Say NO to the scale!
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<3<3<3 I only started going on the scale when I joined MFP. I try to judge my weight on how I feel in my freshly washed jeans, if they're tight I gotta wear my emergency-size-up-pants. Which are more comfortable anyway, but I KNOW that I gained weight... Which keeps me on track, really! 0 -
zoomtech16 wrote: »Yes! The scale is a dirty rotten liar! I have not gone down any this week, but I totally look and feel a lot better, so that is all that I care about.
The fact that you can convince yourself that you look better in 1 week is exactly why you need a scale. We see what we want to see0 -
Today is a beautiful sunny, but cold day in PEI Canada. I've been out for a 45 min brisk walk/ jog, have had a great breakfast of grapefruit, toast and almond butter and am now planning a lovely lunch for some friends. I feel fit and strong. I see that my tummy is shrinking and my clothes are fitting nicely and comfortably. A friend I saw yesterday, who I hadn't seen for several weeks said to me that he thought I looked fantastic. This is enough to keep me motivated for today. I don't need to get on the scale today. Anyone else celebrating some non scale victories?
@sheldonklein... If you need a scale to keep you motivated and it works for you then please keep weighing yourself as you see fit. This does not mean that others need the scale to measure their success. I hope that you feel fantastic, strong, healthy and happy. This thread was started so that I could see if there were others who felt similar to me, and there are! There are many!
Good for you zoomtech16! Feeling better is the best motivator there is because it comes from your own internal signals... listen to your body, it won't lie to you.
@herrspoons... this site IS full of all kinds of people. If people are claiming to exercise and eat healthy and they aren't losing any weight then there is something wrong with what they are doing, they need to examine the quality of the calories they are taking in and the quality of the exercise they are doing to expend those calories. Some may also need to look very honestly at how they are tracking. They may need to consult their physician, have their thyroids checked for example... there are multitudes of issues that impede fitness. I am just saying that the scale is not what motivates me, and I think that there are others who may feel this way.
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using the scale as a tool is helpful. data points and all.
Using the scale to define your sense of self? not helpful.
know the difference.0 -
Everyone can agree or disagree on the scale debate, but it's really a personal issue. If the numbers on the scale throw you into a downward mental spiral, then it's not a USEFUL tool for you...it's a weapon. I can relate, I am one that has to avoid getting on a scale because I know it will absolutely ruin my mental health and the old memories of the long dead eating disorder will surface. I take measurements of my entire body, I gauge weight lost by the fit of my clothing, and I log every single thing I put in my mouth as accurately as I can. It works for me, and that's good enough.0
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nurseinthenorth wrote: »
@herrspoons... this site IS full of all kinds of people. If people are claiming to exercise and eat healthy and they aren't losing any weight then there is something wrong with what they are doing, they need to examine the quality of the calories they are taking in and the quality of the exercise they are doing to expend those calories. Some may also need to look very honestly at how they are tracking. They may need to consult their physician, have their thyroids checked for example... there are multitudes of issues that impede fitness. I am just saying that the scale is not what motivates me, and I think that there are others who may feel this way.
And if that person had been losing and stalled they may need that number on the scale to examine their calorie goal. I have seen cases where people have stalled out only to find out they did not adjust their calories at all and it wiped out a big portion of their deficit. While we shouldn't put too much emphasis on the scale we do need to realize that it is an important part of the equation when it comes to weight loss.0 -
I didn't weigh myself for months. That's how I ended up gaining back the 20 lbs I worked las summer to lose.
Had I caught that sooner...I would be much closer to my goal now.
It is what it is...it's not a liar. It's simply a tool.
For the rest of my days I will weigh in once a week if only to prevent being morbidly obese again...or even overweight.0 -
Here is a suggestion that helped me a lot to over come my scale fear and allowed me over time to turn the fear to joy.
I got one of these scale with Bluetooth option and I linked right to my app. I covered the reader with black cloth. It automatically adjusted my calories intake.
After a period of time I took off the black cloth.
Today I go on once a week on the same day and same time. If I gained or didn't lose anything I go back and review my food intake and any events took place.
What I found out a lot of time is that I get so stress at work that no matter what I don't lose or sometime I gained.
Scale is a great tool, so don't get discourage and keep it up.
I hoped this helped0 -
using the scale as a tool is helpful. data points and all.
Using the scale to define your sense of self? not helpful.
know the difference.
This.
I weigh daily. Sometimes I hop on several times a day because it helps me feel more familiarized with the fluctuations and less invested in any reading (whether highs or lows).
