I HATE weighing myself!

nm212
nm212 Posts: 570 Member
edited December 23 in Motivation and Support
I haven’t lost weight for 3 weeks, but I look & feel thinner... less bloated, more comfortable in my own skin. I’ve been taking Photos this time around (been on this journey on & off for years). I don’t have the patience to measure myself, but I can see & feel a bit of a difference. Am I crazy?! Or is the scale not always accurate?! I even bought a new , fancy one that measures fat, muscle, and a million other things... but still no progress according to that. I am frustrated. I want to see it on the scale! But it’s not happening.... should I just stop weighing myself weekly & go off of pictures & how I feel? It’s hard not to weigh in but it really sets me back & makes me miserable! I think about giving up because nothing I do is working but then I remember the pics & I do notice something working!!

Any similar experiences? I’m curious to hear what works for you. Do you find it necessary to weigh in to stay “on track”?

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    Only you know what you can or can't do.

    I accidentally spilled water on my scale and it stopped working when I was about 30 pounds away from my goal. I didn't replace it for a few months and my weight loss continued without my knowing the numbers.

    There are trade-offs either way. You'll have to decide.
  • SophMadsMom
    SophMadsMom Posts: 9 Member
    I spoke with my doctor awhile back. Instead of relying on the scale to tell you. He mentioned that you should base it off how you feel, clothes are fitting etc.

  • denjan333
    denjan333 Posts: 158 Member
    edited October 2019
    When are you weighing yourself, and under what circumstances? How much do you have to lose? How tall are you?
  • kenrodz422
    kenrodz422 Posts: 11 Member
    @nm212 - You definitely shouldn’t get discouraged from weighing yourself. I just restarted Focus T25 workouts (3rd week in) and only began to use this app as well as another last week. I actually inched up in weight, but like you - I feel better, stronger, firmer.

    Just stay with it. Your personal data from these entries are great to have and review, but remember you’re more than a number (i.e. weight, measurements, etc.).

    Also, @denjan333 brings up a good point asking when you’re weighing yourself. To maintain consistency, try weighing yourself in the mornings after you’ve used the restroom.

    Stay motivated beautiful people! Never give up on yourself! Godspeed!
  • bbybear2015
    bbybear2015 Posts: 4 Member
    Just starting (again) today.... had a good day of eating thinking about what to have for dinner and hanging on by my fingernails
    I need to exercise too but I really HATE the gym ..... live in the north east so weather is always a problem but i would prefer to be outside i would love to have a buddy to walk, run, hike with but no one around me is active....
  • Sweets419Journey
    Sweets419Journey Posts: 19 Member
    Ya.. Im staying away from scale just doing measurement
  • schwest76
    schwest76 Posts: 77 Member
    I hate weighing myself, I tend to obsess too much. As long as I’m working out, eating right and my clothes fit different then I use that.
  • cesarjan28
    cesarjan28 Posts: 2 Member
    My coworkers always ask me my numbers am like I don't really weight myself I know I feel thinner and look it and feel good!
  • emmies_123
    emmies_123 Posts: 513 Member
    My scale has not moved (1 lb fluctuation back and forth) for 3 months. But I had a meeting with my trainer yesterday and my Body Fat percentage is down 4%, and all other measurement areas are down at least a half inch. The scale is just one number, and it is not a good reflection of progress if you have been working on toning or growing stronger.
  • Usman70lbs
    Usman70lbs Posts: 24 Member
    For me it's all interlinked. If I'm eating well and exercising for a few days in a row, I feel much more confident about stepping on the scale and look forward to it. The more I see the numbers going in the right direction the more regularly I step on the scale. However I do not keep scales at my house to stop my scale anxiety! I only weigh myself every few days at the gym.

    There is a machine at the gym I go to that has body fat and water weight. So sometimes if I feel I have been doing well in my diet and exercise, I can see that I'm more hydrated than I was last time and I can attribute it to that.
  • MySlimGoals
    MySlimGoals Posts: 754 Member
    I do three things.

    1. Picture once a month in the morning before food and standing in the same place with the same clothes on (but tight fitting so I can see my stomach shrinking over time).

    2. Measure once a month. Mostly my measurements have been going down. I find it a bit hard to measure as never sure how tight I pulled the tape last time but I try to keep it loose fitting against skin.

