What to do if you don't own a scale?

coruscation
coruscation Posts: 9 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been trying to cut back on my eating for the last couple weeks, and while I've been successful in that I don't actually own a scale, nor do I know where to find one, so I'm not sure how to weigh myself to track my progress.

I'm a college freshman with no job and my mom doesn't want me to buy one because she doesn't want it to become a dangerous obsession, which I understand but I feel like I'm more likely to make healthy choices if I know what's happening and I'm in control. (But even then I wouldn't know which one to buy)


Thoughts?


Thanks.

Replies

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,115 Member
    "College freshman" ... most colleges have some kind of gym or workout facilities that are free to enrolled students, and most gyms and workout facilities have scales, either in the gym or in the locker room.

    Also, colleges often have some kind of health clinic or wellness office, and there might be a scale there as well. Just walk in, ask if they have one, and if they say yes, ask if it's OK if you drop in once a week so you can keep an eye on your weight. Make a joke about the "freshman 15" if the you feel uncomfortable doing this.
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    On Amazon, you can find both body scales and food scales - they may be the best purchase you will ever make.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Is there a campus gym or even a school nurse? They might have a scale and let you use it.

    You can pick one specific pair of pants and go by how loose or tight they are. You could find someone who has a tape measure and track your measurements. You could take before and after photos and compare that way. None of these are going to be as clear and as simple as a scale, but they would be something.
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
    Lots of scales are available on Amazon. Or you can go to Walmart or Target. Under $20 so maybe you have some extra holiday money or something laying around to use on it.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Is this a food scale? If so Amazon or Walmart. $20.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,115 Member
    cathipa wrote: »
    Is this a food scale? If so Amazon or Walmart. $20.

    OP says "I'm not sure how to weigh myself to track my progress," so I'm thinking, no, not a food scale.
  • coruscation
    coruscation Posts: 9 Member
    Thank you. I've been to the campus nutritionist once and she basically told me to eat less subway and come back in 2 weeks lol. I suppose I can try to find the scales in the gym... I'm just embarrassed to ask.

    Really I'm just embarrassed to let on to anyone that I'm trying to lose weight because I tend to be very body positive and I feel like I'm betraying that.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    edited January 2017
    Walmart sells both food scales and a body weight scales.


  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    edited January 2017
    coruscation wrote: »
    Thank you. I've been to the campus nutritionist once and she basically told me to eat less subway and come back in 2 weeks lol. I suppose I can try to find the scales in the gym... I'm just embarrassed to ask.

    Really I'm just embarrassed to let on to anyone that I'm trying to lose weight because I tend to be very body positive and I feel like I'm betraying that.

    then get a tape measure...or even just string and mark it with a marker to note inches lost..

    There is no need to put numbers on any of it...not a biggy really.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    edited January 2017
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    cathipa wrote: »
    Is this a food scale? If so Amazon or Walmart. $20.

    OP says "I'm not sure how to weigh myself to track my progress," so I'm thinking, no, not a food scale.

    My bad - DERP! But they also sell cheap body scales too :wink:
  • maybe1pe
    maybe1pe Posts: 529 Member
    coruscation wrote: »
    Thank you. I've been to the campus nutritionist once and she basically told me to eat less subway and come back in 2 weeks lol. I suppose I can try to find the scales in the gym... I'm just embarrassed to ask.

    Really I'm just embarrassed to let on to anyone that I'm trying to lose weight because I tend to be very body positive and I feel like I'm betraying that.

    I don't think trying to lose weight means you aren't body positive.

    I've always been pretty body positive and still am but there are reasons to lose weight that aren't related to body image. Like your overall health.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,115 Member
    coruscation wrote: »
    Thank you. I've been to the campus nutritionist once and she basically told me to eat less subway and come back in 2 weeks lol. I suppose I can try to find the scales in the gym... I'm just embarrassed to ask.

    Really I'm just embarrassed to let on to anyone that I'm trying to lose weight because I tend to be very body positive and I feel like I'm betraying that.

    You shouldn't have to speak with the nutritionist to use the scales in her office. Just tell the receptionist that you want to use the scales. Nobody needs to know that you're trying to lose weight. Don't overshare if it makes you uncomfortable.

    And the scales at the gym are likely to be in the locker room or near whatever kind of check-in or trainer desk they have in the actual gym. If it embarrasses you, put on workout clothes and get a workout in, and then casually step on the scales at some point. Kill two birds with one stone. And, really, the odds that anyone will be paying any attention to you whatsoever (unless they're checking you out, which in my recollection was more of a thing in college gyms than in the commercial gyms people go to after leaving school) are very low to nil.
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    I think keeping an eye on your weight is absolutely in line with being body positive - it means taking care of yourself, and wanting to maintain your health. Dont be embarrassed (I know, its easy to say that), but just walk in and look whoever in the eye and say "where is the scale so I can check my progess?" (or where my friend can check his/her progress!!)
  • Kodekai1988
    Kodekai1988 Posts: 49 Member
    coruscation wrote: »
    Thank you. I've been to the campus nutritionist once and she basically told me to eat less subway and come back in 2 weeks lol. I suppose I can try to find the scales in the gym... I'm just embarrassed to ask.

