a tiny rant....

BobbieLee1959
BobbieLee1959 Posts: 605 Member
in Motivation and Support
Okay, for those who know me, this may seem a bit out of character (or not, depending on our sleeping arrangements~ask my hubby and you will get a completely different story!). This morning I have to rant...you see, I am the Eternal Optimist, I am your biggest fan, your cheerleader, the one who runs beside you on the tready at the gym when I am dying and says, "Come on, let's chase zombies for a change!" all the while, sweating like a pig on the chopping block...yeah...whatever the cost, I will pay it to help keep YOU going...

This is a trait I have always had and I thank my mom and dad for passing this on to me!

K---the rant:

My bathroom scale is getting under my skin...It's readouts fluctuate like Grandpa's heartrate at a girly bar! Seriously....last night~and I know I shouldn't weigh at night or even daily, but I did, so there! Last night...I literally was up 6lbs from a previous weigh in...the scale has been climbing and people, I am doing all the right things....I exercise, I eat right, I watch you all losing 1 and 2 lbs a week and I sit here flirting with the same dastardly 3-5 lbs that I have since before Christmas...I am starting to lose my patience...sooooooooooo....when I got up this morning and weighed myself...back down below 330...okay, gotta love that, but how can it be???

I move the scale a tad bit and climb on again...now I am 231.5....UGH! This is annoying, but I am thinking...okay maybe a few dust bunnies have collected around the feet of my scale...Turned him up on his bottom~low and behold, 3 of his little feet are dust bunny encrusted...okay...that is the prob. I remove the bunnies, dust the floor and replace the scale to it's proper home. Let me mention that I also wiped the scale with a damp cloth, just for good measure.

I step gingerly on the scale once more and you will not believe what I saw!? Oh, the optimist in me would love to say that scale cooperated beautifully and I am now weighing the svelte 225 that my actions have earned, but NO! This scale (which consistently defies me)...reads.....104.8. To my tired eyes, this looked like 1048, not 104.8. I muttered to myself, "Obviously your life is over scale, today you get replaced."

Alas, it is only as I sit typing this, that I realize, in my vigorous dust bunny eradicating wipe-down, I must have switched the units button from lbs. to kg....

Giddy, I run to the bathroom to look...YEP...that is exactly what happened! YAY! I am not going crazy after all!!

So, I switch it back, set it on the floor, and step on...I have now dressed for my workout and the rotten thing states..."Hey PORKY, you now weigh 232.5!"

Folks, I am seriously getting frustrated here...I don't know what more I can do to get this scale to go DOWN!

TODAY is Friday...my resolve is FRESH! This weekend I will INDULGE (in exercise) and keep eating (CLEANLY)! NO junk food shall pass between my lips or over my tongue and on Tuesday when I weigh in~~I will be THINNER than 232.5 in workout clothes in the early morn! This is my rant...and to quote my all time favorite actor, Tom Hanks, in one of my all time favorite movies, Forrest Gump, "That is all I have to say about that."

Thanks for listening and happy losing!♥
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Replies

  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,733 Member
    - bad battery
    - old scale
    - water retention
  • rougecrayon
    rougecrayon Posts: 100
    How often do you weigh yourself?
    I got caught up on the scale not too long ago, and found I was up or down up to 7 lbs in a single day!
  • jenniferwren
    jenniferwren Posts: 189
    my scale is a bit like that! rant away xxxx
  • joro0404
    joro0404 Posts: 20
    ~I was having similar troubles when my scales give me different weights if i placed them in a different position.
    I got weighed on a set of scales i know are calibrated regularly ( at GP surgery) and went home to weigh myself in the same clothing, placed my home scales in different rooms on different floor surfaces until I found one giving me the same weight as the GP scales. I now consider this to be an accurate weight 'station'. I just need to make sure i put the scales away when we have company :-).
  • cjlorigan
    cjlorigan Posts: 209 Member
    Mine was an old battery and uneven bathroom floor. I could move the stupid thing around the bathroom 5 different places and get 5 different readings. I replaced the battery and it's better. Not perfect (stupid floor), but now I just pick whichever number shows up most. :laugh:
  • Graceious1
    Graceious1 Posts: 716 Member
    I fell out with my scale and haven't seen it for about a month. Scales are not your friend during weightloss.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    This is a tiny rant?
  • scottdeeby
    scottdeeby Posts: 95 Member
    You mentioned that you used a damp cloth....are you sure the water evaporated off the scale before you tried again? Water weighs a lot ; )

    You know you're awesome, right?
  • danzlake
    danzlake Posts: 6
    The best gift I have ever given myself was a balance scale. The kind you used to see in doctors offices. With the sliding weight on the arm, you know what I mean. I got mine right out of the Sears catalog 20 years ago. The great thing is that once you balance it to zero, it weighs accurately, every time, without fail. Here's an example. http://www.amazon.com/Health-Meter-Physician-Balance-Scale/dp/B0009MFUZY

    Good luck!

