obsessed with the scale?

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sparklesammy
sparklesammy Posts: 465 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've been thinking. this is getting a bit much!!!

I have weighed in every day for the last few days. i am getting a bit obsessed, I usually log in once a week.

I'm thinking about trying to step away from it a bit, esp since i have been plateaued since christmas time.

Has anyone tried this? i have been thinking of having a monthly weigh in. maybe do it on the first of the month. I worry, of course, that i will lose focus without the weigh ins.

so has anyone has success or failures with doing this?

: )

Replies

  • MiNiMoNkI
    MiNiMoNkI Posts: 447 Member
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    You are not the only one, trust me. Iv'e been awful lately, everyday for me too....starving myself until i weigh myself, its not good.

    Iv'e now managed to get a grip and haven't weighed myself for over a week. I dont know what to suggest to help you i just realised it was getting silly. Now you have maybe that will help you too. Good luck

    YOU LOOK AMAZING! xx
  • 1113cw
    1113cw Posts: 830 Member
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    Guilty! Totally obsessed, this morning weighing in must have been a sight.. me frantically shedding clothing until I was happy with the number on the scale.. bad, I know.

    I do weigh myself everyday though and then at the end of the month I average it out. I find that my weight fluctuates here and there by a couple of pounds. By averaging it out, it helps me not to freak out if I see a slightly larger than usual number on the scale.
  • scutes
    scutes Posts: 13
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    I'm in the same boat as you as far as being slightly obsessed with the scale. I step on every day and am often frustrated at the fluctuation even though I weigh myself at the same time every day. On the one hand, I feel like it may offer insight, maybe it spikes up if I eat a lot of salt the day before or don't drink enough water. On the other hand "they" often recommend weighing in once a week. Maybe start there? Then see how that goes and adjust accordingly. I'm not sure I could handle only once a month, but it's all about what works, right? Also, try not to get discouraged by plateaus, the important thing is not to start creeping up. Our bodies often get used to what we're doing and sometimes just changing workouts or adding something, like weight training will jump start the metabolism. Good luck and keep up the good work!
  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
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    I weigh myself just about every morning, after I pee, while I'm still naked. I don't focus on the numbers, though. A minor fluctuation here and there's too be expected, and I don't think I could go a month without knowing what my weight is doing, especially since I'm doing so much to combat it! I'm a small-goal person, too. I need to focus on a lot of immediate, small goals instead of the big picture, or I lose focus. I know if I knock out the little goals, the big one comes along naturally. But you need to weigh yourself consistently.. If you don't weigh yourself under the same circumstances each time, it invalidates the number on the scale. Clearly your weight after dinner with your clothes on is not going to be the same as the first morning weight.. And as a medical professional, we are trained to perform daily weights on our patients early in the morning before breakfast under the same circumstances to remove any variables that might cause deviation from the last obtained weight. You can weigh yourself as little as you want (once a week, once a month, etc), but weighing yourself more than once a morning is useless, the information becomes invalid.
  • rich_MTatl
    rich_MTatl Posts: 5
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    Personally speaking I feel that weighing in each morning in my birthday suit, after taking care of business in the bathroom and before eating or drinking (might sip on some tea before) is a good gauge of how I did the day before. Daily fluctuations are going to be normal, but if i find that my weight is stagnant or consistently rising over the course of a few days then I know that my eating habits need to change for that upcoming day. This will mean buckling down for that day and eating smaller portions and sticking to food that is low in carbs and sodium (more protein, but low in sat fats). I can nearly always relate increases in my morning delay weight to a heavy sodium intake the day before, which in turn helps to retain more water in the body. Focusing on the numbers, especially keeping sodium no more than 2000mg day is the key, in my opinion, to continued weight loss and then maintaining those gains (not to mention the long term health benefits of reducing sodium intake). I don't believe you are being obsessive, but instead you are focused on your goal and performing a daily weigh in is a good indicator of your progress. Weighing yourself only once per week or month will not change the underlying reason why you are "stagnant". It seems you are just more anxious about the fact you have not made much gains recently and removing the weigh in might make you feel less anxious each morning, but will that solve your underlying problem? probably not. I would suggest to focus more on your numbers returned each evening by myfitnesspal.com and make some adjustments to those number "goals" to reduce your carbs and and sodium intake (I use a ratio of 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fats - this may not be good for everyone, but while I am working out and lifting weights I want more of my calories to come from protein). Anyways, seems like I am ranting now. haha. good luck, stay persistent and watch your numbers!
    Rich
  • snockers3112
    snockers3112 Posts: 190 Member
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    I was getting a bit obsessed and stepping on the scales every morning, but after having a small plateau and getting fed up of not seeing the scale move I finally relaxed with this obsession :) I now weigh once a week and if there hasn't been any movement I will forget about it for a few days and then try again. I now only log as and when the weight loss shows up and I've stopped worrying meanwhile...phew! :)
  • FemininGuns
    FemininGuns Posts: 605 Member
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    For a while, that darn scale staired at me EVERY morning I got up.... I would step on it EVERY morning, and when I thought I had worked hard and should have shed some #, the scale either went up or stayed the same - I would beat myself up about it. Then throughout the day would be sad, depressed etc... these emotions then would help me justify bing eating in the evening and saying "oh well, I didn't lose anything, so what does it matter if I have a little bit of this or a little bit of that?!" I would basically sabatoge myself. So, I have now decided to trust that what I am eating is right, that my body DOES have fluctuations (lose one week, stagnant for 2-3 weeks, then lose week 4)... So I get on it every week for logging, but like other posters, I quickly forget about it and try again the next week. For me, weighing-in too much doesn't help... I know gauge my health/weight loss on the way I feel as well.
  • angela828
    angela828 Posts: 498 Member
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    I am definitely obessed but I only weigh once a day if that helps? Right in the AM after I do my business in the ladies room. It helps keep me on track. If the number is low - I know to keep doing what I'm doing. If the number is high - I got to work on some stuff. I tried to go without it and had my fiancee hide the scale except on friday mornings (my official weigh in day) but honestly it just got too hard and I couldn't handle not seeing it and not knowing if I needed to step up or not.

    Honestly, if I think you're just checking once a day (same time everyday) then it's not so much of an obsession but rather to keep track of your accountability. People who weigh themselves multiple times a day might be obsessed though.
  • KristenY18
    KristenY18 Posts: 42
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    I actually tossed out my scale. I was doing the same thing and would get so down on myself if the number went up! I know that you can flucuate a few lbs daily, but i would still get upset! Thats not worth it...so now I weigh in when I visit my parents every two weeks on their scale. My mom sees the dr. regularly and her scale is accurate with the dr.s scale. Daily I think about buying one...but I just dont want to do that to myself again! It seriously can be addicting :(
  • bmontgomery87
    bmontgomery87 Posts: 1,260 Member
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    I wouldn't put too much focus on the scale but more so on the mirror.
    The scale is going to fluctuate a lot from day to day. I can easily manipulate my weight by 5 pounds in one day just from water and food consumption.
    If you're seeing progress in the mirror, you're doing something right.
  • sparklesammy
    sparklesammy Posts: 465 Member
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    guys, thanks so much for all your advice, its really valuable to me.

    For the rest of this week im going to continue weighing every day then i will go back to weekly. I think this week i want to keep a close eye on whats going on as i'm trying a new diet.

    i wont log my weekly weigh in till monday, but by this mornings weigh in i have actually gone below my plateau weight, which im very excited about : D

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