Irrational fears of things increasing the scale number.

pinkpixies
pinkpixies Posts: 277
edited September 19 in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone else have irrational fears of things making the scale number go up? (I'm not talking body fat...but just things that may make the scale number go up a tiny little bit and not give an accurate weight.)

Like...I'm afraid of dry skin not being removed will make the number go up...so I scrub and scrub and scrub until my skin is red and sore. :embarassed:

I also shave off all body hair...even my arms...b/c hair has to weigh something!

I'm afraid to put on lotion b/c it will seep in and make the number go up. (but I force myself to anyways b/c my skin gets so dry and cracked. :frown: )

I keep my nails as short as possible, to avoid adding extra weight to the scale.

I brush and floss before weighing myself in the morning. (my offical weigh in...the rest of the day's weigh ins don't count-officially, at least...)

I take off all my clothes, my ring and hair tie...before weighing myself.

Am I a total loon? :embarassed:

Replies

  • pinkpixies
    pinkpixies Posts: 277
    Does anyone else have irrational fears of things making the scale number go up? (I'm not talking body fat...but just things that may make the scale number go up a tiny little bit and not give an accurate weight.)

    Like...I'm afraid of dry skin not being removed will make the number go up...so I scrub and scrub and scrub until my skin is red and sore. :embarassed:

    I also shave off all body hair...even my arms...b/c hair has to weigh something!

    I'm afraid to put on lotion b/c it will seep in and make the number go up. (but I force myself to anyways b/c my skin gets so dry and cracked. :frown: )

    I keep my nails as short as possible, to avoid adding extra weight to the scale.

    I brush and floss before weighing myself in the morning. (my offical weigh in...the rest of the day's weigh ins don't count-officially, at least...)

    I take off all my clothes, my ring and hair tie...before weighing myself.

    Am I a total loon? :embarassed:
  • MarineBugler
    MarineBugler Posts: 34
    This is not meant to be rude however, I had some of those behaviors a couple of years ago when I was diagnosed with an eating disorder. I'm not sure how your food intake is but I've been there.

    :\ I'm sorry you're going through that. But honestly, none of those things will make the scale go up. )hugs(
  • pinkpixies
    pinkpixies Posts: 277
    This is not meant to be rude however, I had some of those behaviors a couple of years ago when I was diagnosed with an eating disorder. I'm not sure how your food intake is but I've been there.

    :\ I'm sorry you're going through that. But honestly, none of those things will make the scale go up. )hugs(

    I'm *recovering* from bulimia...but the thoughts are still there, obviously. Will they ever go away?
  • MarineBugler
    MarineBugler Posts: 34
    This is not meant to be rude however, I had some of those behaviors a couple of years ago when I was diagnosed with an eating disorder. I'm not sure how your food intake is but I've been there.

    :\ I'm sorry you're going through that. But honestly, none of those things will make the scale go up. )hugs(

    I'm *recovering* from bulimia...but the thoughts are still there, obviously. Will they ever go away?

    Oh gosh, I'm sorry to hear that. I am also a *recovering* bulimic. Personally (and from what my psych has said) I think the thoughts will always be there. I don't think the behaviors have to be though. Maybe one day you could take everything off but maybe leave your hair band in... then the next day everything off but don't exfoliate etc. Sometimes self remedies like that can do the trick..

    I just recently got to the point where I weigh myself only twice a day (!!!) In the morning and in the evening. What I did was after I weigh myself in the morning I put my scale in my closet then went to work and didn't get in back out until it was time for bed. Of course, there are times at work where I pass by a scale and jump on it out of habit but I tell myself that weight doesn't matter... just the morning and evening.
    My goal is to weigh myself once a week :\ Still working up to that, though
  • sculley
    sculley Posts: 2,012 Member
    I am sure with time and training yourself to eat, and be healthy it could. I don't know what to say and I dont want to give you any bad advice and I know there are a few of the girls on here that have had the same problem you had (the eating disorder) that might be able to help and give you some loving advice all i can do is say I am praying for you :heart:

    I hope you get to feeling better *hugs*
  • pinkpixies
    pinkpixies Posts: 277
    This is not meant to be rude however, I had some of those behaviors a couple of years ago when I was diagnosed with an eating disorder. I'm not sure how your food intake is but I've been there.

