SCALE PHOBIA.Help.

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Amillionsparkles
Amillionsparkles Posts: 41 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism (I feel tired all the time without any effort, would sleep A LOT and still feel sleepy, takes me so much effort to lose weight hypothyroidism makes it almost impossible.)
I used to work out a lot and obsess about calories but not lose weight (i didn't know about my problem before but now i do), when i get on the scale i might even gain weight!! My fat percentage is high although i try to eat healthy.
I am scared of using the scale, every time i'd go on it i would be disappointed and feel crushed. Shall i get one since now i know what my main issue is, or shall i just rely on how my clothes fit? At the same time i care about losing weight it's not just about my appearance since i count calories for a reason and i wana feel i am making progress.
ANY ADVICE please!!
If you recommend getting a scale please tell me about an affordable really good one if possible? Thank you.
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Replies

  • anneuhbanana
    anneuhbanana Posts: 17 Member
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    Why not try measuring in inches to see your progress?
  • helenrosec1
    helenrosec1 Posts: 82 Member
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    I don't go by weight anymore as sometimes the scale may say I've lost nothing or 1lb, but my clothes can feel looser, so now I go by how my clothes fit rather than whether the scales go up or down. There's also a lot of things can influence your weight, like muscle mass or water weight which can fluctuate all the time.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    Personally, I never want to ditch the scale again - I tried it once, went with the whole how your clothes fit, how you look thing, and gained 20lbs without realising. I don't know if I'm going the right way or the wrong way if I don't have scales.

    Of course you have to find out what works for you, that's just what works for me. Can't really recommend a scale without knowing where you live. I got mine from Robert Dyas, but if you're not in the south of England, you won't have one near you.
  • Amillionsparkles
    Amillionsparkles Posts: 41 Member
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    Oh no i live in the US but a brand would help, maybe i could find it. I never thought of measuring inches i feel it's too much work lol! i will actually do that though. The truth is... that's the problem with the scale debate. It can either make you feel really bad because of the fluctuation in weight and at the same time i can understand that the scale can make you watch yourself more. I agree seeing how my clothes fit might work for a while then you start to forget to be conscious about it! I think i will try all the methods and see what suits me best. It's been months since i got on a scale.
  • k2mexox
    k2mexox Posts: 72 Member
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    Try weighing yourself to find a starting weight. And then instead of daily or weekly. Maybe every other week or once a month weigh in. That way if you are committed to losing you will see bigger numbers. But not stress yourself over fluctuations. I had to return scales a few times for being inaccurate until I finally found the one I have now. I can send you which one when I get home tonight. I got it at Walmart and it was maybe $20ish
  • pstegman888
    pstegman888 Posts: 286 Member
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    If taking multiple measurements seems like too much work, just do waist & hips. Slip a different color paper clip over the tape at those spots & just slide them down as you lose inches. That way you don't even have to record them to see your progress. I agree with the poster who recommended a bi-weekly or monthly weigh-in in order to maximise the positive reinforcement. Obviously, if it's not going down, you need to tighten up your logging or reduce your calorie goal as appropriate. After you see some real progress, you may get over your phobia.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    you seem to feel everything is too much work.

    you have options, but no one is going to do any of them FOR you....
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    I feel your pain with the scale. I have to weigh myself only once a week because I get anxious about my weight too... and if I know I had a bad week I'll skip it. I hope this helps.
  • Graymanstole
    Graymanstole Posts: 257 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Being afraid of the scale is fairly normal. Here's the deal: You bust your butt. Mostly. I mean you sweat every once in a while. If it's hot outside. But you eat right, and maybe you do bust your butt and sweat buckets trying to make that damn dial go in the right direction. Then, end of the week rolls around and onto the scale you go to see: 0.3 lbs weight loss. WTF?!?! Seriously? I did 200 lunges and 50 freaking burpees every day for 0.3lbs!! What the hell!! Jesus it only takes 1 hostess snack cake to add 3lbs in the wrong direction! And don't get me started on what a pint of Ben and Jerry's can do! In reality a scale only measures how gravity is affecting you when you step on it. It doesn't count anything else. Water retained, stress, constipation (it happens). Understanding that the number on the scale is just that: A Number. It does not define who you are, or the effort you're putting in, or the good you are doing for yourself every day. A number cannot ever adequately measure that. Weigh yourself if you must (I still do), but don't let that number be anything greater than just a number (like age is only a number as well). Good luck!

