I've stopped weighing myself, anyone else?
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If you gain 3 lbs, your clothes will tell you. If you lose 3 lbs, your clothes will tell you. Your mirror is the best gauge.1
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I have not quit weighing in yet, but am thinking about it. Quit logging in June and weight is static. I never even had a scale until I joined here. I would LOVE to tell it goodbye! I've been at maintenance for a couple of years. Everything still fits. Go for it!1
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Scales can be the worse enemy, specially when starting out. Measurements are a more accurate way to keep track of progress.2
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I think you should continue to weigh yourself regularly, the way you were doing. That's how you would know where you stand. Just remind yourself, for those freaky, out of nowhere extra lbs, that it's a fluctuation, if you didn't do some serious overeating and accept it as such. But the only way you would know if it's a fluctuation or a real weight gain, if you have information and data. And scale provides that, so why would you reject it? You talked about changing your approach to the numbers on the scale, and i think that should be your focus. To learn to be ok with water weight and fluctuations, not letting it affect your mood for the day. It's just an honest tool, quick to use and to get your data from. It's like getting an unpleasant email, not worth throwing out your computer because of it. You're in control of how you process the information scale provides, so don't ditch it, work with it.6
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If you gain 3 lbs, your clothes will tell you. If you lose 3 lbs, your clothes will tell you. Your mirror is the best gauge.
This is so true for me. I've been at this for a while now so I can easily see when put on water weight with certain non-stretchy clothes, by how my ring fits and sometimes I can see it (others can't though).1 -
Don't concentrate on weight concentrate on body fat % and get a scales that can read it for you. Which also means when you get random spikes in weight you know if it's putting on fat or muscle. Plus muscle weighs more than fat so sometimes taking measurements can help if you're not happy with the number you see on the scales. Just be dedicated to what your goal is and maintain what you see as ideal for you.4
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I have been a yoyo dieter all my life. If I don't weigh, it is very easy for me to fool myself into thinking I haven't gained all that much. I usually wear my clothes loose and comfortable, so they aren't much of a gauge. The mirror is even worse, because I look in the mirror and see all my flaws, no matter what I weigh. At 120 lbs. I see all the fat that still exists, not the fact that I am thinner than I've been since high school. I weigh myself about once a week, sometimes every other week. I know from my ring whether I am retaining water or not, so I choose days when I know I'm not (i.e. not after a hard workout or restaurant meal.)
Menopause does not necessarily mean you'll gain weight. I started running at 54 and my weight went down to levels I hadn't seen in years. I did have thyroid and anemia issues that had to be dealt with - but both are easily diagnosed and treated. If you just can't shift those 3 pounds, it is worth getting a complete thyroid panel done (not just TSH).6 -
What I would suggest is that a weight range come into play instead of a very static "number". I would also weigh myself every day at the same time on the same scale and take the average for the week and use that as my number. Then compare next week's number with the current number.
I understand that lots of people have different issues with different things (unhealthy relationship with food and with the scale are very common). I suggest that a mind-set change is in order (which is easier said than done and does not happen overnight).
I just look at the numbers from the scale as validation for the week's work or for kicking me in the *kitten* for slacking. It is a tool.....just like food and just like cardio. Nothing more.
But, until you get there......I would suggest that you concentrate on how you feel and how your clothes fit. Just make progress on the mind-set thing.....
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Wow! The word a * r * s * e * got a "kitten"......good to know!1
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For me, weighing myself means less than it did before. During my weight loss in 2014, it was all about the numbers. My goal was 125 pounds. The next thing I knew, in early 2015 was that I got down to 117 pounds. For the rest of 2015 and part of 2016, I simply maintained, with a buffer of 117-120 pounds. I wore a size 4 pants.
