Started 3 weeks ago and obsessing over the scale!!

My daughter keeps my scale and "lets" me weigh myself once a week; she' a tough one, doesn't matter what excuse I give, she keeps me to once a week. Helps me look a the bigger weekly trend.

pence429 wrote: »

My daughter keeps my scale and "lets" me weigh myself once a week; she' a tough one, doesn't matter what excuse I give, she keeps me to once a week. Helps me look a the bigger weekly trend.

Not healthy to put this responsibility on your child's shoulders.

Read this article, @nicolewilliams421. So much more is involved in your scale weight than body fat. Once you understand that, the scale loses its power over your mental health.

http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/

There are so many factors that contribute to weight loss, however, there are a few things (I believe) that you can do to facilitate your weight loss. 1. Hydrate daily. I try to drink at least half my water early in the morning. 2. Weigh and measure anything you put in your mouth. 3. Be consistent in your habits. 4. Be active and in the very least walk daily. I think walking is one of the healthiest things you can do for weight loss. 5. Listen to your body! I found that when I have cravings my body is trying to tell me something. Maybe you are not eating enough or not eating enough of the right foods. (Also, this goes back to being hydrated. I drink water when I have cravings and this usually helps.)

I actually don't see anything wrong with weighing yourself everyday. In the beginning of my weight loss journey I did stress when I saw my weight fluctuate. I'm sure you know that weight loss is not linear, but it took me months to change my mindset about weight loss. It really helped me to use a weight loss app (I use Happy Scale) because I can see my weight loss trends (7 days, 30 days, 90 days, and total weight loss). This allows me to keep things in perspective. Although I closely monitor my diet and exercise you can't control every variable that can affect your weight loss. Looking at trends helped me to relax and focus.

Good luck. Slow and steady is the way to go.

NovusDies wrote: »

It is hard to know how fast you are really losing because the first week or so there is a water weight drop for many people. I hope you lost some water weight because if not you are losing a half a pound a day which is a good way to end up in the hospital.

If you are exercising too then 1200 calories is too low. 1200 is only for short and sedentary women. If you are thinking of food nonstop you are miserable. Misery and weight loss are not good bedfellows.

You need to stop obsessing about the scale and start obsessing about sustainability. Almost everyone who tries to lose weight fails to lose all the weight they want to lose. Those that do often regain some, all, or more. What you are doing by worrying about speed is among the big causes for failure. It was my favorite way to fail.

Don't be the many. Be the few. Sustainability is more important that quick results. Sustainability means you are not miserable and you can do this for as long as it takes.

Your primary goal cannot be just to lose weight. It has to be to lose the habits and mindset of the person who gained it. This is almost never done successfully in drastic changes. It is done by gradually changing.

The bolded above are probable some of the best words you will ever read on this subject.

You say you walk a lot at work. Any idea of how many steps? I'm wondering if you have set your activity level correctly on MFP, especially considering you are losing weight very (too) quickly. Your low calorie goal (1200) suggests that you have chosen sedentary/not very active, and that might not be appropriate.

You've got good advice. The only question is whether you currently CAN and WILL take it in, and implement.

You win with weight loss and maintenance by doing things that are sustainable. And adjusting when you need to.

Overdoing things and pushing through eventually leads to breaking. People love to blame themselves for not having enough will-power/focus/fortitude and breaking / failing at weight loss and maintenance.

I tell people that they're not to blame; but, actually, deep down inside I do believe they ARE to blame!!!

Not blame because of lack of will-power, or focus, or fortitude, but because they allowed themselves to be in the position where they were depending on having infinite reserves of will-power, focus, and fortitude in order to push through and avoid breaking in the first place!

No matter how carefully you do things, you will still need large amounts of will-power to get to where you want to be. And especially in order to maintain your loss when you get there.

The easier you make it on yourself, the more likely it is that you will have the reserves needed in order to adjust when it becomes necessary.

10K steps a day is compatible with the activity level of ACTIVE, on MFP. 5K steps is within the lightly active level. For most people. Most of the time.

Your current loss is (too) fast. In your original post you mentioned thinking about food and it being a struggle, and in a later post you contradicted the assertion that you were suffering.

Recognizing that you're struggling when you are and adjusting your plan (which you're doing by asking about raising your calories a bit) is GOOD. As long as you keep your calories in below your calories out you will keep losing weight. Not always in a straight line (we are humans, not computers, and weight varies for reasons other than fat change too!). But you will still trend downwards! A weight trend app or web site may help you see that... if you ever find yourself needing a reminder down the road!

SCREW THE SCALE!!!!!!!!! forget everything and just know that number does not define you as a person! it just lets you know where you are at in a certain place and time and thats ok