Not weighing myself during weight loss
JasmineDiver22
Posts: 148 Member
I have over 100+ pounds to lose. I've tried dieting and losing weight for half my life. I was always an obsessive scale watcher. Had a huge wake up call a few days ago. Serious life style change is the only option left for me. So far since I've started, I walk only 30 mins a day, (so over weight I can't do to much right away) and eating 1500 calories a day. I eat mainly protein and veggies with of course 1-2 servings of fruit a day. Moderate carbs. I plan on not weighing myself the entire time while trying to lose weight. Do you think this method is effective? Or should I weigh myself through out this entire journey?
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Replies
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need more stats.. I'm more concerned about 1500 cals being enough if you have over 100 to lose vs your plan to track or not track progress. age height activity level etc5
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I haven't weighed myself in a month. I probably gained like 10-15 pounds. I defintly assumed the worst and just put my weight @ 300. But I'm not sure. I'm scared to weigh myself because if I do, it'll mess with me and discourage me. I'm 23 years old, 5'2 and let's assume I'm 300 pounds.0
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Oh, and I track everything I eat on here, I also have a food scale, and a Fitbit, and aria scale. So I'm good as far as all that goes. My activity level, I'm not sure. I walk just 30 mins 3 times a week. Since I'm so over weight i don't want to burn myself out so fast doing to much that my body can't handle right now. Hope this is enough info.3
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I have been quite successful not weighing myself for the first month or two but then I find I get curious and then I get disappointed when the number is not lower. I also find it is easier to derail when you aren't weighing...small bad choices don't seem that big of a deal at the time but they add up and it's easier to ignore then if you aren't getting scale feedback. What about just weighing once per month? Is it because you feel like you can't face it right now? What other ways are you going to measure success if you aren't using a scale? When I wasn't weighing I rewarded myself biweekly for tracking everything and staying on target and it somewhat worked for me (although not long range sustainably obviously because here I am again hahaha)0
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You don't need extra stress while trying to lose significant weight. If the scale is too much for you right now, stay off. Take pictures and compare month-to-month and use a pair of pants as a gauge. Weigh when you are ready.
It took me years to figure out that the scale simply provides data, not a measurement of self worth, eventually you will be curious
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The various TDEE calcs put your maintenance around 2500 calories per day at a Sedentary Level. You might even be light exercise at 2800 cals per day. Now these numbers and calculators arent exact but 1500 will be unsustainable. You will want to eat your arm off and fall off the wagon in a week or less. Your body will not be able to metabolize enough fat per day to make up for the gap created resulting in Lean body mass loss too. You dont want that.
I think a starting point would be 2000 cals or 1900 + Eat Exercise calories back. Same thing. You can safely lose 1 pound per week for now. Key phrase for now. Every ten pounds lost you will want to drop the calories 50 or so per day.
Maybe for the first month don't weight but if you look in the mirror one day and know you lost a bunch of weight you might regret not knowing where you started. I think its also nice to have to track and make adjustments. You'll make adjustments this entire journey.9 -
When you sign up for MyFitnessPal, it asks you what your goal weight is. I'm @ "300" now and I put my goal weight @ 200. So with my weight and activity level it put me @ 1580 cals per day if I want to lose 2 pounds per week.3
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Everyone wants to lose two pounds per week. 1 is usually far more realistic for someone in your BMI range. MFP also expects you to eat those walking calories back. Or any exercise calories for that matter.
Play it by ear. If you start having massive cravings, no energy and binges after a week or two then you'll know its to low. you should not be starving or miserable. Its to low in my opinion.10 -
Weighing myself has drove me crazy in the past and that's why I give up. I plan to go by how my clothes fit, flexibility during s e x, and how my body feels physically in general.2
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I have just hit my 100 lb loss last month. But for me, weighing myself daily was an important factor. 1) I am on a VA program where I have to report my weight daily, but more importantly 2) I was able to better understand my weight loss PATTERN by weighing daily (I actually weighed 3 times daily) and that gave me a little better understanding of what I needed to do to make the weight loss more effective. Everybody's weight loss I think is personal and unique. But for me, I was able to see that I would lose 2 lbs, then gain back 1.5 for example...sometimes it would take me a while to actually hit that 2 lb mark again....so I would make adjustments...drop the carbs ...up the protein...until I found things that worked. It made the plateaus shorter... and I think gave me a much better understanding of how my particular weight loss pattern works. But I also think that whatever works for YOU is the best way for you....