    [Edited by MFP Staff]
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    edited September 2015
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    The tricky thing with weighing once a week, or once a month is that if you happen to weigh on a day where you are retaining a lot of water it can be really really frustrating because it looks like your whole month's work was for not.

    However frequently you choose to weigh, you need to understand that your weight will fluctuate. A lot. And that is not an indicator of your fat loss, only of water weight. To see what your body is doing with fat loss, you have to look at a record over time. Look for patterns. And if you pack on a couple of pounds overnight, you know it's water weight, and it will go back down in a few days.

    You might look for an MFP group to join of other people with hypothyroidism. They might be able to help you determine what your true TDEE is, the numbers MFP automatically gives you will probably be off. You probably will have to be content with a slower rate of weight loss for the same work that someone with a regular thyroid does. So 1-2 pounds a week probably isn't realistic for you. I also expect you will have less room for error. So be diligent with your foods, weighing, measuring, and logging everything. This will help you to predict what the bathroom scale should say, and not be surprised by crazy water weight changes.

    Amillionsparkles, you can do this! You are now armed with very useful information. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. :smile:
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
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    I have PCOS, and that also makes it easy for me to gain; extremely hard to lose weight. I've been on this path since 2011 - and was up to about 150 lost at one point, and am now around 50. I just went to Weight Watchers this morning for the first tie since May - gained 20 pounds. UGH!!!

    I understand the fear of the scale - the fear of not wanting to let people in on the dirty little secret. Only person I was fooling was myself. I was even convinced that I wasn't going back until I got back to where I was -who knows how long that would have taken and the only person I was hurting was myself for not getting help and not being around people who are trying to make it work also.

    It really does come down to calorie intake vs. calories burned, and being totally real about journaling every bite that goes in your mouth. It isn't willpower. It's discipline.

    I've been wallowing in frustration again feeling like everybody else can eat whatever they want without consequence except me. That's not the way it is. There are always consequences - they're just more extreme for me because of the PCOS and that I'm a food addict.

    There are different ways of coping, and different ways of looking at things. For example, if you eat what you're body needs, you'll have fewer cravings. The better quality food you have (meaning things like baked chicken or grilled chicken instead of fried chicken and not smothered in high-calorie sauces), the more of it you can have. The more "food journal friendly" foods you have, the better you'll feel too. That doesn't mean you can't indulge -- just means you have to be very careful about how you indulge.

    You can do this. Believe me - if I can do this, anybody can. Let's get back on track!!!!
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    I don't weigh myself very often, and I don't keep a scale in my house. I'm working with a dietician, and I see her every 2-3 weeks or so, and get weighed then. Usually there's at least a small decrease in weight over that time, so I don't see fluctuations or get any emotional ups and downs.

    I just go by how I feel, usually. I try to stick to my calories, watch my exercise, and see how my energy level, sleep, hunger level, and clothes fit is in the interim.

    I feel like something like that might help you? I don't have hypothyroidism, but I know I personally get emotional about everything so I try to limit misleading or upsetting information. I work on myself first, numbers second. And especially, having a reason to not losing weight immediately, don't be hard on yourself! :)
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    I too used to fear scales and what they would tell me - that number seemed so abrupt and 'final'! I still sometimes say out loud "Be nice to me, dammit" before I hop on! :]

    If you don't have a very good relationship with scales, try weighing once a week or once a month - whatever you are comfortable with. As time goes on, you'll get used to the strange things your body can do along the way and learn to accept it as simply a number. It does NOT define you - it's merely a 'staying on track' tool.

    I would definitely suggest taking monthly measurements. Last month, I *only* lost 2lbs but I lost a whopping 8 inches from my body. Scales are just one way to record your progress and not even the most reliable. Get out that tape measure! And lose the scale fear. You've got this.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Have you started on medication? Hopefully so. Once that kicks in you should find it much easier to lose weight. I was diagnosed in June. It took about six to eight weeks for the medication to take effect. I started feeling SO much better. For those weeks I just focused on trying to not gain any more weight -- and yes, even that took keeping my calorie intake to 1100-1200/day. I'm very short and 50+, so it's possible you'll be able to maintain on significantly more than that. Once the medication started working I started losing weight at that same intake.