    Reid
  • otterish
    otterish Posts: 50 Member
    Scales lie. Have you taken measurements?
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
    If you haven't made any progress since before christmas, then there's something wrong with your method.
  • deniseblossoms
    deniseblossoms Posts: 373 Member
    You must break the bond. It might be hard but could you put your scale away for 1 month? On the first of the next month weigh yourself 1 time, then pick the scale up and put it somewhere safe. Take some measurements and tuck them away in a safe place. Snap a picture of yourself, don't even have to share with anyone. Repeat this process 1 month from now.
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    I have totally been there, except that my scale has been known to say, "One at a time, b*tches!"

    I have stopped worrying about what the scale says, as long as the measuring tape numbers are consistently lower.
  • thingal12
    thingal12 Posts: 302 Member
    I have totally been there, except that my scale has been known to say, "One at a time, b*tches!"

    :laugh: :flowerforyou:
  • BeccaBollons
    BeccaBollons Posts: 652 Member
    I have totally been there, except that my scale has been known to say, "One at a time, b*tches!"

    I have stopped worrying about what the scale says, as long as the measuring tape numbers are consistently lower.

    Love it!!
    And totally agree of course. Use a tape measure to measure progress. My scales lie to me on a weekly basis (or I fluctuate wildly) but the INCHES are coming off- and that's what affects your jeans size!
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,654 Member
    My digital scale is on crack most days, so I keep my old analog scale beside it and use it to confirm my weight now. The digital one has almost been drop-kicked across the bathroom on more than one occasion. Get you a regular spring scale (unless you want to pay for a pro balance scale, which would be so awesome), and you will save yourself so much grief!
  • Geojerm
    Geojerm Posts: 291 Member
    I'd like to suggest that you should also calibrate your scale occassionally ( put something on it that you know EXACTLY what it weighs, say... a 10LB weight - and adjust the dial accordingly - it's not a perfect calibration, but will do for a home scale)

    Just my two cents .... (<---will that expression die now that we don't use pennies in Canada??)
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    Just my two cents .... (<---will that expression die now that we don't use pennies in Canada??)

    :laugh:



    I can relate to scale wars. After losing every week at a decent rate of between .5-2 lbs. per week, I have been going through a plateau for a couple weeks. I don't take measurements because I don't lift (yet - will try it when my knees get fixed), so a decrease on the scale, however small, is the only thing that keeps me hanging on for now. It is my master, I am its slave. I hate this relationship. We need to break up. :smile:
  • kit_katty
    kit_katty Posts: 992 Member
    Two things, how's your sodium and why in the world are you weighing yourself in the evening? The best time is first thing in the morning after going to the washroom, you're as low as you're going to get for the entire day! I can easily be up a good 5lbs in the evening from the same morning... even if I'm hungry and feeling empty.
  • MsipiGRITS
    MsipiGRITS Posts: 128 Member
    Whoops!! A little computer problem double posted... :blushing:
  • MsipiGRITS
    MsipiGRITS Posts: 128 Member
    Just a little tip from some PhDs regarding our love/hate relationship with our scales. If you are addicted to your scale and are compelled to weigh daily (mememememe), a good rule of thumb is to first weigh at the same time of day and under the same circumstances (e.g. w/o pjs after morning potty break... haha) then average all of those daily weights and use that as your weekly 'true' weight, as your weight WILL fluctuate daily due to many factors. Then, you can average your weekly 'true' weights and see what your monthly weight is.... This is a more accurate picture of where you are over time... It also takes some of the stress out of the fluctuations you might see daily so you don't obsess over it.... Just MHO, so always check it out for yourself! :o)
  • nannyal
    nannyal Posts: 50
    You have got yourself in a right two and eight. Maybe the scales need new batteries or just throwing away. You have done marvelous so far. :ohwell:
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    of course your weight is different at night and in the morning... that happens to EVERYONE...

