why is everyone so hung up on THE number?!?!

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  • BrennLinn
    BrennLinn Posts: 178 Member
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    Couldn't agree more! I stopped looking at the scale and started looking at how my clothes fit and how healthy I feel!
  • mmddwechanged
    mmddwechanged Posts: 1,687 Member
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    Good post op, it sounds like you have figured out what works best for you. I am one of those people who gets hung up on numbers, but it hasn't been detrimental for me so far. I hope I keep what you said in mind, however, if I ever start loathing myself in the future.
  • Christinamarie77
    Christinamarie77 Posts: 50 Member
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    There was a woman on here that posted she only lost 6 lbs since Feb, and then as an after thought mentioned she'd lost 13 total inches. I feel sad that that isn't viewed as a HUGE victory :(

    Inches are nice to lose...

    But the number on the scale is what my horse has to carry around when we go riding. To her... 40lbs or muscle... 40lbs of fat is still 40lbs. And while I am an excellent rider and she has no problem carrying me around... I still want to make her carry as little of me as possible. LOL

    Then your goal is to lose weight not build muscle, there is a very fine line in working out between the two things. more cardio, less weights and try cutting 100 calories out a day, see where that gets you and I can not stress enough WATER.
  • halflife1978
    halflife1978 Posts: 47 Member
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    I'm hung up on it because

    1. I know that I am going to be losing water weight as well as fat so 1 pound a week is too slow and not ideal.

    2. Tomorrow morning when I wake up, I'll still be fat. Next week too. Also, next month. I want to recover from the most disgusting part of it as fast as possible. At 220 I'm so far gone that it doesn't matter even if I lose a pound or two. It doesn't matter. I'm still fat. If I can get down to 150 by any means necessary then I will look partially acceptable, will feel better about myself, and can be more calculated in losing the final thirty-one.
  • Christinamarie77
    Christinamarie77 Posts: 50 Member
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    Good post op, it sounds like you have figured out what works best for you. I am one of those people who gets hung up on numbers, but it hasn't been detrimental for me so far. I hope I keep what you said in mind, however, if I ever start loathing myself in the future.

    I am one of those people that gets hung up on numbers, but now my numbers are in inches not lbs, yes I wanna drop approx. ten to fifteen lbs, but if I drop 9 instead and fit in my clothes that are 2 sizes too small then I still did it.

    I used to weigh myself every 3 to 4 days, all that does is discourage and set you up for failure. I do now once a week, same day and time AND measure myself. if you write down those numbers you will see a HUGE difference. I fight getting on the scale and hating that number BUT NSV are so much better for motivation and determination. Try it for 3 weeks. You will be a believer.
  • Roll_Tide_Meg
    Roll_Tide_Meg Posts: 255 Member
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    I will take up for them somewhat...it's scary when you step on the scale and see a number that is higher than you have ever seen it and you tell yourself okay I need to make this number go down. I see what you are saying but for me a few months ago was that time and I was scared to death of that number...I was teetering on 199.6....NOT HAPPENING! Every day I focused on that number till I got down to about 194.5 and that was just last week...now I'm not as focused because I'm a little ways away from that 200 mark. Now I am worrying about inches and the way my clothes fit better but give some of em a break at least for the first few starting weeks. :)
  • Christinamarie77
    Christinamarie77 Posts: 50 Member
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    I'm hung up on it because

    1. I know that I am going to be losing water weight as well as fat so 1 pound a week is too slow and not ideal.

    2. Tomorrow morning when I wake up, I'll still be fat. Next week too. Also, next month. I want to recover from the most disgusting part of it as fast as possible. At 220 I'm so far gone that it doesn't matter even if I lose a pound or two. It doesn't matter. I'm still fat. If I can get down to 150 by any means necessary then I will look partially acceptable, will feel better about myself, and can be more calculated in losing the final thirty-one.

    EVERY JOURNEY STARTS WITH A STEP. One pound is a step. Ideally the measuring helps at all times but yes being that heavy it is about the number on the scale for a while, but when you get there, closer to the end of the journey near you "goal weight" that's when the scale matters less and the inches matter more.

    You can do this, you are worth it, and if you fight for it you will feel so good.
    Try to stay motivated, and reach out when you are feeling like you wanna give up!!
  • redscylla
    redscylla Posts: 211 Member
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    There was a woman on here that posted she only lost 6 lbs since Feb, and then as an after thought mentioned she'd lost 13 total inches. I feel sad that that isn't viewed as a HUGE victory :(

    Inches are nice to lose...

    But the number on the scale is what my horse has to carry around when we go riding. To her... 40lbs or muscle... 40lbs of fat is still 40lbs. And while I am an excellent rider and she has no problem carrying me around... I still want to make her carry as little of me as possible. LOL

    This, too. I don't want to be a frail flower, but I would like to be light enough that I'm easy to carry on a horse or a motorcycle or in a man's arms. Why does the scale matter? Because my husband had to fireman carry me over the threshold on our wedding night. It was the only way he could pick me up and it was a close thing.
  • Buff2022
    Buff2022 Posts: 373 Member
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    In the beginning..the first month I was ALL about the number. Because that number motivated me to keep going. Now that I am in month 2. It is not about the number. I am enjoying feeling better, walking taller. I am now working to get into clothes that are a tad to small.

