Scared of the dreaded scales!

If you want to know your weight you would need to step on a scale, but not everyone uses scales. You could take measurements. This website also tracks inches. Relying on photos is another option. Having update photos of your progress can be nice.

Just rip the bandaid off.

Not knowing the number on the scales doesn't change the reality of it. I think it's nice to know your starting point. Then you can see how far you've come... whether that's a week from now, a month, a year or several years. If it's higher than you're expecting, then that's just going to make it all the more impressive when you reach your goal weight! Plus knowing might help to motivate you to stick to your goals.

Everyone is different, but ignoring the scales got me fatter and fatter. It was too easy to say "These cheap-quality shirts always shrink in the dryer, I really must invest in some good clothes one of these days" and "My pants still fit, things can't be all THAT bad." One day I got on the scales...and yep...things were that bad. I had managed to stretch my pants with all my fat.

There are people who do just great with no weighing, so I'm not saying everyone's experience is going to be exactly like mine. But I can say that knowing the truth and no longer hiding it from myself was a real wake-up call, and since then, I've lost 29 lbs.

TimothyFish wrote: »

One of the biggest reasons why I've had weight loss success during the last five months that I didn't have during the last five years is because I stepped on the scale. I knew I was overweight, but I didn't want to admit how overweight I was. I tried losing weight without looking and it didn't work. When I finally stepped on the scale, I was twenty pounds heavier than I thought I was.

This is pretty much the same for me too.

I didn't weigh myself for years and then did, as part of accepting where I was and doing something about it. It hurt, but then I owned it and lost the weight. Kept it off for 5 years and then things happened and I started to regain. I knew I was regaining but kept not wanting to see the evidence so decided I lose first. Nope. Kept gaining, kept putting off weighing myself, kept planning to really start losing a bit later. Actually got into a good weight loss mode for a while, biked a lot, ate well, lost a few sizes, but didn't weigh and after a few months fell out of it, gradually at first and then I was back to where I was.

When I finally decided that this was it I could tell I was the heaviest I'd ever been but figured I was just a bit more. No, it was over 20 lbs more than my previous high. That was really painful at first, but once again the knowledge and acceptance became part of me being able to make a concrete plan with goals, and ultimately contributed to me sticking with it. There was a real difference vs the time I lost without weighing even with the lost sizes, because the scale let me see results way before I could any other way and once I started seeing them that really helped keep me motivated.

Now I weigh every day because getting over that foolish scale fear and the power it had over me is important--I'm never going to go that long without weighing. Sure, I don't like it when it's up, but my mood is no longer that affected by it--I mostly see it as just useful data (along with other things like measurements and how clothes fit) that I can deal with rationally.

I'm someone who does have a huge and self-destructive tendency toward avoidance, admittedly--forcing myself to see and accept what I'm scared of or avoiding has always been something important to addressing my problems, so I guess it's not surprising weight was the same. This may not be the same for everyone, but trying to see the scale number as just a piece of data is something that I suspect can be helpful for many of us.

Just step on it already. Not knowing your weight won't make it any more or less.

But knowing you weight x or y might just motivate you to lose weight. Might shock you into losing weight if it's much higher than you thought. Or might be a relief when you find your not as heavy as you see in the mirror.

Lucky for me I guess my scales didn't go high enough. So I lost any where up to 15 kg before I could weigh myself.

I found knowing the number motivating. It gave me a number to aim for. It keeps me motivated on a daily basis. The losses inspire me to keep loosing and the gains and maintains make me work harder for a loss at next weigh in. Just do it. It might give you the push you need to really focus. I cried when I first stepped on, and I never want to feel like that again, so I took control.

jodiealgar wrote: »

jodiealgar wrote: »

"...I have gained a lot of weight and I am absolutely terrified of stepping on them....Any advice?"

SergeantSausage wrote: »

Because denial and avoidance make *everything* better, right?

I'm not in denial, I know that it needs to be done. I know it's just a number but it's a big deal for someone who's overweight.

First time I stepped on the scale I saw 248.8. Just get on the thing! Its not scary, sure I knew I was going to hate the number, but it was just the push I needed! It's not a big deal, it's a big motivator!!!