    Really I'm just embarrassed to let on to anyone that I'm trying to lose weight because I tend to be very body positive and I feel like I'm betraying that.

    Losing weight doesn't mean you're betraying a body-positive mind set, or the ethos that entails... your body is yours and if you want to lose weight (for whatever reason) that is your decision.

    I am very much into body positivity but decided to lose weight. For aesthetic reasons (I didn't like what my body looked like) but also for health, my joints, better sleep, the list goes on. If people ask I just say I wanted to lose a bit of weight to feel better.
  • coruscation
    coruscation Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks for the measuring inches idea, how do I implement it properly? Like do I measure waist and hip or one or the other? Is there a way to track this here? Etc.
  • SolotoCEO
    SolotoCEO Posts: 293 Member
    Go to the fitness center and weigh on their scales. While not perfect ('cause weighing naked is frowned upon), it will give you a basic idea. Buying a scale is easy - amazon.com. I think mine was about $20.00.
  • LenGray
    LenGray Posts: 881 Member
    coruscation wrote: »
    Thanks for the measuring inches idea, how do I implement it properly? Like do I measure waist and hip or one or the other? Is there a way to track this here? Etc.

    If you go to the 'Check In' tab on your main window, it has an area for measurements as well as weight. I had to google how to measure the first few times, but it gets easier.

    As for the body positivity thing... As long as you feel positive about your body and don't judge people on theirs, I don't see how trying to lose weight would undermine that. :) Just do what you want to do and let other people think what they will.
  • brdoyle8
    brdoyle8 Posts: 38 Member
    coruscation wrote: »
    Thank you. I've been to the campus nutritionist once and she basically told me to eat less subway and come back in 2 weeks lol. I suppose I can try to find the scales in the gym... I'm just embarrassed to ask.

    Really I'm just embarrassed to let on to anyone that I'm trying to lose weight because I tend to be very body positive and I feel like I'm betraying that.

    Your campus has a nutritionist??? Geez, I went to the wrong school!

    A fellow college senior here, just grab one on amazon or get a tape measure to measure inches. I agree with the above, if your campus has a nutritionist, they probably have a locker room with a scale.
  • yumesoraki
    yumesoraki Posts: 4,859 Member
    edited January 2017
    Additionally as a random note, sometimes the Uni's have clinical trials where they're testing out new measurement tools regarding weight loss (try the Kines and Nutrition departments for that if your school has 'em-ours runs studies all the time) so you might be able to run into a DEXA scan, hydrometry, or air displacement plethysmography.
  • AprilCain1
    AprilCain1 Posts: 1 Member
    edited January 2017
    Just because you're body positive doesn't mean you can't want to be a better you! Loving yourself also means taking care of yourself! Check the locker room in the gym area most likely the scales in there.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    You can probably find one at Goodwill for a few $. Any scale would be fine. Or see if you can weigh in at the college, in a clinic, the nutritionists office, the gym, etc. It wouldn't be ideal because you can't do it naked first thing in the morning, but it would give you a trend over time which is what matters the most.

    Explain your thoughts to your mom and why you want to lose weight and how you will do it in a healthful manner, so you can assure her you won't get obsessed.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    coruscation wrote: »
    Thanks for the measuring inches idea, how do I implement it properly? Like do I measure waist and hip or one or the other? Is there a way to track this here? Etc.

    you can measure whatever you want.

    I measure thigh, waist (natural and by belly button) my hips, under my boobs and my boobs...

    Yes you can track here as well...under "check in" as mentioned above.
  • kaseymorgan123
    kaseymorgan123 Posts: 1 Member
    Losing weight does not mean you are not body positive. It means you love your body enough to know it deserves more than being overweight. Part of loving yourself is taking care of yourself efficiently and anyone who tells you otherwise are not body positive, but just dont care about their health or they are just lazy. (this is coming from a fat girl so, I'm not being rude or condescending)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    kaseymorgan123 wrote: »
    Losing weight does not mean you are not body positive. It means you love your body enough to know it deserves more than being overweight. Part of loving yourself is taking care of yourself efficiently and anyone who tells you otherwise are not body positive, but just dont care about their health or they are just lazy. (this is coming from a fat girl so, I'm not being rude or condescending)

    but being weighed doesn't mean you are taking care of yourself...could be a "bad" thing actually.
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