How important is the number on the scale to you?

13

Replies

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    On bad days I have to remind myself that weightloss is not linear and all the jazz about water weight. On good days I am reminded of how slow it is to lose weight. I am not riding that roller coaster this time around. I either trust the system I have in place for myself or I don't. The scale can wait until I feel like using it again.
  • bikecheryl
    bikecheryl Posts: 1,432 Member
    Right now the number is important and I weigh myself every day as I still have 20lbs to lose.

    I'm hoping once I hit "maintenance" it will only be a weekly check kind of thing.
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  • NerdyFlex
    NerdyFlex Posts: 1,672 Member
    Weight is honestly irrelevant to me. I look better weighing 190 than I did at 170. It’s all perspective and it depends on what your end game is.
  • JDixon852019
    JDixon852019 Posts: 312 Member
    I care more about my bodyfat%
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    MelanieCN77 wrote: »
    I've been thinking about this since I saw this thread yesterday. The logical brain wants to say oh, not important, it's all about how I feel and my clothes fit, but that's how I'd like to feel and maybe a healthy way to be. But it matters to me a lot. It's a clear and defined measure of my efforts and a factor I can look to to anchor everything else.

    This is exactly how I feel. I do best with quantifiable measures. How I look in my clothes and how I feel can't be quantified. Measurements don't feel significant to me because they don't represent a clear calorie/loss pattern, I mean I could be losing fat from some obscure spot on my body that I don't measure. My weight trend is the most important and quantifiable thing I see in my own progress. Everything else is a tag-along.

    I can also measure myself a good inch or two more or less without having to fudge much. And my clothes fit differently depending on so many things.
  • yweight2020
    yweight2020 Posts: 591 Member
    edited May 2018
    Very important while I'm working on losing and even when I get to maintenance especially so I can stay at a healthy weight and size stabily within reason. I weigh daily to every other day depends on how I feel and how I'm doing overall. ;)
  • Momepro
    Momepro Posts: 1,509 Member
    Not hugely. I like seeing it go down, and I get annoyed when it doesn't, but I'm much more concerned with how I feel, how I move, and how well my clothes fit. Actual weight his more of a nice side effect at this point!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    I weigh myself daily and record the result, just as I've done for years (maybe a decade?), even when I was obese and not yet trying to lose weight.

    It's just data, like resting heart rate, or hat size. ;) I like data. It's not an emotional trigger. Sometimes, it relates in some ways to my goals (like rowing in the lightweight vs. openweight category, or health goals in a general sense), so I care about the long-term trend line.

    But what I really care about is my health . . . well, and a little bit about not having to buy new clothes again. I really, really hate clothes shopping. ;)
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    No single number is important at all. To me it's just a data point.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    dunkind45 wrote: »
    Pretty important and I am bracing for the day I see the number below 200. I haven't been under 200 since the middle of high school and I am looking forward to getting back to the old numbers.

    I have to say, this particular number was very important to me. I was very proud when I reached it and when I managed to stay under it consistently. It was a significant milestone for me. I think it is for a lot of people.
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 669 Member
    It’s very important to me, and I wish that it wasn’t. I’ve had a number that i felt best at my entire adult life, and I hit briefly 2 years ago and haven’t gotten back to it yet. On top of that, my workouts are more strength based than there were back then. I’m having trouble deciding what my ‘new’ goal weight should be now.
  • Urbancowbarn
    Urbancowbarn Posts: 97 Member
    When I don’t weigh myself daily I gain weight. So I weigh every morning first thing. I hate how much power the number has over me, but on the 5th it will be a year of daily weigh ins and I’ve learned a lot about my patterns and fluctuations. For example today my weight was up even though I did everything right all week. I was so discouraged. Turns out I’m ovulating and retaining water. I am 48 and literally just learned in the past few months that I retain water when I ovulate. Never would have realized this without tracking my daily weight in conjunction with my cycle. I’ve only lost 17 lbs since last May, and I’ve been consistently strength training during that time as well, so I do find my measurements and my body fat percentage more encouraging. I recently lost another inch off my waist (3 in total!) and have lost 4.29% BF since I started tracking it in August. The scale, though, that’s what keeps me in check.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
    It's still important to me, although not as much as before since I am within a healthy range, and some of my health issues have been resolved. I still have some stuff to sort out though, so I do weigh daily to make sure I don't lose it again.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    wenrob wrote: »
    Keeping an eye on the number is what is important to me. If I’m not weighing it’s because I’m actively avoiding the scale and for me that’s playing with fire.

    This is me too. I don't have a magic number in mind, but when I take even a few days off weighing I know that I get careless with my eating and logging. It just helps keep me accountable. It also teaches me what meals/habits mess with my weight and how (i.e., sodium, intense exercise).
  • RustyNut1217
    RustyNut1217 Posts: 5 Member
    I weigh myself once a day, first thing in the morning. I don't let it control or dictate what kind of day I'm going to have. Its a goal, if I didn't hit my goal today (Going down), i'm going to adjust and try to hit it tomorrow.