I've been most afraid of the scale in my life whenever I was doing badly at weight management and didn't want to face that fact.
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nurseinthenorth wrote: »I am overweight, and I know it. I started back to MFP almost 5 weeks ago. I haven't weighed myself in quite a number of days. When I get on the scale, more often than not I feel discouraged. I've made a decision to not let that number define me. Maybe there are others who want to follow this path as well. Document accomplishments, document the positives, the other milestones and goals that have nothing to do with that blasted number on the scale. Truth is, balanced, reasonable diet and calorie intake and regular exercise will do nothing but improve overall fitness and improve quality of life. The number on the scale will go down eventually and incidentally. So... Today I'm celebrating that I had a terrific workout! I've had a healthy breakfast, and after more than 4 weeks of working out I do believe I can see some defined abs starting to become visible. I feel fantastic and strong and I sleep great with no aches and pains when I get up in the morning! i hope others will find inspiration and motivation with this group!
If you do better not using a scale, then go for it! I have friends who don't own one because of the negative connotation.
We all know if our clothes fit or not.
Me though, I do like my scale. I constant to be caught off guard at the doctor's office!
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Strongly disagree. The scale is an objective measure of progress. It's too easy to fool yourself with the rest.
Yep.
Of course it does not DEFINE you, but it does provide good concrete data that you can use. I would argue that you NEED this data in order to see which approaches (with food and with exercise) are actually working for you. I would never have figured out how sensitive I am to carbs if I had not been tracking as well as weighing every day.0 -
I haven't weighed myself for 6 weeks and feel great.
In the past I would weigh myself and if I lost weight I'd treat myself to a binge if I didn't lose weight I'd binge so no weighing is better for me.0 -
Gillian00louise wrote: »I haven't weighed myself for 6 weeks and feel great.
In the past I would weigh myself and if I lost weight I'd treat myself to a binge if I didn't lose weight I'd binge so no weighing is better for me.
I'm the same.0 -
Years ago, we were doing a weight-loss challenge in our group at the office ... and I learned to calculate my actual loss without the scale. When we would weigh in on the scale, my calculation was within a pound of what the scale said (usually).
While there is something to the nutrient makeup of food, the simpler the formula the better ... and I've found that calories in minus calories out allows for a good measure of weight loss without the scale.
Calories in is obviously the food you eat. Calories out includes both your exercise and the number of calories your body burns naturally just to subsist (your "base metabolic rate" x your weight). I used to use a general BMR formula of 12 calories per pound per day; women would use 11 calories per pound. There are BMR calculators and formulas that will help tailor the number specifically to your body.
3500 calories equals a pound, so adding up your calories-in minus calories-out and dividing by 3500 will give you your loss (or gain). (CI - CO)/3500 = loss(gain)
This method has always seemed to be more objective than the scale, since food composition/combination and water can significantly affect the #'s on the scale.0 -
I think people just starting out should weigh themselves every day, multiple times a day, so that they get used to their fluctuations and don't freak out when they don't lose or put on four pounds overnight.
I'm doing everything right and I've been stuck at this weight for almost two weeks. But the jeans I bought snug last month are now loose. So I just shrug it off when the scale doesn't validate my behavior.0 -
I think it's important to weigh yourself everyday and log it. The more data you have, the better you will get to know your body and how your weight fluctuates. It's important to look at trends over 1 week and over a month and ask yourself ....Are you heading in the right direction? Are you meeting your goals? and if not...why?
Are your goals unrealistic?
Are you tracking honestly or cutting corners?
The scale and the data trends are great tools if used correctly.
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I've been maintaining my 100lbs loss since September 2013 (so nearly a year and a half) and although I had stopped weighing in daily, I was still using the scale at least once every week or two. I stopped weighing myself completely in early October and as of the beginning of January I had gained a little over 10lbs (or I guess if you count the water weight I lost from my race in October I actually gained a total 17lbs). I'm now working to get back down to where I was maintaining and have about 5lbs to go. If I had been more aware, this wouldn't have happened in the first place.
I definitely don't agree with a general "say no to the scale". I don't let those numbers scare me or define me or determine whether I'm successful or not. In the end it's just a very useful tool to ensure that I'm staying on track with my goals.0 -
I'm totally with younurseinthenorth! I don't look at the scale either. I used to look at the scale and make projections based on loses and when I didn't live up to the projections I'd get discouraged. What I do know is that I just moved another notch in my belt, I can climb a ladder without getting winded, and my sugars have been awesome. The main goal isn't weight loss, my main goal is to continue to eat healthy and work out regularly (4xweek) if I do that everything else should fall into place.0
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