10 Weeks Away From Home - Scale?!

badwolf4
badwolf4 Posts: 49 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Currently I weigh myself 1 time a week, and am considering switching to every morning that it's comfortable (entirely for more data points, not obsessing; I'm an extremely scientific person). I'm applying for a summer job that I'm hoping I'll get so much that I'm already trying to figure how to work calories.

The bad news: It's an summer family camp where I'd live there for 10 weeks. They feed me, well actually, I'll be working so I guess I'll be feeding me. But, meals are rushed and /good/ food (calorie dense, but clean) and family-style. So, I can't really count calories, except estimating, and that never ends well for me (I under eat).

The good news: I'll be on my feet dashing around a kitchen/ playing volleyball/ helping with god knows else 12+ hours per day. I have a fitbit One, so I can definitely count that.

The question: How do I monitor myself? I want a way to weight myself, but I obviously can't bring my own medical scale. I have had a very bad experience with digital, but am open to trying them again. I will bring a cloth tape measure, but that's not accurate enough for me, I want more 'real-time'.

Watered-down question: Any good digital scales? How/should I guess about proportions?


Thank you!!

((As always, feel free to add me! I always want new buddies))

Replies

  • Trukngrl
    Trukngrl Posts: 106 Member
    If the scale is such a necessary security blanket, I would bet that the health/nurse/doc area will have an appropriate scale to measure on. Even if not calibrated to your home scale it would give a reasonable window to hold yourself accountable to. Also, you could take this opportunity as a test of what you have learned. Nothing wrong with bringing your own measuring cups and portioning your food, looking silly looses weight. If that is not going to work for you make sure you are eating the 'right' foods and don't worry about counting, eat clean - stear clear of processed food and carbs. With the added activity you will probably end up ahead. 10 Weeks is a great opportunity to change your outlook on health, internal perspective, and mental fortitude. Good luck and best wishes.
  • aj7x
    aj7x Posts: 84 Member
    I am currently living abroad and I'm in the same position. I don't have a scale and I don't plan on buying one because my residency here is only temporary (3 month left). Fortunately, I have found this to be the best thing that has happened to me for weight loss. When I have access to a scale I tend to become obsessive and sometimes the scale can be very discouraging, which causes me to give up. Luckily they do have scales for public use in the pharmacy and I usually stick to weighing myself once a month. This way, I have always seen weight loss and I don't get discouraged. This is the longest time I have stuck to it and I truly believe it's because own a scale.
  • tpgordonnn
    tpgordonnn Posts: 1
    I've been in the exact same situation as you, last summer, and to say I was a complete nervous wreck was an understatement. I worked at a sleep away camp for 8 weeks and had absolutely no choice of my food intake besides on my day and nights off, which were quite limited as well. Since I had attended that camp as a child, I knew exactly what to expect for food choices. Clean ingredients, but also very calorie dense (high carb to fuel kids running around all day). I also have minimal access to internet/cellphone, so even estimating my calories on MFP wasn't really an option for me. So, I decided to buy myself a little notebook (food journal). Each day, I just wrote down what I had to eat. This helped put me at ease, a little bit.

    The above poster recommended that you bring your own measuring cups etc, but I would really not recommend doing that. I do not know what camp you will be working at, but I am sure there will be girls there who struggle with body image issues. Measuring your food out will only draw attention to yourself and could make your camper skeptical about their own body image like do they need to lose weight, count calories, watch what they eat etc. It's 10 weeks, it's not the rest of your life. You will be running around, so I really wouldn't worry all too much. Working at a a summer camp is a once in a lifetime experience and if all else fails, I am absolutely positive the health center (infirmary) has a scale. Good luck, and have fun! Calorie counting and MFP will be here when you get back, don't worry.

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