Attention Scale Addicts!

khannickwechanged · July 2013

I just came across this article and think everyone should read it:

http://everydaypaleo.com/attention-scale-addicts-part-2/

Certainly encourages me to either very much limit how often I step on the scale, or maybe even eliminate it altogether.

Vorenus85 · July 2013

khannickwechanged · July 2013

While I understand that point that's trying to be made, the pictures in the article feel like they were deliberately taken to appear as they do. In the left picture It's almost as if they snapped her in a dark room immediately after she'd gotten out of bed. And the right one was obviously taken with her in a well lit area that encouraged higher spirits. As a scale addict I'm probably bias, but I definitely feel good about my body going from 240 to 166 (current), even though I look more like the version on the left.

I'm a scale addict too, and I can relate to feeling good about the number going down. I just wanted to share the idea of maybe focusing less on that number (not even disregarding it completely, just not letting your world revolve around it) and more on inches lost and fitness accomplishments.

RAGGEDYANN1970 · July 2013

i think it's a good idea in theory, but some people NEED to lose weight (like me) and i think the scale can be a healthy way of measuring how well i'm doing. if i was in poor shape & physically unfit but didn't need to lose weight, then this article would be right on track.

TFS

ChristinaOrtiz23 · July 2013

damn, block site at my job ugh!!! im soooo a scale addict, wanted to ready it!!!

astartig · July 2013

I am definitely an advocate of ditching the scale but for totally different reasons than he puts forth. I also don't like the way he uses loaded language to try and make his point. oh so salesman'y.

the picture on the right also looks like he said, suck in your gut for me..

while the scale can be reaffirming, I think it can also be a *kitten* who says nasty things to you and talks you into picking up a cake and eating it whole.

three scenarios. you're doing really well, stuff is melting off you so easily so you're like, oh.. well one slice of cake won't hurt. a slice a day won't hurt.. and all of a sudden you're completely off your diet and gaining again.

second scenario.. weight isn't budging but your clothes are looser. you are still focusing on the weight and get discouraged and give up.

3rd: plauteau weight loss slowing down signifcantly.. give up.. without scale you don't know it so keep plugging on. It will pass..
This is the only controversial point in my mind. There might be action that can be done to help move the plateau if you know it's there for sure.. But I think I'd notice if no effect were there at all and probably alter things.

I have to weigh that against the first two points. For me the scale is a negative feed back instrument. I obsess on it. it's better ignored. I have spent years on a scale.. no more.
I'll know I am there when my size 4's fit again.

If the scale isn't there with it's insidious feedback you are in the dark on that point (exact weight) and don't focus on it. (at least true for me) Clothes fit better yay! does that mean scale budged or not? Who knows! Better keep plugging on.

grimm1974 · July 2013

I weigh everyday. I don't think the article does anything to steer me away from it. I think a vast majority of people who are actually tracking their weight understands the density of muscle is greater than the density of fat. If you are within 10-15 lbs of your goal weight, maybe you want to ignore it. However, for people beyond that the scale tells a lot unless you happen to be doing some extensive strength training.

thrakena · July 2013

If you've ever looked at the tricks used to take before and after photos commercially, you'll know that photos like that can actually be taken within an hour of each other. That may or may not be the case with this set of photos. But just like anything, a scale is a tool. Personally I want to reach a specific weight. My fitness levels are actually very good and I tend to build muscle more easily than most women. Carrying an extra 40 pounds of stress on my joints is NOT good. Without weighing in frequently, I'd have no idea if I was progressing towards that goal weight.

UnicornBaconsEsq · July 2013

I take my measurements every other week but I weigh myself nearly every day first thing in the morning on a Withings Wi-Fi scale. Not only does it sync to their site, but to MFP and an app I have on my phone. You will get my scale when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands. I am not going to stop weighing myself every day either, which is another thing you're not supposed to do. Not even when I get to my goal weight.

For one thing, the app graphs my weight over time. Although I'm fully aware that my weight will fluctuate on a daily basis, having a historical record of my weight plotted out in front of me has been invaluable in troubleshooting my diet and what causes me to gain, lose or plateau. If I see myself increasing steadily and it's not for the obvious reasons of too much food, too much beer or too much sitting on my fat *kitten*, I can log my food and exercise for a few days to help me figure out why.

I am not focusing on the precise number on the scale, but rather that my weight is following a good downward trend over time. And yes, I also need to lose some pounds. Even if I was solid muscle at the weight I'm at now, I would be enormous. Likewise, if I get my body how I want it to look but I don't hit my goal, I'm not going to kill myself to get the exact number. That's why I also use the tape measure and take front/back/side pictures every so often too.

Tracking on the scale is one more thing I've been doing that has helped me be successful at finally losing some weight and keeping it off so far (down about 20, kept it off since the end of last year and I'm just starting to lose again). This is the first time since I got fat (so years) that I haven't lost weight and then gained it all back right away.

I am one of those people who doesn't pay much attention to what I look like or how my clothes are fitting, so I have a tendency not to notice I'm gaining weight until I've gotten pretty fat already. It helps to see my weight visually represented. I have slacked off at times, but seeing that curve start going the wrong direction always snaps me back into line before I go to far off course.

Attention Scale Addicts!

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