Anyone out there getting rid of the scale all together?

CaliDreams27
CaliDreams27 Posts: 34 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've gained and lost weight so many times over the years that i've lost count. This go-round though, I've been also trying to figure out the science behind it along with what motivates me and what crashes my efforts. I realized a few months ago that weighing myself more than once a week was DEFINITELY a major kill joy for me so I started weighing once a week......then once every 2 weeks, and I've come to realize that weighing myself PERIOD is a bad way to judge my progress. My weight fluctuates sooooo much and I can have an AMAZING few weeks feeling good and then weigh myself and BAM! Self esteem right back on the floor if the number I see is even a hair above where I think it should be, thus, killing all of my motivation and dropping me back into bad habits.

I've decided that I give the scale way too much credit and that I let it dictate my moods AND my motivation to the point that i'm sabotaging myself each and every time and i'm tired of it. All of this to say, I've decided not to weigh myself anymore but to use strictly measurements as a gauge of my progress along with the way my clothes fit. When things are falling off of me, thats when i'll step back on a scale, even if it takes months to get there.

Has anyone else made this decision? I feel like weight loss is MOSTLY about the number on the scale falling and I absolutely feel like an alien for making this decision lol Am I alone in this?

Replies

  • JDHINAZ
    JDHINAZ Posts: 641 Member
    I won't give it up all together, but I have put it away for this month. That really forces you to focus on what you're nutrition and fitness. I'm like you, I get to hyped up over the number on the scale, as opposed to my fitness level and nutrition.
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
    I cannot get rid of it altogether. It's one of several tools for me to stay on top of weight maintenance.

    However, I hardly ever weigh myself. I do if I'm feeling particularly lean or particularly un-lean...maybe once a month?

    These numbers matter more to me:
    The size plates I'm loading onto a barbell
    The reps and sets I lift
    The number of miles I run
    The size clothing I buy
  • kathleennf
    kathleennf Posts: 606 Member
    Actually I have thought about it but I have not done it yet. What I have done, though, is focus my goal on measurements rather than on weight. I really don't care what the weight is as long as the measurements head in the right direction. I started doing this because I travel a lot and was forced to live without a scale for weeks at a time- but it's really easy to pack a measuring tape.
  • hananah89
    hananah89 Posts: 692 Member
    I have my BF hide my scale and only bring it out when I do a monthly weight in at the end of each month. I was stressing too much over the scale not moving (because I started lifting weights). Pictures and measurements as well as how you feel are more important. For example: Since I had started lifting weights, I had no scale movement, no inches lost, and couldn't tell a difference in pictures, but I FELT so much better about myself. And then low-and behold I had lost weight at the end of the month.
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    I cannot get rid of it altogether. It's one of several tools for me to stay on top of weight maintenance.

    However, I hardly ever weigh myself. I do if I'm feeling particularly lean or particularly un-lean...maybe once a month?

    These numbers matter more to me:
    The size plates I'm loading onto a barbell
    The reps and sets I lift
    The number of miles I run
    The size clothing I buy

    Basically this.
  • kinzerbud
    kinzerbud Posts: 42 Member
    I just committed to not weighing for the entire month of August. I usually weigh several times a day...it's pure crazy. :)
    I'm working the process, tracking food, exercising, and I took my measurements. Hopefully this will get me off the emotional roller coaster that the scale is for me. Not ready to get rid of the scale all together, yet, though. Baby steps...baby steps. :P
  • dllewis7
    dllewis7 Posts: 33 Member
    You're both down a lot of excess pounds. Bravo! I've just broken a looooonnnnggg plateau that started when I started dissing my scale, not taking it so seriously. For me, that got me into a lot of trouble especially when stress hit my life.

    Now, it is perspective. Balance. I have to weigh daily (read Dec 2010 NYT's "The Fat Trap") but I only record it once a week. If I don't weigh daily, the job of getting my ultimate health is forgotten. However, the other things that happen when the excess comes off - like smaller clothes and shoe size, nice compliments, etc - are just as important because those other things could not come about without the regular physical fitness. A team effort. The scale is an important ally. A friend - who never lies. It's only us who attach all of the emotional baggage to it. . .

    Measurements are good too. A measuring tape, like you are going to use, is an objective and good friend too. Either way, we have to face the music honestly. If neither instrument shows a declining number, we are doing something wrong. I like the scale because it's quicker, but I do use the measuring tape once a month.

    -Debra
  • emzyloo88
    emzyloo88 Posts: 145 Member
    yup mine went today well the battery did :)
  • Nancy_AZ60
    Nancy_AZ60 Posts: 99 Member
    I think for you, if the scale is a real negative thing, use it once a month or 2 months. Then gage your success on how you feel, what your Doctors says and how your clothes fit, like how those old tight jeans are getting loose.

    I just dont see myself as fat.. in the mirror.. feel like I am a size 9, when I really am a 16. I measure my success buy my chloresteral numbers, they are dangerously high.. Since that directly corrilates to my weight I think I need to still use a scale. ( even though it has not MOVED in a month) Guess I need that daily shock of my real weight, get my rear in gear.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I weigh every day because it's a useful tool for me. The difference is though that I don't let that number determine my mood or self-esteem. I know my weight naturally fluctuates, so I also know there's no reason to let those fluctuations upset me.
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
    I got rid of my scale a year ago. I weigh myself on the scale at work, no more than every other week. Its one of those that does blood pressure and other health tests. When I go to the doctor, I make them not tell me what my weight is.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
    I like to weigh everyday because I'm the scientific type and I find the trending intriguing (yes, I'm a geek). But I also understand my body a lot more and have learned when I need to drink more water or eat less sodium because I can compare the number on the scale to my food diary. I also now understand the fluctations caused by TOM much more than I did.

    I only record twice a week here though, I keep my geek spreadsheet private:blushing:
  • kinzerbud
    kinzerbud Posts: 42 Member
    I weigh every day because it's a useful tool for me. The difference is though that I don't let that number determine my mood or self-esteem. I know my weight naturally fluctuates, so I also know there's no reason to let those fluctuations upset me.


    This is where I eventually hope to be. :)
  • Alisha28
    Alisha28 Posts: 406 Member
    I am for a few weeks I get obsessed with the number and if it does not change ruins my day so its hidden for a few weeks cuz nothing is making me steer away from eating healthy!


    I use to not be this way and hope to not be once again but for now its gone!
  • Nancy_AZ60
    Nancy_AZ60 Posts: 99 Member
    I like to weigh everyday because I'm the scientific type and I find the trending intriguing (yes, I'm a geek). But I also understand my body a lot more and have learned when I need to drink more water or eat less sodium because I can compare the number on the scale to my food diary. I also now understand the fluctations caused by TOM much more than I did.

    I only record twice a week here though, I keep my geek spreadsheet private:blushing:

    Me too !! have my spread sheets, & graphs. It's all in the stats/math (and TOM for you young women)
  • CaliDreams27
    CaliDreams27 Posts: 34 Member
    Thanks for all the insight guys! I guess my battle with the scale is wayyyy more emotional than most of you. Its a defense mechanism to stay away from it so i'm gonna do just that in order to improve my fitness WHILE listening to my body and how SHE feels:)
  • jenncalifornia
    jenncalifornia Posts: 3 Member
    If you have the time to watch this do so. He took the scale away when he realized it was not an optimal tool for her. Everyone is different. You've already done really well!

    http://watchabc.go.com/extreme-weight-loss/SH55124938/VDKA0_j3v5d0bg/alyssa

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