In mid 2016, due to boredom than anything else, I started weight training. My weight, ever so slowly creeped up. It freaked me out. However, earlier this year, the last time I weighed I was 126 pounds (in the doctor's office) BUT I am still wearing a size 4 pants! The numbers on the scale are just that - numbers. I am defining myself by my measurements now. While I feel sore all the time, I am stronger and a bit more defined. I do carry about 2 pounds of inflammation at any given time. (It took me almost a year to determine that!). As long as my clothes still fit me, I call it good!4 -
rhtexasgal wrote: »For me, weighing myself means less than it did before. During my weight loss in 2014, it was all about the numbers. My goal was 125 pounds. The next thing I knew, in early 2015 was that I got down to 117 pounds. For the rest of 2015 and part of 2016, I simply maintained, with a buffer of 117-120 pounds. I wore a size 4 pants.
In mid 2016, due to boredom than anything else, I started weight training. My weight, ever so slowly creeped up. It freaked me out. However, earlier this year, the last time I weighed I was 126 pounds (in the doctor's office) BUT I am still wearing a size 4 pants! The numbers on the scale are just that - numbers. I am defining myself by my measurements now. While I feel sore all the time, I am stronger and a bit more defined. I do carry about 2 pounds of inflammation at any given time. (It took me almost a year to determine that!). As long as my clothes still fit me, I call it good!
I sort of think this is what has happened to me. When I think about the fitness changes I've made in the last year or so, I see my yoga practice. Strange how I have never felt stronger or even slimmer before yet this is when the weight number creeps.
Some of my clothes fit differently, others do not. There doesn't see to be any consistency. This of course leads me to think I should probably face the scale and just work with it as I've...simply a guide not a death knell.2 -
For me, hiding from the scale is a bad habit, so I won't stop weighing myself.
Because I'm good at fooling myself. I have the pairs of jeans that get tight and I just lie to myself about them. It's a really silly game I play where I just start wearing looser stretchy clothes and tell myself it's about being "comfortable".
However, this is me. I get that other people are different and can gauge weight creep with the clothes or mirror.
The important thing is to keep an eye on it.
The thing I never, ever want to do is be in a position where I have to start buying new clothes in bigger sizes. I've done that in the past and it will never happen again.10 -
I have to step on the scale.
I have had times in the past when I didn't because I didn't have a scale and it was fine, and I continued to lose weight, but I was logging my food religiously.
The scale keeps me in check. Even though I log food, I start saying, "Well, only a couple hundred calories over, no big." It really isn't a big deal, but if I do that fairly regularly pretty soon I start saying, "Well only 600 over - I haven't gained at 200 over..." It's a dangerous spiral. I weigh myself at a minimum every Friday and Monday, because I find Thursday - Sunday to be days I tend to over eat.
I love my Excel spreadsheet, and I have to have all the data filled in for the formulas to work properly.
It's just one more layer of accountability I've created. 4 -
When I put the scale away, I tend to eventually lose focus and accountability. I hate it, but I need to give myself a window of about 10lbs and when I reach the cap, I refocus. Without the scale, I tend to lie to myself about how clothes are fitting, even though I know my pants don't fit anymore I refuse to do anything about it til I actually see a number on the scale that shocks me!5
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If you gain 3 lbs, your clothes will tell you. If you lose 3 lbs, your clothes will tell you. Your mirror is the best gauge.
This is not AT ALL true for me. It takes 15-20 for my clothes to fit differently and 30 for me to see it in the mirror. I really really REALLY would like to know before it gets to that point lol!8 -
*Sigh*
I think I should be grateful that I did not toss th scale as so many friends have suggested. I will get back on. Please pray that I don't become depressed by the number I am sure to see.0 -
kistockman wrote: »*Sigh*
I think I should be grateful that I did not toss th scale as so many friends have suggested. I will get back on. Please pray that I don't become depressed by the number I am sure to see.
I think it is better to know than to quietly creep back up until you are 20 pounds over where you want to be. knowledge is power! best of luck and don't be depressed, just create an action plan!3 -
kistockman wrote: »*Sigh*
I think I should be grateful that I did not toss th scale as so many friends have suggested. I will get back on. Please pray that I don't become depressed by the number I am sure to see.
Can't you just look at it the same way you look at your birthday? "Yup, another year."
