Are you ever afraid to jump on the scale?

KymBerlyBarrera
KymBerlyBarrera Posts: 25 Member
edited November 29 in Health and Weight Loss
Last week I had a nice loss of 5lbs, for a total of 16lbs since I started my transformation. Im sticking to my calories. I only cheated one day and I stayed under my BMR, even though I didn't meet my calorie goal that day.

Yet I'm actually having anxiety about weighing myself tonight when I go to work out. I'm scared I won't have lost any weight. I know its a irrational feeling and I am NOT a anxious person. So what the heck is wrong with me??

Replies

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    BMR does not mean what you think it means lol (you are confusing BMR and TDEE)

    anyways... no I don't. the scale only tells me the gravitational pull this planet has on my body. It does not tell me how my clothes fit, how many inches I've lost, how i feel, how i look, how smart I am, how funny i am, or how i can outdrink most of my friends. the latter probably being the most important.

    ive lost 80 pounds over the past year or so. some weeks you gain. some you lose. some you gain a lot, and a lot of them stay the same.

    i am more than my scale. and so are you ;)
  • kissedbythesunshine
    kissedbythesunshine Posts: 416 Member
    No. The numbers don't control my life anymore. Some weeks I lose, some weeks I don't.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    If you're in a calorie deficit.. which it sounds like you are.. then you lost bodyfat the past week.. regardless if it was offset by water weight gain due to carbs, sodium, TOM, etc. So congratulations! :+1:
  • NotGnarly
    NotGnarly Posts: 137 Member
    It causes anxiety for me so I just focus on staying within my cals and weighing when I'm brave enough. I also tend to eat salty foods so water weight freaks me out. I know I know it's stupid but it stresses me out. I think I'm going to weigh in a week though once my period comes.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    This is why daily weighting is superior IMO.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Not afraid anymore, not after I started weighing daily, but I admit I'm a bit apprehensive. I know that I can't put on any significant amount of fat (I'm in maintenance) from one day to the next (meaning any fluctuations have to be something else).
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    I'm about to have my year anniversary with MFP and I still get anxious stepping on the scale sometimes. It sucks because I want one of those really cool graphs other people have that weigh everyday day.... Unfortunately I can't mentally handle normal daily fluctuations.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    edited February 2016
    I don't think it's abnormal to feel a little anxious when weighing. You've worked hard and you want the reward of seeing a lower number than last time. Unfortunately, the body doesn't work in a nice linear fashion and so we have to learn to deal with fluctuations. If it really bothers you it might be worth considering weighing daily and using a tracking app. For some people weighing daily and getting used to/accepting of the fluctuations really seems to lessen scale anxiety. For others it worsens it.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    What is there to be afraid of? It's one number among hundreds you will have before you're done. Personally, I'm afraid I'd hurt myself if I tried to jump on the scales, so I just gently step on it. :D
  • WendyLaubach
    WendyLaubach Posts: 518 Member
    I see this question or issue on this site nearly every day. It puzzles me. I was usually afraid to step on the scale when I wasn't going anything effective to try to control my weight, because it meant facing my own failure to do the right thing for myself. Now that I'm doing something I know is effective over time, the scale is just a tool. Some days I'm stalled, other days I get a big bounce from a loss. When I'm stalled I know I have to be patient. Nothing scary about that, because I know patience will pay off before long.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    Not really. I know I'm in a calorie deficit. I know a calorie deficit is guaranteed to lead to fat loss. Fat loss is simply the inevitable outcome of controlling my diet.

    No daily measurement really means anything (although of course the record lows are a bit fun). It's the trend that matters, and really that's just to ensure my overall trajectory is going well. Some days I'm up, some down, but in the long run, it's the trend that matters. Each day is just one more data point for the graphs.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    After a high carb day, with lifting, and lots of salt-yes.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I weigh daily for this reason. It used to make me very nervous to step on the scale. Years ago I wouldn't weigh myself ever, except at the doctor's office, and I never knew if I was up or down (sometimes by a LOT)...weighing daily helps because I'm never up more than about 3 lb even from a crazy day of exercise and eating loads of salty food, and then I can watch it quickly come back down.