You are good to treat it as a lifestyle change and not a diet. Diets are temporary. And also, for me at least, there is less pressure...I don't set goals. My only "goal" is being healthy....I got a dog and started walking him about 100 feet twice a day...that was pretty much all I could manage. The more weight I lost, the more I was able to walk, and the more weight I lost.. a wonderful upward spiral. Now I am working out at the gym 1.25 hours a day, riding my bike and enjoying life...I don't have to stop to take a breath anymore....you will get there...just listen to your body and your soul.5 -
@jdog022 Okay. Yeah you're 100% right! That's usually what happens every time I try to diet! I been drinking lots of water so, so far I don't feel like I'm starving myself. Plus I'm not depriving myself from some carbs I love. So I think that'll help me not go crazy. BUT idk what will happen when cravings to hit me! Especially that time of the month. But I'll watch out for what you're saying. Im defintly worried about that. If I start to get that way after a week or two, then I'll add 200-300 more calories.2
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Everyone wants to lose two pounds per week. 1 is usually far more realistic for someone in your BMI range. MFP also expects you to eat those walking calories back. Or any exercise calories for that matter.
Play it by ear. If you start having massive cravings, no energy and binges after a week or two then you'll know its to low. you should not be starving or miserable. Its to low in my opinion.
She weighs 300 pounds. 2 pounds a week is definitely realistic for her.
OP, it wouldn't work for me but I know it works for others. They just focus on other improvements they can see or achievements they reach.14 -
I agree but for someone who says she has been struggling I think eating the most they can at the start and still lose at a good clip is a recipe for long term success. My bet is she aims for 1 and loses more anyways.4
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@jdog022 I never thought of it that way, eating the most I can to start while help me long term. Just more veggies and fruits? I'm not sure what to eat most of to make me feel full and not feel guilty?1
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The only thing that matters is that your are in a calorie deficit. I literally ate ice cream every night while losing 80 pounds. Sure it was a small carefully measured portion but it kept me sane. There is no guilt knowing you are in a calorie deficit. your body will not store any of it as fat. Sure Veggies and fruit are good but there is no reason to restrict any single food item (assuming no diabetes or anything like that)10
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Protein and fats tend to be the most filling foods for a lot of people. I try to get at least 20g of protein at every meal. Helps keep me full til next meal with minimal snacking0
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You can eat whatever you want as long as you stay in your calorie range. Part of the reason people binge or give up is because they restrict too much. Eat a well balanced diet but make room for the things you love too. No need to feel guilty.JasmineDiver22 wrote: »@jdog022 I never thought of it that way, eating the most I can to start while help me long term. Just more veggies and fruits? I'm not sure what to eat most of to make me feel full and not feel guilty?
As to your original question I find when I avoid the scale it allows me to stay in a sort of denial. I'm not gaining weight if the numbers aren't there in front of me right? But that's me and you've got to do you. One valid reason to maybe at least think about it is it can help you adjust your calorie count up or down depending on your rate of loss or if you have a stall.
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The scale is a tool. If you don't see it going downward, how will you measure your success? If going my the mirror and measurements works for you, go for it. But you may not see stalls, trends, etc that reflect your calorie intake and accuracy.0
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Maybe I'll weigh in once a month. But even then guys, it might discourage me. But you're right, I need to keep track some how. I didn't weigh myself when I started. Should I the next following day, just so I have an actual number to look @. Numbers consume me, and I literally obsess over it. I'd rather just go by how I feel and yet still track every thing I eat and my exercise. The whole point is a life style change. Anything is better than eating out 2-3 time a day, fried foods, and sweets whenever I wanted.0
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If you don't weigh, at least do body measurement. I haven't weighed myself in a year, but I take body measurements every other week. Some kind of tracking is necessary. Both for accountability and sense of achievement!2
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If you don't weigh yourself, you won't be able to accurately log your stats, and your calorie count will never decrease like it should after you've lost say 5 - 10 pounds. You might end up accidentally eating too many calories, and stall your weight loss. Your self-worth is not measured by your scale, only your gravitational pull from the Earth. Might help to look at it that way.6
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I don't know what my maximum weight ever was. I stopped getting on a scale when I hit 280lbs. At 280lbs my (comfort fit) pants... fit me. At my maximum weight they were so tight that having to go buy a larger size was one of the many reasons I decided I had to lose weight.
I have "maintained" weight while getting on the scale. I have "gained" a dozen lbs while getting on the scale. I have lost weight both fast and slowly while getting on the scale. BUT, I have never gained a LOT of weight while getting on the scale. The process of gaining a LOT of weight has always included the decision to not weigh myself and to "not care" about my increasing weight.
A lifestyle change does not mean giving up everything you enjoy today and it doesn't mean suffering from now to eternity. It does mean giving yourself permission to re-write and re-interpret what you like, what you enjoy, and to change the relative priorities you place on things.
My biggest priority used to be sitting in front of the TV watching the Food Network and munching on "goodies". You know, nice "healthy" salads dripping in olive oil, covered with cheese, and scooped up with copious amounts of fresh bread and potato chips.