    So my advice is for right now concentrate on working with your doctor to get your thyroid levels normal and just try to maintain while that's happening. It takes patience. I won't kid you and say it's easy to have to restrict your food intake so much just to maintain. It's hard and it's depressing (as if your thyroid being low doesn't make you depressed enough!). But if you hang in there the medication should start working and the weight should start coming off. And when that happens it's much less stressful to get on the scales.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    anneuhbanana wrote: »
    Why not try measuring in inches to see your progress?

    This ^^

    Several times during my weight loss I've gone over a month (!) with no weight lost. I have never gone a month without losing inches. As long as I'm getting smaller, I don't care if what my weight is. Getting smaller without losing weight in a good thing IMO.
  • Amillionsparkles
    Amillionsparkles Posts: 41 Member
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    k2mexox wrote: »
    Try weighing yourself to find a starting weight. And then instead of daily or weekly. Maybe every other week or once a month weigh in. That way if you are committed to losing you will see bigger numbers. But not stress yourself over fluctuations. I had to return scales a few times for being inaccurate until I finally found the one I have now. I can send you which one when I get home tonight. I got it at Walmart and it was maybe $20ish

    Yes please!
  • Amillionsparkles
    Amillionsparkles Posts: 41 Member
    Options
    pstegman888 wrote: »
    If taking multiple measurements seems like too much work, just do waist & hips. Slip a different color paper clip over the tape at those spots & just slide them down as you lose inches. That way you don't even have to record them to see your progress. I agree with the poster who recommended a bi-weekly or monthly weigh-in in order to maximise the positive reinforcement. Obviously, if it's not going down, you need to tighten up your logging or reduce your calorie goal as appropriate. After you see some real progress, you may get over your phobia.
    Lovely tip! no i would really be on a strict diet, by my thyroid doesn't allow me to lose weight so now when i get back on my medication i hope i see changes.
  • Amillionsparkles
    Amillionsparkles Posts: 41 Member
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    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    you seem to feel everything is too much work.

    you have options, but no one is going to do any of them FOR you....

    No, that's why i am asking for a good scale that's been tried as some fluctuate a lot. :) I am just gona try all the options and see what works best for me.
  • Amillionsparkles
    Amillionsparkles Posts: 41 Member
    Options
    [/quoa
    Asher_Ethan wrote: »
    I feel your pain with the scale. I have to weigh myself only once a week because I get anxious about my weight too... and if I know I had a bad week I'll skip it. I hope this helps.

    Good idea!
  • Amillionsparkles
    Amillionsparkles Posts: 41 Member
    Options
    Graymanstole wrote: »
    Being afraid of the scale is fairly normal. Here's the deal: You bust your butt. Mostly. I mean you sweat every once in a while. If it's hot outside. But you eat right, and maybe you do bust your butt and sweat buckets trying to make that damn dial go in the right direction. Then, end of the week rolls around and onto the scale you go to see: 0.3 lbs weight loss. WTF?!?! Seriously? I did 200 lunges and 50 freaking burpees every day for 0.3lbs!! What the hell!! Jesus it only takes 1 hostess snack cake to add 3lbs in the wrong direction! And don't get me started on what a pint of Ben and Jerry's can do! In reality a scale only measures how gravity is affecting you when you step on it. It doesn't count anything else. Water retained, stress, constipation (it happens). Understanding that the number on the scale is just that: A Number. It does not define who you are, or the effort you're putting in, or the good you are doing for yourself every day. A number cannot ever adequately measure that. Weigh yourself if you must (I still do), but don't let that number be anything greater than just a number (like age is only a number as well). Good luck!

    [Edited by MFP Staff]

    Exactly :( !!!!! I mean i used to obsess about every single thing i'd eat for years and not see any progress and even if i do it just wouldnt make sense!!! But now i understand how thyroid affects all that if only i knew!!!! I will try to change my mentality about it and not let it get to me as you said. Thank you!

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