How important is the number on the scale to you?

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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: 1,431 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.
  • 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
    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: 31,718 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: 667 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: 10,742 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.
  • 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.