    and of course you weighed more when you were dressed... (though i am of course presuming you weighed naked ot start with)

    new batteries, then weigh 3 x and take an average. and only do it once a week or less!
  • imchicbad
    imchicbad Posts: 1,650 Member
    Everything about this post screamed "RUNNNNNNN FOREST...... RUNNNNNNNNN"

    So I'm going now. You've answered all your own questions ( get a new scale) except one..... And I'm going to listen to JENNY now... This is too much to early. A bit of advice to the OP. post your stats, and we can give better advice. Without that we just comment on your OCD.
  • ZumbaLin
    ZumbaLin Posts: 87 Member
    Thanks for a smile. it's always better to laugh than to cry. The scale - baaah!!! I get addicted to it and it sure isnt always our friend. I always put mine in exactly the same spot. I like the measurement thing - that doesnt lie..
    That little baby will finally move again.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    I actually wrote out last weeks weigh-ins, because I weigh daily too, simply because I find the fluctuations interesting.

    Wed 13th - 248.8
    Thurs 14th - 247.8
    Fri 15th - 247.4
    Sat 16th - 244.8
    Sun 17th - 246.6
    Mon 18th - 248.6
    Tues 19th - 247.8
    Wed 20th - 247.4

    As you can see, I ended up losing 1.4 lb at the end of the week on my 'official' weigh in day, but I got as low as 244 and then 'put on' almost 4 lb of that as the week went on. Your weight loss in never linear.

    If you are the sort to obsess over the scales, don't weigh daily, weigh weekly. And weigh at the same time!
  • BrenWOW
    BrenWOW Posts: 95
    My digital was throwing out random numbers in the bathroom- it was driving me crazy! So I put it on the kitchen floor, which is linoleum( not grout grooves like in the bathroom- maybe it was uneven), and it is fine now. So there it sits, in my kitchen, which is great when I want a snack- I have to pass by the scale to get to food! Lol
  • shelleyjo1970
    shelleyjo1970 Posts: 23 Member
    I have your scale... Or at least its evil twin. LOL. I am an addict when it comes to weighing myself. Just keep doing what you are doing and you will get there. Shelley
  • letbc
    letbc Posts: 27 Member
    I have totally been there, except that my scale has been known to say, "One at a time, b*tches!"

    :laugh: :flowerforyou:

    hahaha! Do you go to a gym? Can you weigh there just once a week?
  • BobbieLee1959
    BobbieLee1959 Posts: 605 Member
    K, all~~thanks for your comments :) I could easily try and address them all, but I won't. My rant was just that, a rant. I am well aware that in order to lose weight, I need to make changes in my methodology (Thank you to the poster who shared this bit of wisdom).

    Currently, I work out 5 times a week and I mix it up~cardio and weights (usually weights on Tue and Thur and cardio M-W-F, unless I do it the other way~sometimes I even do both in the same 24 hours~~GASP!). If you are on my friend list, you know that I am dedicated and am most always under or just a tad over on calories. I have MFP set to lose 2 lbs a week and at first the weight was coming off great guns~now not so much.

    Since Christmas, I have not lost weight, but lots of my friends and co-workers think I look slimmer and fitter and I can feel a difference in my clothing, my rings, my shoes, and most importantly my body composition. I have not taken measurements, but I am fitting nicely into a 16, down from a men's slack size 46 in one year.

    So the skinny of all this is: I am comfortable in my skin and continuing to log foods and activities. I also bought an HRM just last Saturday and discovered that my calorie burns at the gym are about 1/2 what I thought according to this. I have been eating back my calories according the machines, so this means these have been off for a very long time! No wonder I am not losing!!
    I have adjusted my intake accordingly and I do expect to see weightloss results over the next few weeks as a result of more accurate logging.

    And just for the person that asked if this was a "tiny" rant~if you know me at all, and I know that you don't (so you are excused), you would realize that the title was tongue-in-cheek.

    My tiny rant was written more to entertain and encourage than to complain...I love MFP and all my friends here and seek those moments you share that help me to relate to the fact that we all are working for a common goal and we all face struggles on the way.

    If my post encouraged you, GREAT! If not, I am sorry, please do not offense as it was meant in fun. For those who shared advice, thank you. I have and will consider any responses that might help me reach my goal. Negative comments will be ignored, just because THAT is the choice of the eternal optimist in me :)

    I hope everyone hits his or her goal for the day and may you be blessed with the body you are striving for!!

    Hugs to you all!

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