    :\ I'm sorry you're going through that. But honestly, none of those things will make the scale go up. )hugs(

    I'm *recovering* from bulimia...but the thoughts are still there, obviously. Will they ever go away?

    Oh gosh, I'm sorry to hear that. I am also a *recovering* bulimic. Personally (and from what my psych has said) I think the thoughts will always be there. I don't think the behaviors have to be though. Maybe one day you could take everything off but maybe leave your hair band in... then the next day everything off but don't exfoliate etc. Sometimes self remedies like that can do the trick..

    I just recently got to the point where I weigh myself only twice a day (!!!) In the morning and in the evening. What I did was after I weigh myself in the morning I put my scale in my closet then went to work and didn't get in back out until it was time for bed. Of course, there are times at work where I pass by a scale and jump on it out of habit but I tell myself that weight doesn't matter... just the morning and evening.
    My goal is to weigh myself once a week :\ Still working up to that, though

    Some days I am able to not weigh myself...but it's very very hard...like I can't stop thinking about it...and if I do go a while without weighing (say more than 24 hours) I'm so afraid to weigh myself b/c I won't know what to expect the number to be. LOL I don't like surprises! I was able to go until late afternoon today without weighing...and then was pretty happy with the number b/c after eating and drink, it was lower than I expected. :smile:

    I'm not supposed to weigh myself at all though...supposed to just trust my eating disorders nutritionist to tell me if I've gained. (but I'm pretty sure she lies. :angry: )

    Have you been IP? If you have, what hospital(s)?
  • MarineBugler
    MarineBugler Posts: 34
    Oi >_<

    They don't lie! I prooooooooooomise you :flowerforyou:

    No, I've never been in IP. I sort of tried to ''handle it on my own''.


    ...that's working our greeeeeat....:grumble:
  • pinkpixies
    pinkpixies Posts: 277
    Oi >_<

    They don't lie! I prooooooooooomise you :flowerforyou:

    No, I've never been in IP. I sort of tried to ''handle it on my own''.


    ...that's working our greeeeeat....:grumble:

    I tried the handling it on my own for years...then it just got to the point it was taking over my life. (purging up to 10 times a day.) So I looked into OP treatment...and they said right away that I was too sick to be treated there and I had to either go into the hospital, or they weren't going to help me there and I'd be on my own again. I guess my labs were bad and stuff. :embarassed:
  • pinkpixies
    pinkpixies Posts: 277
    I am sure with time and training yourself to eat, and be healthy it could. I don't know what to say and I dont want to give you any bad advice and I know there are a few of the girls on here that have had the same problem you had (the eating disorder) that might be able to help and give you some loving advice all i can do is say I am praying for you :heart:

    I hope you get to feeling better *hugs*

    thanks :heart:
  • rjjarvis
    rjjarvis Posts: 55
    how often do you weigh yourself? your post seemed to indicate it might be multiple times each day.

    If so, maybe you should relax your focus a little. The numbers don't really mean anything, especially if you don't give enough space between them.

    You might retain more or less water on a given day, or there might be some other process that makes the reading inaccurate.

    So maybe you should focus on weighing yourself once a week, and giving the pre-weigh-in ritual a rest.

    Really what matters is how you feel, whether you have a healthy diet, whether you are moving generally in the right direction toward a realistic weight goal.

    But the number itself shouldn't be the cause of such anxiety. What if you went to the gym and lifted weights really diligently, gained a lot of muscle mass, and found that you weigh more instead of less but lost lots of fat and gained lots of muscle? The number really is not that important in itself.

    Give yourself a break if possible, don't be too hard on yourself, just work little by little to move in the right direction and look at the number only once in a while. You'll be able to tell which direction things are going in even without the scale.

    Oh, and everyone is irrationally afraid of something. Hard to be logical about a fear. But try not to worry so much. The whole point of reaching whatever weight you want to reach is to be happy, or at least, not unhappy, and for your life to work better. Punishing yourself along the way is counterproductive.