    I am about pushing myself to see what I can do. When I think what I have done in the last 35 days. I smile. Saying you can do it. Look at me and what I have done.
  • sunnyhlw77
    sunnyhlw77 Posts: 204 Member
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    I don't watch the number anymore. I don't even really look at the inches. I try on clothes (which I guess is kinda the same thing but without the measuring tape). I know what I want, its to be smaller and healthier. I don't mind losing the weight slowly, I've come a long way already and I intend to keep going. There are a lot of challenges I would like to accomplish again, things I did when I was a kid, I want to go hiking at the lake in the summer, I want to walk to the park, I want to bicycle around, I want to walk at Disneyland without feeling winded or my feet hurting, I want the energy. And you know what, I'm getting there, its taking time but all great things come with time! I foolishly sat on my butt for the last 20 years but NO MORE! It's time to live and embrace live. Live a positive life and not be so negative. Life is what you make it afterall! :happy:
  • vixtris
    vixtris Posts: 688 Member
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    I think people are hung up on the number because they dont know how many inches they need or want to lose. they would rather have the average measurements of a desired weight, which is easier to figure out than inches.
  • 1brokegal44
    1brokegal44 Posts: 562 Member
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    I'm ready to chuck the scale myself. I'm trying to re-train my brain to be happy with smaller everything (well duh!) and not worry about what the scale says. I feel and look better. I just have to keep telling myself that.
  • JDBLY11
    JDBLY11 Posts: 577 Member
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    I see so many people hung up on I only lost X amount of pounds in so many weeks.....and most will add that they have lost SO much in inches.

    It is only really healthy to lose about 1 lb a week, yes if you work hard you can and will lose more at first BUT it's not a race and everyone isn't the same. If you do it the wrong way and lose it too quickly, chances are you will gain some or more back soon enough. Slow and steady wins the race.

    I am a tiny framed 5 foot tall woman. the doctor gives me a goal weight of 115 to 125. That is WAY too high for someone who naturally weighed less than 100 lbs from 18 to 27 (I ate like a beast, and was very active) with a small build. I found the less active I was the more crap I consumed and after hitting about 32 years old....it all changed. I realized I had to maintain a health style of life, eating better, exercising etc. and I was reminded of that fact at least three times over the last 4 years. This time I had a bout of depression several factors happened at once to put me into it. Over the course of 10 months I had gained quite a bit of weight (for me).

    Ideally I'd love to be around or just under 110. BUT it's a feeling. Yes, losing a certain amount of weight is a huge thing but if I lost 13+ combined inches and went down 2 sizes but weighed more than my goal. I STILL WIN.

    It's a feeling. Being comfortable in your own skin. Wearing clothes that fit well sizes below your current one. If you get hung up on the number you may well get discouraged or start self loathing. Skip the scale and measure. It won't do you wrong. Because eventually you will stall and gain BUT muscle weighs more than fat therefore eventually the scale will not show you what you want but you are still winning. Your clothes and mirror and measuring tape won't lie!

    Well, some people have a lot of fat on their bodies so they need to see the scale go down. If you are a healthy weight range sure you don't really need to get caught up in the scale, but when you are like me and 150 lbs above what is healthy then you need to see the scale go down at a pretty rapid pace. I get demotivated if I lose too little, like under a lb. I am not willing to wait more than 2 to 3 years to get to a healthy weight range. And 125 at 5' is not too high of a weight. It is in a healthy weight range for your height according to the BMI. Of course, it is okay if you want to be lower on the BMI.
  • Terree_G
    Terree_G Posts: 69 Member
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    I want to thank the original poster and everyone who replied on this thread. What a healthy, lovely, refreshing, helpful exchange of ideas. So rare in these forums (I tend to avoid them like the plague, but the topic title caught my eye... heh.)

    T.
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    Socialization has trained us to look at the data, numbers, outcomes and set our goals for that. It is a good guide but isn't the whole story. So don't forget the numbers, but don't live by the numbers.
  • FlowersInTheDirt
    FlowersInTheDirt Posts: 124 Member
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    I used to be quite hung up on my weight but now as long as i lose the love handle and the jelly belly i'll be happy no matter what i weigh:smile:
    Reaching my goal weight would be awesome though :bigsmile:
  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
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    I think for a lot of people it helps to have a goal initially and then it becomes what you think about every week you lose and get a little closer or when discussing success with other people. It's easy to measure it when discussing it with others by having numbers.

    I agree with you though, it's definitely a feeling. Especially because a lot of people (me being one) get to their goal weight and aren't satisfied with how they look/feel about their body.
  • ShrinkingNinja
    ShrinkingNinja Posts: 460 Member
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    There was a woman on here that posted she only lost 6 lbs since Feb, and then as an after thought mentioned she'd lost 13 total inches. I feel sad that that isn't viewed as a HUGE victory :(

    Inches are nice to lose...

    But the number on the scale is what my horse has to carry around when we go riding. To her... 40lbs or muscle... 40lbs of fat is still 40lbs. And while I am an excellent rider and she has no problem carrying me around... I still want to make her carry as little of me as possible. LOL

    Then your goal is to lose weight not build muscle, there is a very fine line in working out between the two things. more cardio, less weights and try cutting 100 calories out a day, see where that gets you and I can not stress enough WATER.

    If I cut 100 calories a day... I would not be eating enough to cover my workouts. I have lost a lot of weight already. Just need to lose some more.

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