Scale obession/anxiety

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MegJo
MegJo Posts: 398 Member
in Motivation and Support
Does anyone else become really stressed out the night before they weigh in? My boyfriend thinks I'm nuts. :noway:

I weigh in on Mondays, however, I start becoming overwhelmed around Thursday. I've lost 12lbs in the roughly 70 days that I've been using MFP. Some weeks I lost 2 or 3lbs and some weeks I lost nothing. I even had the dreaded gain of a pound one week. I'm proud of my 12lbs, don't get me wrong. My clothes, especially jeans, are starting to be looser in certain areas, and my face has thinned out a bit. So this is all great, right?!?! Except I can't get over the frickin' numbers on the scale!!!

Because of my anxiety I changed how I weighed in. Although I only count Monday, I also get on the scale on Saturday. I use Saturday as a marker to see where I'm at. The theory was that if my weight is down it keeps me motivated to keep going and if I'm up (or the same) it allows me to mentally prepare for Monday. This whole thing went out the window because now I just "check" on Wednesday, and Thursday, AND Friday basically I'm now weighing myself everyday which I know some people do, but I'm making myself CRAZY!!!:sad:

I guess I'm just overwhelmed and obsessed with the scale, its like nothing else matters. I'm particularly dissapointed this week becaues I kicked *kitten* this week. I was under my calorie/fat goals everyday AND I exercised 5 out of 7 days. I really wanted to get a great week in before Thanksgiving so it would give me motivation to keep it up and use portion control and exercise during the holiday week. BUT my check in(s) this week show me UP 3lbs!!! I kept waiting for it to drop but just this morning I'm up 3lbs from last week?!?! I'm horrified and totally deflated. I was just not expecting this. I'm hoping for a miracle.

The number on the scale is what I think about going to bed, when I wake up, when I'm showering, in the car, at work, while I'm eating.... I don't know how to stop. I want to enjoy this weight loss journey. I'm experiencing all sorts of new food and new ways to eat. I don't want to be wrapped up in a black and white version of sucess/failure.

Phew.....well if you made it this far thanks for reading my rant.... :blushing: Anyone else suffer for scale obsession/anxiety? Anyone overcome it or have some tips to get my mind to take a break?!

Replies

  • rtrautmann
    rtrautmann Posts: 57
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    I'm trying really hard to weigh myself only on Wednesdays ... which used to be Mondays... which used to be Fridays.. which used to be Thursdays. You get the picture.

    I weighed in tonight, cause I know I've been doing horribly this week and was curious to see if it really affected me.
    8 pounds heavier than my last weigh in - bogus, completely, and ridiculous.
    Especially since I'm all about the numbers. I'm a little freaked, but trying to stay calm.

    You're not alone!
  • Tabs_A
    Tabs_A Posts: 69 Member
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    I weigh myself everyday...sometimes several times a day.I'm obsessed with it, but I use it more for following the trends in my weight loss. Try not to let the numbers in between actual weigh in days get to you too much. I've had weeks were my weight will go up and by the time weigh in day comes it has dropped again. If need be maybe have someone hide your scale on you and only give it to you on your weigh in day if you are worrying too much. Good luck!
  • jenna_watsonator
    jenna_watsonator Posts: 99 Member
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    girl, i totally know how you feel. except my reaction is the exact opposite...i want to stay away from the scale! haha
  • lisarazz79
    lisarazz79 Posts: 13
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    if you are weighing yourself at diffrent times of the day or after a workout you will see a bigger number most of the time...you have to weigh yourself w/the same conditions even if you weigh yourself everyday it has to be the same conditions!! an hour or 2 can be a big diffrence..it could be an extra 8 oz of water you drank,it could be closer to time of needing to move your bowels it could be the close you are wearing ...
  • songbird121
    songbird121 Posts: 3
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    I used to really worry about the scale, but I have switched to using measurments and amount of minutes of cardio I can do without falling down instead of pounds. I started doing this because of the fact that the numbers of the scale can go up and down sooooo much so often. Since weight can fluctuate up to 5 lbs in the course of a day, even when I was weighing at the same time there were insane differences that didn't make any sense with the way my clothes were fitting or the way I felt. Mine was probably because of the fact that I don't hydrate consistently so some mornings were different than others. There is also the fact that I have been gaining muscle mass from working out, so there have been times that even when I am losing fat I am gaining enough muscle that it makes the number on the scale go up.

    So I started doing measurments of inches in my trouble spots. I my waist, right under my belly button, the spot on my upper back that weight gain makes squishier, and the widest spot on my upper thighs (those are the places I tend to hold weight, and that get tighter first when I start getting too big for my clothes). I then put those measurments into the notes of the day that I take them. The rate of change is different, and I only do measurements every two weeks. I like this one becuase it doesn't punish for pounds gained in muscle, and the longer window means fewer days where there is the anxiety moment.

    I also like to keep track of how many minutes of cardio I can do, and how much weight I can lift. It has been so satisfying to realize that I can now do 20 more minutes of cardio than I used to be able to. And on days where my workouts are short that I can go faster than I used to be able to (I also keep track of how fast I go on short days where I only have 30 minutes no matter what).I like doing these because it takes the focus off the numbers on the scale and puts them on a measurment that makes me feel strong.

    Maybe if you don't want to give up the scale entirely you can do one or both of these in addition to it. But if the scale is causing you so much grief, I say put the thing in the closet and forget about it for a couple weeks. If you stay within your calorie goal and workout, you will get healthy and strong and lose some fat lbs. See if you can stick to your healthy life plan without weighing yourself for two weeks. I bet you can do it, and you may realize that the scale isn't as powerful as it seems to be. Take the power back!! :)

    Good luck!

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