Putting away the scale

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SashPar5
SashPar5 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone here let the scale control your emotions about weight loss? I find myself obsessing over the scale, if I don't see change I get depressed/discouraged. I know that the scale won't go down when you're gaining muscle, but when I weigh myself and see the numbers stay the same or go up I give up stop dieting and start eating like crap. I know my body is changing, I feel it in my clothes. I know i'm losing inches but not actually getting lighter. Finally, I decided that my scale and I have an unhealthy relationship. I had to put them away for good. Every now and then I temp myself with getting the scales out again, but I have to stop myself because I'll just be setting myself up for failure and I do not want to fail.

Replies

  • socajam
    socajam Posts: 2,530 Member
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    Anyone here let the scale control your emotions about weight loss? I find myself obsessing over the scale, if I don't see change I get depressed/discouraged. I know that the scale won't go down when you're gaining muscle, but when I weigh myself and see the numbers stay the same or go up I give up stop dieting and start eating like crap. I know my body is changing, I feel it in my clothes. I know i'm losing inches but not actually getting lighter. Finally, I decided that my scale and I have an unhealthy relationship. I had to put them away for good. Every now and then I temp myself with getting the scales out again, but I have to stop myself because I'll just be setting myself up for failure and I do not want to fail.

    Welcome to my world, decided to finally give up my unhealthy relationship also and focus on how my clothes fit - it was driving me insane.
  • AnIrishLibra
    AnIrishLibra Posts: 54 Member
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    Yes!!!I actually gave up weighing myself for Lent. I had my boyfriend hide it on me. It's only been 8 days... I feel like i'm going cray! LOL.

    Focus more on body fat % over weight. I take measurements once a month and track my change. Seeing the change in the negatives is a GREAT feeling. But I'm refusing to let my relativity to gravity, control how I feel. (something my BFF always says)
  • mandi272
    mandi272 Posts: 32 Member
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    Yup same way. Scale goes up i pig out.l, scale goes down I'm happy. So i haven't weighed myself in a cpl days and I'm only gonna weigh myself once a month!!
  • LightersUp
    LightersUp Posts: 36 Member
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    You're not alone. I weigh myself every single day 3 times a day to see if the numbers are going up or down. If I see them going up, I get discourage and come up with the excuse like "Might as well eat junk food since I'm not losing any weight". But right now I have to put the scale away since I'm getting started with exercise and I drink a lot of water, plus I'm sore so that all adds up to weight gain but it's for temporary only. Instead of a scale, I would use a tape measure for measuring your waist. Idk where to get one though? Lol
  • trizzletrix
    trizzletrix Posts: 92 Member
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    I completely get where you're coming from. It's easy to let those numbers rule your life when in fact they shouldn't be the focus at all!

    Yes it's nice to lose and see that number drop but we should be focusing on INCREASING stamina, endurance, muscle etc. And we should measure our success in how we feel, and our bodies changing :D

    I'm trying at the moment to go from weighing myself (multiple times) daily to once a week.
  • aribugg
    aribugg Posts: 164 Member
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    I get depressed looking at my scale... I know exactly how you feel. im a little different though, if i dont see any change i'll give up. so even if the scale tells me im stuck in one place or even gain, i'll keep going. probably go harder.

    Either way, do whats best for your journey! good luck!
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    I would use a tape measure for measuring your waist. Idk where to get one though?
    Any fabric store would have one. Or if you order from Amazon, then they have body specific ones that you can do as order add-ons if you are ordering enough.
  • funsteps
    funsteps Posts: 74 Member
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    I've struggled with the scale forever. I would be doing really well with eating well and working out, then as soon as I stalled on losing weight for a few days, I would get very discouraged and end up giving up. I just started using MFP again, but I'm doing everything I can to stay off the scale! I absolutely want to lose weight, but I'm also trying to undo years of bad eating habits and I'm focusing on that to try to change my mindset about this being "worth it" to help retrain myself. My goals are based more around clothes at this point... Getting into a pair of jeans that's a bit too tight, zipping up a jacket that used to fit well, etc.
  • ShellyAnn46
    ShellyAnn46 Posts: 212 Member
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    I let go of my scale over 6 mos ago. And it sits right in my bathroom. I decided no more was a hunk of metal parts going to place value in my life.
    I am aware of food choices, amount of activity and make the most healthy decisions I can in situations.
    Break up with your scale :)
  • sweetage123
    sweetage123 Posts: 100 Member
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    You're not alone. I weigh myself every single day 3 times a day to see if the numbers are going up or down. If I see them going up, I get discourage and come up with the excuse like "Might as well eat junk food since I'm not losing any weight". But right now I have to put the scale away since I'm getting started with exercise and I drink a lot of water, plus I'm sore so that all adds up to weight gain but it's for temporary only. Instead of a scale, I would use a tape measure for measuring your waist. Idk where to get one though? Lol

