my new plan is to weigh only once a month.

I think its a great idea,I am doing the same this month as weighing myself every week only brings discourage

It is a great idea- if you can hold out and not take sneaky peeks! We women fluctuate SO much that we look like we've put weight on at certain times of the month, but if we weighed before the bloat begins, we'd feel like we are seeing great progress each month, rather than the down, down, same, up, down again pattern we get!

when you are weighing yourself every week it can be very discouraging if you haven't lost anything.

I disagree. It all depends on how you choose to think about that inside your own mind. It is possible to have an attitude shift.

When I see a gain or no loss, I tell myself that it's just a shift on water weight. I remind myself that "some weeks you lose weight and some you lose millimetres". This makes me GLAD to see the scale not move and I imagine myself having lost 2mm all over, and smile.

When I see a gain or no loss, it spurs me on to be even stricter with my diet. It's a battle - me versus the scale. I'm going to keep on being super strict until I force those scales to go down.

Works for me.

YMMV.

I weighed every morning up until about 6 weeks ago. Mostly to assure myself that I wasn't back sliding. Now that the weight is coming off at a slower pace, I am weighing once a week, also to keep track of where I am.
Once a month would be too long for me. Weighing more often lets me know that I am going in the direction that I want to be going.

Has anyone else done this? Did it help or was it too hard? Thoughts? I don't habeas a scale at home right now anyway.

Doing that is okay if you stick rigidly to your calories and do not veer off and also that you know for definite that your daily calorie allowance enables you to lose weight.

However, if you are prone to cheat days etc, you may find that weighing once per month is not a good idea because you will be unable to see if you put weight on or stay stagnant until that month is up. At least with once per week weighing, you can keep your eye on it all and adjust accordingly.

I agree with this!! This is what I normally do - but since I have been in The Biggest Loser Challenges, I've had to weigh myself once a week (I go to my docs office to weigh myself cause it's most accurate and I don't want a scale). When I am done with the biggest loser challenges, I'll go back to weighing once a month as that is when I see the best results (honestly!)

I think WAAAAAY too many people get focused on the scale weigh (HAHA) too much and it can actually (in my opinion) discourage you to the point of giving up (watched too many friends with that fate due to their obsession with scales and numbers).

But keep in mind, what works for me may not work for others. This is just my opinion

Has anyone else done this? Did it help or was it too hard? Thoughts? I don't habeas a scale at home right now anyway.

Doing that is okay if you stick rigidly to your calories and do not veer off and also that you know for definite that your daily calorie allowance enables you to lose weight.

However, if you are prone to cheat days etc, you may find that weighing once per month is not a good idea because you will be unable to see if you put weight on or stay stagnant until that month is up. At least with once per week weighing, you can keep your eye on it all and adjust accordingly.

I partially agree to both of your posts. Weighing once a week made me realize that I needed to change my caloric intake to around 1660 calories instead of nearly double that (based on my stats here on mfp). So it's good to find a caloric intake that enables you to lose weight first.

The phrase "cheat days" should be banished. It makes people feel guilty for indulging once in a while. I say if you are going to have a treat, make it a CHOICE not a CHEAT. Consciously make that decision. There is no rule book that says you cannot have a chocolate bar or cake or chips or something once in a while, as long as it's not every day and you actually do think of it as a treat. I find for myself, it's best if I enjoy a couple cookies or something once a week because it PREVENTS me from binging when stressed, depressed or just for the heck of it (obviously not everyone has this issue lol).

Imagine if you only weighed once per month and you lose nothing doing it that way either, that would be even more discouraging. However, if you had continued to weigh once per week, you would have been able to adjust your calories and exercise in order to continue losing.

Now, with this post, I have to say it is not MORE discouraging. If you are REALLY eating clean and exercising according to your goals for weight-loss and you HAVE been losing, maintaining or gaining a little bit isn't such a huge deal by the end of the month because A.) Muscle weighs more than fat and it's VERY possible that you've gained muscle while shedding fat B.) If you measure yourself and you find you maintain or gain a little, it's again, VERY possible you've lost inches. The scale number is not the only number that counts, but obviously is an important number nonetheless. But it's not everything.

For example, when I lost 115 lbs between 2011-2012, there were a few months where I didn't lose any pounds, in fact I even gained up to 7 lbs in one month and instead I lost 12 inches around my body and my legs were more toned. Perfect example.

Losing weight is a numbers game, but most importantly you have to watch what you're eating & actually DO the work and exercise, and I strongly encourage people to keep their measurements per month as well as your weight because you will notice a difference in one or both of them!!

Hi there,

Sounds like a good plan to me.

I am also doing no scale March as I only have 10lbs to lose (currently 142lbs) and so seeing a lose of 0.2lbs or even nothing each week has been demotivating me! I know I am eating really well and exercising 5 times a week or more so I have decided to give the scales a rest and use the mirror and tape measure to track my success as that is what really matters right. We're all doing this so we look good and feel healthier, not for a number on the scale.

