Mood dictated by scale?

I used to be that way, but not anymore. I understand the daily fluctuations. I weigh daily and use Happy Scale to record weights so I can see a graph of progress. It shows an overall downward trend, so one or two days higher than the previous low doesn't bother me.

I've been there. If I'm feeling even a little bit fragile I skip the weigh in that day. I skip lots of days. Eye on the prize. The real prize is nutritious food within my calorie goal and some exercise daily. Not fluctuating water weight on the scale.

Yep - those scales can be deadly. I stopped using them a while back.. they were sending me backwards instead of forwards... But you know what - its totally normal to want to see progress. So instead, I set myself some goals for the day. i.e. drink 2L of water, do my fast for the day, do 10,000 steps, and I just rate myself (1-10) on whether I did my best to achieve that goal. Asking myself this way means that I am more looking at my progress than the outcome..Try to wean yourself a little off the scales - sounds like you're being really hard on yourself, and you're probably doing a fabulous job!!

I weigh every day & expect the scale to go up & down!! What I'm always excited about is the weekly average weight I get from Fitbit on Saturdays. And because it reflects a trend, it almost always goes down. But it's not foolproof or even linear in its total nature and a few times it has gone sideways or up. I really don't understand the emotional response tactic. That would be like getting upset over a car lube job that said my windshield wiper fluid was low or something. I guess I really don't see my excess weight as intrinsically part of 'me'. It's more like a little excess stuff in the garage that I need to get rid of. Having it there doesn't make me ashamed or feel like a bad person; I understand getting rid of it will take a little time and thought. Some weeks are just more effective than others at that.
Maybe you should shift your self worth away from your weight. Because weight will always bobble around, even once you're in a healthy weight range.

Nope.

IMO weighing on a daily basis helps to inure people to normal everyday weight fluctuations. Or, at least, to inure logical and non emotionally-driven people to normal everyday weight fluctuations.

scolaris wrote: »

...snip... I really don't understand the emotional response tactic... I guess I really don't see my excess weight as intrinsically part of 'me'. It's more like a little excess stuff in the garage that I need to get rid of. Having it there doesn't make me ashamed or feel like a bad person...

Nicely said!

As someone who has a tendency to blow some situations out of proportion, I have somehow managed to keep a level head concerning this shedding of junk in my garage. I weigh every day and note my ups and down. But, I get to decide my mood, and I feel much healthier when I decide on a good one.

Absolutely!!! I totally go through the same thing....If I am feeling at all like the day could be a crabby one, or whatever I avoid the scale. I wish it didn't affect me so much too! I know there are daily/weekly/monthly fluctuations, but it still hurts.

Don't start day trading OP. :laugh:

Just weigh once a week if daily checks are bad for you. Personally I weigh in twice a day. Fluctuations are perfectly normal.

Myeh. Not so much the scale

dorener wrote: »

Anyone else? If that scale goes up even a half pound, I have a terrible mood but if there's any loss I am in a fantastic mood. I hate how obsessed I am with it. It actually affects my mood with my kids which is absolutely terrible.

Dawww. I feel you. (hugs)
Dont take it out on your littles, your friends OR yourself.
Take it out on the weights. Take it out on the treadmill. Take it out on those tennis shoes!

Use it as fuel to push you. Whether its because of sodium, or less movement or too much food- who cares. Other than using the"why" to direct your choices for today- forget about it. Just change it. Do better next time.
Look at the big picture- not just today or this week!
If it helps just weigh-in every two weeks vs. 1 week or daily ....or put the scale away for a while.

Dont give that stupid thing the power to ruin your day!!

yes it most certainly effects my mood. I know it shouldn't but I feel like I'm working very hard and it frustrates me big time to see the scale go the wrong direction, even if it's only for a day or two.

jprewitt1 wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

Nope.

IMO weighing on a daily basis helps to inure people to normal everyday weight fluctuations. Or, at least, to inure logical and non emotionally-driven people to normal everyday weight fluctuations.

Ha. It's funny cause it's true. I'm one of those people who used to convince myself that if my weight didn't go down in a particular amount of days that it didn't matter and I should just eat whatever. It's taken a long time to get that mindset changed. I still have the occasional bad day, but it's gotten better. I weigh in everyday and track my progress using Libra so I can see that I still have a downward trend. That is a definite help to me mentally and emotionally.

It does take work. It's not something that comes naturally to most of us. For me, emotionless weigh-ins are important for long term loss/maintenance efforts. I'm pretty successful when it comes to doing that with the scale. Self image/body issues, I struggle with a bit too much emotion but I am working on it. I find it more productive to be emotional about the training (lifting weights) side of my fitness program.

Before I understood weight loss and my body, I would get discouraged if I didn't see a lower number on the scale every week. Back then, I would only weigh in on Sunday mornings and I remember one Sunday, my weight was the same as the prior Sunday and I just felt discouraged. I thought that was the end of my weight loss journey, but the next Sunday I lost three pounds. Now that I have more experience, I know that weight loss is not linear and my body holds water during ovulation. I also know what to expect from my body after a higher sodium day. I weigh myself every morning now and I can see the trends. The data has been a real eye-opener for me and has helped me obtain a more realistic outlook on my progress. Here is my weight loss for the past three months. The "gains" are from ovulation or days where I had more sodium than usual, but the trend is still downward:



So don't give up hope or get upset. As long as you're logging accurately and being honest, you will succeed.

It is really disturbing how a machine can have such a dramatic effect, isnt it?! Thats why I dont own a scale, and use my shrinking clothes to gauge my progress. I only get weighed when I have to go to my doctors office. The last time I was there was early February, and I have another appointment coming up next week. I know I will have lost some poundage, as I am 2 sizes smaller than I was the last time.

I am not suggesting that you dont weigh yourself regularly, but maybe daily isnt the best weigh (haha!) to go!