Scale Obsession

I am trying to get past my scale obsession. In the past it has been really counter-productive. If it was down, I would be so happy, if it was up, discouraged.

I would take great lengths to get a good reading:

Always weighing in naked
Preferably after a BM
First thing in the morning'
Before Eat
Without my glasses and watch on

That's obsessive.

How do you fight this? My plan is to only weigh in at the doctor's office and in regular clothes, but already I can hear the wheels turning which tell me that winter clothes and shoes are going to be heavier than summer clothes. I hate feeling scale anxiety.

Replies

  • weeziebeth
    weeziebeth Posts: 168 Member
    I think so many here can relate. I don't know how you get past it other than by just doing it. Some have continued to weigh daily with a daily tracking program and seem to feel they are not so taken back by daily increases or decreases but have a visual for the overall trend and that seems to help.

    I am in the preop stage and have made a very intentional decision to weigh myself only at the time of my monthly nutrition appointment-am I wholly successful at that? No-my most recent appointment was yesterday and I found myself weighing Wednesday and Thursday to get a better idea of what the Friday number would be. Then I wore scrubs to work that day (I hardly ever wear scrubs) because they would be the lightest weight clothes-so, I feel ya! I was looking at the weight print-out when I got home yesterday and it had all kinds of information on it that not only included fat and muscle mass but also clothing weight and a 'physique rating?' That is one smart scale-have no idea how that works. I will say that the weight attributed to my clothes was 2 lbs which was pretty accurate.
  • homerismyhero
    homerismyhero Posts: 204 Member
    Guilty. I weigh myself every morning. For me though, I feel it's about accountability. Same reason I log everything I eat and weigh and measure most if my food. It is obsessive- but that's what it takes for me not to rationalize that a huge portion was normal or that my clothes were not mysteriously shrunk in the wash.
  • ATXHeather
    ATXHeather Posts: 218 Member
    I weigh every morning but only in the morning. But I only "count" my Monday weigh-in. For me, this is helpful because I know when I'm having a stall or having a good week and I can prepare myself for what to expect on my official weigh-in day. I did have my kids hide my scale after surgery because I knew the water weight would bother me.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    I am trying to get past my scale obsession. In the past it has been really counter-productive. If it was down, I would be so happy, if it was up, discouraged.

    I would take great lengths to get a good reading:

    Always weighing in naked
    Preferably after a BM
    First thing in the morning'
    Before Eat
    Without my glasses and watch on

    That's obsessive.

    How do you fight this? My plan is to only weigh in at the doctor's office and in regular clothes, but already I can hear the wheels turning which tell me that winter clothes and shoes are going to be heavier than summer clothes. I hate feeling scale anxiety.
    Actually, I don't find that obsessive. I find it accurate. This is your medical dry wt. I always tell the pts. Weigh first in the morning naked after you pee and before you shower. This is the only accurate wt of the day. That said i usually only look at Sunday mornings wt. I weigh 150 but the scale goes up and down about 4 lbs during the week. If I hit 155 I cut intake and increase activity and I am usually back on track in 24 hrs
  • shonrecio
    shonrecio Posts: 89 Member
    I weigh every morning but only in the morning. But I only "count" my Monday weigh-in. For me, this is helpful because I know when I'm having a stall or having a good week and I can prepare myself for what to expect on my official weigh-in day. I did have my kids hide my scale after surgery because I knew the water weight would bother me.


    I can relate. I do the same thing. I weigh in every morning but only count my Thursday weigh in. I have to do it in order to stay accountable. In the past I didn't and ballooned up to 354lbs so now even with the sleeve, I weigh in each day so that I can see my progress or lack of progress, but I let my clothes tell me the truth. I haven't logged any lbs lost in a few weeks but my size 20's are loose and i'm in a tight 18 pants and a 2x/20 shirt is loose, so I know progress is being made. Good luck and you will find a balance.
  • Thaeda
    Thaeda Posts: 834 Member
    I weigh every couple of days-- always before I get in the shower. I try to keep conditions the same so I get an accurate reading.
  • I've been using Trendweight (which I really wish integrated with MFP!). I weigh myself every day just as you describe, put the weight into a Fitbit account (or you could use a wifi scale) and what Trendweight does is it smooths out the ups and downs and helps make sure your weight is going in the right direction. I think it's a rolling average of your weight. It's really nice and weighing every day doesn't make me crazy.

