To step on the scale or not?

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shauna613
shauna613 Posts: 2 Member
edited April 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Hola! So... I have not been on a scale in over a year. For the past 3 months I have been exercising regularly, and this makes my soul feel sooo good. I feel more confident, healthy and just generally happier. However, sometimes I get curious as to what the number on the scale would be... but I fight temptation... I don't want to get down on my self because of a number... currently my feelings are reflected by how I'm fitting in my clothes and how I feel... but I've been doing a lot of health and fitness reading... and most of the time articles suggest weighing yourself for extra motivation and accurate goal setting.... what are your thoughts?

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  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
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    Well, you're not going to get an accurate calorie goal from MFP without knowing your weight. Kind of necessary.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    When I first started, I avoided the scale too. I was afraid of it. The first time I finally stepped on it, my heart was beating fast and yes, I was disappointed. But from that moment on, I knew I really really needed to move forward and my whole life style has changed sine. You can tell yourself all you want that the scale doesn't matter, but until you have an idea of what you weigh, it's hard to set your goals accurately, as you mentioned.
  • myheartsabattleground
    myheartsabattleground Posts: 2,040 Member
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    misskarne wrote: »
    Well, you're not going to get an accurate calorie goal from MFP without knowing your weight. Kind of necessary.

    amen to this.

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Rip the bandage off!
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
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    If what you are doing now is working for you, why change it? If you do decide to step on the scale, I would suggest a bit of preparation work first. Ask yourself "what is the worst, and what is the best, that can happen?" and then make a response plan for those contingencies.
  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    I would say go for it, knowing that it doesn't change anything. Don't let it unmotivated you!

    Good luck in whatever you decide!
  • 85kurtz
    85kurtz Posts: 276 Member
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    shauna613 wrote: »
    Hola! So... I have not been on a scale in over a year. For the past 3 months I have been exercising regularly, and this makes my soul feel sooo good. I feel more confident, healthy and just generally happier. However, sometimes I get curious as to what the number on the scale would be... but I fight temptation... I don't want to get down on my self because of a number... currently my feelings are reflected by how I'm fitting in my clothes and how I feel... but I've been doing a lot of health and fitness reading... and most of the time articles suggest weighing yourself for extra motivation and accurate goal setting.... what are your thoughts?

    You know I kind of agree. I step on the scale and see how slowly I am losing and become discouraged. But I love the fact that I had to buy new jeans because my old ones were just too big. I only weigh myself when I am feeling particularly settled into my new lifestyle.

  • shauna613
    shauna613 Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks guys!! I'm going to do it tonight. You are right, it doesn't change anything, and it will only benefit in goal setting and tracking. <3
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    The biggest mistake I ever made was telling myself that I could lose weight without stepping on the scale.
  • Jgasmic
    Jgasmic Posts: 219 Member
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    shauna613 wrote: »
    Thanks guys!! I'm going to do it tonight. You are right, it doesn't change anything, and it will only benefit in goal setting and tracking. <3
    Just be aware that you are generally at your heaviest at the end of the day. I can be as much as five pounds heavier at the end of the day depending on how much food I have in my belly still, if I've gone to the bathroom, etc. So don't be discouraged if it is higher than you expected.
  • BoxerBrawler
    BoxerBrawler Posts: 2,032 Member
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    I've participated in a lot of fitness challenges where we get a set of baselines including scale weight along with body percentages. Throughout each challenge the scale definitely moved but I was more concerned with my body percentages and muscle / endurance gain. In the end, as long as I was gaining muscle and losing fat, the number of the scale didn't really matter. While I agree that it's important to get on the scale to get a baseline weight, I don't believe you need to get on the scale every day or even every week. You can certainly tell by body percentage and by the way you look and feel and how your clothes fit. My two cents.
  • catbirdly
    catbirdly Posts: 14 Member
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    A scale is just one way of measuring/an easy way. You can use a tape measure and record your waist size instead or just use your clothing. If the scale freaks you out or leads to obsession, avoid it.
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
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    I don't get on it often , but it is necessary every so often to check progress as far as calorie intake as others have pointed out.

    As long as I can SEE progress, I'm fine checking my weight about once a month.

  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    A scale is just a tool. Not using a scale makes about as much sense as a carpenter not using a tape measure before cutting a board.

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