    If this thing becomes a little obsessive you might want to talk to a doctor about medications that can lessen your anxiety. I have seen these things work for people, and it never hurts to ask for help when you are in distress. Sometimes the solution is simpler than you think, and doesn't involve a lot of awkwardness or difficulty.

    Good luck in reaching your goal.
  • pinkpixies
    pinkpixies Posts: 277
    how often do you weigh yourself? your post seemed to indicate it might be multiple times each day.

    If so, maybe you should relax your focus a little. The numbers don't really mean anything, especially if you don't give enough space between them.

    You might retain more or less water on a given day, or there might be some other process that makes the reading inaccurate.

    So maybe you should focus on weighing yourself once a week, and giving the pre-weigh-in ritual a rest.

    Really what matters is how you feel, whether you have a healthy diet, whether you are moving generally in the right direction toward a realistic weight goal.

    But the number itself shouldn't be the cause of such anxiety. What if you went to the gym and lifted weights really diligently, gained a lot of muscle mass, and found that you weigh more instead of less but lost lots of fat and gained lots of muscle? The number really is not that important in itself.

    Give yourself a break if possible, don't be too hard on yourself, just work little by little to move in the right direction and look at the number only once in a while. You'll be able to tell which direction things are going in even without the scale.

    Oh, and everyone is irrationally afraid of something. Hard to be logical about a fear. But try not to worry so much. The whole point of reaching whatever weight you want to reach is to be happy, or at least, not unhappy, and for your life to work better. Punishing yourself along the way is counterproductive.

    If this thing becomes a little obsessive you might want to talk to a doctor about medications that can lessen your anxiety. I have seen these things work for people, and it never hurts to ask for help when you are in distress. Sometimes the solution is simpler than you think, and doesn't involve a lot of awkwardness or difficulty.

    Good luck in reaching your goal.

    I'll never be happy with my weight, I know that much...I just want to be healthier.

    I take Buspar for anxiety and it helps a bit...but not a lot. My psych won't prescribe benzos b/c they're "addictive" but I took them in the hospital...or well, Ativan and Klonopin...Ativan didn't help much but Klonopin at least helped me sleep.
  • TheHottestMama
    TheHottestMama Posts: 141
    haha well i know im crazy
    but i do alot of it

    i take off necklaces,rings,bracklets, hair ties, headband
    anything
    haha and i weigh my self 3 times to make sure it was accurate

    and i weigh my self in the morning after i pee
    and at night

    i know what i should weigh after EVERY meal
    like 120 in the mornings
    after lunch 120.5 and around mid evening before dinner 122
    and after dinner 122.5

    im obsessed
    :ohwell:
  • pecksun8
    pecksun8 Posts: 570
    Girl for your sanity, get rid of your scale! Get a metric scale so that the numbers won't mean so much to you! You need to remember that muscle can retain water, and that you have more going on in your body then you even know about.

    Do a little exercise for me....Every time you start to even think about the scale, IMMEDIATELY START TO THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE! Something positive, something that makes you smile. Do this every time you start to think about the scale or the numbers on the scale. Trust me it will take a little bit of time, but eventually you will stop putting so much stress just thinking about the scale.

    Tape your body, that way you will see your results faster than the scale.
  • pinkpixies
    pinkpixies Posts: 277
    Girl for your sanity, get rid of your scale! Get a metric scale so that the numbers won't mean so much to you! You need to remember that muscle can retain water, and that you have more going on in your body then you even know about.

    Do a little exercise for me....Every time you start to even think about the scale, IMMEDIATELY START TO THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE! Something positive, something that makes you smile. Do this every time you start to think about the scale or the numbers on the scale. Trust me it will take a little bit of time, but eventually you will stop putting so much stress just thinking about the scale.

    Tape your body, that way you will see your results faster than the scale.

    Measuring tapes don't work for me either b/c I bloat bad :cry: My stomach can go up and down by 7 inches over the course of a few days.
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