    If I just weighed weekly or monthly like many people do, it would drive me crazy! Find what works for you.
  • KymBerlyBarrera
    KymBerlyBarrera Posts: 25 Member
    Guys! Im up 3 pounds! Damn you IHOP, You struck again! The sodium content was through the roof, it must be water weight! Im going to try and weigh daily. Right now im working out for 2 hours every other day, and weighing in before my work out each time.
  • MichelleLea122
    MichelleLea122 Posts: 332 Member
    Personally I just weight myself every day and use the average for the week. I find that to be a better indication of my weight loss and weight gain, because it takes away from some of the day to day fluctuations.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    Nope, it's just a number, information.

    What's to be scared about? Does it detect you have gained weight and electrocute you through your feet?

    Also I don't care about day to day or week to week weight, I look at my weight over 2-3 month periods.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    Libra--Android
    Happy Scale--iPhone
    www.trendweight.com--supported scale and free www.fitbit.com account (available without a band)
    www.weightgrapher.com--supported scale, CSV, and manual entry.

    Use them. Be happy. The end.
  • spzjlb
    spzjlb Posts: 602 Member
    Yes, I get real anxious, and that is silly for all the reasons posted above. I wish I'd taken before measurements and photos to have had other indexes of progress. I'm trying to maintain and that is almost worse than the losing phase. Good luck and don't be silly (like I am).
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Nope. My overall trend has been downward, so no fear. I even jumped on the scale at the docs office today. BP and HR were good, weight is down. I must be doing something right. If you are going to weigh daily, try trendweight, happy scale, or Libra to smooth out the ups and downs and show you the overall trend. That helped so much when I have a decrease and can still see the trend has been down every single week.
  • VictoryGarden
    VictoryGarden Posts: 194 Member
    Yes, all the time. I found that , for me, it helps if I weigh everyday, b/c I know there will be variances. But, I don't weigh myself at all starting 5 days(ish) prior to that time of the month, and not again until it's done. There is nothing more disheartening than to see an 8 lb spike!
  • michaela4910
    michaela4910 Posts: 544 Member
    I'm not afraid to jump on the scale. I ain't afraid o' nothin'. Do I have to read it? Noooo
  • emmaprocopiou
    emmaprocopiou Posts: 246 Member
    I used to be scared but that was when I knew already from how tight clothes were that I had put on the weight.
    Not seeing that number meant I could pretend and fool myself.
    I now weigh daily on happy scale and log on mfp weekly . I've got used to fluctuations and now feel more in control
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    Jruzer wrote: »
    This is why daily weighting is superior IMO.

    I agree. Ever since I started using Trendweight I can easily predict my fluctuations. I also love seeing the data.

    KymBerlyBarrera wrote: »
    Guys! Im up 3 pounds! Damn you IHOP, You struck again! The sodium content was through the roof, it must be water weight! Im going to try and weigh daily. Right now im working out for 2 hours every other day, and weighing in before my work out each time.

    Yes, please do not worry! Yesterday I almost finished an entire large thin crust bbq chicken pizza; I ate 7 out of 8 slices. I woke up and I'm like "Today, my weight will shoot up by around two pounds." I know this because of weighing in daily and tracking trends. Well:

    2w.png


    I "gained" 1.6 pounds this morning which was actually almost half a pound less than my prediction, but pretty much in the ballpark. By Sunday, my "official" weigh in day, that should go right back down.

  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 564 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    BMR does not mean what you think it means lol (you are confusing BMR and TDEE)

    anyways... no I don't. the scale only tells me the gravitational pull this planet has on my body. It does not tell me how my clothes fit, how many inches I've lost, how i feel, how i look, how smart I am, how funny i am, or how i can outdrink most of my friends. the latter probably being the most important.

    ive lost 80 pounds over the past year or so. some weeks you gain. some you lose. some you gain a lot, and a lot of them stay the same.

    i am more than my scale. and so are you ;)

    These are words of wisdom. Listen to them. :)
  • Osiris275
    Osiris275 Posts: 228 Member
    I get that feeling too. I'm staying within 1200 +100 ish of my 6-700 exercise calories, so I know I should lose. But I always feel like I won't.

    I've never been able to get rid of that feeling!
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Starting out I would feel more anxious about weighing in. I don't feel anxious about it now now even if the result is not a loss. It is just information.
    You might want to make sure you are weighing at the same time of day, on the same scale and same conditions as your weight can fluctuate through the day and different scales will give a different reading.
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