It's just a data point that gives you fairly accurate feedback.3 -
I am post-menopausal I weigh myself when I feel my clothes getting tighter. I have been on maintenance for a few years now. The most I have gained is 7 pounds and I have managed to lose that. I found a weighing myself day or weekly was more about a number and not how I was feeling. I am strong and healthy and that is my goal. With the holidays approaching I will weigh myself the first of the month until Spring.2
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cmriverside wrote: »kistockman wrote: »*Sigh*
I think I should be grateful that I did not toss th scale as so many friends have suggested. I will get back on. Please pray that I don't become depressed by the number I am sure to see.
Can't you just look at it the same way you look at your birthday? "Yup, another year."
It's just a data point that gives you fairly accurate feedback.
That is such a great way to think about it!
I will say I did in fact step on the scale this morning after not weighing myself for a number of weeks. I am about 5-6 lbs above my goal weight. But the good news is that though I did think about it lots today, I didn't really stress about it. What helped was that I noticed when I stopped myself from walking by a bowl of grapes and grabbing one or two to pop in my mouth. The grapes aren't bad, but at that moment I realized that I adopted this habit of just popping food in my mouth. I know it is THIS, THIS habit, not the food that threatens my maintenance. The 5lbs didn't stress me, but schooled me today.
I will take this as a good sign and so will continue working on seeing the number as simply data.
Thank you all again for hanging with me as I work through this.
xoxo8 -
I agree with Dx and SummerSkier (who must be my weight-loss twin). I'm not at maintenance yet, but I'm ready to ditch the scale and logging. I realize both are a source of stress but help keep me on track. I can feel a pound or 2, up or down, so I think I can nip trends in the bud. I just choose not to. So much to learn. Good luck doing what works best for you and your lifestyle. You'll figure it out. Stay in the stress-free zone!You don't have to continue food logging/measuring but I would continue to weigh yourself regularly. It doesn't have to be daily by any means, weekly or two times a month would suffice. You're not worried about the actual number, you're more worried about the longer-term trend of the number.
As you've seen over the past 10 years, people who continue to track their weight after they stop losing stand a much better chance of keeping the weight off. Staying aware of your weight trends ensures that you continue to focus on a reasonable calorie intake and helps you to identify and act upon any issues early.
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I rejoined MFP as my weight went up when I wasn't tracking regularly. I have now learnt that lesson. As soon as I reach that goal again, I will make sure to weigh myself weekly but won't need to track the food unless my weight is up. However I don't mind food logging and I think that is useful data too. I also have a revised goal: 'Maintain my weight within x range (a 2 kg range which is 1 kg either side of goal weight) for z years'.
But don't use getting older as an excuse. There are lots of older people out there in good condition at healthy weights. Be one of them.1 -
Weighing daily is my primary way to keep myself on track - but it's just data and doesn't make or break my day.
I understand the vast majority of my changes in weight that are out of proportion to my calorie intake through experience and those seemingly random jumps that seem to defy logic are just a curiosity rather than a big deal.
An inexplicable jump upwards sorts itself out in the next couple of days.
As long as my weight is trending around my desired weight I'm fine - if I breach my upper intervention point then that's what I do, start to make small adjustments like skipping breakfast or making lower calorie food choices.
I can maintain without food logging but not sure I can do the same without weighing myself.
The one time in my adult life I stopped weighing regularly I quickly ballooned up to my highest ever weight so I feel investing 3 seconds every morning isn't a big deal.
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I have a new plan right now. I used to use scales once a week but with the fluctuations I was feeling like I'm not getting anywhere.
I'm now more consistent in the gym now that I have a routine ( 5 times a week) and weigh once a month.1 -
yeah I did that long ago........because it can trick you into thinking better or worse of yourself.0
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Since beginning this discussion I decided to weigh myself once each of the past two weeks. The first time I was higher than I've been since after my pregnancy, this morning I lost .3lbs. I think my talk of tossing it may have scared the scale into showing a loss even if a small one. lol!
I am feeling better and will continue to weigh myself and hope the trend downward will continue to my goal weight.3
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