    I got mine in the "sewing and crafts" section of Walmart. I think I've even seen them in a similar location in a grocery store!
  • SpencersHeart
    SpencersHeart Posts: 170 Member
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    I was kinda down this last weigh in (on the scale) because it showed that I hadn't lost my goal of 1 pound a week. I've been pretty consistent losing weight since Jan.

    Then I took my measurements and Viola! ... 2 inches off my hips and 2 inches off my waist since I started the calories in vs the calories out method.

    My mood went sky high :)
  • Sugarbeat
    Sugarbeat Posts: 824 Member
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    I'm constantly bothered by the scale and I lower and raise my calories based on it regardless of how illogical that is. I recently set my calorie goal according to a formula in NROLW and put the scale away because I need a starting point. In four weeks I plan to weigh and measure myself again and then re-evaluate my calories.
  • dollfc61
    dollfc61 Posts: 3 Member
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    I need to put away the scale too. Need to get a tape measure instead. I just feel good after I have exercised, that helps motivate me also.
  • Lives2Travel
    Lives2Travel Posts: 682 Member
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    Anyone here let the scale control your emotions about weight loss? I find myself obsessing over the scale, if I don't see change I get depressed/discouraged. I know that the scale won't go down when you're gaining muscle, but when I weigh myself and see the numbers stay the same or go up I give up stop dieting and start eating like crap. I know my body is changing, I feel it in my clothes. I know i'm losing inches but not actually getting lighter. Finally, I decided that my scale and I have an unhealthy relationship. I had to put them away for good. Every now and then I temp myself with getting the scales out again, but I have to stop myself because I'll just be setting myself up for failure and I do not want to fail.

    Yes, but my reaction to the number on the scale is different than yours. If I lose, I'm motivated to do more. If not, I'm pissed and motivated to do more. For me it's a Win/Win.
  • klyn7788
    klyn7788 Posts: 52 Member
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    I think there's some value to frequent weigh ins, but it's so important to not let it affect how you feel about your progress. I've found it really helpful to realize that I can gain five pounds after a long weekend away and helps me eat more mindfully, even when I'm cheating. Generally, I don't count weight loss until I've seen the number three or four times and I work really hard to not let a moderate fluctuation (3lbs or so) get me down. There's definitely a fine line between using it as a tool and letting it be some type of hindrance.
  • GuyIncognito123
    GuyIncognito123 Posts: 263 Member
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    I would use a tape measure for measuring your waist. Idk where to get one though?

    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=printable+pdf+ruller
  • amatolauren
    amatolauren Posts: 57 Member
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    i dont weigh myself at all, but im not telling you to do that... let like limits and it will be hard but stick with them ... weigh yourself only like once a month or every 2 weeks. .and maybe it will help you, your perfect size sasha :)
  • yolohunter
    yolohunter Posts: 79 Member
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    Oh yeah I needed to see this forum today! I KNOW I'm not supposed to care what the scale says, especially on a daily basis and when I've started exercising more and am sore, but I just can't help but get discouraged when I see a higher number on the scale. For me I know I need to weigh myself everyday though because when I avoid weighing myself it usually means that I'm in denial about weight gain or my habits and weighing myself everyday keeps me accountable, focused and away from slipping due to denial. I just need to not allow the number to affect me so much!!
  • Susan2BHealthier
    Susan2BHealthier Posts: 130 Member
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    I get depressed when I weigh myself more than once a week. I have stuck to 1200 calories daily for the past month, but if I weigh more than once a week I might be up 2 lbs in a day and it ruins my day ( that happened today) . Then I try cutting calories under 1000 to see if that works. It doesn't. In the past, being obsessed with the scale has led to me ditching my healthy diet plan when I hit a plateau, and ending up on a binge.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I sucked it up and it's made my relationship with the scale much better... Once you realize how it works, you're not that upset if you gain or don't lose.

    My bad relationship with the scale starts when I don't use it for too long... I don't want to have to wait until my clothes get tighter to know I need to be more careful.

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