Scale Scared: The woes of weighing in

You very well may be up higher. Any one weight doesn't mean much. You could gain weight on the scale due to time of the month, sodium, time of day, exercising more and your muscles holding onto water... etc.

If you are weighing and logging and in your calorie goal, you are going to lose weight over time. If you have 2 or 3 scale readings that are higher than expected, then that's just some information that you may need to cut calories or increase exercise.

If you are very anxious in advance... ask yourself the following...

What can you expect to weigh based on your behaviors?
What if it is lower than expected? What would that mean?
What if it is higher than expected? What would that mean? How would you feel? What could be some positive self-talk that you would find helpful if it turns out to be higher than you had expected?

I tend to lose weight over time, but in any given week I might gain weight. I go down 5 lbs, go up 2 lbs, go down 1 lb, go up 3 lbs, go down 5 lbs, go up 2 lbs, go down 3 lbs, go up 5 lbs, go down 2 lbs, go down 1 lb, go down 4 lbs, go up 5 lbs, etc etc.

The above is not an exact thing, but my weekly weight loss works like the above. I have not eaten over my budget in any week since I started. Have gone over for some days, but my intake over the week is always below my quota. Even with this, I gain weight some weeks. I have this bad habit of putting on 5 lbs some weeks, but I have been losing just under 2 lbs a week (1.75ish) over the last 2 months or so that I have been on MFP (my weight loss started before I joined MFP so my starting weight is not my MFP starting weight).

Don't fear the scale. Take your reading once a month if you want consistent weight loss readings. Take it everyday if you are confident you won't be mentally effected by ups and downs in your weight loss and you want to track maximum data. Take it every week if you want a more middle road approach. If you log your portions accurately, track your activity level accurately, and adjust your intake/exercise as needed as you get data over a few months, you should be able to hit your weight loss goals as long as they are reasonable.

I used to feel that way too. Stopped weighing myself. Focussed on other metrics.
Now I'm totally fine knowing that weight bounces around and I don't sweat it much. Somedays I weigh myself a dozen times. Just gathering information to see how my body reacts to working out, running, overeating, etc.
I know what you mean though. It can be frustrating to see the effort, knowing you were 'perfect' and being disappointed by a less than expected loss (or the dreaded gain).
You will get used to it, keep going. good luck

What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror? What do you notice when you pot on a pair of pants you've worn for a month or two? How much do you weigh on the scale? These are the things I ask myself in order of importance. I can weigh 1lb more this week compared to 2 weeks ago, but my abs are more defined. I might weight 2lb more, but I can now fit the palm of my hands between my stomach and the pants I'm wearing.

Use the scale as a general guide. But not as the sole motivator for your weight loss journey. If you exercise, you will gain muscle weight. So use the mirror and clothing scale instead to get real idea of where you are in your weight loss journey.

A reality check: if you take in less calories than you expend you will over time lose weight.

I used to feel that way too... and that is why I actually switched to weighing myself daily. I think it's harder to wait such a long time in between weighings because you don't get to see what's been happening in between. And by weighing frequently you get used to seeing flucutations.

Imagine seeing 4 weight values in a month, vs seeing 30 weight values in a month. You'll have 26 more opportunities to see weight loss. The other way, if you get the 4 wrong dates, you might THINK you had a terrible month.

If you are scared of the scale, do not weigh yourself this week. Maybe weigh yourself once a month. If you have someone available, weigh yourself, but do not look at the number. Have someone else record the number. Maybe instead of weighing, you can take you measurements once a month.

I feel your pain. I now dread stepping on that stupid thing. for 4 weeks(only 7 weeks in) and I am at a standstill..the stupid number is haunting me. I am beyond discouraged at this point..I dread stepping on it again next week...*sigh*

You'll almost always get the weight you deserve, just maybe not the week you deserved it.

I can completely relate to being nervous about weighing in! I sometimes feel a lot of anxiety about it, even if I feel like I've had a good week of proper eating and strong workouts. I recently passed a big milestone and got into Onederland--but I was sick with anxiety weighing in! I had seen 200.0 on the scale the previous week, and even though I worked out every day and hit my calorie goals, I was still terrified I would get on the scale and still be above 200. And even though I finally saw that magic "1" as the first digit, I'm worried that next week I might get stuck with a "2" again.

I think it is important to check your weight at least once a week, and I make myself do so, even if I'm feeling anxious. It's important to keep in mind that this moment on the scale is not the end of your existence. The journey with weight does not end, even once you reach your goal. I may not like what I see on the scale a particular day--but I'm not finished yet. There is always next week. This is an ongoing process, there is no finish line. Whatever is on the scale is not permanent--that goes for highs and lows.

Like others suggested, I also look for other goals that aren't reliant on the scale. You can try taking other measurements--arm, waist, neck, chest. I prefer to set myself smaller physical goals. I was in one stretch where my weight was pretty stagnant, but I still made physical progress by taking the stairs to my office--six flights, every day. I worked my way up to it slowly and now I glide up and down them all day. My goal is to never use the office elevator again! Maybe I'll hit this goal at home, too; I'm on the 12th floor of a city high-rise! So maybe if you're feeling too anxious and obsessed over the scale number, pick a physical goal, maybe lifting a particular weight in the gym, or shaving a little time off your mile, or work on your balance. If you set these small enough, you can do it in increments, so you still see that you're making progress even if the scale isn't reflecting it.

vaguelyvegan wrote: »

xKoalaBearx wrote: »

I used to feel that way too... and that is why I actually switched to weighing myself daily. I think it's harder to wait such a long time in between weighings because you don't get to see what's been happening in between. And by weighing frequently you get used to seeing flucutations.

Imagine seeing 4 weight values in a month, vs seeing 30 weight values in a month. You'll have 26 more opportunities to see weight loss. The other way, if you get the 4 wrong dates, you might THINK you had a terrible month.

This exactly. Daily weigh-ins have helped me learn about my body and they dilute the importance of any one reading. The small fluctuations help me stay mindful and engaged in my own health.

Ditto. Daily weigh-ins take the anticipation away from a single scale reading. They put each one into perspective. There are ups and downs, but each individual data point isn't particularly important. It's the overall long-term trend that matters.

Here is a great thread from NinerBuff on the issue.

community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10196160/scale-stress-syndrome/p1


I was never really "freaked out" about the scale, or meeting a particular rigid goal. It just get on it, and it is what it is. But if the fluctuations worry people, I think for many weighing more often helps, as you see the ups and downs and get used to them.

Apps like Libra or using Trendweight also help for some.

This is why I now do the daily weigh-in. No big build-up to each weigh in, it's just a normal part of my morning routine. That coupled with recording the results in Happy Scale to identify trends has completely eliminated my anxiety with the scale.

I'm switching to weighing in once a month. I used to weigh in once a week, but it would bum be out and kill my momentum if I had a gain of any kind. Different things work for different people, you may have to experiment to see what works for you.