    3. Weighing every day. I weigh in as the first thing I do in the morning after a quick visit to the loo. I zero the scale before every weigh and put a different weight on the scale and re-zero it before weighing myself. I also have my scale sitting on a brick tile I purchased from the tile shop so it doesn't swing about wildly from a non firm surface (like lino). I update my weight daily in mfp and it shows my ups and downs.
  • CassieVoiles
    CassieVoiles Posts: 26 Member
    I have such a love/hate relationship with my scale. Sometimes it won’t move but what’s worse is the up and down. Like five pounds are always back and forth. I’m recovering from an eating disorder and I get addicted to the scale; like I feel like a gambling addict almost.

    I got a new dress yesterday and I have a gut in it and I’m super furious and then last night the scale was up four pounds and I feel like no matter what I do, I’ll never get there.

    I work an office job so it’s tough to get exercise. I’m trying out an app and sometimes when I’m getting out of control with the scale, I hide it from myself for a week.
  • denjan333
    denjan333 Posts: 158 Member
    So the OP doesn't want to participate in their own thread? Ok.
  • MySlimGoals
    MySlimGoals Posts: 754 Member
    denjan333 wrote: »
    So the OP doesn't want to participate in their own thread? Ok.

    It's only been a day.
  • Motherofship
    Motherofship Posts: 122 Member
    edited October 2019
    LyndaBSS wrote: »
    I weigh daily, first thing in the morning. It keeps me engaged in the process. My scale syncs to a trending app which syncs with mfp.

    Accepting that fluctuations and plateaus are a normal part of the process means I don't freak out when I don't see the numbers I'd like on the scale.

    I don't do pictures but I measure monthly.

    Same here on all counts, although I need to take measurements more consistently as I sometimes go a couple months between.

    For me, seeing the fluctuations and trends is more encouraging and helps me plan ahead and make proper adjustments.

    If I don't get on the scale for more than a few days in a row (and I'm not on vacation) there's only one reason: I know subconsciously that I'm not on track and I'm not going to like what I'm seeing...

  • VRKF71
    VRKF71 Posts: 4 Member
    Muscle weighs more than fat. I weigh second thing every morning, only to see if I’ve gained but not to see if I’ve lost. It helps me to keep a positive outlook on the whole process.
  • Bradleys8299
    Bradleys8299 Posts: 136 Member
    If weighing yourself is setting you back, then stop.
    You don't have to weigh yourself.
    Keep going into you like what you see in the mirror.
  • Shortgirlrunning
    Shortgirlrunning Posts: 1,020 Member
    I’m another one who weighs themselves every morning. I use HappyScale (an iPhone app) to get a moving average that smooths out the fluctuations. Personally, I find this way more helpful than weighing once a week which is pretty inaccurate. You could be up for any number of reasons. Weighing daily gives you a better picture of what your actual weight is. Plus, it helps me understand my weight fluctuations better so I don’t totally freak out every time the scale goes up.

    That said, if the scale is upsetting to you then there are plenty of other ways to measure your progress. Pictures, measurements, how your clothes fit. So if it’s better for your mental health then throw the scale away and measure your success in another way.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    I used to hate the scale, but weighing every day under the same conditions and using a weight trend app (Libra) has ended the animosity. My loss is very slow, so the thing I rely mostly on is my faith that a calorie deficit will work. Almost 6 months in, almost 12 lbs lost. I've actually never taken photos or measurements.
  • lauragreenbaum
    lauragreenbaum Posts: 1,017 Member
    I stopped weighing myself months ago. After 10 months of Pilates, I only saw a few pounds come off on the scale, but I feel so much better. My clothes fit better, I look better in the mirror, I sit taller, I move with more ease, and my confidence has grown substantially. That's what it's all about.
  • rdthoms
    rdthoms Posts: 61 Member
    Weighing everyday has ups/downs. Once a week, regular time & place works for me. I like to log just to see (hopefully good) trends. I put the data into MyShape.FITNESS website to follow those trends. It also builds a body avatar and lets you compare that against a "goal" avatar that you setup. Seeing that goal can sometimes be nice.
  • ellie117
    ellie117 Posts: 293 Member
    edited October 2019
    I weigh every day, first thing in the morning after using the bathroom and with only a pair of underwear on. I have a journal that I jot down the number every time, so I can monitor the ups and downs (Mondays vs Fridays, morning after a workout vs not, etc.)

    But if it's discouraging you OP, don't do it! Put your jeans in the wash and then try them on afterwards - jeans are always the least-forgiving material for me so when they fit nicely right out of the wash, it's a great morale boost!
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