    For now, its more of a slap in the face rather than something that consumes my life.
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  • alyssa_rest
    alyssa_rest Posts: 276 Member
    It's important to me. While losing, I weigh almost everyday. I have a certain 'maximum weight' I let myself get to before I start eating in a deficit... so I'll check approx. once a month when I am maintaining.
  • sarahlifts
    sarahlifts Posts: 610 Member
    its very important which is why I try my hardest to ignore it and focus on how my clothing feels
  • Crafty_camper123
    Crafty_camper123 Posts: 1,440 Member
    Somewhat important. I like to weigh often and put the results in the Libra app. It tells me if I am trending up or down. The daily fluctuations don't bother me. I know full well I can retain water like a boss, lol. I also like to take measurements monthly to see where I'm at there. I picked my goal weight of 120 because it's In the lower middle of the BMI for my height. But, if I like how I feel and what I see at say, 130 or whatever I would be ok with that too. The weight is more of a goal number for me to shoot for. It's definitely not the be all end all of my fitness goals.
  • wenrob
    wenrob Posts: 125 Member
    Jojoo6mfp wrote: »
    I don’t think it’s healthy to jump on the scales every day , one of the first signs of an eating disorder isn’t it?

    I weigh once a week , the number on the scale isn’t that huge a thing to me , as long as I’m happy with myself and the size clothing im in then I’m good, but at present I’ve to lose another 20lb ish for surgery so the numbers mean a lot at present

    No, it’s a tool just like any other. For me it provides accountability and serves as a guide. I do not ever want to weigh over 235lbs again and for the past eight years plus I’ve not even come close. I have gained twice in that time 20lbs during the most stressful time in my life where I simply didn’t care and 10lbs when I was actively avoiding the scale because I KNEW I was overeating. Both times it was a pain is the *kitten* to take it back off again and wasted time I could have used to achieve other goals. Daily weighing (keeping an eye on the trend) keeps me from wasting my time.
  • Fitnessmom82
    Fitnessmom82 Posts: 376 Member
    Jojoo6mfp wrote: »
    I don’t think it’s healthy to jump on the scales every day , one of the first signs of an eating disorder isn’t it?

    I weigh once a week , the number on the scale isn’t that huge a thing to me , as long as I’m happy with myself and the size clothing im in then I’m good, but at present I’ve to lose another 20lb ish for surgery so the numbers mean a lot at present

    It's not at all for me. Weighing daily does the exact opposite for me. I stress way less when I see the number every day. I don't freak out about an increase and I don't expect dramatic decreases either (something that I was looking for when weighing weekly). I feel like I have more control over the mental aspect of seeing the numbers. It is something that I am watching closely as I approach maintenance but I don't let it affect my mood one way or the other. It's just a data point, one of many guidelines for me!
  • allisonlane161
    allisonlane161 Posts: 269 Member
    edited May 2018
    I weigh in everyday so obviously it's important to me. I do not get alarmed at fluctuations, but then again I'm never surprised. I know when I'm going to be up and I know when I'm not going to be up. Some days I'm actually pleasantly surprised that I'm not up as much as I thought I would be.
  • WJS_jeepster
    WJS_jeepster Posts: 224 Member
    As others have mentioned above, if I don't weigh daily it's because I am pretending that my choices are not leading to regaining weight.

    I have noticed this pattern over and over, but this is the first time I've really thought about it like this. Hopefully this insight will finally teach me that I need to weigh every day and catch myself if I start heading the wrong direction.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I also feel that daily weighing sets the tone of the day for me. If I start the day by weighing myself, I'm more mindful with my choices. That's not to say I always make perfect choices, but I'm more likely to keep diet related decisions on my mind. As if by weighing myself I'm telling myself "right, here starts a day where my diet matters".
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Jojoo6mfp wrote: »
    I don’t think it’s healthy to jump on the scales every day , one of the first signs of an eating disorder isn’t it?

    I weigh once a week , the number on the scale isn’t that huge a thing to me , as long as I’m happy with myself and the size clothing im in then I’m good, but at present I’ve to lose another 20lb ish for surgery so the numbers mean a lot at present

    If you feel that way it is probably true for you. I don't have a weighing schedule. I might decide to weigh the end of this month because I don't know if I want to go more than 7 weeks between.

    Everyone has to figure it out for themselves. There is no universally right or wrong relationship with the scale. The concept of daily weighing and tracking trends is completely foreign to me just like my lack of schedule would be completely foreign to the daily weighers.
  • go52182
    go52182 Posts: 133 Member
    [quote="Smallville127;d-10664505"but as long as it isn't first thing in morning oh lawd. [/quote] This part I don't get! I used to weigh in every day so I can see small changes and be proud of myself. I've hit a plateau so I only weigh myself once a week. BUT I weigh myself first thing in the morning right after my morning pee ;) this gives you the best idea of your day-to-day progress. Also I think weighing yourself more than once a day can be sooo demotivating. So many things affect our weight. The best advice I think is to weigh yourself only once a day and the first thing in the morning before you put anything in there. Weigh yourself on empty! :)

  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    I've always preferred to go by measurements and photos. I weighed every three weeks when I was losing just to keep and eye on where I was. Once I hit my goal, I started focusing on composition and my weight went up but I looked better and my measurements improved.

    It's completely subjective and for a lot of folks weighing daily is a great motivator. I do think that weighing multiple times a day is very much overkill and that data is useless.

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