    https://trendweight.com/

    Here's my dashboard if you want to check it out: https://trendweight.com/u/9cd3547a9d934f/
  • juliebccs
    juliebccs Posts: 233
    You said in the past it has been counter productive for you so yes maybe you can find a variation by weighing every second day and reducing it in this manner. It might help to set an achievable goal, then reset it as time goes by.
    However I am definitely scale obsessed. I worried for a little while about it but then realised that it keeps me on track. If I stall I turn up the patience. If I go up a little and it hasn't gone after a few days, I make a change by increasing or decreasing something.
    I am pretty obsessed though and can weigh myself every time I go to the bathroom at home. I still have not found a consistently lowest time of the day.
    I always try to weigh after waking, after peeing etc,,and always before showering. I always weigh after a bm because it generally
    shifts and makes me happy.
    I do not care about the Dr's scales because regardless of clothes and shoes etc, it still wont make their scales on par with mine anyway and after over 90 pounds,,,what is a few pounds to them anyway? There is always variation between scales. They have their records based on their scales and I go by mine on a daily basis.
    No my body weight scales are a tool that I make use of in the same way I use food scales, or treadmills or even my sleeves.
    Just part of the big package for me. One day I might get over it but for now,,,,,happy enough to undress several times a day and weigh in.
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,890 Member
    The scale makes me crazy sometimes. The first few months post surgery, I only weighed when I went to my follow up appointments. Now, I only weigh myself every two weeks. As long as I know I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, and the scale is going in the right direction, it works for me. Maybe when I am in maintenance mode I might weigh myself every week, but I just don't like to let that number control me. Yes, I need that number on the scale as part of my checks and balances, but weight can fluctuate for so many reasons, especially for women, and I want to make sure my checks and balances are balanced!
  • pattycakes726
    pattycakes726 Posts: 348 Member
    I weigh first thing in the morning (in my pj's) and last thing before I go to bed (also in pj's). I count my morning weight, but weighing at night helps me understand my body's fluctuations. I can be as much as 3 lbs more at night. For me, weighing daily keeps me accountable. In the past, whenever my diet went off the rails, I quit weighing myself. That was my pattern for years and always led to regaining whatever I'd lost. So, even if it's obsessive, I'm going to weigh in twice a day :)
  • katematt313
    katematt313 Posts: 624 Member
    I've been using Trendweight (which I really wish integrated with MFP!). I weigh myself every day just as you describe, put the weight into a Fitbit account (or you could use a wifi scale) and what Trendweight does is it smooths out the ups and downs and helps make sure your weight is going in the right direction. I think it's a rolling average of your weight. It's really nice and weighing every day doesn't make me crazy.

    https://trendweight.com/

    Here's my dashboard if you want to check it out: https://trendweight.com/u/9cd3547a9d934f/

    This sounds awesome. I am going to look into it!
  • katematt313
    katematt313 Posts: 624 Member
    I weigh myself everyday, at the beginning and at the end of the day. I'm not obsessing about it, just trying to get an idea of how my weight is trending, and how my weight looks on a "good day", a "normal day" and a "bad day" in the evenings. It is more about educating myself.

    If you truly feel that weighing yourself daily is obsessive for you, then try to set some parameters for regular weighing, and stick with them.

    We are all different. Daily weighing, in itself, is not a bad thing. If it is counterproductive for you, then do something about it.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
    I was told to weigh no more than once a week. I can do that most of the time, but when I'm not losing, like right now, again (!), I weigh more often. I always weigh first thing in the morning after I pee for consistency. I do occasionally get obsesive about it and then I ask my husband to hide the scale for a week or so.

    My doctor said our focus should be a healthy lifestyle as well as weight and he didn't want the focus to be solely on the number on the scale.
  • bikrchk
    bikrchk Posts: 516 Member
    I weigh naked, before breakfast after... etc as well. The difference is that I made a deal with myself to weight once per week, always, AND NO MORE! It really helps with the obsession and motivates me to make the most of the one weigh in I get per week. Our focus needs to stay on or lifestyle. I understand that so much better now that I'm in maintenance. That scale is not supposed to be moving now. I need other things to get jazzed about besides a number on the scale.