My biggest priority right now is for my phone to charge so that I can go out for a nice walk so that I can listen to my audiobook.
Don't look at what you are eliminating or reducing; look instead at all the foods you're bringing into your life: yummy soups, fresh vegetables, lean proteins, fresh fruits, the chance to explore foods you would have never tried otherwise! I've tried chia seeds and nutritional yeast and unsweetened cashew vanilla milk for Pete's sake! Yesterday I made a pudding with corn starch and Hershey's cocoa! Who would have thunk it!
A wise forum rabbit once said that the winner meets their goals while eating the most, not the least, that they can.
Will you have to "retrain" yourself over time and change some of your current habits ? Of course you will. But all this does not have to be an exercise in complete misery. Look at it as an adventure and an exploration of a new way of living!
Set an appropriate target. If you really are sedentary faster weight loss may require too much of a percentage drop in your calories. 750 Cal and 500 Cal deficits are perfectly valid and also lead to weight loss over time.
Weight fluctuates day to day. That's why people use a trending weight app and look at their weight trend over time as opposed to individual weigh ins!
In fact your weight information can be auto-magically pushed from Fitbit to trendweight.com and MFP. And, TBH, the Aria scale can be configured to send your weight automatically to Fitbit, though I have personally disabled the wi-fi connection and enter it myself, manually.
Try to make things as easy as you can and ask yourself often if you see yourself behaving the same way for a long period of time. If you're engaging in behaviour that requires you to "white knuckle it" and are adopting "short term focus".... evaluate whether doing so supports your long term goals.6 -
Have you considered joining a support group to help?0
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The various TDEE calcs put your maintenance around 2500 calories per day at a Sedentary Level. You might even be light exercise at 2800 cals per day. Now these numbers and calculators arent exact but 1500 will be unsustainable. You will want to eat your arm off and fall off the wagon in a week or less. Your body will not be able to metabolize enough fat per day to make up for the gap created resulting in Lean body mass loss too. You dont want that.
I think a starting point would be 2000 cals or 1900 + Eat Exercise calories back. Same thing. You can safely lose 1 pound per week for now. Key phrase for now. Every ten pounds lost you will want to drop the calories 50 or so per day.
Maybe for the first month don't weight but if you look in the mirror one day and know you lost a bunch of weight you might regret not knowing where you started. I think its also nice to have to track and make adjustments. You'll make adjustments this entire journey.
if OP is 300lbs she can safely lose more than a pound a week. 1% of bodyweight is a good rate of loss.2 -
Hi! I weigh myself every few weeks first thing in the morning. The number doesn't move too much but the inches I loose are what keep me going! I measure my neck, chest, natural waistline, hips, biceps, and thighs. I log and compare. Sometimes it's 4-5 inches and sometimes not a huge fluctuation but every few weeks keeps me from obsessing over the scale and I feel like I am making progress.
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If I don't weigh regularly things tend to go wrong (speaking as a serial yo yo dieter). Personally I feel that it helps me to be accountable. I try and only do it once a week (I go into boots to get weighed so i can keep the little weight slip from the machine).2
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I never weighed myself until last year - I was then over 2 years into my journey. Don't know my startign weight, don't know how much I lost in total. Based on what I weighed then and now I estimate that I lost at least 25Kg. But to be honest that is only a number.
I still only weigh myself monthly simply because I feel that it is only a number and what I see feel is my driver. The monthly weigh in is a sort of self auditing more than anything. I know that if I weigh myself one of two things could happen Either I'd get disheatened as it never goes down fast enough or I'd get so totally obsessed that I'd be impossible to live with.
So while a lot of people could see it differently I am a case whre it worked. If the weight number is not the motivator and you feel it is not the driver for you then by all means go for it.
The only scale I use a lot more is my food scale0 -
Hi Jasmine,
I think as hard as it seems right now, you need to step on those scales just to get that first number as something you can look back on when you've absolutely smashed it and can say "This is where I was, and this is where I am now... hell yeah!"
I'd say after that maybe weigh in every 14 days or so just to keep track, but don't let a maintained weight or slight gain make you think you haven't done well - So many things can effect your scale weight.
I definitely agree that you should also go by measurements e.g this pair of pants feels loser etc. It's very encouraging to feel the difference, as well as see the numbers.
If you need any advice or encouragement, feel free to add me!
x
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Can you step on a scale and have someone else look at the number? That person can let you know if you are going the right way and can perhaps enter your weight on the app so that your calories are properly calculated? May sound stupid, but at least you won't have the stress of seeing the number on the scale. That will be someone else's job lol1
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Ok guys I'm stepping on the scale this morning. Lol. Don't want to see the number!! So ashamed and in disbelief if it's as high as what I think it is. I will track my weight every month and take pictures every 3 months.4
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