Let's do this

HERE HERE!! Good luck to you on your last 10 lbs!! I hear those are the hardest pounds to lose! :flowerforyou:

I ONLY weight once a month anyway, as my scales at home are broken and I see a dietician once a month and she is the only one who weighs me and I trust her scales.

You've convinced me to join in the weigh & measure once a month. I have been doing a sneaky weigh each morning, but will accept the challenge to hold back for March. Had a new gym assessment at the weekend - want to see what impact the changes will make.

Thanks for the inspiration!

For me, personally best practice is to weight-in every morning after I gas been to toilet, so it very well reflects my progress and it's additionnal motivator to keep it going, but if I am doing wight-ins like once a week, I time to time get sloppy, dont control myself so much, PLUS its so much easier to know if I am on right track and that I should change in my eating habits or workout program.

That's good that you know what works for you, but please just keep in mind if you are weighing daily that even water can make us weigh more or having that time of the month will make us bloated and such too, so don't be too hard on yourself if your weight does go up a bit because within a day, peoples weights can fluctuate from as little as 1 lb to 4 lbs easily in a day. (I tested it on myself a few times haha) <--- i know im a weirdo) Haha

Imagine if you only weighed once per month and you lose nothing doing it that way either, that would be even more discouraging. However, if you had continued to weigh once per week, you would have been able to adjust your calories and exercise in order to continue losing.

Now, with this post, I have to say it is not MORE discouraging. If you are REALLY eating clean and exercising according to your goals for weight-loss and you HAVE been losing, maintaining or gaining a little bit isn't such a huge deal by the end of the month because A.) Muscle weighs more than fat and it's VERY possible that you've gained muscle while shedding fat B.) If you measure yourself and you find you maintain or gain a little, it's again, VERY possible you've lost inches. The scale number is not the only number that counts, but obviously is an important number nonetheless. But it's not everything.

For example, when I lost 115 lbs between 2011-2012, there were a few months where I didn't lose any pounds, in fact I even gained up to 7 lbs in one month and instead I lost 12 inches around my body and my legs were more toned. Perfect example.

Losing weight is a numbers game, but most importantly you have to watch what you're eating & actually DO the work and exercise, and I strongly encourage people to keep their measurements per month as well as your weight because you will notice a difference in one or both of them!!

Thank you, that was what i was trying to say!! And i do believe everyone is different and different things work for different people. This works for me and i am happy to weigh once a month and not get fixated on the number on the scales!!

:happy: :flowerforyou:

Hi there,

Sounds like a good plan to me.

I am also doing no scale March as I only have 10lbs to lose (currently 142lbs) and so seeing a lose of 0.2lbs or even nothing each week has been demotivating me! I know I am eating really well and exercising 5 times a week or more so I have decided to give the scales a rest and use the mirror and tape measure to track my success as that is what really matters right. We're all doing this so we look good and feel healthier, not for a number on the scale.

Let's do this

HERE HERE!! Good luck to you on your last 10 lbs!! I hear those are the hardest pounds to lose! :flowerforyou:

Thanks! Yes, it is just vanity now but hey, even if I don't lose the weight, if i look good in my jeans and I'm making healthy choices I'm happy

Stress is a diets worst enemy as it causes the body to release a chemical that makes us hold on to weight. Therefore, I have just chosen to take a more relaxed attitude and remember that it is not a race, it is how I want to live my life from now on and so thinking positively and making good choices will get me there in the end.

Good luck everyone at the no scales challenge. You'll feel better for it, promise

Hahah Yeah, exactly! I think we all start saying "I want to lose ___ pounds so I can look good" but then with time it changes a long with our attitudes to "I want to lead a healthy lifestyle" and doing just that will take the pounds off regardless if trying or not - and of course help to maintain! :bigsmile:

Ugh, I've been sooo stressed lately, I totally know that feeling. I feel bloated and not hungry a lot of the times and it used to be that I would BINGE on everything around me even though I wasn't hungry and I'd gain a ton of weight, but as of the past few months, it's been the opposite where I don't eat and I'm losing weight, the unhealthy way. Mind you, weight fluctuates and I've seen a couple ups, more down losses than gains... I need a good way to de-stress.. I used to be so good at it, now, not so much. Any ideas?

VIRTUAL HIGH FIVE!!! ^5

I have recently made the transition from being weight obsessed with daily weigh ins, to weekly, and now to fortnightly weigh ins, with the aim to do monthly (it's hard for me to let go of the scale!)

I go by how my clothes fit, and what my husband says - he's very good at noticing my weight loss

And the best thing is, you don't ask yourself "where did 2 kgs come from in the last 24 hours???"

Yes, the way clothes fit is a good way to judge too!!