continues to burn calories after a workout, so even if you're eating more, it's getting used in good ways).
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
    Stop weighing and start measuring.
  • daj150
    daj150 Posts: 815 Member
    Measure yourself instead... Worry about those numbers not the scale!

    ^^ This!

    Also, the clothing test works well, and so does the mirror...although, my mirrors make me look like a bloated beached whale...they are out to get me...conspiracy!!!!
  • bugaha1
    bugaha1 Posts: 602 Member
    So, if anyone on here is familiar with my posts, I'm kind of obsessive compulsive crazy and don't really know how to do anything in moderation. Because of this I only weigh in once a month to keep from getting too obsessed with the scale. In the last month, I have started lifting heavy and have been working out in general a lot. I have also been trying to eat more calories and get up to what most people on this site would consider a healthy amount. Because of all of these changes, I am kind of scared to weigh in. My weigh in day is tomorrow morning and I really don't know what it's going to say.

    Thanks for finally saying this story doesn’t have an ending till tomorrow so I could stop reading. =)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    If the scale is worrying you so much (even after a month of not weighing) maybe just don't weigh at all and continue to do what you are doing?

    This ^^ Get a tape measure and measure your success in inches rather than lb/kg.
  • richiefixo
    richiefixo Posts: 104 Member
    I say you weigh in once a week and dont sabotage yourself the day before by eating salty foods or having a mini binge....i am exactly like you are and i find that weighing in once a week and sitting down to analyse what i did wrong or right in that week gave me a better judgement of my progress. All in all...you have lost over 100lbs and YOU ARE A SUPERSTAR! so dont even let a couple numbers take that away from you!

    goodluck! x
  • Also keep in mind that if you trick the scale (and your brain truly works the way you described), then you won't trick yourself. Lets say you were going to weigh in 1 lb heavier. But today you do a bunch of tricks to drop water weight, and tomorrow you show a 5 lb loss. Are you really going to just be ok with the 5 lb loss and not question it? Or are you going to hide away in the back of your mind doubting it was because of your hard work?

    I am the type of person that overthinks everything. My solution? Weigh myself every day, morning and night. Then, at least, I see a trend that I can analyze. It may seem like total torture to some, but in a way, I have desensitized myself to the scale. You learn a lot about your body when you weigh often and heavily analyze food intake. I no longer have questions about how my body reacts to cardio, weight lifting, sodium, carbs, etc. I know that fluctuations (sometimes dramatic) are quite normal. I have come to the point that I take the number on the scale as a "clue" to what my weight is really. I can't imagine only weighing in once a week, or even once a month, and taking that number to be THE measurement of my success.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Throw away the scale.
  • princessdracos
    princessdracos Posts: 125 Member
    Same here. ^ I saw that instead of trying to physically prepare for the scale, mentally prepare for it. Like you said, you've been doing a lot of hard work that may not translate to a lower number on the scale. I've been doing the same as you (upping cals while exercising more and lifting) and the scale has been all over the place, but now steadily going back down after a few weeks of being +2 pounds from where I had been. I would say, go into your weigh in with an open mind just to see where you stand but let your NSVs count for more than this weigh in.

    This, plus what the others have said about measuring progress in other ways! I weigh almost daily, and the numbers have not moved a lot the past couple of weeks. What helped me not obsess over the scale today was standing in front of the mirror and flexing to make my boobs bounce. :smokin: This is a huge departure from my previous habit of obsessing over the number on the scales! Keep up the hard work...you're doing an amazing job!
  • Tdaughtersmom
    Tdaughtersmom Posts: 38 Member
    Boy do I ever hear you and feel your pain! I tend to be obsessive about the number on the scale too. Here's what changed my attitude...
    My trainer told me that stress releases some sort of brain chemical that causes weight gain. That 'stressing about what the number shows' may keep you from losing. That sounds crazy to me... doesn't make sense, but anyway...

    She said... don't do anything different... except do NOT weigh until I 'spring it on you'. I used to weigh daily, and on some days, like the day before my diet day off... I would weigh hourly. So I did what she said. At first, I stressed anyway, thinking that maybe this was the day she was going to weigh me... but after a while, I just relaxed.
    Do you know that the day she DID spring it on me was the day after a diet day off? I was down 4 lbs from last weigh in!
    It's hard not to stress about scale number. It's a hard mindset to change.
    Good luck on your weigh in. Private message me how it goes...
  • KJGrimm
    KJGrimm Posts: 6 Member
    Weigh in first thing in the morning. After you go potty :-) and before eating or doing anything else! Also, wear the same thing every time. I strip down to nothing when I weigh in.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    If the scale is worrying you so much (even after a month of not weighing) maybe just don't weigh at all and continue to do what you are doing?

    This ^^ Get a tape measure and measure your success in inches rather than lb/kg.

    Another vote for this. The scale does lie.
  • AuntieKT
    AuntieKT Posts: 235 Member
    Just an update for everyone that posted yesterday... The scale showed that I weigh three pounds less than four weeks ago! With all of the changes that Ihave made in the last month, like eating more and lifting heavy and a lot, I will take it!
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    Just an update for everyone that posted yesterday... The scale showed that I weigh three pounds less than four weeks ago! With all of the changes that Ihave made in the last month, like eating more and lifting heavy and a lot, I will take it!

    Awesome! See.. trust your routine!
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    and by the way... CHECK OUT THOSE GUNS!